“I’m sure, Ty. We’re all out of pop-tarts, anyway.”
Ty appeared in view seconds later, a pop-tart in hand. “Adrian went out earlier to get some.” He glanced at the screen. A scowl replaced the smile on his face. “Hey, man, good job keeping her away from this hell hole. Whatever happens next is on your head.”
Nick parted his lips, but no sounds came out.
“There was nothing he could’ve done to stop me from coming over,” Nadia said, sounding tired. “Don’t be an ass. It’s hard enough without your attitude.”
“Hard?” Ty scoffed, his jaw working. “Jigsaws are hard, girl. This is…” he shook his head. “Whatever. Just be glad I’m keeping this shit to myself, okay? If Adrian fucks up again, you’re going home.”
“Sorry,” Nadia said when Ty walked away. “He’s had a bad day. Adrian tried to convince him to let us move to his apartment.”
“Over my dead body!” Ty yelled, then doors slammed.
“The more I hear, the more I want you to come back.” Nick leaned forward, closer to the screen. “Please, come home. Adrian can deal with his problems alone. He’s not a child.”
Nadia shook her head, running her fingers through the long, brown hair to pull them into a messy bun on the top of her head.
“You didn’t answer my question. How was the trip?”
We cringed at the blatant change of subject. It was almost as if she were on autopilot, dodging the unwanted questions with ease.
“It was fine,” Nick sighed, defeated. “Mel brought back more handmade cosmetics than she could carry. I think she’ll be sending a parcel out to you next week. Do you need anything? Food, maybe? You’re getting thinner by the day.”
“You can’t mail pills,” she muttered, “so no, thank you.”
“What pills do you need, puppet? My psychiatrist can write you a prescription.”
It wasn’t difficult to pin-point a name to the tall, muscular guy who appeared in the doorway behind Nadia’s back like an oversized shadow. Adrian wore an oversized fraternity hoodie and stared at Nadia’s head with a disturbed, remorseful look.
I wasn’t sure if it was fury, sadness or tiredness that twisted my stomach. Adrian couldn’t have been far off seven feet tall; built like a grizzly bear, but it didn’t mean shit. He looked like something inside him died a tragic death and could never be resurrected.
Uncertainty radiated from Nadia, pushing me to the edge of my seat. I waited for one foul move on Adrian’s part. I was practically begging him to do something,anythingthat would justify me boarding the next plane to New York. It wouldn’t take much for me to snap, but he didn’t do anything wrong. He just watched Nadia’s every move. The aura of insecurity surrounding Adrian was surreal. A guy with his apparition should not feel insecure. But there he was, looking anxious, second-guessing his next move.
Nadia glanced over her shoulder, tensing. Her attitude changed in an instant, moves became more cautious, the tone of her voice calmer.
“Sleeping pills would be nice, thank you. I think Ty is so grumpy because I wake him up every night. Come on,” she waved Adrian over.
The muscles on my neck tensed because the look on her face matched the one that she wore when Scorpio hugged her at thewelcome homeparty when she came back to London. She was anxious back then, and she was anxious right now. On the outside, she acted composed, but I had no doubt that inside she was screaming.
“Say hi,” she told Adrian.
He pushed away from the door frame and came closer. Before he said anything, he leaned over Nadia to kiss the crown of her head. The moment his lips touched her hair, the glass in my hand exploded. My body shook like that of an alcoholic about to drink the first shot in years.
It was just a kiss; just a peck, but those weren’t my lips, and I couldn’t fucking breathe.
“Fuck,” Nick hissed. “Nadia, I’ll call you tomorrow.”
He shut the laptop and jumped to his feet, fretting at the sight of blood. Pain didn’t register in my brain. Not the physical one, at least.
“Fuck,” he repeated. “This is bad.”
He took the broken shards out of my skin and brought a wet rag from the kitchen to put pressure on the wounds.
“I think you need stitches.”
“I need a drink.” I wrapped the rag around my hand. It turned crimson before my mind stopped replaying Adrian’s lips on my girl’s head. “She flinched,” I muttered. “Sheflinchedwhen he came closer. She never did that with me.” I took a large swing of vodka. “Why the hell are they living with Ty?”
“Nadia said he only agreed to let her stay in New York if she and Adrian moved in with him. I guess he doesn’t trust Adrian not to relapse.” He grabbed the keys to his car, gesturing for me to move. “You’re not bleeding out on my sofa, mate. Come on. I’ll take you to the emergency room.”