SLEAZE: A Hollywood Comeback Story (Book #1)

Chapter 46

By morning, sleep had erased most of our worries and, in my case, replaced them with a pounding hangover. The light filtering in through the curtains felt like daggers going through my eyes and my stomach churned angrily whenever I tried to move. Sophie lay next to me giggling as I groaned and prayed to every god I could think of for a merciful end to my suffering. "I'm dying, Soph," I whispered, and the entire space between my temples throbbed. "Make it stop."

"Talk about a role reversal," Sophie replied, gently squeezing my cheek.

Without looking, I reached for a pillow and dropped it on my face so that the fabric covered my eyes. I breathed in deeply through my nose while debating the merits of living. "Do me a favor. Please go find a gun and kill me," I said, swallowing hard when bile tickled the back of my throat.

Clearly unimpressed by the pity party that I was throwing for myself, Sophie clucked her tongue and jabbed the space above my belly button with a finger. "Stop whining."

The sudden pressure on my stomach caused me to gag and tears sprang to my eyes. "Why did you do that?" I complained, weakly trying to swat her away.

Undeterred, Sophie knocked my hand back and traced circles along my chest. "Because you're being silly. Don't tell me you've never been hungover before."

I groaned as I hiccuped and the taste of whiskey briefly filled my mouth. "Not like this."

"Well, aren't you a special snowflake? Don't worry, I'll take care of you," Sophie cooed in my ear. "I don't have anywhere to be until tomorrow."

Somewhat shockingly, Sophie made good on her offer by bringing me water and toast throughout the day while I alternated between sleeping and swearing up and down that I'd never drink again. The lowest point of my recovery came when I got up to use the bathroom and ended up spewing a rancid torrent of vomit into the sink. Sophie walked in while I retched and wrinkled her nose. "Gross," she commented and I grunted in agreement before throwing up again.

By four in the afternoon, I'd miraculously regained the ability to stand up without the world spinning so I put on my glasses and dragged myself to the living room. Sophie sat cross-legged on my couch and looked up when I plopped down beside her. "How are you feeling?" she asked, reaching out to pat my back soothingly.

"Fragile." I folded my arms over my stomach and clutched it protectively. "Please try not to make any sudden movements."

"Poor baby," Sophie said with a hint of laughter in her voice. "You went to your first grown up party and look what happened."

"What have you been doing all day?" I asked, ignoring the jab when I noticed that my laptop was open on the coffee table. "Besides hacking into my computer."

"Oh, sorry," Sophie said, as she closed out of whatever she'd been looking at. "I would've asked first but you were asleep."

"It's fine, but how did you..."

"You should probably change your password," Sophie interrupted, guessing what I was going to ask. "I got it right on the second try."

I started to roll my eyes but stopped when I felt a burst of pain radiate from beneath my lids. "Find anything good?"

Sophie grinned. "Why, was there something good to find?"

"Nope, sorry."

"Yeah, tell me about it," Sophie said, pointing at the screen. "You're, like, the most boring person ever." She shook her head. "Anyway, in case you were worried, I don't think anyone noticed us leaving together."

"Oh, yeah? How do you know?"

"Well, I've been reading all the online tabloids and apparently a bunch of camels escaped from Armada's property right after we left. A couple even made it close to Hollywood Boulevard."