Page 219 of Just Wait

“Nah.” I shake my head. “He’d close the door right in our faces.”

“He still might, but we’ll be watching. If you need anything, hold up two fingers.” Kincaid shoves Malcolm into the back seat with a hand on Mal’s chest and pops the middle console, pulling out the paperwork we brought with us.

It has three different options that Benji tracked down, as well as a card for the service we used for a sober companion for Lumen’s dad.

I take it, exhaling heavily.

I’m so grateful that they set this up, but I’m pretty sure that I have to do this alone.

Lumen’s fingers brush the back of my neck, and she sends comfort and her love through the bond. “No matter what he says, you’ll feel better knowing you gave it one more shot.”

“Yeah,” I agree, grabbing the door handle.

I probably should have followed his ass when he first left Florida, but better late than never.

Andrew looks exactly the same and simultaneously nothing like I remember. He’s lost weight since I saw him last, and the dark circles under his eyes seem more hollow than I remember.

He’s in a zip-up hoodie and jeans, and he leans against the door, acting like it hasn’t been almost ten months since we’ve seen each other.

We talk about everything and nothing for a solid ten minutes before he says, “I heard you got yourself locked down.” He takes a drag of his cigarette, blowing the smoke out of his nose. “Mal and K too, if the press is right.”

“Yeah,” I agree. “We were all shocked when Malcolm was the first one to fall in love. Her name is Lumen. She’s a songwriter.” I don’t let myself feel guilty for mentioning it. He made his choices, and we’ve all been living in the aftermath of them. “We met on tour.”

Kincaid, Malcolm, and I had a pretty intense talk about not letting Lumen anywhere close to Andrew, at least for the time being. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t concerned about what could happen if she smelled him.

She scent matched to the three of us, and if Andrew had been around, I can’t help but wonder if she would have been drawn to his scent too.

It’s complicated.

I know he wouldn’t hurt her, at least not physically. Emotionally is a completely different story, and when we brought that concern to her, she agreed it was better not to tempt fate.

He’s too deep in the trenches of addiction to do anything but break her heart. While I’ve forgiven him for a lot over the years, that’s one thing I’m not sure we could come back from.

I love Drew like my goddamn brother, but Lumen will always be my first priority.

This is so awkward.

“Do you want me to act shocked that you guys found someone else to write your songs?” Drew laughs bitterly. “Because I’m not. It didn’t take the label long to give my spot away. Only, they needed twice as many guys to fill my shoes.”

“None of us wanted things to play out the way they did.” I shake my head. “You know that.”

“Yeah, sure.” He blows cigarette smoke in my face, and my eyes narrow. “Look, why don’t you get to the point? I thought you were crawling back to beg me to write some music for you guys. If that’s not the case, I’ve got shit to do.”

“You told me to fuck off when I begged you to get help. It took a while, but I realized I can’t force you to want to get better. That’s something that has to click inside you.” I grab the folded-up paperwork from my back pocket. “You’re not invincible. Living the way you⁠—”

“Self-righteous Riser, back to try to guilt me into living the way you want me to. I think I’m doing just fine on my own, but thanks. At least I’ve never slit my wrists in the bathtub⁠—”

“Fuck you,” I growl, slamming the papers into his chest. “Three facilities. Each has a different program and requirements. If you call and give them your name, they’ll get you in as soon as they have a bed. There’s also a card for an addiction support service. They’ll coordinate your plane ticket and assign someone to help keep you on track for the first six months following rehab. It’s all paid for. Use it or don’t.” I release the paperwork and take off toward the stairs. “If you OD, I won’t be at your funeral. If you take the deal, give me a call once your head is clear.”

I hit the stairs, taking two at a time.

“Hey, Ry?”

“Yeah?”

“Go fuck yourself.”

I sigh, shaking my head.