Page 56 of Fame & Chaos

“Thank you,” Annie mumbles. “I know one thing for certain…. I am never doing this again. Alcohol is evil.”

I exhale heavily and look back at my cousin. “Annie, where the hell did you even get the alcohol?”

She bites her bottom lip, clearly trying to think up a decent answer. “I think I was stealing drinks from people when they weren’t looking.”

My shoulders slump. “Why?”

She shrugs weakly. “I felt uncomfortable and wanted to escape.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I notice Indi subtly shaking her head, and tension immediately locks my muscles tight. I know exactly what she’s thinking.

Indi hates alcohol and drugs because of what her parents put her through, and now she probably thinks I’m becoming exactly like them. Worse, she probably thinks Annie is headed down the same road.

“Indica—”

“Don’t call me that!” she snaps instantly. “I’ve told you so many times, Caleb—”

I throw my hands up in surrender. “Okay, sorry. Indi, I know what you’re thinking, but this isn’t a regular thing. Is it, Annie?”

Annie shakes her head, her brows furrowing as she glances awkwardly between us like she’s trying to work out what’s going on.

“Not regular, so it does happen, just not often?” Indi asks sharply.

“No,” Annie says quickly. “This is the first time I’ve ever done anything like this, and considering how I feel right now, it’ll definitely be the last. Why the hell do people do this to themselves?”

“How old are you, Annie?” Indi asks carefully.

“Seventeen today.”

Indi slowly turns her glare onto me.

“What?” I ask defensively. “I told you it was her birthday party—”

“Not her seventeenth birthday, Caleb. Can’t you see how fucked up this is?”

I drag a hand through my hair and exhale heavily. “Indi, I swear it’s not like this all the time.”

She shakes her head. “I have other patients to tend to. She can leave in an hour or so, once the fluids finish running through. I’ll talk to you then.” She turns to leave, and panic instantly claws up my spine at the thought of losing her again.

Without thinking, I grab her elbow.

She spins around, glaring at me so coldly that it feels like standing in the middle of a fucking blizzard.

“Don’t, Caleb,” she warns.

I slowly release her arm and let my hand fall away, and she turns and walks toward the door.

“Indi,” I call after her, my heart hammering violently in my chest.

But she keeps walking and disappears from the room without another glance back.

My shoulders slump as I force myself not to chase after her. Seeing Annie like this would have dragged up every bad memory Indi has about her parents, and the last thing I want is to make things worse for her.

Even if every instinct inside me is screaming to go after her.

Instead, I take a seat and wait, my mind swirling with memories, unanswered questions, and the lingering taste of her lips that I know I’ll never be able to forget again. Every second that passes feels like another twist of the knife, because now that I’ve seen her, I already know one thing with absolute certainty… losing her a second time will destroy me. What feels like a few minutes turns into quite a while, and Indi walks back into the room.

“How are you feeling, Annie?” Indi asks, instantly pulling my attention back to her.