“I understand. You’ve had a shock, but—this isn’t like you,” Hilary said.
“No, it’s not,” Rocky said. Evonne turned toward him and he approached her slowly, studying her reaction.
She wrung her hands nervously.
He tilted his head to the side. “Firecracker, what did you do?” he whispered.
Her eyes widened. “What do you mean?”
“What are you talking about?” Joey asked.
“She knows what I’m talking about.” Rocky shook his head. “I’m only going to ask you one more time. What did you do?” A few feet from her, he could see her pupils were dilated. “You took something. What was it?”
“Nothing, it was nothing.” She shook her head, running her fingers through her hair.
He rushed forward and gripped her arms tight. “Tell me now,” he growled.
“Coke—I did a half a bump,” she whispered.
His mind went blank and he threw back his head. “Fuck no, I refuse to see another person I care about strung out on this shit. How could you be so fucking stupid?” He punctuated each sentence with a shake.
“Put her down, you’ll hurt her,” Hilary yelled.
“As long as I wake her the fuck up, I don’t care. You don’t touch this shit, you understand? What the hell? I’ve never even seen you smoke a cigarette.”
“I can’t live with this weight! I’m the reason Paul is dead! Me! I can’t handle it.” Her voice cracked and her shoulders shook as large tears rolled down her face.
“You don’t ever put poison in your body. You hear me? You have no clue what you’re messing with.” Unable to feel sympathy with the memories hammering him like a battering ram, Rocky continued to rant. “I see you doing this shit again. And I’ll kick your ass.”
“That’s enough!” Hilary yelled.
“Bitch, you don’t tell me what’s enough. You see her?” Rocky held out Evonne. “She is high off her fucking mind right now. We need to bring her down. You want to be helpful? Get me some beer. We need to take the edge off. Bring it to my room.” He scooped Evonne into his arms and strode away. “Who gave you this shit?”
Evonne shook her head, continuing to cry.
“Don’t make me look. It’ll make me more pissed,” Rocky said.
“Fancy.”
“Fuck.” He shook his head. “Should’ve known, she’s always running from a past she can’t forget.” They reached his room, then he set her on the ground and closed the door. “Strip down, you need to get into the shower immediately. I wish there was a quick fix to this, but there isn’t. Mostly all we can do is keep you mellow while you ride this out. I never thought I’d have to worry about this with you.” Her choice felt like a betrayal. It cut him deep. He avoided looking into her face as he went through the familiar steps. His stomach knotted.
“How do you know what to do?” she asked.
“Not now.” He ground his teeth and focused on his task, ushering her into the bathroom. He turned on the shower and gestured for her to step inside. “Get in, take deep breaths and at the risk of sounding like a fucking fairy, think happy thoughts. You don’t want to stay in turmoil right now. Coke heightens everything,” he said.
“Rocco.” She wrapped her hand around his wrist and leaned in, breathing heavily. “How do you know that?”
He closed his eyes, fighting the urge to yank his arm away. “My mother was a junkie.”
She gasped and her face looked ashen.
He nodded. Now you see how much you fucked me. “Shower, now.”
Suddenly subdued, she followed his direction and climbed inside.
A knock came at the door. “Don’t you fucking move, Firecracker. I’m pissed as hell at you right now. Don’t give me more reason to be angry.”
Twenty minutes later, he had her dressed in one of his shirts, wrapped in a blanket and propped up in the bed. Not about to leave her alone for a second, he had a whispered conversation with Moose to put the word out. Evonne would be drug-free from here on out. Anyone who didn’t comply would answer to him. He believed her when she said it was only her second time, but turning toward the white stuff for an escape was many an addict’s road to addiction.