Lee:Sext me.
Marie:We can’t. You know that.
Lee:Cancel the damn book.
At that Greta closed the app and called Kaelee. “What’s happening right now?”
“Nothin’.” Kaelee slurred the word. “I’m a fucking imposter, Marie. Can’t do anything right. Can’t please anyone. ’Cept you. I pleased you, didn’t I? Let me do it again. I’ll be good to you.”
“Sweetie, you sound drunk. Where are you?” Greta didn’t hear any chatter or music. Instead everything was echoing vaguely, like Kaelee was in a small empty room. “Are you safe?”
Kaelee burst out laughing, a bark of noise. “That’s a really great question. Am I? Do they know where I am? I mean, not tonight. I’m mostly sure they don’t know where I am tonight. Didn’t go home just in case. Can they be tracking my telly-phone, though? These are good smart questions. You’re smart.”
Greta felt panic rising at the things Kaelee was dancing around.“Are you alone? Do youknowwhere you are? Did you meet someone and—”
“Can’t meet anyone. They’re not you. I just want your sweet, juicy pussy, Marie. You took it away, though. Left me.” Kaelee let out a burp. “Don’t drink the wine. I’m telling you. Wine’s bad.”
“Are you at a bar?”
“Nope.” She laughed. “Can’t get drunk in public. ’S not safe.”
“Okay. So are you at your apartment?” Greta’s mind spun. She couldn’t get to Kaelee to help her. She was hours away. Maybe she needed to call Toni. She was localandfriends with Kaelee. It wasn’t the worst idea Greta had ever had. Sure, it might invite questions from Toni, but if Kaelee was in danger, Greta was willing to answer them.
“Can’t go to my place tonight. Doors unlocked themselves. Either the super’s not super, or I’m sleepwalking, or”—her voice dropped to a raspy whisper—“maybe they found me.”
“Who? Who are they?”
“Can’t tell you.” Kaelee had sounded matter-of-fact until she mentioned being found. Her voice wobbled as she continued, “Maybe I ought to just vanish again, so maybe the book needs canc’ling. I wouldn’t be your author then, so I thought you might sext me.Sext me,Greta. You know, like tex’ sex.”
“Kaelee, you need to tell me where you are.”
“Are you coming here for sex?” Kaelee sounded far more excited by that. “I can prob’ly crawl into the tub and clean up.” Crashing noises followed that. “Got to get my jeans off, though.”
“Do not get in the tub. Do you hear me?” Greta panicked at the thought of Kaelee drowning herself, passed out in a running tub.
“Okay. You like tellin’ me what to do? If I’m drunk enough, we could try that.”
Greta’s heart felt like it had cracked at the tone in Kaelee’s voice, raw and fragile. Carefully, she said, “If you need to get drunk to do something, I don’t want you to do it. I want you to take care of yourself.”
“What am I to do, then? I don’t know what I’m to do, Greta.” Kaelee sounded like she was weighing a much larger question about life.
“First, open your phone and put it on speaker.”
“Okay. Done.” Kaelee sounded far away. “Now what?”
“Now you send me your location. Right now.” Greta knew this was incredibly outside the norm of an editor-author friendship, but they weren’t just that, even if it’s what they were trying to be.
When Kaelee sent it, Greta could see that she was in a hotel. “What room number?”
“Eighteen-oh-six,” Kaelee answered. “Are you really coming to see me?”
“No, sweetie, I’m not. I just need to know you’re okay. You don’t sound okay right now.” Greta’s mind filled with visions of overdoses, being roofied, alcohol poisoning.
“I don’t drink like this. Not in lots of years,” Kaelee whispered. “I’m not a great drunk.”
“It’s okay. Did someone make you?”
“He can’t make me do anything. Not ever again.” Kaelee’s voice was stronger now, thick with anger. “Calling and threatening me.”
