“Did you hear what I said?”
“Yeah, I did. Thanks for telling me, man. I’m sure it’s nothing.”
He steps up closer, lowering his voice, and pinning me with a stare that demands attention. “Look, man. I know you don’t have any experience with addicts, but I do. If he is using, this isn’t something to bury in the sand or look the other way about. It’s serious. I love my cousin, man, but Kalen is shady as shit. He rarely has friends who aren’t customers. Just please be careful.”
“I got it. It’s fine. Thanks again for telling me.” Grabbing my smoothie, I make my way back upstairs on heavy legs. My mind won’t shut off and my heart is pounding. He couldn’t be… could he?
I’m immediately taken back to the overdose that happened during spring break last year. He told me it was a one-time thing that ended badly.
Was itactuallya one-time thing? Or is it more than that?
I’m snapped out of that train of thought, when another one crashes into my mind.
Is he still hooking up with Kalen? He wouldn’t have done that yesterday, though, would he?
Walking into my room, my gaze falls on Crew in the corner, shoving something into his bag. “Hey, when’d you get up?”
He turns to face me, hair slept on and messy. “A few minutes ago. Was about to come find you.”
Nodding and pointing to his bag, I ask, “What’s that?”
“Oh, uh, just putting my charger away. Gonna take a piss, then wanna go get some breakfast?”
“Sure.”
He saunters into the bathroom, shutting the door behind him, while I make my way over to my nightstand to grab my phone. My eye catches on his side of the bed… a charger plugged into the wall. An ice-cold chill racks through my body and my attention darts over to his bag in the corner.
No. I will not fucking go through his shit. No matter how uneasy this is making me.
Well… maybe I could just—NO. Fuck!
The bathroom door opens, and whatever decision I was about to make is squashed. Thankfully. Or unfortunately.
I’m not sure.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Crew
Anderson’s acting fucking weird.
I don’t know what’s going on with him, but it’s been going on since I woke up. He’s not in a bad mood, per se, but he’s quiet and I find him staring at me for long periods of time.Is it the sex?Is he remembering railing me into the mattress last night?
No, that can’t be it. Why would he look so gloomy if that were the case?
Although now thatI’mthinking about it, my dick wants to wake up, which is pretty inconvenient since we’re about to start a five-and-a-half-mile hike. After I ate breakfast and Anderson drank his smoothie, we decided to hit up Fragrance Lake. It isn’t as rigorous as the Oyster Dome hike is, but it still offers breathtaking sights and the chance to get your heart rate up with some exercise.
The trail’s quiet this morning. I’m surprised there aren’t a ton of people out hiking. It’s a beautiful day, crystal blue skies, cloud free, and it’s decently warm for how early it is. August tends to be the warmest month in Western Washington.
“Hey, can I have the water bottle?” I ask Anderson. He’s walking slightly faster than me, but he’s wearing the backpack that has all our stuff.
“Sure.” He reaches behind him and pulls it out, handing it to me with a smile that doesn’t quite meet his eyes.
“Thanks. Are you okay?”
“Yeah, of course. Why?”
“I don’t know. Just seems like something is wrong.” Taking the cap off the water, I guzzle down a few large swallows. It’s still pretty cold, which I appreciate.