“Night, Master,” Josh added.
Once again, I smiled in the dark when Josh called me Master.
17
Josh
I had just finishedwith my shower and was getting dressed for work when my cell phone vibrated on the charging pad. I walked over to the phone and pulled my shirt on right before I looked at the screen.
Andrew: R U UP?
I frowned and picked the phone up and stared at the text. Andrew never typed like that. Ever. Andrew always typed words out and never used abbreviations.
Josh: Yes. What’s up?
I waited with my phone in my hand for him to reply. My heart pounded as I watched the dots tell me he was typing. The dots would disappear and then reappear.
Andrew: call
What the fuck? I quickly dialed, and the second I heard him cough, I knew something was very wrong.
“And—” I began.
“I need help,” he rasped.
“Andrew, what’s wrong?”
I took hold of the dresser with my free hand as if it would help me concentrate or keep my pulse from racing. His voice sounded so labored.
Was he having a heart attack?
Where was Elise?
“Andrew?” I nearly yelled into the phone. Ali walked into the bedroom and looked at me with concern. She sat on Sam’s bed and watched me.
“I tried to get to the hospital but started seeing spots.”
“Fuck! What? Wait! Where are you?”
“I pulled into the shopping plaza near the house.”
“Okay, do not move. Where is Elise?”
“Home.”
I tried to piece this together.Why wasn’t he calling her if she was a block away?
“Andrew, what happened?”
“We were playing … or I thought we were … and she wouldn’t stop.”
Fuck.I closed my eyes, fearing what he was going to tell me. I grabbed the fob to my SUV and held the phone with a shaking hand. He didn’t sound good at all. He was hurt badly enough that he was trying to get to the hospital on his own. If he was seeing spots and had to pull over, did he have a head injury?
“I’m on my way, but I’m going to keep you on the phone. Tell me what happened, please,” I begged as calmly as possible. I pulled the phone away and told Ali I’d call her as soon as I could.
“When I got home from James’, she was waiting up. I thought she was mad, but then she said she was glad I was home. She said she wanted to play and had missed me. I reminded her that she could have come to the collaring party for Brandon. She didn’t want to.” Andrew paused and then coughed hard, and it sounded like he was throwing up.
I was waiting at the meter on the on-ramp and focusing on the fucking light while listening to Andrew hack up a lung. The moment it turned green, I floored it and burst onto the freeway.
