Revive Me (9 page)

He scratched his cheek and looked at me. “I’m sorry, what were you drinking?”

“A wager-bomb,” I confirmed. I glared at him as he burst out in laughter. “What the hell is so funny?”

“Do you mean Jagerbomb, babe?” he asked through his laughs.

I paused for a moment and sighed. “Whatever it’s called. Jagerbomb, wager-bomb, same difference.”

“Who the hell even gave you that shit? It tastes like turpentine.”

I threw my hands up in the air. “Thank you! That’s exactly what I thought.”

“You think something tastes like a harsh chemical, yet you still drink it?”

“Nope, then I started taking shots.”

His face went hard. “And that’s exactly why you’re not going to any more parties unsupervised. You get me? You’re naïve, Tessa.”

“I’m not naïve,” I snarled, growing agitated. I was taking on a lot more responsibilities than most kids my age.

“I’m not trying to be an asshole.” I gave him a look. “I swear, I’m not, but you grew up with a sheltered life with Tanner. We always looked out for you. You never saw any of the bad shit that can happen to girls who go out to parties and drink too much. You can’t go into unknown places or situations, drink shit you can’t even pronounce given to you someone you hardly know, and not expect something bad to happen.”

“Something bad?”

“You could’ve been drugged. Or raped. Or any of that shit.”

He had a point. I was grateful he picked me up last night or I wasn’t sure what I would’ve done. We pulled up to the house from last night. “Especially in a place like this,” he said, nodding toward the old, rickety house. This time, there was no loud music, no people stumbling around the yard or drinking. There wasn’t a soul in sight. I grabbed my keys from my bag and jumped out of his truck.

“I’ll meet you at your house,” Dawson called through his window, waiting for me to get into my car and pull out so he could follow me. I immediately turned my AC on high and faced all the fans toward my face before pulling away.

I parked in my driveway at the same time Dawson pulled up in front of the house. He jumped from his truck and opened up my car door.

“I’m driving,” he ordered.

“Alrighty,” I said, not in the mood to argue. I slid into the passenger seat and turned the fans in the opposite direction. “Since when did you get so bossy?” I grumbled as he put the car in reverse and backed out.

“Since you started making dumbass decisions.” He really needed to let this go. He was beating a dead horse. “You’re hanging out with that Reese guy? Really Tessa? You know he’s a loser, right?”

“You don’t even know him.” Reese didn’t make me do anything I didn’t want to do. I drove myself to that party. I drank the alcohol he gave me. I took the shots. He might’ve encouraged it, but I am a big girl.

“True, but I know of him. I’ve seen him around at a few parties and heard plenty of rumors. He’s bad news. Plus, he’s not even your type.” He was right and knew me too well. My walls had never been covered with rock star guys I wanted to be my future husbands.

I fidgeted in my seat. “I thought I’d try a new type.” A growl came from the other side of the car, and he whipped around a turn quickly. “I mean, what I thought was my type didn’t want me, so it might be time to try something new.” My voice was playful, but he didn’t miss my insult and the point I was trying to make.

We pulled into Derrick’s school. “Don’t start this shit,” he spat out angrily. The back door opened, and Derrick jumped into the backseat before either one of us had a chance to say anything else.

“Ice cream, here we come!” he yelled, throwing his fist up in the air and tossing his book bag to the other side of the seat. “I’ve been craving this all day.”

Dawson and I laughed. “You’ve been craving this all day?” I asked, looking back at him.

“Yep, and it’s good to have a guys’ day, too.” He leaned forward and patted Dawson’s shoulder.

“What am I?” I asked. “Chopped liver?”

Derrick laughed. “No, you’re allowed to come too, Sis.”

“Glad I’m so wanted.” I looked over at Dawson. “Did you get this excited about ice cream and guys’ day when you were fourteen?”

He smiled mischievously. “You don’t want to know what I was excited about at that age. But it sure as hell wasn’t ice cream and hanging out with guys.” I smacked his arm as we pulled into the small diner. The three of us hopped out of the car, went inside, and slid into an open booth. I sat beside Derrick and Dawson squeezed in across from us.

“Do you know what you want?” I asked Derrick.

“Hot fudge sundae and a chili dog, please,” he answered. I nodded and grabbed my wallet from my purse.

Dawson snatched it from my hand and tossed it back into my bag. “I got it.”

I shook my head. “Nu uh, this is on me.” I knew Dawson’s and his mom were living on one income.

He got up from his seat. “I got it.”

“No, you bought Derrick’s food last night,” I replied, getting up. He grabbed my shoulders and pushed me back down into the booth.

“I said I got it.” He whipped around on his heels and walked up to order.

I sighed, shrinking back against my seat, and Derrick grabbed his phone to play a game with flying pigs.

“All right guys, here you go,” he said, returning with a full tray of food in his hands. “A hot dog and a sundae for the man.” He set the food in front of Derrick, and he let out a ‘woot’ before thanking him. “And a chicken sandwich, a cherry coke, and banana split for you.” He set the same food I ordered every time in front of me.

“Thanks,” I said, grabbing a straw and poking it through my lid of my cup.

“How was school today, buddy?” Dawson asked Derrick, snagging a few french-fries and tossing them into his mouth.

Derrick shrugged and swallowed his food. “It’s okay. People are always asking me about Tanner. It gets annoying.” I knew he was getting the same pity stares as me. His was probably worse, since he went to school with everyone in our town. “I miss him, a lot.”

“We all miss him,” Dawson said. “And I know he misses you, too.”

“What about Mom and Dad?” he asked, looking up at us. “Do they miss him? Mom cries all the time and she screams at me every time I bring him up.”

I nudged his side with my elbow playfully. “She’s just having a hard time with missing him. They’ll get better, just give them time.”

His shoulders drooped. “But what about me? Don’t they miss me? Miss us? Dad doesn’t play football with me anymore, and Mom complains if I ask to have friends over.” I knew I wasn’t that great in helping out with the boy department like my dad and Tanner had been, but I was trying. I’d attempted to help him with his sports, but I couldn’t throw a football more than six inches before it fell to the ground.

“How about every Saturday, we’ll go toss some balls or do something fun?” Dawson asked him.

Derrick perked up and smiled. “That would be awesome!”

“You still have my number in your phone?”

“Sure do.” He grabbed his phone and showed Dawson his name.

“Good, give me a call anytime.”

Dawson and Derrick talked about sports as we finished our meal and then headed home. “Call me if you need anything,” he said when Derrick got out of the car and ran inside.

“I will.” I started to get out of the car, but he grabbed my shoulder and turned me around. His eyes searched mine, and he leaned in closer. “Promise me, Tessa.”

“I promise. Thank you for offering to take Derrick out, you don’t have to if you’re too busy. I’ll take him to watch a movie or something, and he’ll be fine.”

“I’m not bailing on him. Your family is my family, Tess. I spent almost every single day with you guys and you think I’m just going to forget the rest of you because Tanner’s no longer here? Not happening. Derrick has always been like a little brother to me and with Tanner gone, he needs someone now more than ever. So if you don’t want to be around me, so be it, but don’t hold him back. That’s selfish.”

He was right. “I won’t,” I said, gripping the door handle with my hand. He seemed satisfied with my answer and got out of the car.

“Have a good night.” He circled around the car and smacked the hood before getting back into his truck and pulling away. I took a deep breath and stayed in my seat for a few minutes to get my head together before going inside.

I kicked a t-shirt lying on my bedroom floor and collapsed into my bed. I’d tried calling Daisy fives time, but it kept going straight to voicemail. She’d turned her phone off to avoid having to talk to me. Her promise was nothing but a lie. She’d never planned on coming over. I grabbed my phone from my nightstand and played with it in my hands before hitting the button to my call history. I waited a moment, going back and forth on whether or not this was a good idea. It probably wasn’t, but I took a deep breath and hit the name quickly.

“You called,” the surprised voice greeted from the other end. Loud music blared in the background.

“Is this a bad time?” I asked nervously. Maybe this was a sign that I shouldn’t be calling him.

“No, hold on a sec,” he called over the music. “Let me just go somewhere quiet.” I heard shuffling as the sounds begin to fade until everything turned quiet. “Sorry ‘bout that, my boy’s band is playing at this gig tonight. You should come out.” I glanced over at my alarm clock.

“It’s a little late.” I was still recovering from last night. There was no way I could put my body through that hell again so soon.

“Curfew again?” he joked.

“Yeah.”

“But no other boys this time?”

I wasn’t sure why, but I smiled widely at his question. “No other boys.”

He whistled loudly. “Good, I wouldn’t want to have to fight anyone off my girl.” That smile grew wider. “I wish I could see that pretty face right now. What are you doing?”

I settled back into my bed and moved around until I was situated comfortably under my blankets. “Laying in bed.”

“And what are you wearing in bed?”

Tingles spread through my body, and I fidgeted with the sleeves of my sweatshirt. “We are so not going there.”

He laughed, and it sounded like he’d taken a hit from a cigarette. “Come on, babe, let’s have some fun. I know you’re bored over there.”

I yawned. “Not happening.” I hadn’t even had sex yet, how in the world could I manage to do something over the phone I’d never done in real life?

He laughed again. “Fine, have it your way. I’ll let it slide this time, but tomorrow night you’re letting me take you out.”

“Like out on a date?” There was no way I was going out with him.

“Yes, like out on a date.”

“I’ll think about it.” I needed some extra time to create a good excuse. I knew Reese wouldn’t go for the whole I’ve got to wash my hair sixteen times.

“If you stand me up, I’ll be calling you, and you’ll have to describe piece by piece what you’re wearing. Are you wearing pajamas? Or panties and a tank top? Or are you naked?” Warm sensations flooded my body. “Just answer me, baby.”

“Goodnight, Reese,” I drew out slowly, fighting a smile.

“Goodnight, beautiful. Have sweet and naughty dreams about me.” I could hear him laughing when I hit the end button and shook my head. I pulled out a drawer, snagged one of my sleeping pills, and swallowed it. I took the pill every night, but it would still take hours to kick in and take me away from my nightmares.