The ringing of the phone pierced through the thick veil of sleep and woke Nicole. She sluggishly reached for the phone, anxious to stop the irritating noise. Batting her hand around blindly, she finally made contact with the phone. “Hello,” she mumbled into the receiver.
“Hey Nicole, it’s Billy. Did I wake you?”
Her eyes drifted shut, despite how hard she worked to keep them open, and she sat up to keep herself awake. “Yeah, I guess I dozed off. Where are you?” Sitting up had helped, but she was still struggling to concentrate.
“At my apartment. I just called to tell you I got home okay and to check how you were doing.”
“It’s been a rough day, but I’m fine.”
“What happened?” he demanded.
Nicole considered her next words carefully. She didn’t want to worry him. “I had a little trouble
