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It didn’t take long for it to begin to ebb. Once the applause died down and our audience moved on to the next stage, the next band, I was crashing.
We still had fan meet-and-greets to get through, but today, I couldn’t do it. Not on my own.
I slapped Sev on the chest. “Got any?”
His eyebrows shot up, and he swiped a finger under his nose. I nodded.
“Hell yes, my man.”
A few fans and some industry people were already in our dressing room, but no one gave a shit if we smoked or drank or did the harder shit. Someone might blink if I took out a spoon and cooked up some crack, but a little powder up the nose was an everyday occurrence.
Sev cut me a line from his stash, and I didn’t even hesitate to snort it up. He snorted his own line, then I took two more hits for good measure.
When I sat up and opened my eyes, I thought his coke had to have been laced with LSD, because I was hallucinating. Tali fucking Stripes stood on the other side of the coffee table, her stunning face awash in agony.
“Tali-bear!” Jin called, coming toward her with a happy-ass smile.
She looked at him for a second before her eyes found mine. Time stood still, but the drug streaming through my blood didn’t. My heart pumped wildly in my chest, and I would have leapt for her if Seven hadn’t held me back.
She ran.
She ran, and I was so fucking high, I couldn’t think straight enough to follow her.
Jin shook his head. “That was you losing the girl.”
“No big loss,” Seven said casually.
My fist connected with his jaw as soon as what he’d said registered. He slumped over on the couch, but I was up and moving before I could see whether he was conscious or not.
“You gotta get me to her, Jinny. I’m not losing the girl.” My hands clenched and unclenched at my sides. If he said no, I’d plow through him.
Jeremy showed up next to him. “You have to calm down. We’ll take you to her, but you can’t show up like this.”
I scoffed. “Seriously? The two biggest potheads are coming down on me for taking one hit? That’s real precious.”
“Smoking weed isn’t in the same league as cocaine, and you fucking know it. You’ve been skating this edge for a long-ass time, Jude.” Jin crossed his arms, and I wanted to punch his stoner face.
“I’m outta here. I’ll get to her without your help.”
It took me a while, but some roadie let me borrow his car, and I drove out of the stadium parking lot like a bat out of hell, skidding around each curve.
Finding Tali’s house proved to be a challenge, but after seventeen wrong turns, I pulled up in front of the place I’d found family. It looked the same. Tidy yard, square, brick house, American flag hanging from a pole by the front door. The difference was, I’d been welcomed here the last time I came; tonight, I wasn’t so sure. Didn’t matter, though—not when my girl was inside those brick walls.
I’d huff and I’d puff and I’d blow that motherfucking house down if I had to.
My brain was on fire. Sweat beaded on my forehead. Blood roared in my ears. My knuckles were bruised, and my fingers ached from how hard I’d gripped the steering wheel. All the lights were off in the house, but Tali was in there.
I jammed my fist against the doorbell two or three times. When no one answered, I pounded and screamed her name.
Lights flicked on. I looked up, and Tali’s face floated behind the curtain, then disappeared. The door opened, but she wasn’t the one to step outside. A stern-faced Roberto crossed his arms over his chest. I respected the hell out of him, but right now, all I saw was an obstacle.
“I need to speak to Tali.”
Roberto put his hand up. “She’s not going to be speaking to you, Jude. Not like this.”
“You keeping my girl from me, Roberto? Is that how it’s going to be?”
He shook his head. “You don’t even sound like yourself, son.”
