The words become blurry, and I sniff. I hear the door open, but I don’t look up. I try to read the letter again to understand what he’s saying. But when I feel a hand on my shoulder, I lose it. I begin to cry.
“It’s okay.” I hear Emilee’s voice. “You have us. We’re here for you.”
“Yeah, we’re not going anywhere,” Jasmine adds before I feel her rub my back.
“He left,” I manage to get out between sobs.
“He’ll be back. For you and the baby,” Haven speaks.
He went to rehab. He did what he needed to do for us. And I couldn’t be prouder of him.
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
GRAVE
I SIT IN an uncomfortable chair in the center of a room with seven other people. It’s group therapy time.
I hate this shit!
It’s not that I haven’t had a hit in three weeks. It’s not that I haven’t had a sip of alcohol either. I don’t miss the high at all. It’s because I miss April. I thought I knew what addiction was. I didn’t, but I do now.
It’s a fucking hole in my chest. I can’t sleep at night. I can’t function during the day. She consumes me more than any drug ever did, and it feels like a weight on my chest that I can’t remove.
It has nothing to do with sex. And everything to do with her voice, her smell, the way she smiles. I wonder if she’s okay. Is the baby okay?
I’m like a hamster running on a wheel getting nowhere.
“Grave?”
“Hmm?” I look up from my seat to see Jessie sitting in hers with a warm smile on her face. She runs this show. “Would you like to share?’
Fuck no! “What is it we’re sharing?” I ask, trying to not think of April and what she’s doing. I know the Kings are looking out for her, but that’s not enough. They can’t be there twenty-four seven like I could.
“Whatever you feel comfortable with,” the brunette adds. She’s got to be midthirties. If I saw her on the streets, I would say her brown hair and dark eyes are attractive. But since I didn’t know her until I checked myself in here, I think her cheerful smile and bubbly attitude are annoying as shit.
I sit back and run a hand through my hair. “Well … I once partied for a solid two weeks,” I offer.
The guy by the name of Jenson snorts from beside me. This place is not your average rehab center. Harbor Heights is catered to the rich. The only thing I could compare it to is a country club.
“And?” she asks.
“And what?” I shrug.
“What did you take from that experience?” Jessie asks.
“To always make sure your plane has fuel before takeoff.”
The woman to my left laughs and I take a look at her. She’s a replica of a Playboy Playmate. Bleach blond hair that doesn’t stop until it hits her ass, bright blue eyes, long tan legs and big fake breasts. She reminds me of Lucy in a way. Back when she took care of herself.
“Now this I have to hear,” Jenson says.
I sigh, focusing back on the group. “I got in a fight with my father. I decided to go to Vancouver for the weekend to party. Well, what was supposed to be two days ended up being two weeks. Most of it was a blur. But Cross came after me when I didn’t return and found me in a run-down motel alone. Turns out I had lost over five hundred thousand in a poker tournament and had crashed my private jet because I hadn’t put fuel in it. Thankfully, I had parachutes and managed to get to one and bail out before it crashed.” Most of it is still blurry but what I was able to put together was that I crashed shortly after take-off on the way home to Nevada. And that’s why I ended up spending more time in Vancouver than I had originally intended. And when I didn’t return on time, my brother had sent Cross to fetch me.
“Oh, my gosh,” Jessie places her hands to her face. “Was anyone hurt?”
“Nope. It’s lying at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean.” I know I got lucky. I believe that someone was looking out for me that day.
Two years ago
I sit at the conference table on the thirteenth floor of Kingdom, drinking Pedialyte out of the bottle. I haven’t even been to bed yet. Partied all night with Cross last night, and just when I was headed home to go to bed my brother messaged me to meet him here.
“Where is everyone?” I ask, looking through my sunglasses. My eyes are sensitive from the partying. And the bright fucking sun beaming in from the floor to ceiling windows are making my head pound.
“It’s just us,” he answers, staring down at his cell while sitting at the head of the table.
I lean my head back and pull my hoodie up and over my face for more eye protection. “Why are we here?”
“Dad wanted to meet us.”
I place my hands on the armrests and push to stand, knocking the hood off my face. “I’m out.”
He jumps to his feet. “Grave …”
“Save it,” I interrupt him. “I don’t give a fuck what Dad wants.” He knows that. That’s why he didn’t tell me that.
I step in front of the glass double doors to exit the conference room right when they open. My father steps in and I stiffen when my eyes go to what’s standing next to him. It’s a woman. My father always has them coming and going. But he never brings them to Kingdom. And he sure as shit makes sure to never be seen with them in public. Too many eyes and ears always watching to look for the next big story.
“Who the fuck is this?” I ask, ripping off my sunglasses.
My father smiles at me and it makes my skin crawl. He’s called me here just to piss me off. “This … is Francesca.” He lifts her left hand and I see a massive fucking ring on her ring finger. “My new wife.” His smile widens, his blue eyes light up with excitement. “And your new mother.”
I had never wanted to fucking kill him more than I did right then. For some stupid reason, Bones stopped me from ramming my fist in his face until he was no longer breathing. I ran out of the conference room, jumped in my car, drove to our private hangar and took off in my jet. I had my pilots license. Now I wish I would have taken the time to hire someone. Maybe I wouldn’t have crashed my seven-million-dollar jet trying to get back home.
My father and Francesca’s marriage was annulled by the time I got back from my two week binge in Canada. Turns out, she found him in bed with her sister and his airtight prenup saved him from having to give her a fucking penny.
“I think that’s enough for today,” Jessie says with that fucking smile on her face.
I can’t figure out if I’m moody because of lack of drugs, or because I feel like a caged animal here in this elite daycare.
“Want to share more?”
“Huh?” I look over to the Playboy Playmate. “What did you say?”
Her blue eyes look around the room. “Everyone left, but you just stayed seated. I thought maybe you had more you wanted to share.” Her eyes come back to mine. “If so, I can listen.”
“Oh, no.” I notice we are the only two left in the room. “No, I’m done.” I hate a lot about this place, but most definitely the group sessions. I don’t need to tell these strangers anything about me. Most they have read in headlines.