3. A Bitten Tongue
A BITTEN TONGUE
Ivy
Sabrina Carpenter played through the Bluetooth speakers of my car.
Determination soared through my veins, purely directed at having a good day.
It was Thursday, one of the few days I still got to work with Aspen.
She’d recently cut down on her hours for school; plus, Thursdays were normally great tipping nights.
So it was the makings of an amazing evening.
Sliding my Volkswagen Bug into park, I tapped the small spinning disco ball hanging from the review minor.
A gift from Ember; she said she’d found it in a small shop when she was out wandering with her fiancé’s mom and instantly thought of me and my little green bug.
It helped to be well known for a love of sparkles when my friends were out and about.
Blowing out a breath, I checked myself over in the car mirror before climbing out and heading into Ember’s bakery to meet Aspen before our shift.
Buns of Delight was easily mine and Aspen’s favorite spot to grab food before working all evening.
Even before Ember joined our little circle of trouble, I could inhale her jalape?o bagels like my life depended on it.
Through the glass door with elegant, scripted lettering, the feeling of being home washed over me.
Even more so when I saw the stunning redhead behind the counter.
“Ohh, Ember darling! I’m here to be fed and caffeinated, pronto!”
She glanced up, an eye-roll and a soft laugh as she fought off the smile she always wore when dealing with my brand of crazy.
“Are we feeling spicy or sweet today?”
I smirked. “Is a combo an option? I’m thinkin’ spicy bagel and sweet cream cheese. Also, can you add Aspen’s order too? She should be here in a moment. Assuming Rowan didn’t come home early just to ensure she’s late.”
She nodded in confirmation. “I’ve got strawberry, honey walnut, or jalape?o honey. Thoughts?”
“Oh! Jalape?o honey! Literally sweet and spicy.”
Ember smiled and rang up our order. When she’d reopened the bakery a few months ago, she’d tried telling us we were family and didn’t have to pay.
We’d helped her repaint, order new furniture, and even helped with the first few weeks of training her new employees.
She said we’d earned free bagels and coffee, but Aspen and I wouldn’t listen.
It took a solid two weeks for her to realize when she was toasting and brewing, we’d lean over the counter and ring ourselves up.
Aspen walked in, bundled to the max, as Ember finished with our bagels and coffee.
“It’s cold as a motherfucker outside. How are you dressed so light?” Aspen said, her gloved hands buried in her coat pockets, the tip of her nose red as she shivered.
“Oh, my sweet, all-year-long summer baby.” I wrapped my arm around her waist and tried to share what little body heat my five-foot-three frame could offer her. “This has been our lives, our whole lives. You, my little Elvis girlie, are still so new here. So untrained.”
She stared at me before rolling her eyes and grabbing her coffee. “You’re a shit. It was cold in Vegas sometimes! It wasn’t like it was stunning desert heat all year. But this snow is new for me. At least in this quantity. Do you think it’ll melt soon?”
I glanced out the window behind us at the swirling snowflakes as they attached themselves firmly and stubbornly to the walkways, and then glanced down at Aspen’s feet and her sneakers.
“Don’t look at me like that. Rowan put boots in my car for me. I just didn’t think I’d need them.”
Ember and I bother chuckled. “Don’t worry, love. I’ll ensure you don’t perish on the way to the car. Luckily, they’ve already sanded most of the roads and sidewalks. Oh, also, I was thinking about going dancing this weekend. Thoughts?”
Ember nodded. “I could probably make it happen. Tomorrow night good?”
“I have a paper due, but I’ll have it done by early afternoon. I’m down,” Aspen added.
I let out a happy squeal. “Yay! Tomorrow night it is.”
Aspen and I re-bundled before saying our goodbyes to Ember, and headed into work. Thankfully, Aspen only almost fell on her ass twice, both of which I saved her pretty little neck from dying. Rowan would be so pleased.
The apartment felt cold when I walked in, and not just in the terms of temperature.
But I refused to let the vibes of it get me down.
Work had been amazing, and every one of my tables had tipped really well.
I’d gotten a bit of downtime with my best friend.
I had plans this weekend with my girls. We’d even checked in and gotten the go-ahead with Payton that she could tag along.
It would be a whole Carragan crew get-together, plus me—the eighteenth wheel, or whatever number we were up to now of Carragan siblings, their fiancés, and then just me.
A chuckle slipped from my lips at the comedy of it all as I clicked the heat up two notches. When we were gone all day, we turned it down slightly, but I couldn’t sleep with it being like, fifty in the apartment.
It was almost ten, and Todd was nowhere to be found, so I made myself a cup of hot chocolate, put on my favorite pink plaid sweatpants, and curled up in my chair with my Kindle.
I had two advanced copies of upcoming releases from two of my favorite authors already downloaded and ready to be consumed, so I found that I wasn’t even angry that he wasn’t where he was supposed to be right now—home.
Time passed in a blur as I found myself enraptured in words and worlds created by people I’d never met in real life.
My eyes were finally getting heavy when the front door swung open. I jumped slightly as Todd walked in, slamming the door shut behind him. Walking was generous; swaying felt more accurate.
I flipped my Kindle case closed and rose from the chair, setting my now-empty mug in the sink, my fuzzy blanket wrapped around my shoulders. I didn’t want to fight tonight, and I tried my utmost to keep any questions or comments to myself.
Peeking over at him, I watched as he leaned against the side of the refrigerator, his eyes trying to focus on the calendar there. Questions like where he’d been, or how he’d gotten home when he was clearly not sober.
“What is this?” he mumbled, his fingers tapping on a date next week.
Walking over, I read what his finger had now half wiped away.
“My OB appointment.”
“What?”
An arched brow and a bitten tongue were all I mustered at first. “It’s my doctor’s appointment for to get another birth control prescription.”
Todd’s gaze swung over towards me, and he smirked. “Thank God for that. What a shit mom you’d be.” He chuckled, and I watched, stunned and speechless, as he stumbled down the hall. I didn’t have to walk down the hall and see him to know he was sprawled across the bed, shoes still on, passed out.
In the morning, he’d wake up and have no recollection of the comment or even what the appointment was that was smudged off the calendar now.
Swallowing past the lump in my throat, I picked up a dry erase marker and fixed the words he’d smudged, all while trying to push past his mutterings that echoed within my mind on a loop.