I pack hastily, fighting the tears, and make my exit. Aspen is his trigger, and being clean wasn’t important enough for him. I was just a toy he was having fun with until he saw her again. I throw my bag in my car and drive toward the gate, asking to be let out. They do so without question. They can be the one to tell Bodhi that I left in the middle of the night.
The moment I hit the street, the tears start flowing. I call Daphne and tell her everything. She listens to me cry and berate myself for being so damn stupid as to fall for his game. She tells me to come to her house and that we’ll eat ice cream until we’re puking our brains out. The thought doesn’t appeal to me, and the only thing I want is the comfort of my own bed. We talk until I reach the mile-long driveway for Serenity Springs.
I park and turn the car off. I’m holding my phone in my hand, waiting for a message from Bodhi that I know isn’t going to come before I shut it off. Inside my apartment, it feels empty. When I left, I left with so much love and promise in my heart. Now that I’m home, I regret going.
Chapter 24
Bodhi
I startle awake when my door is abruptly opened and slammed against my wall. My name is yelled by a voice sounding much like my father’s.
“Get up, Bodhi!”
The blankets are pulled from my bed and ice-cold water is poured over my head.
I gasp for air and cough, trying to clear the water from my mouth. “Fuck, I’m awake. What the hell?”
Kim moans beside me, and I look over to make sure she’s covered up. My dad stands in front of me with his hands on his hips and his face red. I glance at my clock; it’s just after nine. I think we rolled in from the after-party about five. Fuck, I’m going to have a headache.
“What part of ‘no drugs’ wasn’t clear to you?”
“What are you talking about?” My head is pounding and I don’t know why. Usually lack of sleep won’t do this to me, but I feel hungover and I know I drank only water last night.
“Wake your guest up and tell her to go home. She’s not welcome here.”
I look at my father incredulously and stand to face him.
“Kimberly has been here all weekend. I’m not booting her out of the house because you have some stick up your ass. If you want her gone, I’ll go too.”
“It’s not Kimberly, Bodhi, and if you weren’t so fucking high, you would’ve known that.”
“What the fuck are you talking about?” I point at Kim, who is still asleep. “That’s Kim. Her dress is right there from last night.” I gesture toward the chair where her
dress is lying.
My dad rips the rest of the covers from my bed, exposing Kim. I start to protest, but then I see it—a tattoo on her foot. Kim doesn’t have a tattoo. My eyes continue to travel up her body. The same small figure, blond hair, but there’s something different, something I can’t pinpoint.
“Holy fuck,” I say, running to the bathroom and expelling the contents of my stomach. My dad steps in behind me but doesn’t offer assistance. “What the fuck happened?”
“That’s what I’m asking you. I received a very unpleasant phone call this morning from my friend Bruce Gordon, a man who helped you out, about how inappropriate my son is and how his daughter is distraught because you relapsed. What he couldn’t figure out is why she cared so much until she let it slip that you two have been dating since you checked out. But what I don’t understand is why that’s not Kim in your bed. I thought you really liked her.”
I flush the toilet and then shift to the sink to rinse my mouth out.
“Dad, I don’t know what happened. The last thing I remember before you woke me up is taking Kim to the after-party.”
“Why would you ruin what you’ve ac
complished by getting high?”
“I didn’t,” I tell him, running my hands through my hair. “I didn’t, Dad. Kim…she means a lot to me. I wouldn’t do that to her.”
“Who’s in your bed?”
“Aspen Lawrence,” I grit out. I don’t need to see the look on his face to know he’s disappointed in me. Hell, I’m disappointed in myself right now.
“Get her out of my house, Bodhi, than meet me downstairs.”
“Yes, sir.”