Lawful Overdose (13 page)

Ryder always amazes me. Forty years from now, when
I’m contemplating retirement and going over all the bosses I’ve had in my
lifetime, I know he will still be my favorite.

“Thanks, Ryder,” I say, kissing him on the cheek.
“If your brother shows up will you tell him where I am for me?”

“Sure.”

The three of us get our things and get out of there
before Ryder changes his mind. Piper and I go to get in my Beetle. When I turn
the ignition it doesn’t start.

“Motherfucker!” I yell, trying to turn the key
again.

“She’s dead, Tessa. It’s time to get out the
rosary, say our prayers, and hope she’s accepted into car heaven.”

“Ha ha,” I respond dryly.

I hear Mikey’s car pull up beside me. “You girls
need a lift?”

We grab our belongings and hop into Mikey’s car.

“Thanks, Mikey. I think my car is officially done
for.”

“No problem. Now let’s go party.”

Chapter Twelve

Betrayal

The party is out of control when we get there.
Mikey has a hard time finding a place to park, so eventually he parks on a spot
of open grass. We make our way inside, and I’m instantly aware of the men in
the room’s eyes moving to Piper and I. That’s when I realize we’re still in our
barely there uniforms and everyone else is completely covered because of the
weather.

“Great, now we’re going to get hit on all night by
drunk college idiots.”

I look over to Piper, but she doesn’t share my mood.
“You’re right, it is great. I need to get laid, and by someone other than Ryan.
Are you okay driving home alone with Mikey? I plan on staying out tonight.”

“Sure, Pipe. Go get some.”

She kisses me on the cheek and then I lose her in
the crowd. I’m not even sure what room she’s gone in.

“You want to get something to drink?” Mikey shouts
over the noise.

“You don’t have to stay with me. Go have fun and
we’ll meet up later.”

He looks at me puzzled. “I want to hang out with
you, Trigger. Let’s go get a drink.”

I nod my head; happy to be around someone I’m
comfortable with. I contemplate texting Jaxon to let him know where I am, but I
decide not to bother him at work.

We make our way into the motel room filled with
alcohol and Mikey makes us jaeger bombs.

“That’s disgusting.”

“C’mon Trigger, let’s have fun.”

He looks so happy and I don’t want to let him down.
I grab the shot from him, we clink our glasses together and I pour the liquid
down my throat. I have to fight my gag reflexes when my body tries to reject the
foul tasting mixture.

Mikey immediately starts to make two more shots and
hands me over the full shot glass.

“Where’s lover boy tonight?”

I smile, pretending not to notice his bitchiness
towards my boyfriend.

“He’s working.”

“Always working, doesn’t that get annoying?”

I clink my shot glass with his and drink before he
can say anything else.

“He works hard, I think that’s admirable.”

He nods his head, not in agreement, but as if
satisfied with what I said.

He goes to make a third round of jaeger bombs and
hands me my glass.

“Last one, Mikey, then I’m switching to beer.”

“Deal.”

We clink our glasses and I let the liquid go down
my throat. This time it’s not as bad and I’m starting to feel slightly buzzed.

I watch Mikey move to the kegs and get us two cups of
beer.

“Should we go look for Piper?” Mikey asks me.

“No, she’s on the prowl. Want to go check out the
rooms? We can watch people and dance to the music.”

“Lead the way.”

We pass the first two doors and move to go to the
last room down the walkway. This is where the music is coming from and where
everyone usually went to dance in the past. I’m about to walk in when I notice
something out of the corner of my eye.

I turn around and see Jimmy... with Jaxon. They’re
talking outside one of the motel rooms before they both walk in together. I
still can’t believe my eyes.

“I thought you said he was working,” Mikey says
from behind me.

“I thought he was,” I whisper, unable to focus on
anything else, but that motel door.

I walk slowly towards it, like it’s calling me to
the room. I’m not sure if Mikey is still behind me, but I don’t care. Jaxon
lied to me. He said he was working, and he’s here with Jimmy. Something doesn’t
add up. I continue my slow walk to the doorway, unable to get my legs to move
any faster.

I’m close. I stop and take a deep breath, briefly
closing my eyes and preparing myself for what I might see. If he’s with another
girl, I won’t be able to take it.

I open my eyes and move forward. The door's wide
open and I’m instantly hit with the smell. I’d recognize that smell anywhere.
My mother grew it for God sakes. I look around the room and I don’t see him at
first.

Maybe I imagined it. God, I hope I imagined it.

But I didn’t. With the second sweep of my eyes I
see Jaxon. He’s with Ryan and Jimmy, laughing near the bathroom. I watch in
horror as Jaxon pulls out his wallet and hands Jimmy some cash.

Please, no. No, no, no.

Jimmy counts the cash and then pulls something out
of his pocket. A plastic baggy. I’m wondering what’s in it, but I don’t have to
wonder for long. Ryan puts his finger in the bag briefly, pulls it out and
licks it. He nods his head to Jimmy, indicating it’s good stuff and I can’t
watch anymore. I need to leave.

I turn around and run straight into Mikey.

“You okay?”

“No.”

“What’s wrong,” he asks and I watch his head lift
to look around the room.

“Please, get me out of here.”

He doesn’t ask any more questions, he grabs my hand
and we walk casually to his car. We get inside and Mikey turns the heat on,
warming the vehicle instantly.

“I’ll drop you off at home-”

“No! I can’t go home, Mikey. I live with him,
remember?”

“Well, what do you want me to do?”

I shake my head, realizing I have no place to go. I
can’t stay at Piper’s because I don’t have my key with me and she won’t be home
tonight.

“Can I stay with you?”

“I don’t know if that’s such a good-”

“Just for tonight, I promise.”

I can see the reluctance in his eyes, but he
eventually agrees. We pull up to his house and he cuts the engine. It’s pitch
black on the outside.

“Where are your roommates?”

“I assume they’re all at Big E’s party.”

“Oh.”

We make our way inside and I immediately go into
the kitchen. I'm familiar with where everything is because I used to party
here. I grab a bottle of jack and two shot glasses, putting them on the counter
and filling them.

“Tessa, you’re upset, maybe you shouldn’t be
drinking.”

“Tessa? What happened to Trigger?”

“Okay, Trigger, do you really want to start doing
shots?”

“Yes,” I say firmly, handing him his glass. I pick
up mine, tilt my head back, and suck down every last drop. I start to make
round two when I hear my phone go off. I know by 'sexy' that it’s a text from
Jaxon.

Piper was right, that sound is annoying.

I guess I’m a glutton for punishment because I
reach for my purse and pull out my phone to read the text.

Jaxon: Just ran into Piper and she said you’re
here. I can’t find you, where are you?

I roll my eyes and set my phone on the counter.

It’s none of your damn business where I am,
jackass.

I hand Mikey another shot and this time I decide to
toast.

“To being single… and to not letting any man get
away with lying to me ever again.”

I hear him laugh, “Are you single again, Tessa? I
wasn’t aware you could break up with someone without letting him know.”

“Oh, you can. You can dump someone whatever way you
want to. He just got dumped because he’s a lying jackass, who obviously doesn’t
give a fuck about me.”

I take the second shot and pound the glass down on
the counter. I look over to Mikey who’s still holding his shot.

“I don’t feel comfortable drinking to that, so I’m
going to drink to rekindled friendships.”

“Rekindled friendships,” I cheer as he takes the
second shot.

An hour and who knows how many shots later, I’m
trashed. Plastered. My eyes can barely focus, I can’t stand up straight, and everything
Mikey says to me is funny.

I’m sitting on the couch in his living room when
Mikey comes back in from taking a piss. He’s holding what I think is my cell
phone in his hand.

“You should check this, your phone is blowing up.”

He hands me my cell phone and I open the screen. I
have thirteen texts and six missed phone calls. I read my texts first.

Jaxon: Did you get my last text?

Yes I did, you douchebag.

Jaxon: Where r u?

Jaxon: Tessa, I’m getting worried.

Jaxon: Hello?

Jaxon: I’m going home to see if you’re there. CALL
ME WHEN YOU READ THIS!!!

Jaxon: I’m getting worried, Tess. You’re not at
home, call me!

The next text is from Piper.

Piper: Jaxon’s acting like a fucking psychopath,
can you come find me so I can tell him you’re okay?

Piper: Tess, call me or text me back so I know
where you are.

Jaxon: I’m worried sick, sunshine. Call me.

Piper: Okay, this isn’t funny, Tessa. Where are
you? I’ve asked around and no one has seen you. I can’t find Mikey either. I’m
worried.

Jaxon: Tessa, baby, call me.

Jaxon: I’m waiting for you at home; just get here
as soon as you can.

…And the last one.

Jaxon: Where are you?

I’m upset that Piper’s worried, so I send her a
quick text letting her know I’m okay, I tell her I don’t want Jaxon to know
where I am, and I’m safe with Mikey.

I then send a quick text to Jaxon so he’ll stop
texting me.

Me: It’s over. I can’t believe I ever trusted you.
You hurt me and betrayed me. The worst part is that I loved you. I still love
you. Stop calling and texting me, I never want to hear from you again. I’ll
have someone come by to get my things later this week.

I read the text before I hit send, surprised at the
clarity in it for how drunk I am. I guess anger will do that to you.

After I hit send I turn my phone off and put it on
the coffee table. I grab my beer and chug until there is none left.

“Slow down, Trigger. I think you’ve had enough.”

“Since when do you care if I get drunk or not?”

“I don’t care if you get drunk, I do care if you
end up with alcohol poisoning or in the hospital. At the way you’re going,
that’s where you’ll end up.”

I would disagree with him, but I’m having a hard
time focusing on his two heads at the moment.

“I think you might be right,” I slur, leaning back
on the couch.

Mikey puts his beer on the table and sits next to
me. He leans his head back to stare at the ceiling and I do the same, thinking
it’s a good idea.

It’s not.

The white paint does weird things to my vision and
I feel nauseous from the feeling. I sit back up and hold my head in my hands.

“You okay, Trigger?”

“Yeah, just dizzy.”

I look up and Mikey is much closer than I thought.
My glazed eyes meet his lust filled eyes. I remember those eyes. Those are the
eyes he had right before he fucked me.

He was great in bed, maybe the best I’d ever been
with before Jaxon. Jaxon knocked everyone else out of the park. No one worked
me the way he did. Who am I kidding; no one ever made love to me before him.

Fucking Jaxon. I don’t want to even think about
him.

Mikey. That’s the man in front of me. I look him
over, realizing that I can have him if I want him. I might be drunk and not
thinking rationally, but what Jaxon did hurts. Knowing Jaxon lied to me hurts.
I just want to forget and sex has always been an escape for me, a way to
forget.

Before I have enough time to change my mind I lean
forward and connect my lips with Mikey’s. They’re warm and the kiss is nice,
but I feel nothing. I’m not sure if that’s because my mouth is numb from the
amount of alcohol I’ve absorbed, or because Jaxon has ruined kissing for me.

I swear to God, if he’s ruined kissing or sex for
me, I will kill him.

The kiss becomes more intense as Mikey’s tongue
asks for entrance, or at least I think that’s his tongue. I open for him as our
tongues mesh together as one. His hands lower to my tits and he squeezes
softly.

“Fuck, I’ve missed these tits. No one has tits like
you, Trigger.”

I used to be flattered when he would say things
like this to me, but now it feels wrong. I feel like I’m doing something wrong.

I ignore this feeling and lower my hands to his
chest, sliding them down his body. When my hands reach his jeans, I lower one
to cup him over his jeans. He’s hard and I hear a soft groan come from his
mouth. The verbal encouragement has me rubbing him softly, over and over again,
until he starts gently thrusting into my palm.