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“I know. He was tested. And the guy who walked out has taken full responsibility.”
I nod, aware of this fact. “They shouldn’t have told him that he’d been drinking when he woke. That was mean.”
“He needed a wake-up call, Bri. He’s been losing his shit for weeks. Something like this was always going to happen.”
“You could have warned me,” I mutter.
“You knew it just as well as us, if not better.”
“I know. I just wish…” I trail off, not really sure what it is I do actually wish. I probably should be saying that I wish I’d never met Nico freaking Cirillo. But that’s not true at all. Sadly. Mostly, I just wish he were hurting less. Or that there was something I could do to make it better.
“We all do,” Alex agrees, resting back in the chair and propping one muddy trainer against the lowered rail on my bed.
“Really?” I ask, screwing my nose up.
“Trust me, you don’t want me to take them off.”
“Lovely.”
“So what happens now?” he asks.
“I need to talk to Calli, find out what their plan is. Nico could remember any minute. Is that better or worse than her announcing it to everyone?”
“Umm… pass. He’s going to blow his top regardless.”
“Surely the second time can’t be as bad,” I muse.
“Maybe we should take him to a padded cell or something so he can’t hurt himself.”
“He needs to get the fuck over himself. Calli is an adult who is able to make these kinds of decisions and have everyone who loves her support her.”
“I have no doubt that he’ll support her, Bri. He loves her something fierce. He just… he’s still holding on to the little girl she used to be. Back then, life was easier. He had Evan, Cassandra wasn’t the world’s biggest bellend, and the weight of the world wasn’t pressing down on his shoulders.”
“Well, he needs to get over it.”
“You know all of this, but everything he’s done is because he cares, right?”
“Pfft, Nico doesn’t care about me until I’m on my back with my legs open.”
Alex chuckles. “Sure, that’s a part of it. But there’s more. He’s refused to accept or acknowledge it, but it’s there.”
“You’re seeing things.”
“I’m not,” he states confidently. “You wouldn’t still be a part of his life if he didn’t want you here.”
“He’s doing a good job of trying to get rid of me.”
“Nah, he’d freak the fuck out if you actually turned your back on him,” Alex says confidently.
“Well, maybe we’re about to find out, huh?”
“For real?” he asks, sitting forward, looking more concerned than I’ve seen him in a while.
I shrug. “I’m not making decisions while I’m high on meds. I’m hoping things will start to clear soon and I’ll have an epiphany.”
“If you do, send one my way,” he says absently. I’m not sure I’m actually meant to hear it, but I do.
“What’s going on, Alex?”
