The guy in front of me chuckles. “So, you do remember him.”
I nod, gritting my teeth together to keep myself from bursting into tears. “I left on decent terms. There’s no reason—”
“Your little friends owe him a lot of money.”
I blink, confused now. “Friends? I don’t have any friends who would want anything to do with that side of my life. Not anymore anyway.”
He snorts and lets go of my right arm, snatching my throat. I gasp for breath, but his fingers tightening constrict every labored breath of air to leave my mouth.
“Your little girlfriends. You know, the redhead and the blonde. He said they’ve been using your tab, and you owe him a lot of money for them.”
I squirm, kicking out as I scratch at his hands. “Get off,” I croak.
His grip tightens, and yellow dots flash in front of my eyes.
“This is a warning, Gracelyn. I don’t have to tell you what happens if you don’t comply,” he yanks away, and I collapse to the ground, gasping for breath.
The two leave, laughing as they make their way back to the group. My head spins, and the tears I had been forcing back release this time. I quickly wipe them away and clamber to my feet, my body trembling violently as I start to make my way down the street. After a few minutes and my head clears, the dots connect.
I have no one to call, though. Kate is Luke’s sister, so he’s out of the equation. And Devon and Owen won’t believe me. They’ll roll their eyes and claim I’m just jealous or making things up to give excuses for the drugs. When I’m sure I’m far enough from them, to where they can’t see, I stagger to the brick wall and slide down. I fall to the ground and let out a shaky breath of air, drawing my knees up, wrapping my arms around them, and burying my face into my pants.
The tears explode, followed by the sobs. I never wanted this to be part of my life. I never wanted to have to deal with people like George.
Drawing my head up, I wipe my nose with the back of my hand. With difficulty, I get back up to my feet and continue onward with my walk.
After a while of putting the group far behind me, I pull out my phone and slide open the screen, my hand shaking so badly that I can barely draw up the contact to call. The other end rings a few times before going to voicemail, and I hang up, redialing the number.
“Hello?” a sleepy voice finally greets when he picks up.
“Jasper?” I ask, almost hesitantly.
His tired voice doesn’t sound familiar, but I know better than to second guess.
The male on the other end clears his throat. “Yeah… who’s this?”
“Gracie?” It sounds like a question, but I’m just hoping he hasn’t already forgotten about me.
“Gracie!” he greets, sounding more awake now than before. “Are you all right?”
I let out another ragged breath and look around, trying to find some landmark but seeing nothing familiar. “No, and right now, I don’t know who else to call.”
“What’s wrong?” He sounds more sympathetic this time, more alert and caring.
“I—” I hesitate, unsure if I should tell him what had happened. He could tell Luke before he even picks me up, and that’ll just blow a hole in everything. “I don’t want to be alone right now.”
I want to drink. I want to smoke. I want to forget everything. I know I can’t, though. I mustn’t. I so badly want to stay sober, and it’s just the absolute hardest thing to do.
“Okay, and there’s nobody else to call? I’m not against coming to get you; I just… those guys seemed protective of you the other night.”
I shake my head, but it takes a moment to remember that he can’t see me on his end of the phone. “They are, but… I just, I don’t want to be around them right now. And I don’t want to be alone. If I’m alone…” My voice cracks, and the words stop.
I don’t think I can keep speaking the words, but when Jasper keeps talking, I can tell he understands what I’m not saying.
“What about your sponsor?” he asks gently, obviously just trying to cover all bases.
Frustration flickers through me. I know he just wants to be cautious, but I also want him to shut his damn mouth and do as I ask him.
“I don’t want to see her either.”