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“I’m fucked in the head.”
“I’m coming to get you,” I declared, searching my room for my car keys. “Just wait there and I’ll be over.”
“No, fuck, don’t come here.” He groaned. “I don’t want you to see me like this.”
“Joey, I’m coming.”
“If you come here, I’m out.”
“Joey!”
“No, don’t come here, okay?” He groaned down the line before adding, “Just let me get straightened out and I’ll come to you.”
Dragging my hands through my hair, I resisted the urge to pull on the ends and exhaled a strangled breath.
I couldn’t just leave him there. Not when I finally knew where he was.
He had put me through hell the past eight days.
I knew he was high. I knew he was self-destructing. I knew I couldn’t do a damn thing to stop him, but I still wanted to. I still wanted to dive headfirst into the world he was drowning in and pull him to safety—or at the very least, keep his head above water.
“Stay on the line,” he whispered, voice drifting in and out. “I love you.”
“Promise me you’ll stay at Johnny’s house.”
“I promise.”
“And you’ll come see me first thing tomorrow.”
“First thing.”
“Joe, I mean it. Promise me.”
“I promise, I promise. I’m just…so tired.”
“Where are you now?”
“His room. Big bed.”
“Okay.” Exhaling a ragged breath, I tried to wrangle my emotions into check, while I listened to the sound of him breathing down the line. Taking comfort in the knowledge that his heart was still beating. “I want you to curl up on that big old bed and get some sleep. Can you do that for me, Joe?”
“Mmm.”
“Hey, Joe?”
“Hmm?”
“Can you roll on your side for me, so that I know you won’t choke if you get sick?”
“Mm-hmm.”
“Good job, stud.”
“Don’t go, queen.”
“I won’t.”
“Stay with me.”
