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Jace nods, but I remember how he was messing around with something near his desk yesterday.
I narrow my eyes at him while saying, "Check the desk."
The sigh Jace lets out the second the words leave my mouth tells me I was right, and Carter finds a little baggie taped to the underside of the wood.
He turns to Jace. "Where else? Because I'm telling you right now, if there's more hidden in here, she's going to leave."
Jace's grip around me tightens, and he looks over at the closet. "Shoebox. Top shelf."
Carter goes and retrieves that last of it, and then brings it all into the bathroom and flushes it down the toilet. The second it's gone, there's a weight lifted off my chest, but I know it's only the beginning.
If he's willing to fight, then so am I.
THE FIRST NIGHT IS the same as every one before it, except for the emotions. Jace knows what's coming, and Zayn comes over to explain it to me. Apparently, he went through all of this with Easton, so he has a pretty good idea of what's going to happen.
Carter and I listen intently, making sure that we're prepared—especially because there are going to be mood swings associated with it. Zayn stresses that more to me than Carter—that I need to not take anything he says in the next week to heart. The body goes through a lot when it's craving the one thing you won't give it.
Meanwhile, Jace stays pressed against my side, not saying much. I can't really blame him. He's been through a lot, and it's all catching up to him. I had asked Carter if he thought we should send him to a facility to withdraw safely, but Jace panicked. Going to a facility would mean leaving me, and that's not something he wants.
So, Carter and I both agreed to try it this way.
That night, when we finally go to sleep, I lay in bed with my head on Jace's chest and fall asleep to the sound of his heartbeat. I don't know what tomorrow will bring, or the next few days for that matter, but I do know we'll get through it. Because the alternative is not an option.
FROM THE SECOND HE opens his eyes, I can tell Jace is already starting to withdraw. His head is pounding, and no amount of caffeine or pain reliever will help him. And we’re nowhere near the worst of it.
"Do you want me to try massaging your head?" I suggest as he lies on my lap.
He hums "You can try. I don't know if it will help, though. It feels like someone is trying to carve out my brain."
I rub my hands over his scalp, slowly massaging, and somehow, I manage to get him to fall asleep. I’m afraid he’ll wake if I stop, so I keep going until Carter comes in.
"I picked up pretty much everything we need from the store," he says as he puts a ton of bags on the counter. "Food, Gatorade, water, and all of the Excedrin they had in stock."
For a moment, I almost ask if that's really necessary, but then Jace groans in his sleep, and it knocks the words right from my mouth. According to Zayn, the next few days are not going to be fun. It's going to get progressively worse before it gets better, and his headaches are only the tip of it all.
We both decided it was best for Jace if we both stayed for the first day, but while I'm able to miss class for a couple days, Carter is on a stricter schedule, mainly because he and Jace are on academic probation after being expelled from Florida State.
It's fine, though, because I promised Jace I would stay the whole time and help him through this. And that's a promise I'm not about to break. Not when he's trying so hard and going through hell just to get better. The least I can do is stay by his side while he does it.
"I emailed my professors today and asked them to send me the assignments I need," I tell Carter. "Did you get that doctor's note from his therapist?"
He pulls it out of his back pocket and holds it up. "Yep. I had to give her a general idea of what's going on, and she stressed that while she can cancel this appointment without telling his dad, Jace has to make the next one."
"That's good, and I think he should go see his therapist. I think she could really help him."
Carter chuckles as he puts away the milk. "Yeah, but try telling him that."
"He goes, though, doesn't he?" I question.
He finishes putting away the groceries and tilts his head from side to side as he walks toward the couch. "Yes and no. He goes, because if he doesn't, his dad will take away his trust fund."
Oh, God. "He railroaded him into it."
"Hard."
"No wonder Jace has been resisting help." I look down at the sleeping man in my lap. "It has to be his own choice to get better. Forcing him into it is never going to do any good."
Carter takes a seat and watches us carefully. "No, but you did."
