Tempting the Crown (The Crown 1)

“Meg says you have the files on Haskins, Tate, and Bomstand.”

“Good morning.” I smiled. “Yes, I have those. Do you need them?”

“They are supposed to be my cases, so yes.”

I walked behind my desk and opened the top filing cabinet. “I thought maybe since you missed the first meetings you would be ok with me working on those. There are plenty more out there, Addie.”

She held her palm out to me. She wasn’t the kind of woman who discussed things. She didn’t chit-chat. She didn’t share personal stories. There was no morning coffee together, like I had with Meg.

“I was only trying to help.” I placed the files in her hands and she swiveled in her chair.

My phone buzzed. I looked at the screen and saw my favorite picture of my brother flash.

“I’m going to take this outside,” I announced. “I’ll be right back.”

I wanted her to go easy on the students. It wasn’t their fault she had been out with a stomach virus.

I jogged out of the office and down the hall to the bathroom.

“Garrett?” I answered, out of breath.

“It’s not working. It’s not working.” He was frantic.

“What’s not? What’s happening?”

“They’re making me sick. All the meds they put me on. Tell Mom to stop it. Can you do that?”

I leaned against the wall and closed my eyes. “Take a big breath for me and tell me what is going on. What are the meds? Are they something new?”

I heard him pause on the other end. I think sometimes that was the hardest part. Garrett listened to me. When he shut everyone else out, he listened to me. And I had left him behind, making his circle even smaller than it was.

“It’s the same stuff,” he groaned.

“Ok, then you know you need to take them regularly. The same time. Every single day. That’s the only way your body is going to find balance. You haven’t given it a chance. You’re on. You’re off. Let the medicine help you.”

“You don’t know what it feels like.” I could hear his breaths becoming more erratic. “They make me tired, like I’m looking through a bubble of glass. I hate them, Emily.”

I sighed. “I know you do. But how are things going to get better if you don’t try what you have to try?”

“I’m doing this on my own.” He cleared his throat.

“What?”

“I’m moving out. I’m going to detox this crap out of my system.”

I shook my head. If I were with him, I’d shake him. “No, no, no. Just six months. Try six months of staying on a schedule and then if you don’t like how you feel we can try something else, but don’t do this, Garrett. Not like this.”

“I’m tired of fighting with Mom. Dad doesn’t give a shit. I have a buddy who is thinking of going into business with his cousin down at the beach.”

“Business? What kind of business?”

“Setting up a repair shop. Boats, cars, whatever.”

I tried to control the trembles that had started. “You don’t have a background in mechanics. What are you going to do there?”

“Graphic design of course. I’ll do the marketing. The website. They want me to do the logo.”

A woman walked inside with a little girl who couldn’t have been more than five. I tried to smile at them as I slipped out the door and outside. I didn’t want to be too far away from the office in case Addie started searching for me, but I couldn’t leave Garrett in the middle of this.