He pulls me closer, mumbling incoherently as he presses his face into my neck. His tears soak his t-shirt that I’m wearing and I wrap my arms around his shoulders, holding him tight.
He pulls back slightly, lifting up off the floor and holding his hand out to me. He doesn’t say another word as he leads us back through to the bedroom and onto the bed, wrapping me in the safety of his arms.
I watch her sleep for a couple of hours, trailing my thumb over her cheeks and down her neck. I can’t believe I didn’t see what she was doing to herself.
All this time and no one noticed, at least I don’t think anyone noticed. My jaw clenches at the possibility of someone knowing and not doing anything about it. If someone knew what she was doing to herself then I’m not sure I’ll be able to keep my cool.
I move my arm from under her at the sound of the knock on the front door. I messaged Ty earlier, telling him that he needed to come straight over, that Kitty is in trouble.
It’s not that I don’t believe Kitty when she says she’ll stop, but I know that addicts will say anything to placate someone so that they can get their next fix.
I turn when I get to the bedroom door, checking that she’s still fast asleep before closing it behind me gently as to not wake her.
“Hey,” I say, my voice sounding tired to my own ears as I open the front door.
Ty nods and walks in, Luke and Evan following behind. I should have known they’d be coming too.
“What’s happened?” Ty asks, pacing the floor in the living room as Evan and Luke sit down.
“Did you know?” I ask, my hands balling into fists and my stance widening. If he knew—
“Know what? Fuck’s sake, Charlie. Will you just tell us what the hell is going on.”
I hold my hand up to him as his voice gets louder and I take a step back, tilting my head to the hallway and checking that Kitty isn’t moving.
“These,” I say, holding up the bottle of pills.
“Fuck,” Evan spits, causing us all to look at him.
“She said she’d quit,” he says, his face as white as a sheet.
“You knew?”
“I caught her a few weeks back, she said she’d quit. I told her that if I thought she was still taking them that I’d tell Ty, but since you started seeing each other properly, she’s been better, I thought she’d stopped.”
“Jesus fucking Christ, Evan. Addicts can’t just stop like that,” I say, clicking my fingers. “She needs help, you should have seen her, she’s… she’s…”
“How the hell did none of us notice?” Luke asks, standing up, his eyes piercing mine.
“You’re forgetting,” Ty announces, standing in the middle of the room. “This is Kitty we’re talking about. She’s good at hiding things, really good and that’s exactly why she’s so goddamn good at her job.”
“We need to get her help.”
“On it,” Evans says, standing up from the sofa. “I’ll get my laptop from the truck.”
I stop him with my hand to his chest as he walks past me, my eyes burning with fire and my jaw clenched.
“You’re lucky I’m not breaking your face right now.” His Adam’s apple bobs up and down as he swallows. “The only reason I’m not is because you believed in my woman.”
I let him go and turn back to Ty as Evan walks out the front door.
“What’s the plan?” he asks, sitting down on the seat that Evan just got up from.
I drop down into the chair and scrub my hands down my face.
“She needs rehab, but I know that isn’t going to go over well, hence why you’re here.”
Evan’s footsteps come back inside and he sits down on the floor, opening up his laptop and typing away.