Have you ever had one of those days where you feel like the world is against you and you want to disappear? Yeah…that was me today. I don’t think I could have had a worse day than today. From the time I woke up to the time I got home, it was one thing after another. It was Monday…I don’t know why I expected anything to be perfect.

I don’t think one thing went right the entire day. First I woke up late because Nick accidentally hit the snooze button too many times. When I realized what time it was, I jumped out of bed and hopped into the shower. Of course…there was no conditioner, so that meant my hair was going to be frizzy all day long! Then I nearly broke my leg getting out of the shower because the shower door still hasn’t been fixed and there was a puddle of water on the floor. I hit the floor so hard, I’m surprised I didn’t knock myself out. Since I was running late, I didn’t have time to dry my hair, so that left me with the only option of putting my hair back into a bun, which I hated doing. I had no time to eat, so I was stuck eating a muffin on my way to work. Of course, in the mess of the morning disasters, I get stuck in rush hour traffic, which made me thirty minutes late for work! You can only imagine the look on my boss’s face when I walked in with my hair wet and face flushed. She was not happy.

Nick hates the fact that I work at Starbucks. He doesn’t see the point in me having a job when he pays all the bills. It’s simple, really. I work to support myself. I don’t need Nick’s money to buy me the things I need. It’s his house and his bills, he can pay those, but he’s not paying for my personal expenses when I’m perfectly capable of doing that on my own. Besides, I have my dignity to maintain. I’m not some lazy gold digger, so I’m not going to let my relationship with Nick fog up my brain. You’d think after nearly two years together, he’d understand why I choose to work. Now that I think about it…I wonder if he hit the snooze button on purpose. Hmm…damn him! Oh, well…anyway, yeah, my day didn’t get any better after that.

Once I got to work, I was pushed onto the drive-thru, which I cannot stand because I’m fifty percent deaf and I cannot hear half of what people say over the speaker. Of course, I should’ve known my boss did it to punish me for being late. I managed to get through the morning rush without too many problems, but once we had our down time, my boss decided to put me on cleaning detail…another punishment for being late. So, as I’m cleaning the frappaccino machine, I somehow forgot to turn the damn thing off and as soon as I start clean the inside, foam comes flying out the top and all over me. Great, I was going to smell like vanilla for the rest of the day.

Once all the machines cleaned, my boss proceeds to put me through hell by sending me to clean the bathrooms. Of course, she waits until someone comes to the counter to tell us that the men’s bathroom is flooded. So, there I was mopping up this totally disgusting mess on the floor and my cell phone vibrates in my pocket. I grumbled to myself because I’d forgotten to leave it in my purse and I knew if my boss caught me looking at my phone, I’d be in trouble for sure. Well…more trouble than I already was to begin with. Of course, I didn’t let that stop me from viewing a text from Nick. I smiled when I saw that he’d sent me a random text saying, “I’m bored.” Two simple words from my honey made things seem brighter for about five seconds…until the sound of the bathroom door being opened startled me and I dropped my phone into the mop bucket. The man apologized and stepped back out as I stared down into the bucket, watching my phone sink down to the bottom. I was pretty sure that wasn’t the end of my troubles for the day.

I glanced at my watch and it was almost four o’clock. I sighed with relief because I only had one hour left of my day. The thought of sitting in our whirl pool tub with lots of bubbles was very appealing to me. It would be the perfect end to a chaotic day. So, as I’m taking orders through the drive-thru, my boss taps me on the shoulder. I turned around and she sighed at me.

“Give your headset to Kim. I need to talk to you.”

“Okay,” I said as I handed Kim the headset.

I followed my boss to her office and she shut the door. I sat in the seat and watched her as she pulled out some papers and looked at me. Naturally, my heart jumped in my throat. It wasn’t common for her to sit someone down in her office like that.

“Look, I’ve thought this over a million times and I think this is really the only answer,” she stated.

“Huh?” I said as I gripped onto the bottom of my seat.

“I’m afraid we’re gonna have to let you go,” she said smoothly.

“You--you’re firing me?”

“It’s for the best,” she continued.

I scoffed and stood up. I couldn’t even say another word to her. My chest was growing tight and my vision was getting fuzzy. I had to get out of there. Without hesitation, I grabbed my purse and rushed out of there. As soon as I got into my car, I started to reach for my phone, but quickly remembered that my phone was destroyed. My head began to feel fuzzy as I struggled to breathe…perfect…a panic attack had began.

My biggest mistake was trying to drive home while in that condition. I was so determined to get home and hibernate from the world. I was doing my best at holding it together when…CRASH! I screamed and looked in front of me. I had the car in front of me that was yielding to oncoming traffic. I stared at the crushed rear end of the car and let out a scream. I couldn’t breathe by this point. My hands started shaking as the driver got out of the car. He angrily looked at me and threw his hands up in the air. I cautiously got out of the car and bit my lip nervously as I approached him.

“Where’d you learn how to drive?” he shouted.

“I’m--I’m sorry,” I said while trying to catch my breath.

“I hope you have insurance!” he continued to shout.

“Yes…I--I do,” I said while going back into my car for my purse.

So, after all that was done and over with, I’m driving home and I’m about to break. I really didn’t think my day couldn’t get any worse until I pulled up to the driveway of our house. There were eight cars in the driveway. I let out a loud sigh…it’s Monday night football. That meant that Nick was entertaining his friends for the night. Just perfect!

I get out of the car in time to see Nick and Howie walking outside. He saw me and waved wildly in his usual goofy manner. Normally the sight of that would’ve made me laugh, but not today. I wearily got out of the car and slammed the door shut, only to discover that I accidentally slammed the door on my shirt. Nick ran up to me as I threw my purse down and let out a groan of frustration.

“Baby?” he said gently as he approached me.

“Don’t,” I said while breathing in to keep from crying.

“Honey, what is it?”

“Fuck!” I screamed as the tears fell down my face.

“Baby, baby,” he said as he put his arms around me. “What’s going on? Why the big tears?”

I tried to talk but I kept crying until I started to hiccup. Nick shifted me forward and opened the car door to release my shirt. He hugged me tight and I cried into his chest and gripped onto the back of his shirt and I sobbed loudly. Nick rocked me back and forth and ran his fingers through my hair. I lifted my head up and saw him motion for Howie to go away. Nick gently kissed my lips and wiped the tears off my cheeks with his thumbs.

“Are you okay?” he asked softly, looking me directly in the eyes.

“No,” I said, still struggling to catch my breath.

“Let’s go inside,” he said as he picked up my purse and grabbed my hand.

We walked into the house and I saw all the guys, including Aaron sitting in our living room. They all waved at me and Nick urged me toward the stairs.

“Not now,” Nick said to them as he walked behind me. “I’ll be right back.”

We walked into the bedroom and Nick sat down on the bed. I sat beside him as he put his arms around me. By this point I was practically hyperventilating, the usual symptoms of my panic attacks.

“Babygirl, calm down,” he soothed.

“I…can’t…it won’t….go…away,” I said between breaths.

Nick quickly got up and went into the bathroom. He came back with a bottle of my anxiety medication and a Dixie cup filled with water. It had been a long time since I needed one of my pills, but today was definitely the exception. He gently rubbed my back as I took my pill.

“Babygirl, what’s wrong?” he softly asked.

“Fucking day from hell,” I muttered.

“Wanna talk about it?”

“No,” I said as I started crying again.

“Stay put,” Nick said as he went into the bathroom.

I laid back on the bed and continued to cry. I heard the sound of the water running and realized he was drawing a bath. I sat back up and walked to the bathroom. Nick was testing the faucet then looked over at me. I leaned against the doorway as I started to feel a little faint from my anxiety. Nick pulled up the tub plug and came to my side. He sat me down on the edge of the tub and poured in some of my favorite scented bubbles.

“I want you to sit in this tub and relax,” he said as he helped me take off my shirt. “You are not doing anything else today.”

“Okay,” I mumbled as I unzipped my pants.

Nick held me steady as I stepped into the tub. I leaned back against the wall of the tub and sighed. The water was warm and the aroma from the bubbles was soothing. Nick kissed my forehead and smiled.

“Does that feel a little better?”

“Yeah,” I replied with a sigh.

“Yo, Nick, the game’s about to start, “ Aaron said from the bedroom.

“I’ll down in a minute,” Nick said then drew his attention back to me. “I can make them leave if you want.”

I shook my hand and placed my hand on his cheek. “No, it’s okay.”

“Are you sure?” he asked then kissed the palm of my hand.

“Positive.”

“Okay, but if we get too loud, let me know.”

I nodded and closed my eyes as I relaxed. He remained by the tub and rubbed my arm for a few minutes. I looked at him and smiled.

“You can go back downstairs. I’ll be fine.”

“You’re sure?”

“Yes,” I said then kissed him.

“I’m coming back up during the commercial break,” he said then kissed me.

I continued to relax in the tub. I felt like I was in complete heaven. I closed my eyes and calmed myself down from the events of the day. I stayed in the tub for almost thirty minutes and decided to get out as I felt my fingers and toes were starting to prune. After I got out of the tub, I put on my pajamas and laid on the bed. At some point I had almost fallen asleep when I heard the sound of the bedroom door opening. I had no intentions of opening my eyes until I felt our two dogs Molly and Toby jump onto the bed. They’re both pugs and the certainly didn’t weigh light as they bounced on me.

“GET OFF THE BED!!!” Nick shouted.

I could’ve killed Nick for screaming that loud just as I started to unwind. Both dogs jumped off the bed and scampered out of the room. Nick sighed loudly and laid beside me.

“Sorry,” he whispered.

“It’s okay,” I said as I pulled the pillow over my face.

Nick rubbed his hand across my stomach and began kissing my arm. I wasn’t in the mood to be touched. I threw the pillow to the floor and looked at him.

“Don’t touch me,” I muttered.

“Hey,” he said gently. “Why are you being like this? What happened today? And what happened to the car? I went out there with A.J. and I saw that light was busted out.”

“I hit someone,” I mumbled.

“Honey,” he drifted off.

“I’ve had a horrible day, Nick. Don’t patronize me. I just want to lay here and forget about everything.”

He opened his mouth to speak when we both heard a loud crash. I sat up and looked at him.

“Fuck,” he said under his breath as he got up and opened the door.. “Yo, what the hell are you doing down there?” he shouted from the stairway.

“Sorry, my bad,” Aaron said.

“You’re dead, man,” he said then came back into the room.

“Baby, I’m gonna ask them to leave. This isn’t fair to you.”

“You don’t have to,” I said then picked my pillow from off the floor.

“But I am,” he said then kissed me. “Be right back.”

He left the room and I heard the muffled sound of his voice downstairs. The TV was turned off and I heard the guys all leaving the house. Within seconds, I heard him coming back up the stairs and he came back into the room. Molly and Toby followed him and he snapped his fingers at them as the pawed the bed.

“Don’t even think about it,” he said as laid on his stomach next to me. “Talk to me,” he said softly.

“It was just a really bad day, Nick.”

“Yes, I know, but you were in a panic. That’s not happened in a long time. What happened today?” he asked as he rubbed my side.

“I was fired today,” I said as the tears started coming back.

“Good, you didn’t need that job anyway.”

“Nick, you know I don’t want you paying for me.”

“I know, but you deserve better than Starbucks. If you’re gonna get a job, get something better than that. It’s not good for your anxiety.”

“I know,” I said as I wiped the tears off my cheeks.

Nick rolled over his side and wrapped both arms around me. He held me very tight and kissed my cheek. I took in the scent of his cologne and let myself relax in his arms. We were both very quiet for almost an hour. I had almost fallen asleep when I heard the doorbell ring.

“Shit, I forgot about the pizza I ordered,” Nick said as he jumped off the bed. “Be right back, baby.”

I rolled over on my other side, facing the door. I laid completely still and stared at the wall. My anxiety pills had obviously taken full effect because I’d gone practically brain dead. The pills often prevented me from thinking clearly. I felt almost like a zombie at this point. My eyes shifted to the door as Nick walked in with six pizza boxes in his hands.

“Pizza?” he said with a crooked grin.

I couldn’t help but laugh. He looked a little silly holding those pizza boxes. Nick grinned and put the boxes on the bed.

“I should’ve called and canceled the order. Now we have enough pizza to last for weeks. Maybe we should freeze them,” he joked.

“Gross, Nick,” I said as I opened one of the boxes. “Mmm cheese,” I said as I took a slice.

“I’ll get you something to drink,” he said then back downstairs.

I stayed on the bed and continued to eat the pizza. I realized that I’d not eaten anything since I left for work. Nick came back upstairs with two cans of Coke. He set one down on the nightstand and opened the other.

“Here you go, Babe,” he said as he handed it to me.

“Thank you,” I said then took a sip.

“So, do you feel better?” he asked.

I shrugged. “As good as I can be, I guess.”

Nick kissed my cheek then stole a piece of pizza from out of the box. I watched him as he bit off a piece and smiled.

“Mmm, so good.”

I laughed and nodded. “Yes, it hit the spot.”

“So, your day was that bad, huh?”

“Nick, I dropped my phone in the mop bucket at work.”

He tried to hold back his laughter but wound up choking on his pizza. I snickered and patted his back.

“That’s what you get for laughing at me.”

“Aw, Honey,” he said then kissed me. “It’ll be okay. Tomorrow will be better,” he said with a smirk.

“If you start singing Trouble Is, I’m kicking you out of this room.”

Nick cackled and shook his head. “You know me all too well.”

“Yeah, and love is not what the trouble is,” I joked.

“Then what is.”

“Carter is what the trouble is,” I said while laughing.

“Oh, that’s it,” Nick said as he picked up the pizza boxes and set them on the dresser.

I giggled as he climbed on top of me and began kissing me all over, making loud kissing noises in the process. I squirmed to get away from him but he pinned me down. Nick smiled then kissed me full on the lips. I breathed in deep as he traced my lips with his tongue then slipped his tongue in my mouth.

“I love you,” he whispered.

“I love you too,” I echoed.

“I got a sure way to make this day a lot better for you,” he said while raising his eyebrows.

“Nick, I’m too tired for sex.”

“No, ice cream,” he said while laughing. “Let’s go to Dairy Queen.”

“Mmm, sounds perfect, but I‘m in my pajamas,” I said then kissed him.

Nick climbed off me and held his hand out to me. “We’ll go through the drive-thru.”

“I can deal with that,” I said with a smile.

“Good,” Nick said as he lead me out of the room.

As we sat in his car, I watched him as he lightly drummed the steering wheel to the beat of the music. It was time like this that I wondered how I ever got so lucky. I knew we were meant to be when he could turn the most painful day into a fun one with only his smile. It made me realize how wonderful my life really was. I thought about the events of the day and how he came to my rescue. I couldn’t help but smile as I fell in love with him all over again. He was the last of a dying breed and I was thankful to have him in my life.