Chapter Twenty-Seven
Tomas
Cleaning myself up is no easy feat. I’ve spent hours ordering the right dietary foods for my body and focusing on a workout plan that will help me detox faster. Though I could go the rehab route like my mother, I’d prefer to stay at home where I can keep an eye on everything—Mom included.
By the time everything is in order, I have a migraine, but it’s nothing compared to how I felt the other morning after waking up from a night spent in the back of Soren’s BMW. My nose still hurts from how hard he stuck that plunger in my nostril. I sniffle, wiping my face hard as I think about everything I’ve accomplished.
And what has it amounted to? Nothing.
I’ve been making a fool out of myself over a girl I won’t ever get. She’s committed to dancing around us as a group while both my friends get their lives sorted out. Parker is determined to marry that cock-teasing slut while Soren is working on securing his future. They’re both practically adults.
And what the fuck am I? A druggie dickhead who siphons energy out of his friends?
What have I done other than almost dying of a goddamn overdose?
It’s time for me to be a man for both my family and myself. Protecting my sister is the first step, making sure that she doesn’t have to end up marrying a shitty thug just to get ahead in life. Since my parents refuse to do that, it’s on me.
The second step is rescuing my mother.
Several phone calls reveal her location in Capital City. Once I’ve phoned Cynthia Welles and hired her as my mother’s private nurse, I click on Alex’s name, hoping she won’t snub me as she has in recent weeks.
She answers in the middle of the second ring. “Tommy? Are you okay?”
“I, uh…” I fade while glaring at the ground. “Yeah, I’m fine. I need your help.”
“Anything.”
Frowning, I run my fingers through my hair. It’s getting long and scraggly, desperately in need of a cut. “I’m heading into Capital City to retrieve my mother. She’s in a drug dealer’s den.”
“I’ll bring my gun.”
“No, leave it.”
She hesitates before asking, “Why?”
“I’ll pick you up in ten minutes.”
Her protests cut off when I end the call. Within a few short minutes, I’m ready to go with my Glock tucked into the waistband of my jeans. It’s not until I pull up in front of Alex’s home that I notice something different about her demeanor.
She kisses my cheek, confusion and relief washing through my system simultaneously. “How’s everything been?”
“Better.”
I blink with surprise as I pop my truck into gear. “Really?”
“Yeah, my mother kicked Amos out.”
“Oh, that’s good news.”
She hums in agreement. “It’s the best thing that’s happened since sliced fucking bread.”
“You must be relieved, baby doll.”
When the nickname slips from my lips, I bite my tongue, hoping not to repeat it. But how can I deny her affection? Soren said she was the one that found me. I owe her my life for getting him in there with the fucking Narcan spray. Were it not for their combined efforts, I would be dead right now.
And my sister would have been left to rot along with my mother.
My hands tighten on the steering wheel as I head to Capital City. We’re quiet the entire way, only speaking in low whispers when we arrive to determine how to get my mother.