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For the next half hour, we did intake for Penny and she signed papers. I'd already paid for the six-week program, so all we had to do was get Penny to sign the waivers and agreement to follow the rules.
"Well, that's it," Frank said. "I'll take her back to her room and get her settled for the night. That's all I need from you."
I went to Penny, who looked so small and afraid, her eyes wide.
"Good luck," I said and squeezed her arm. "Let me know how things are going."
She nodded but said nothing, so I left the room, left the facility, and got in the car.
I sat for a moment and read my cell, wondering if Ella had texted me, but she hadn't.
I was never so glad to be leaving a place as I was that facility, hoping that the experts could help Penny get clean.
I drove back to Brentwood and arrived at the mansion close to midnight. David was still up, waiting for me.
"Hey, bro," he said, standing at the front doors. "Welcome back. Busy saving people's lives, are you?"
I shook my head. "All I did was pay for the program. She has to save her own life."
"Well, you're my hero, even so."
I went inside, and we had a quick chat about Penny and what happened between us several years earlier.
"Most guys would ha
ve just written her off," David said, shaking his head.
"She was my best friend's sister. I fucked her maybe a dozen times over the course of two years. I feel responsible for her in some way. Or at least, I feel like I could help."
"Like I say, you're my hero," David said opened his arms for a big hug. "Now, I have to hit the hay, get my beauty sleep if I hope to finish this damn EP. I have a new musician coming in to take Terry's place this week and we have a lot to go over if I hope to finish it on time."
We hugged for a long moment, and then I went to my room and to bed.
Once I was undressed and lying in the huge king-sized bed, I sent Ella a text, feeling bad that I hadn't told her about the whole mess with Penny. I still felt bad for my role in her eventual personal crash, whatever that might be.
JOSH: Just to let you know I made it to LA and will be back on Tuesday. I'll be staying with David for the rest of the weekend but I'll call you so I can hear your voice.
Ella got back to me right away, like she was waiting for my text. When I checked, it was the middle of the night her time.
ELLA: Josh, I hope everything is okay with David.
JOSH: Sorry to wake you up in the middle of the night. David's fine. I had something personal to follow up on related to Grant's death. We'll talk about it when I get back. It's not something I'm proud of.
ELLA: You can tell me anything. I won't judge. Seriously, Josh. I want to be there for you if you need moral support or whatever it is. You were there for me when my life crashed around me.
JOSH: Thanks. We'll talk about it when I get back. It's still pretty raw.
ELLA: Okay. I miss you. XOXOX
JOSH: Miss you too. XOXOX
I imagined her in the hotel room at the Ritz lying in the bed, wearing her pretty black nightgown and worrying about me and what I'd left town about so mysteriously. I'd sit down with her when I got back and explain everything.
Of course, I tossed and turned for an hour, my mind going over everything that happened between Penny and me and my complete and total ignorance of how she truly felt. Had I been so callous as to not recognize that she thought there was more between us?
I woke up in the middle of the night with another nightmare, my body covered in sweat, my heart racing.
This time, it was Grant I was trying to rescue, pulling him out of his car, which had slammed into the base of the bridge, the engine erupting into flames. I couldn't save him, beat back by the fire, but I kept shouting his name, trying to pry the door open, bracing my foot against the side of the car and pulling with all my might.
