Milly's Wrath

{Part Eighteen}

The next morning I didn't wake up until ten, going in and out of a daze. The butterflies in my stomach from last night didn't leave yet, and gazing at the rings on my finger sent my mind into the clouds. I found my hands holding my face as the Kool Aid grin on my face started to hurt. I tried to straighten it, but that hurt even worse. Eventually, I stopped playing with my face in bed and began to get ready for the day. Today's was Anthony's eighteenth birthday- and I had to make sure it was extra perfect for him. That involved me talking to his brother a lot, and his teammates.

Truth be told, Anthony was even more unpredictable than me! He could be up and down. I already knew he would be pissed today, because his parents weren't even here. They went on a business trip last night. That was bogus in multiple ways.

Getting out of the bed, I went to the bathroom and turned the shower on. As the room steamed, I placed my rings carefully on the sink counter and began to undress. I washed up with Lilac washer and lingered in a little longer than necessary. Placing the rings back on my fingers, I wrapped a towel around me and went back into my room. I threw the clothes from my dresser onto my bed, having already planned what I would were weeks in advance, and lathered in lotion before getting dressed.

Looking in the mirror, I assessed myself longer than I needed to. My blue sleeveless chiffon was tied a little in the front and hang lower in the back with itty-bitty gold buttons. My high waisted denim shorts also had gold buttons to match my golden leather flat sandals. My black and gold bracelet rested on my arm adjacent to the rings and my curls remained, but were now split on each side of my face. Make-Up was light, because Anthony absolutely hated when I wore it but I couldn't bare to not wear it. Just dark and smoky eye shadow and slightly glossy lips with beige lipstick.

Okay, I told myself. Calm down and breathe.

Nerves didn't begin to describe how I felt about today. Mainly because Anthony was so damn unpredictable, but kind. After what he did yesterday, I knew what I had planned was shitty next to his, but it's whatever.

Tossing a cross body bag over my shoulder, I exited my room and trotted down the stairs.

"Morning." I said to Nicole and Rick as they sat at the table.

"Wow," Rick said. "I didn't think you were capable of being up this early."

Glancing at the clock, I smiled to see it was just going on seven in the morning. I had to beat Anthony's schedule this morning, and I hated him for waking up as the sun broke through the sky. "Well, yeah..." Taking a bagel, I covered it in cream cheese and took an icy bottle of water form the refrigerator. "So, you guys are totally fine with them coming over, right?"

"Yeah." Nicole answered, standing up to straighten her suit. "We'll be in meeting until late anyway. But they need to be out by eleven. There's still a  curfew."

"Okay." I nodded my head, hugging both her and Rick. "See y'all later."

"See you."

I exited the house, stopping on the porch. I placed the spare key on top of the door frame and stepped back a little, Sure it couldn't be seen to any oblivious strangers, I got in my car and drove off.

It took about ten minutes to get to Anthony's house. Once there, I texted his brother to come open the door for me. Now, his brother doesn't live there. That's something new I learned a few weeks ago. Apparently, their parents kicked him out for a legitimately stupid reason. Ever since then, he's been living on his own in a studio apartment not too far from the Downtown Loop.

His brother opened the door for me a few minutes later, fully dressed in khakis and a loose tee. He hugged me, parting a way for me to walk in. "You're capable of waking up this early?"