Like Father, Like Son ✔

Chapter 13 - A Mother's Worst Fear

CHAPTER 13

CAT

Cat wasn't in her own bed when she woke up on Sunday morning.

She had vague recollections of the night before, and what she could remember was enough to let her know she probably shouldn't be trying to sit up right now. Her head felt like it was about to split open and her stomach was upside down and in knots.

She was such a lightweight; she should've known better than to let herself drink so much at the club they'd gone to after the bowling alley, but with two beers already in her system her inhibitions had already been a little off.

They had so much fun though, dancing together until three in the morning...

Her eyes suddenly snapped open so that she was staring at an unfamiliar ceiling. The pieces were slowly coming together and her heart started hammering against her chest, upsetting her stomach even more.

What happened with Nick when they got back to his place last night? Did they—no, she was still fully dressed in yesterday's clothes. She sneaked a wary glance to the left but found that the other side of the bed was empty and apparently hadn't been slept in at all.

"Shit," she murmured, running her fingers through her hair and down her face. She'd forgotten how awful it felt to be this hungover.

It took a few minutes longer for Cat to muster the energy and willpower to sit up in bed, and then another few for her to compose herself. She ran a few fingers through her hair since she didn't have a brush, but that was about all she could really do. Hopefully she could sneak into the bathroom without Nick noticing she was up yet, that way she could make herself look presentable.

She hadn't planned to get drunk last night, and she sure as hell hadn't planned to sleep over. This was her first time waking up in a guy's apartment, and to be honest it felt really weird and it made her slightly uncomfortable.

God, she didn't even have her phone on her to check up on Luke and James. She forgot it at home before her walk yesterday and didn't really think about it too much after that. She figured everything would be fine; James wasn't a complete idiot when it came to watching his kid. He was probably going to feed him way too much chocolate and maybe let him watch TV well after he was supposed to have been in bed, but she doubted anything worse could happen in the span of 12 hours.

She sighed and tried to stand up. When her body didn't protest too much – her feet and legs were aching from all of that dancing and her stomach still felt a little queasy from the shots she did with Nick – she figured it was okay to take a step forward... and another...

She made it out into the hallway and was greeted by dead silence. Sighing with relief, she crossed the hall into the bathroom, closed the door and locked it behind her. She relieved herself, tried to fix the make-up residue on her face and then decided she really, thoroughly looked like crap. Her skin was so pale and she had a big zit on her forehead near her hairline.

She opened Nick's medicine cabinet and found his tube of toothpaste. She didn't have her toothbrush, but she decided he probably wouldn't mind if she borrowed some of the toothpaste and stuck it on her finger. At least she wouldn't have this disgusting morning-after-drinking breath.

She put her hair up into a ponytail and took a deep breath. Staring at her abysmal reflection in the mirror, she decided this was as good as she was going to get.

When Cat padded barefoot into the living room, she found Nick sprawled out on the couch, the tips of his fingers just barely touching the floor. He was still asleep and wearing only a pair of boxer-briefs. Cat knew because his sheets weren't exactly covering anything.