“Hello?”
“Covey!” He sounds way too exuberant for… okay, it’s ten-thirty. I’m no fun and go to bed ridiculously early if we don’t have a performance. “You should come over.”
“Where are you?” I ask, slightly concerned about what he might be up to. He doesn’t seem like the wild party type, but what do I know? We’re barely getting to know each other again.It’s a Tuesday night, and I know for a fact he has school tomorrow. Usually, when I check in, he’s home watching TV or grading, often a mixture of both.
“My house. Silas brought me home.” I guess I owe Silas for that. I’m still not sure I like the guy, but as long as he’s looking out for Covey’s interests, that scores him points in my book.
“Are you okay?”
“M’sad,” he says, his tone changing.
“Aidan—” I push the covers down, sitting up on the edge of the bed.
“No, Covey. You listen?—”
I wait, waiting for whatever it is he’s going to say.
“Shit. M’gonna be sick.”
The phone seems completely abandoned, probably for the best. I wait five minutes… ten minutes, pacing back and forth through my bedroom, staring at the timer on my screen. I’m halfway to deciding to hang up and drive over to his house to make sure he’s okay when he makes it back to his phone.
“Covey?” He seems legitimately surprised to find me on the other end.
“You okay?” I’m still unsure what the right thing to do here is. If he’s drunk, which I’m pretty sure he is, then he needs water and sleep. He’s going to feel terrible tomorrow morning, but he’ll be okay.
The bigger problem is why he decided to get drunk in the first place.
“Yeah, I’m fine.” He sounds the exact opposite of fine. “Just stupid.”
At least he sounds slightly less drunk than he did before, which is a bit of a relief. “Are you sure? Do you want me to come over?” I can be there in less than fifteen minutes. Ten if I speed a bit.
“I’m sure. I’m going to drink some water and go to bed.” I’m still not convinced.
“Do you want to tell me what happened tonight?”
There’s a long pause, and for a second, I think he might have abandoned his phone again. “No, it’s some things that I’m working through.”
“You know, I’m a pretty good listener if you want to talk about it.”
“That’s okay. I’m sorry I woke you up. And for anything I said.” Once again, I’m jealous of Silas getting to be the best friend, the one who Aidan opened up to about whatever it is he’s going through.
“You didn’t say anything.” It’s the truth. “But, Aidan, I’m worried about you. I could come spend the night, make sure you’re okay.”And that you don’t choke on your vomit.
“That’s not a good idea.” I start to argue with him, but he cuts me off. “I’m fine. I had one too many beers. I’ll have a headache in the morning, but otherwise we can call it a stupid mistake.”
I don’t have any other arguments. I’m tempted to show up on his front porch and demand to stay the night and watch over him. But that’s a bit over the line, especially since he’s stopped slurring his speech and seems capable of handling the rest of the night on his own. “Okay. Make sure you drink a lot of water and put some painkillers on your nightstand for the morning.”
“Thanks. Sorry, again.” The line goes dead before I can respond to him.
I wish I had Silas’s number, then I could call him to make sure things are okay. I know he’d never betray Aidan’s confidence and tell me anything, but at least he could tell me that Aidan is safe.
I get back under the covers and reset my alarm from eight to six-thirty, so I can call Aidan first thing in the morning and make sure he’s recovering all right. Rolling over, I try to find a comfortable spot to fall back asleep. It’s morechallenging since Aidan slept here. My body remembers what it felt like to wrap myself around him and hold him close all night long. It keeps searching out that same feeling, the comfort and warmth, but not finding it in the empty sheets.
CHAPTER 22
COVEY
“Do you think two people can stay friends after they break up?”
