Intoxicated By You

I almost turned her down, but she pleaded with me. “Please, Alexa. I need to talk to you. You’re the only friend I have.”

There were dark circles under her eyes, and she looked almost gaunt. Did she lose weight? “Are you okay, Teagan?”

She shook her head. “Not really. I was hoping we could talk. You’re the only person I can turn to. I’ve been waiting for you to come out.”

I shut my truck door and walked over to her car. “What’s going on?”

She looked around nervously. “Can we go somewhere to talk? Please? I know I don’t deserve a second chance, but I’m asking anyway.”

“Sure.”

Never before had I heard Teagan sound desperate. And I couldn’t deny someone who was asking for help. I’d never been able to. I grabbed my purse and got in the passenger seat of her car. My heart hurt for Teagan. All the years we’d been friends, I’d always had a soft spot for her.

She let out a sigh. “I’m sorry for not returning your calls.”

“What’s been going on?”

Her hair was greasy, and her clothes looked dirty. “

Let’s go to the dock and talk.”

“Okay.”

We turned left, and Teagan scratched at her arm, which pulled up her sleeve. She had sores forming on her forearm. Suddenly, I had a bad feeling about what she’d been up to. I should have driven. Her knee bounced about ninety miles an hour. And the signs I hadn’t noticed before started to connect. I shifted uncomfortably in my seat, wondering how I should handle this.

Don’t do anything drastic.

Stay calm.

Let Drake know where you’re at.

There was a definite tremor in my hands when I grabbed my phone from my purse. Teagan scratched more viciously at her arm.

I pulled out my phone and went straight to Drake’s number. An overwhelming queasiness settled in my stomach. I needed to get out of this situation.

“What are you doing?” she asked, her voice a little too loud in the quiet car. The wheel jerked at the same time.

Shrugging, I tried to hide my shaky voice. Being alone with her at the dock was not a smart idea. “Letting Drake know I’ll be home later. I was supposed to meet him for dinner. You know how he is. He’d have a search party out for me.”

Her movements became even more jerky. “Yes. Good idea. Text him right now.” I started to text. “Now! Text him NOW!”

“Okay. I will. I am.”

Me: Hey, I got in the car with Teagan. I have a bad feeling. Where are you? Don’t call.

Drake: At the Red Onion. Heading to my truck. Where are you headed?

“What’s he saying? Tell ME! What is he saying?” She wiped at her nose, momentarily taking her hands off the steering wheel.

Maybe I could talk her into stopping the car. “Why don’t we pull over and let me get a drink?”

“WHAT DID HE SAY?” She was becoming more agitated by the second.

I took a deep breath. “Told me to tell you hi and to have a good time. Where are we—”

Her phone beeped, and she picked it up to read it. “I need to stop by my place. Then we’ll go to the dock.”

“Okay. Sounds good.” We were close to her place.