“Ah, hell. I’m alright?”
Why did that sound like a question? Who cares?
“Why don’t you just tell me where you are and Bri and I can come get you. You know you can’t drive like that.”
“True,” I said, trying to keep my eyes open, but it felt so good to let them close. To block out the light, the faces...the memories.
“So?”
“So what?” I asked blankly.
What the hell is she talking about?
“So where are you?”
“Uh,” I looked around the room. “I’m at the karaoke bar. Where I sang for Kari.”
She sighed. “Ok. Bri and I will be there in a bit.”
TWENTY-FOUR
KARI
I stared out the window into the night. The city lights blinked below, little beacons in the dark. It reminded me of Christmas lights strung for miles in every direction. I could see why Cane and Jada loved this place—it felt like you were above the world, secluded from all the problems.
Except for the ones you brought there yourself.
Cane sat on an ottoman in front of the fireplace, his forearms resting on his knees. He watched me like a caged animal that he wanted to approach, but was afraid it would bite.
I sat on the couch across from him, wrapped up in a yellow blanket and nestled into Jada’s throw pillows.
“You going to tell me what’s going on?” my brother-in-law asked me.
I shrugged. “I don’t know. Max and I just had a little...disagreement and I just don’t know what to do.”
His lips hinted at a smile. “Remember the first time you met me? Not the night at Max’s, but the night we went to the bar?”
I nodded.
“And you ordered the third margarita? And I told you not to drink too much because I couldn’t guarantee your safety if you did?”
I nodded again, a smile touching my lips at the memory. I thought he was an arrogant asshole. I wasn’t completely wrong, in retrospect. But when he drove my car home to make sure I didn’t drive, I knew he wasn’t a complete dick. Cane and I have always shared some sort of understanding—two black sheep that just “got” each other.
“What did you tell me, Kari?”
“I told you I would do whatever I damn well pleased.”
Cane smiled. “That’s what you should do right now.”
“Whatever I please?”
“I think you need to do whatever you want to do. I don’t know what to say. I rely on Max for this kind of shit. The fact that someone is asking me for advice is kind of scary.”
“Don’t think I don’t know that,” I muttered. I watched the lights blink again, wondering which light was Max’s. “I feel like I’m holding him back, Cane.”
“How do you figure that?”
I turned to face him head on. I wanted to say this bluntly, to get a true reaction out of him. “Look around. See all of this? This is what Max deserves.”
