Calling In Sick

Rainey

The next morning, the sound of Tanner calling for me woke me from a dead sleep. Years after he was born, I always swore I heard him calling me in the middle of the night even when he was in his bed, fast asleep.

I sat up, and my heart was racing. Then I felt it. A throbbing pain radiated in the front of my forehead, deep inside my brain.

I glanced at the clock. It was a few minutes before my alarm.

I groaned and pressed the heels of my hands against my head. I was never drinking again. The beers should have been enough, but Tessa insisted we had shots too.

“Mommy!” Tanner cried.

“Coming!” I called back. I rolled off the bed and realized I was still wearing the shirt from last night. My pants were crumpled pile on the floor. I wasn’t sure what was wrong with Tanner, so I threw on my robe and jogged out to the hallway toward his room.

“What’s going on, honey?” I asked, coming into his room. The walls tilted at a strange angle, and I grabbed onto the dresser to steady myself. It w