Total pages in book: 179
Estimated words: 167819 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 839(@200wpm)___ 671(@250wpm)___ 559(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 167819 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 839(@200wpm)___ 671(@250wpm)___ 559(@300wpm)
I nod.
“It doesn’t make sense.” Gunner frowns. “I asked her where you were. Then asked her if you knew she was there. Holland asked why you’d care what she is doing.” He shrugs. “I thought they were friends, but after the way he ran his mouth about what he did to her, that’s obviously not the case. He just left her there. In the room alone. To what? Die? Thinking others would see it as an overdose? Possible suicide? Everyone knows her dad succeeded years ago.”
That’s what I’m thinking Holland’s plan was, but I tell them the truth as to why he did what he did to her. “I killed his best friend.”
_______________
I WALK INTO the master bedroom to find her lying in the fetal position on the bed, eyes closed. Crawling in bed next to her, I push her hair from her face. She’s shivering. I pull the comforter up and tuck it under her neck.
“I’m sorry, little demon,” I whisper, kissing her forehead. “It’s going to be okay. You’re going to be okay.”
Her dark lashes flutter open, unfocused ice-blue eyes look around until they meet mine. “S-in?”
“I’m here, Elli.” Fuck what Tyson said. I’m not leaving her. There’s no one else here to make sure she’s okay. I don’t want her mother or Linc to know what happened. She’ll throw her in an institute. Toss her into a rehab center and leave her there, never checking on her. Linc will just fuck her, possibly feed her addiction with more drugs.
I’m all she has. I’m all she’s ever had, and I’m not going to let her down anymore.
My phone starts vibrating in my pocket, and I pull it out to see it’s Amelia. I reject the call. Placing my cell back in my pocket, it goes off again and I see she’s texted me this time. I open it up to see it’s an announcement.
Chance has moved up his wedding to Elli. Just like I told him to. I grind my teeth. Of course, she would send me that. She wants to rub it in my face that the woman I love is marrying someone else.
If she only knew.
Elli gets my attention, rolling away from me. She struggles to get comfortable and shoves off the covers. “What can I do?” I ask her, placing my hand on her back.
She’s still dressed, and she’s covered in sweat. Her body trembling. “Elli?” I say, giving her a shake but she doesn’t answer. I get up and lean over her, feeling her head, she’s burning up. I lower my hand to her neck, to feel her pulse. It’s racing.
Her body jerks and she sits straight up.
“Elli?” I ask, watching her place her hands out in front of her face and she starts to dry heave.
I pick her up in my arms and rush her to the en suite bathroom. I barely get her in front of the toilet in time before she gets sick. She’s so weak she can barely hold her head up, so I do it for her while also holding her hair out of the way.
Once she’s done, I strip her down to her underwear and carry her back to bed. I get her a cool wet rag and place it on her head and put a trash can next to her. I pull out my cell and call Tyson. Everyone left about twenty minutes ago. It’s just me and her here.
“Hello?”
“Something is wrong,” I tell him in greeting. “She’s getting worse. Not better.”
“Hang on, I’ll add Gavin to the call.”
I wait impatiently as I grab her a water from the fridge and rush back to the bedroom. I know Gavin had said she needs to stay hydrated. She needs to sip on some water, especially if she’s going to be getting sick again.
Gavin connects to the call. “Tyson—”
“What the fuck is wrong with her?” I snap, interrupting him. “She’s vomiting. Shaking, her pulse is racing, and she’s sweating, like drenched in it.”
“Everyone is different, but she can be experiencing side effects.”
My teeth grind. “So you gave her something to fix her but it made her worse,” I growl.
“Narcan only works on opioids. If she swallowed or snorted anything else, it will not have an effect on those drugs. Plus, Narcan in most cases is only in your system for thirty to ninety minutes. But it can trigger the onset of withdrawal symptoms in the body.” He pauses. “It could also be that many opioids remain in the body longer than it takes the Narcan to wear off. Meaning, she could be experiencing the effects of the overdose now that the Narcan is out of her system.”
I sigh, running a hand through my hair, watching her lying in bed, her eyes closed once again. The doorbell rings and my eyes snap up.