Parker paled.His mouth opened, but no sound came out.
“Parker, talk to me,” I pleaded, doing my best to shove down the anger, my voice softening with desperation.“What the hell is going on?This isn’t you.I know it’s not.Just…explain,please.”
For moment, he said nothing, but then, his face crumpled.
My strong, confident stepbrother fell apart in front of my eyes, his shoulders shaking as he buried his face in his hands, the muffled sounds of his crying filling the room.I stared in shock as he sank down onto the couch, but the sound of a particularly harsh sob spilled from him, and I moved to his side as my chest squeezed tight.I placed a hand on his back as he told me everything without looking at me.
“I’m sorry,” he gasped, trying to wipe away his tears, but they fell too fast.“I’m so fucking sorry, Morgan.Oh God, it wasn’t supposed to come to this.I…I didn’t think I’d ever be an addict, but when I hurt my back a couple of years ago and had to have surgery, I was given Oxy.It was the only thing that helped, but only if I took it all the time.You know it took months for me to recover, and I took the pills constantly.Ineededthem to function.”
I thought back to that time in our lives.I was worried about him when he had the surgery and could barely walk or move without wincing in pain.It took a long time for him to recover, and ever since, he still had occasional pain in the area.
“I swear, I didn’t even realize I was addicted to the meds.I took them for the pain.Ihadto.But then, as the pain got better, the doctor stopped writing my prescriptions.He told me to wean myself off, as if it wassoeasy.And I tried, Morgan.I swear, Itried.”
He lifted his gaze to mine, and the shame in his eyes made me want to cry with him.“I thought I was strong enough, you know?I didn’t have the pain anymore, so it was just my mind working against me.I thought my willpower would be enough, but it just wasn’t.All I could think about were the pills.I couldn’t feel happy without them.I couldn’tfunctionwithout them.”
“What happened next?”I asked, wondering how he went from prescription narcotics to whatever was in the baggie.
“I started buying pills when I could, but Oxy is hard to get, and I couldn’t consistently get it.So, I had to turn to something else.”
His eyes shifted to the baggie still in my hand, and there was a longing beneath the shame that truly horrified me.He was no longer crying, but he looked destroyed by his own story.
“What is this, Parker?”
He swallowed hard.“It’s…it’s heroin.”
I dropped it on the coffee table, unable to stand touching the thing.
“I’ve been using it for over a year now, sinking more and more money into it.I’ve neglected other things, and it’s all just snowballed.Now, I have massive debt.Credit cards, loans, the mortgage.We were about to lose the house the first time I took money from GalvaTech, and I was desperate.Then, there are the men I get the drugs from.These are bad people, Morgan, dangerous people.They threatened Becca and Gracie.”
My blood ran cold, fear gripping me as I imagined the danger to them.
“So, you understand, right?I had to take the money.I hated myself for it, but I had to protect Becca and Gracie.I couldn’t let them pay for my mistakes, my weakness.”
I nodded slowly, squeezing his hand.I understood, as much as someone who’d never gone through addiction could.He was drowning in it, buried under debt and fear, making panicked choices while facing the consequences of his bad decisions.But how had I missed this?We saw each other almost daily.Our family was tight.How did this slip by me?
“Why didn’t you tell me?”I asked, my voice cracking with hurt as I gripped his hand tighter.“I would have helped, Parker.We all would have.You didn’t have to go through this alone.”
His eyes were red and tormented, making me flinch at the depth of his pain.“I couldn’t,” he whispered raggedly.“I couldn’t admit it to anyone.Not even myself at first.The shame and guilt, it was too much.I’m supposed to be the strong one, you know?And Becca…she has no idea.She doesn’t know I’ve ruined everything.Our life, our future.”
“It’s not your fault,” I said firmly, pulling him into a hug, holding him tight as he clung back.“Addiction is a disease, Parker, not a weakness.It messes with your brain, no matter how smart or strong you are.You need help,realhelp, and I’m going to make sure you get it.Rehab, therapy, whatever it takes.You’re not alone.We’ll figure this out together, and you’re going to be okay.”
A broken sound ripped from him as he tightened his arms around me, squeezing so hard it was tough to breathe, but I didn’t pull away.I’d do anything for him.
“I love you, Parker,” I said, keeping my voice steady and strong, even as my world felt like it was crumbling right alongside his.“We’re family.We’ll get through this.”
It was a promise I intended to keep.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Liam
Ihadn’t beenspending much time at my office at the investment firm lately, but that’s where I headed this morning.Part of me wanted to go straight to GalvaTech, to see Morgan, to try and fix what I’d broken last night.But a bigger part of me worried she wouldn’t want to see me at all.
I had no idea where we stood after our conversation.And I was pretty sure it couldn’t have gone worse.
My own bruised feelings had mostly faded overnight, replaced by a different kind of ache.The kind that came from knowing the woman I loved was in pain, and I was part of the reason why.
She’d lashed out at me, defensive and angry.Maybe I shouldn’t have kept the investigation from her, but I knew the real problem wasn’t my secrecy.It was Parker.If I’d accused anyone else of embezzlement, she would have been upset but ultimately understood my position.
