Total pages in book: 76
Estimated words: 76205 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 381(@200wpm)___ 305(@250wpm)___ 254(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76205 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 381(@200wpm)___ 305(@250wpm)___ 254(@300wpm)
Donny’s eyes shoot open. “Excuse me?”
Jeez. No one needs my big brother going all big brother right now.
“It’s a long story, Donny.”
“Do I need to kick that motherfucker’s ass?” Donny asks, not nicely.
“No,” I say. “Jesse took care of it. And I’m glad he did.”
Donny furrows his brow. “I am too. I guess I owe him one.”
“And he was right,” Maddie says. “I don’t know what I was thinking. But I was so mean to him last night. I feel like…”
“You didn’t do this, Maddie,” I say.
“I know that. Objectively, anyway. Just feel like I messed with his vibe, you know?”
I sigh. Maddie didn’t mess with Jesse’s vibe. I did. I kept him distracted. Distracted, when he should’ve had his mind focused on the band. Maybe specifically focused on Dragon. Maybe then…
Maybe then…none of this would be happening.
Donny is scowling at me, and I wish I could go back in time.
Back in time…
Maybe if I had gone back to bed with Jesse. Maybe if…
Donny eyes Maddie and me. “I don’t have to lecture you two about indiscriminate sex, do I?”
I resist an eye roll. Right. My brother, the quintessential womanizer, wants to lecture me about indiscriminate sex. It might interest him to know I was a virgin until a few days ago, but I’m not about to spill that little secret.
“Maybe I need to talk to you,” Callie says straight to her little sister.
“My God, I feel bad enough as it is,” Maddie says. “I was so angry with Jesse last night. How long were you down here with him after I left, Bree?”
All gazes fall on me then. Right. I was down here with him. I was the last person who saw him before he went to bed.
“Not for long,” I say, trying to sound innocent.
“You were gone for a few hours,” Maddie says, “before you came up to the room.”
Donny and Callie both shoot daggers at me.
“What’s she saying, sis?” Donny asks.
I blink. “We were down here talking. Jesse ordered a pizza, remember?”
Maddie nods. “That’s right. He did order a pizza.”
Nice. Saved by the pie we didn’t stay to eat. I breathe in and force out the lie. “Right. So we ate pizza. Talked. Then we went our separate ways.”
“Did he say anything about the two girls who went with Dragon to his room?”
“No, not really. Just that he wasn’t into it, so he left Dragon to do his thing.” I shake my head. “He must feel so terrible about that.”
“I think we all feel pretty terrible,” Callie says. “But Dragon is an adult. No one should have to babysit him.”
I nod.
An adult.
That was the argument I gave my parents when I told them I was going on this trip. The argument I gave to Callie and Donny as well.
And how many times have I told Jesse I’m an adult? A grown-up?
Funny…
Being a grown-up doesn’t really mean anything at all. You can still end up getting into lots of trouble.
I hope to God that Dragon is okay.
And even more than that? I hope Jesse isn’t killing himself with guilt right now.
I really want to be the one to fix this for him.
Chapter Three
Jesse
I stare into space.
People stroll by me—people of all looks and walks of life.
Two parents, worried about their screaming toddler, take a seat. They have to wait because my friend is unconscious.
They must wait and worry about their child—who may have a fever, may be sick. But the rules are ironclad. The child is conscious, so they have to wait.
I try to block out the sick child’s screams. He can’t be more than two or three, and his blond hair is slicked to his forehead with sweat. Most of the seats are filled in the waiting area, but except for the toddler, I can’t tell who the patients are and who the family members and friends are. It’s like they’re stick people and they all look alike. They don’t exist in my world because I don’t know them. I don’t care for them the way I care for Dragon. I don’t appreciate their stories. All I know is that these plastic seats are damned uncomfortable on my ass.
The clerk who took Dragon’s paperwork is busy, along with a nurse who seems to be assessing patients. The ER—or whatever the hell it’s called here—is busy this morning, which is why the poor child can’t be seen yet. He sits on his mother’s lap, and she kisses his forehead, trying to soothe him. The father sits next to her, his face pale and lips twisted into a frown.
In the corner is a dedicated space for kids with toys and books, but no one plays there. The toddler is the only child here, and he’s too sick to care. A vending machine sits next to the children’s area. Again I think I should eat something, but I don’t have any British change. It probably takes a credit card. Still, I don’t move. I feel glued to this hard plastic chair.