I Dare You Pt. 09

Now it was just a drug store.

Mads grabbed her father an orange drink, and a blue one just to be a smartass back, then walked toward the pharmacy to grab the item she needed to take care of it. She stopped, just short of the pharmacy, then turned back to look at some chips.

'Why am I hesitating?' Mads asked herself as she looked at chips, even though she didn't want any. She needed to look natural while she had this debate.

Yesterday, Mads was terrified her father would die. He'd die never knowing the grandkids Mads wanted him to have. Just thinking of their grandfather reading to them would force a smile on her face. Mads had been certain her kids would have at least one awesome grandparent. That certainty had been obliterated. Her father was too old to really consider taking better care of himself, something she had been nagging for him to do for years. Maybe a little person would motivate him to start taking his health seriously.

Mads looked at the pharmacy again and could see the product behind the shelf for easy transactions. Plan B was ten feet away. If her father had not have had a heart attack, and her evening with York had still happened, there would have been no mental discussion of this matter. But her father did have a heart attack, and she did not want her children's only knowledge of him being stories.

Mads pulled her phone from her pocket and opened an app she had only recently downloaded. It was to track her heterosexual activity and cycle. Next week for sure she was getting it, unless she wasn't. Consistency was never her body's strong suit on that topic. Chance of pregnancy was moderate to low. She closed the app, and then looked down.

"You'll get one chance," Mads said to her stomach, and walked toward the register, and away from the pharmacy.

-

York arrived back at the apartment and no sooner did he drop his bag off in his room did a knock come from the door. Walking back across the apartment, he opened the door and saw a person he recognized but was having some trouble remembering why.

"Is Mads back yet?" the woman asked. Suddenly it hit him. Regina.

"No, she'll be gone for at least a week," York said, Regina raising her eyebrows in surprise, then lowering them in annoyance, though he did not know of what.

"She was supposed to call me. Is her dad okay, she said it wasn't anything too major," Regina said, wondering if she told him anything. Regina knew some of the stuff with him and Mads, and that she trusted him near completely.

York paused, and wasn't sure if he should tell her. Mads likely had her reasons for not telling her what really happened. Regina's concern appeared to be very genuine. The worst was over, so was there really any harm in telling her now?

"She might have undersold it," York said, Regina tilting her head in surprise.

"How so?"

"Her dad had a heart attack."

"What?" Regina asked, her hands leaping to her mouth and covering it. "Why would she say it wasn't serious?"

"I don't know. Her dad is out of the woods, he's better. She's staying for the week to take care of him," York explained, and Regina kept her hands over her mouth.

"Where does she live?" Regina asked, her voice echoing in her palms.

"Like the address?" York asked, and Regina nodded. York opened his phone and found the most recent GPS search and showed her. Regina quickly typed it into her phone and thanked him before leaving without another word.

-

Mads had settled in for the night, her and father opting to start a fire and sit in the living room watching a movie. It was nearing Christmas and most of the cable channels were playing Christmas themed films. 'White Christmas' was currently playing, one of her favorites. Maxwell had dozed off at some point during the movie, his snoring overwhelming the dialog.

It was a quarter till midnight and Mads could see a snowy flurry outside. Bundling up with a blanket and walking to the window, she saw it was pitch white outside. She was glad York had sent her a text letting her know he got back safely. It was good to not have to worry about that.

A light shot through the snow for a moment, but it was reflecting off so many surfaces and difficult to find the source. Scanning around, she leaned to her right and looked toward her driveway. It looked like someone had just pulled in behind her father's truck. She stood trying to figure that out for a minute, and at the moment the General walks into the ballroom in his WWII uniform and the men call the room to attention, her doorbell rang.

The sound startled her, but her father just kept snoring. Mads slowly walked to the door, trying to figure out who could have possibly come to her home at this hour. It knocked again, and she opened it slightly to peak outside. When she saw who it was, she opened the door and pulled Regina in from the cold.

Regina was shivering fiercely, her hair icy white with sticky snow. Her jacket was not sufficient for the weather, and neither were her shoes. Mads swung the blanket around her shoulders and pulled it closed in the front.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Mads asked softly to not wake her father up.

"Why didn't you tell me he had a heart attack?" Regina asked, Mads looking at her dad then back at her. "Why not?"

Mads did not want to have a conversation and wake up her father, so gestured for Regina to follow her upstairs. The snow all over Regina soaked her clothing once it melted, so Mads handed her some dry clothes once they got upstairs and in her room. Just a shirt and a pair of pajama pants.

"This was a crisis moment, and I wasn't sure if I wanted to involve you," Mads said as Regina dried her hair while sitting on the edge of her bed.

"Why not? You obviously told your roommate," Regina said.

"Honest?" Mads asked, and Regina nodded. Regina would always prefer the hard truth over the soft lie. She always told it straight, and always wanted it told straight in return. "You said you needed time to think about it. By 'it' I mean us. I didn't see you deciding the way I hoped."

"Why not?" Regina asked, slightly annoyed that every answered question was only leading to another repeated 'why not'.

"Experience," Mads said, Regina placing the towel next to her. "You're a straight leaning bisexual, and like you said, you always pick the man."

"I also said I hate labels. I'm not a bisexual, I'm Regina. Who I am with, doesn't change that," Regina said, Mads nodding, remembering she did say that as well. "Mads, I don't appreciate you making a decision about who I am, based on other people. That's the kind of shit that makes me pick the guy, because I typically don't get the petty baggage."

"Sorry," Mads said, knowing her point immediately. Mads also didn't like the pettiness of women and had just realized that was a behavior she herself was capable of. She knew how crazy it drove herself.

"Just tell me things, okay? The good, the bad, and the ugly. I want to know it," Regina said, Mads walking across the room and hugging her. Regina hugged her back tightly and then Mads sat next to her on the bed.

"Sorry," Mads said to her again.

"It's okay," Regina assured her.

Mads told her the good, the bad, and the ugly. She told her almost everything, even the parts with York, but not all of them. Regina asked the obvious questions, like what does that say about her if she went to York and not her? Mads explained how she had something more than sex with York, and that she told him she might have loved him. They were going to talk when she got back on what to do about it.

"Part of me knows, no matter how strong I feel about him, part of it will always feel forced," Mads said, Regina knowing that truth was killing her inside. No matter how much she tried, it would never feel right.

"Then you need to tell him that," Regina said. "You can't keep stringing him along. He sees you as such a real possibility, you've already broken him up with his girlfriend."

"I feel real shitty about that, but not at the same time," Mads said. Heather was fine as her friend, but as York's girlfriend she seemed more manipulative and selfish. It was a lot of small things that accumulated over the years, and truthfully, they likely would have broken up anyway, either after or before they got married.

They talked into the morning, laying back on her bed, and Regina talked about herself as well. It felt so natural for the both of them. Regina was so easy to talk to. They crawled under the covers after an hour and continued to talk until their eyes got heavy. Regina was the first to say goodnight, allowing them both to sleep. Outside, the weather made the roads completely undrivable.