The buzzing of my phone against the hardwood floor wakes me from a restless sleep. I can’t remember what I was dreaming about but it’s left me with a cold, sick feeling in my gut and a layer of fresh sweat on my chest.
I blink and look at the clock on Alex’s nightstand. It’s three in the morning.
What the fuck?
I lean over the side of the bed and scoop my phone up from the floor. When I see the name on the lit-up screen, I suddenly can’t answer the call fast enough.
“Lia?” I whisper hoarsely.
I glance at Alex. Her back is to me. It’s been that way since I refused to have sex with her. She stirs slightly at the sound of my voice but thankfully doesn’t wake.
“Grayson?” Lia’s voice sounds smaller than I’ve ever heard it. And terrified.
I sit upright, the sheets falling to my waist. “What’s wrong?”
“I’m sorry,” she blubbers and I hear the obvious slur in her tone. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t know who else to call.” She’s crying now and my heart squeezes into my throat.
“It’s fine. You can always call me.”
“I couldn’t call Daddy, he’d yell at me. And Alex…”
“Shhh,” I soothe. “I know. It’s okay. What’s going on? Where are you?”
There’s a long pause and I glance anxiously at the phone to make sure the call hasn’t dropped. And then I hear, “Can you come pick me up?”
I’m already out of bed before she’s even finished the question. “Of course. Tell me where you are.”
“I’m at Hank’s and I left my wallet at home so I couldn’t call a cab and…” She’s crying again. It’s a tiny quiver of a sound.
“Don’t worry. I’m on my way. Just stay on the phone with me, okay?”
Her voice is fragile. “Okay.”
I keep her on the line as I pull my pants on and hurry down the stairs. Lia was right not to call her sister. Alex would have just turned this into an opportunity to lecture Lia about how irresponsible she is and how she doesn’t understand that there are consequences to her actions. I’ve heard the speech almost as many times as Lia has, and even I’m sick of it.
“I’m still here,” I assure her as I grab the keys to Mr. Smart’s sedan off the hook by the door and slip into the garage. “I’m getting into the car. I’ll be there in less than ten minutes.”
She doesn’t say anything but I can hear her soft, raspy breathing through the phone as I drive. It keeps me calm. Keeps me from steering the car into a pole.
When I get to Hank’s, I find Lia awkwardly propped up on a stool, with her cheek resting on the bar and her phone wedged beneath her ear. Her eyes are closed. I’m pretty sure she’s passed out.
I eye five empty shot glasses in front of her and shoot the bartender a scathing look. “Are you joking?” I shout. “She’s practically falling off this stool! Why on earth would you keep serving her?”
He throws his hands in the air, presumably attempting to pass blame, and then points at a redneck guy in filthy work boots playing pool at the table behind me. “He’s the one who kept ordering them. I didn’t know he was passing them to her.
The guy looks up from his game and, upon seeing me standing next to Lia, narrows his eyes. He sets down his pool cue and stalks over, looking like a hunter who’s attempting to protect the deer he just shot from an approaching wolf.
“Don’t worry, pretty boy,” he says, his voice coarse. It sends shivers down my spine. “I’ll make sure she gets home okay.”
I snort in response and turn to Lia, crouching down to try to catch her glassy eyes. “We’re going to go now. Can you walk?”
Suddenly there’s a hand on my arm, yanking me up. “I don’t think you heard me,” the guy snarls. “I said, I’ll take care of her.”
I watch the jerk’s face as he glances from me to Lia, his lips curving into a sickening leer as he takes in her inebriated state.
“Like hell you will,” I growl. And then, in one swift motion, I cock my fist back and send it flying into his face. I hear a crack and blood sprays over my white undershirt. Shattering pain shoots through my hand, all the way up my forearm.
I don’t wait around for a retaliation, not that I think this drunk asshole is capable of delivering one. I turn back to Lia, slipping one arm under her smooth bare legs, as I cradle the other around her back. She sinks into me, her head lolling against my chest.
I can’t explain what happens to me in that moment. Maybe it’s the adrenaline pumping through my veins from my almost-fight in the bar, maybe it’s the buzz of being woken up from a deep, disturbing sleep, but as I walk those twenty short paces to the car outside, with Lia so fragile and precious in my arms, I feel invigorated. I feel protective. Like my arms, my legs, my life has purpose. Even if tomorrow that purpose will have vanished with the dawn, for this moment—right here, right now—I feel more alive than I’ve felt in a long time.
And it scares the shit out of me.