It was 8:00 p.m, and the last rays of San Diego's setting sun greeted him when he stepped on the porch. He scanned the neighborhood. Spanish villas lined the street, but his eyes fell upon a brunette waiting at a bus stop two blocks down. He jogged over to his sister. She paid no attention to his presence, her eyes transfixed on the screen of her iPod. He touched her arm. She glared at him, yanking the headphones out of her ears.
“You can't storm off without telling me.”
“Excuse me, but I don't take orders from a junkie.”
His hand rose, backhanding her before he had time to register what he was doing.
The look of surprise in her eyes cut him to the core. “I'm sorry.” Danny stepped forward, engulfing her in a big bear hug. She tried to twist out of his embrace but his arms tightened around her. She stopped struggling and melted into him. He brushed a hand over her forehead, pulling back her bangs to plant a kiss.
“I didn't mean anything by it. I love you.” Pulling back, he looked into her eyes. “Come on back in the house.”
She shook her head.
“Alright. Let me take you home.” Pulling out the key to his Lexus, he shook it in her face as a peace offering.
She deflated like a balloon as a great sigh left her lips. After a few protests, her friends piled into his car.
He walked back into his bedroom to let Nia know he was leaving.
She leaped off the bed and met him at the doorway.
“I'm taking the girls home.”
“Can you stop by Kyle's?”
He craned his neck. Why of all days, was the shit hitting the fan today? First that girl at the diner, then the girl at the bar, his sister—and now Nia. How much more could he take?
“No.”
“Baby.” She wrapped her hands around his shirt, burying her head into his chest. “Please, she sobbed. “I'm hurting.”
He kissed the top of her forehead and turned to leave.
“Danny, I wouldn't ask you if I didn't need you to help me. Please hurry. I can't dry out like this, not tonight.”
Not tonight. Those were the same words Emily had uttered two years ago. “Damn Nia. I can't be anywhere near this shit.”
Her eyes gelled over, tears obscuring her brown irises.
No one knew better than him how much it hurt to dry out cold turkey. The skin crawling and night sweats were almost enough to make him go insane. It had taken him two years to dry out for good. Who was he to demand she do it tonight?
He would pass by Kyle's en route to taking the girls home. But he didn't want his sister or friends anywhere near that shit.
He nodded and she hugged him again, thanking him between sobs.
He changed his shirt for a dry one, and headed back to the garage.
“I need to make a stop first,” Danny said to the girls.
They drove a few blocks, made a left and pulled in front of another ranch-style house. Loud rock music bellowed out the windows. He flashed his sister and the girls a smile. “I'll be back in a few minutes.”
Beth crossed her arms and quirked her lips into a smirk.
He rang the doorbell, and was greeted by the pungent smell of skunk weed. A smile touched his lips, but he declined the proffered roach and gave the man a fist pound.
“What's up?” Kyle said.
“Nia needs you to hook her up again.”
Kyle scratched his smooth dome. “Again? I just saw her this morning.”
Danny shrugged. “Home girl is hungry.”
Grinning, Kyle told him to make himself at home.
He walked into the living room and joined the poker game on the coffee table.
“Danny.” The feminine voice startled him, and he dropped the full house he was holding. The cards landed face‐up on the table. The two guys and girl he was playing with quickly folded. He turned to look at the person who'd interrupted his winning streak.
Beth stood glaring at him, her foot tapping a beat into the rug. Her friends were huddled around her, their eyes shining with anxious glee. One girl, the fair‐haired one who'd told him about Beth earlier, walked over to a water cooler filled with an assortment of different name‐brand beers.
Fear snaked down his spine. Having the girls here was the last thing he wanted. Future headlines flashed through his mind's eye.
“Put that back.” He snapped his fingers, gesturing for her to return to the group of girls standing with Beth. “What are you doing in here? Go back and wait in the car.”
“We've been waiting. For thirty minutes now,” Beth said.
Danny glanced at his watch. He hadn't realized that much time had passed.
“I will wear your little behind out in front of everybody if you don't go back to the car.” He whispered in her ear.
She rolled her eyes as if she couldn't care less, but told her friends to go back and wait.
“That means you too, young lady.”
Beth stamped her foot and blinked at him. She wasn't going to budge.
“Alright. Let me see what's taking Kyle so long,” Danny said.
“Great. I'll wait right here for you.” She plopped down on the couch, arms still folded.
A boy Danny guessed to be a few years her senior, with freckles tattooed across his face, turned to smile at her.
“Hey, that's my sister.” Danny cocked an eyebrow at him and the boy's smile melted into a glum look. The freckle-faced youth turned away from Beth and went back to watching the poker game.
Satisfied, Danny went upstairs to check on Kyle.
He found him in his office. The room was bare except for a large metal table and a few foldup chairs. A large, white, brick sat in the middle of the table. Kyle sat in a corner with a small hunk of the white rock, measuring and cutting the cocaine on a scale.
“Kyle, what's taking so long?”
“I'm almost done. How about a free sample for the wait?”
He cut up a line and pushed it toward Danny. Nervous energy coursed through his veins. Not fear, but excitement sang through his body.
It should've been simple. Take the girls home, pack up a few things then fly back to New York. Begin sober life. So why was he standing in front of a fat line of coke when Beth was downstairs waiting for him? He should walk away, wait with his sister. Why was he walking closer? Why was he putting a finger over one of his nostrils and shutting off the air?
In that moment, all his defenses bottomed out. There wasn't one good reason why he shouldn't take this free sample. He forgot about the adoring fans, the twelve months of sobriety, and his sister. All of it paled in comparison to the magnetic pull to soak up some powder.
He grinned at Kyle as he leaned over to vacuum the white heaven. But before he had a chance to sniff, a blood curdling scream shattered the tranquil calm. He pushed past Kyle and ran halfway down the stairs before he vaulted over the railing. He searched the living room, but Beth wasn't amongst the poker players. They sat, nodding as the dealer struggled to stay awake long enough to pass out the next round of cards. Then another scream sailed over the rock music. This time it sounded like a boy's voice. It was coming from the kitchen. Danny ran in and found Beth trapped by a freckle‐faced boy who had her pinned against the counter in the corner.
The smell of bleach hung in the air. On the floor lay a bottle of Clorox Beth must have thrown on the boy. Unperturbed, his red hair clinging to his scalp, Freckles wedged a leg between her own, trying to pry them open.
The bottom fell out, and all the emotions Danny had been suppressing flew to the surface. Anger curled around his right fist. He pulled Freckles back. The boy stiffened, but after two punches to the face, the kid fell to the floor like a sack of flour. He was ready to level him another blow when he felt his sister push past him. Turning, Danny glimpsed Beth's strong olive legs carrying her out the front door.
He ran after his sister, calling her name. Fear must have taken over her senses, because she ran past the Lexus and down the driveway onto the sidewalk. He continued to follow, quickening his pace when the lurch of a bus turned the corner. Beth ran out into the street, and Danny's heart pounded wildly as he tried to close the gap between them.
Please stop. Please hear me. Not my sister. Not Beth.
As he stepped onto the street, a headlight blinded him. Turning, he caught sight of the bus in his peripheral. He lunged, grabbing Beth's skirt as she stepped into the middle of the street. He yanked hard, and she fell backwards against him. He scrambled to wrap his arms around her, holding her in place as they fell onto the sidewalk. The bus passed them, and the wind it carried crested over them.