Me: I’m fine, I’ve been sleeping all day. I caught some kind of stomach bug.
As I hit send, I instantly felt guilty about lying to him yet again. But if I told him what happened he would cancel all of his shows and coming running back to me. I got a reply almost instantly.
Drake: Good God Chloe, you scared the shit out of me. Why the hell wouldn’t Danny and Jordan answer their phones?
Me: I have no idea, I haven’t talked to either of them much today. I’m fine so you can stop worrying, but I am tired so I’m going back to bed. If you don’t hear from me tomorrow, I’m fine.
Drake: Ok. Sorry I pretty much blew up your phone, I just worry about you with your mom being there. I’ll talk to you later. Love you.
I was released the next morning like the doctor had said. After a quick stop at the pharmacy to pick up my pain medication, Jordan drove me straight home and helped me up to my room. I decided that if his football career ever ended, he would make an excellent nurse. He fussed over every little thing, constantly asking me if I was comfortable.
After the fourth time he fluffed my pillows, I pointed to the door. “Enough! You’re going to drive me nuts Jordan, go fluff Danny’s pillows or something!”
He smiled sheepishly. “Sorry Chloe Bear, I just want to make sure you’re comfortable. Do you need another pain pill? Or I can have Allison make you some soup.”
I groaned and threw a pillow over my face. “Just smother me with the damn pillow, it’ll save us both some time.”
He ripped the pillow away and glared at me. “Not funny.”
“Sorry, but seriously I’m fine. Just grab my iPod off the dresser and hand it to me. I’ll just lay here and listen to some music and you can go do something else.”
He walked to my dresser and grabbed my iPod for me. “I’m not leaving you alone again, so you might as well get used to me.”
“She’s not going to come back here Jordan, she’s not that stupid. I’m officially relieving you of your babysitting duties.”
“I’m not taking any chances so you’re stuck with me.”
I snatched the iPod out of his hand. “You have to sleep sometime you know.”
“I will, but I’ll be sleeping in here. If you won’t let me sleep in the bed with you, I’ll just sleep on the floor.”
“You’re going to drive me to drink, I hope you know that.”
He scooted me over and settled down on the bed beside me as he took one of the ear buds from me. “I intend on it, now play us some music.”
We spent the next couple hours listening to some of my favorite artists, such as Three Days Grace, Seether, Disturbed, Papa Roach, Avenged Sevenfold, and several others. Jordan didn’t know half of the songs I played and I spent most of the time telling him about each of the bands while playing what I considered must haves.
By the time evening rolled around, I had him addicted to several new bands and I felt proud of myself. If there was one thing I valued above all else, it was music. When I played some of Drake’s songs, he was as blown away by them as I was.
A soft knock came on the door and Kadi stuck her head in. “Can I come in?”
I pulled the headphones from our ears and motioned for her to enter. “Sure, I was just educating Jordan on real music.”
She smiled as she stepped inside the room and closed the door. “I heard what happened, how are you feeling?”
“I’m fine, just a little sore.”
Her phone dinged and she held it up to read the text. She replied back and held the phone up in the air. “Ugh, I have like no service in this room!”
She finally managed to get it to send and slipped the phone back into her pocket. “Anyway, I feel terrible, if I hadn’t left you alone she never would have had the chance to hurt you.”
“Don’t worry about it, you had no idea she would show up,” I glanced at Jordan, “No one did.”
He frowned but kept his mouth shut.
Kadi gave me a small smile. “That still doesn’t make me feel any better.”
“Everyone needs to stop beating themselves up over it. My mother is the one at fault, no one else.”
I was getting so sick of everyone blaming themselves for something that was completely out of their control.
“Alright, well I just wanted to see how you were doing. I’m going to be out of town for a couple of weeks, so I probably won’t see you for a while,” she said as she walked to the door.
“Ok, where are you going?” I asked.
She paused for a moment before answering. “Uh, I’m going to go stay with my cousin.”
She seemed uncomfortable with my question, but I couldn’t figure out why. I decided to let it go as we said our goodbyes.
Jordan hopped out of bed and grabbed a pair of clothes off the chair beside my dresser. “I’m going to go shower.”
“Have fun, I’ll try to stay out of trouble while you’re gone.” I said as I stuck my tongue out at his back.
He laughed as he walked into the bathroom. “I saw that.”
I spent the next week holed up in my room with only Jordan for company. Danny would stop in from time to time, but I knew he was busy trying to work with Jim to handle his mother’s companies. We spent most of the time watching television or I would call Drake when he wasn’t busy. I promised him that I would try to meet up with him the following week. Jordan didn’t seem happy about me leaving, but he wouldn’t say anything about it. I was worried too, when Drake saw my bruises I knew he would flip.
By the end of the week, I was able to get up and move around the house a bit. I was still sore, but the exercise was helping to loosen my body. I even convinced Jordan to take me across the Ocean Gateway so that we could walk around the boardwalk for a while. I tried to ignore the looks people gave us as they saw the bruises on my face. They had turned a nasty yellow color and I knew I looked horrible.
I laughed out loud when Jordan forced me to stop at The Fractured Prune. “Are you serious right now?” I asked.
“Trust me, they have the best donuts ever!” He said as he ordered us two donuts.
After my first bite, I had to agree. They put all donuts that I had ever had to shame and I made him get me another one before we left.
As we were walking back up the boardwalk to where the car was parked, my phone rang. I pulled it from my pocket and looked at my screen. I was surprised to see that it was Jade calling me.
“Hello?”
“Chloe? Hey it’s Jade. I’m sorry to bother you, but I was wondering if you had talked to Drake lately?”
I could tell that she was worried. “No, it’s been a couple of days. Why?”
“I don’t want you to freak out, but I haven’t been able to find him.”
“What do you mean you can’t find him?” I asked frantically.
“He split after a show the other night and no one has heard from him since. He sent me a text telling me that he was going to a party and now he won’t answer his phone.”
“Oh God, what if he’s hurt? Where are you guys at and I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
She gave me the address of the bar they played at last. “We’ve had to cancel two shows Chloe, this isn’t like him at all.”
“I’m on my way, just call me if you find him.”
I hung up with her and turned to Jordan. “We have to go to Pennsylvania, Drake is missing!”
“Alright, calm down. Let’s go back to Danny’s and pack a few things, then we’ll go.”
Every bad thing possible flashed through my mind as I ran to Jordan’s car. I couldn’t lose Drake, I just couldn’t.
Chapter Twelve
Drake
I smiled as the crowd screamed out our name, feeding off their energy. We had done well at every show so far, but this crowd was absolutely wild for us. I had no doubt we had secured some new fans, especially from some of the women standing in front of the stage. As I sang the last few verses of our last song and told everyone goodnight, the screaming turned into a roar.
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Adam slapped me on the back as we packed up our instruments while Eric went to find the owner to collect our pay. “You’re on fire tonight buddy.”
“Thanks, I guess I’m excited that Chloe will be with me in the next couple days.”
“Somebody is going to get laid.” He said in a sing-song voice as he waggled his eyebrows at me.
I punched him in the arm as I grabbed my guitar and headed for the back door. There was no way I was going to go through the massive crowd of people to get to the front exit. I stepped out into the warm evening air and lit a cigarette, inhaling deeply to calm my after show nerves.
The quietness outside the bar was a welcome reprieve from the madness that I had just left behind. I walked slowly across the lot toward the bus, giving myself time to finish my cigarette before I boarded. Just as I reached the bus door, a figure stepped out of the darkness and blocked it.
“Hey Drake, miss me?”
I groaned out loud as I realized it was Kadi standing in front of me. “What do you want? How did you even find me?”
She held up one of the fliers we had out at every bar we played in. They had our entire schedule on them. I mentally smacked myself as I realized I had pretty much given her step by step instructions on how to find me.
“I thought you’d be happy to see me,” she whined.
“If I wasn’t excited in Maryland, what makes you think I’d be excited in Pennsylvania?”
“Oh come on baby, you know you’ve missed me. We were always great together.”
“Can’t say that I have. And like I told you before, I’m with someone now so you need to back off. You’re starting to act like a stalker.” I tried to push past her, but she held her ground.
“You mean someone who cheats on you when you’re not around.”
I rolled my eyes. “What are you talking about? You don’t even know Chloe.”
She gave me a smug smile. “Oh, but I do. I’ve spent some quality time with her and Jordan since the last time I saw you.”
I felt a burning rage take over. “You stay the fuck away from her Kadi, I mean it.”
“Don’t worry, I don’t normally associate with cheaters but I needed proof.”
“Proof of what exactly?”
She huffed as she handed me an envelope. “Haven’t you heard a word that I’ve said? I needed proof that she wasn’t good enough for you and I have it. She’s been cheating on you while you’ve been away.”
I snatched the envelope out of her hand and opened it. There were several pictures inside and my breath caught as I looked through them. Picture after picture showed Jordan and Chloe together; hugging in the living room, Chloe holding his cheek and staring into his eyes, walking down a street hand in hand, Jordan with Chloe thrown over his shoulder, Jordan carrying Chloe in his arms by the pool, Chloe sitting on his shoulders in the pool. But the last one, it was the worst. It was a picture of the two of them cuddled up in Chloe’s bed.
I had no idea how Kadi had managed to get all of these pictures and I didn’t want to know. I threw the pictures on the ground and pushed her aside to step onto the bus.
She followed me up the steps, but stopped at the top of them. “Do you see now? No one will ever be as good to you as I was.”
I barely contained my temper as I pointed to the door. “Get. Out.”
She looked at me, shocked. “You can’t be serious! I was only watching out for you Drake, I love you!”
I shook my head, disgusted. “You don’t love me, you’re obsessed with me. I don’t want anything to do with you even if Chloe is cheating on me. Now get the fuck out or I’ll remove you myself.”
She glared at me. “You’ll be sorry Drake Allen!”
“Yeah yeah, whatever. Just go!” I shouted.
She turned and stomped off the bus as I collapsed into one of the seats. How could Chloe do this to me? She hadn’t seemed interested in Jordan at all and that dirt bag had said he was only looking out for her, that he would never be with her. I was a fool, just like Logan had been. Only it sucked a lot more to be on this side of it all.
I obviously meant nothing to her or she wouldn’t be off screwing some other guy while I was away, and doing it in the house of her aunt who had just died. I looked around for something to throw before I punched one of the windows on the bus. Seeing nothing close, I stormed off the bus and walked back to the rear entrance of the bar. I was going to get drunk off my ass, being sober hurt too damn much.
When I reached the entrance, I noticed a guy standing a few feet away in the shadows. I caught the smell of weed as the wind blew in my direction. Without a second thought, I walked over to him. He looked surprised, but said nothing as I stopped in front of him.
“You have any more of that?” I asked.
He nodded. “Yeah, I’ve got this and a lot more if you’re interested.”
“I am.”
I needed a release and I knew just how to find it. I had managed to stay clean for years, yet here I was, throwing it all away for Chloe. I guess it showed just how stupid I really was.
He motioned for me to follow him. “I don’t have anything on me, but if you want we can go back to my place. It’s not far from here and I can hook you up.”
I nodded as I sent a quick text to Jade, letting her know I was going to a party and that I would be back on the bus in the morning before shutting my phone off. I knew it would throw us behind schedule if we didn’t leave tonight, but I didn’t care.
We walked to a beat up car parked in the corner of the lot and he unlocked it. “I’m Jack by the way.”
“Drake.”
“You don’t say much do you?”
“Nope.”
He lived only a couple of minutes away in the rundown part of town. I exited the car and followed him up the stairs to a small dirty apartment. The air was thick with smoke and several people looked up as we entered. Jack raised a hand to all of them, but continued through the apartment until we reached a bedroom. There were two girls and a guy having sex on the bed when we entered, but he quickly tossed them out, still naked, into the hallway before shutting the door behind them.
“I’ve got just about anything you want.”
“Coke?”
He smiled as he pulled a lock box out from under the bed. “I’ll take care of you.”
He unlocked the box and pulled out a small bag of cocaine. I held out my hand but he shook his head. “Money first buddy or no deal.”
I pulled my wallet from my jeans and pulled some cash out. “Here’s everything I have on me. Give me whatever you’ve got.”
“I like you kid, here you go.”
I took the bag from him and grabbed a small mirror off the bedside table. It had obviously been used recently; it was cloudy from the leftover powder that covered its surface. I dumped a small amount out and made a line with one of the credit cards from my wallet. I grabbed a dollar from my wallet as well, before rolling it and snorting the line.
Within minutes, I started to feel the effects. I smiled up at Jack as my body relaxed and I fell back onto the bed grinning. Why had I ever given this up? There was no feeling in the world like this high, all my worries disappeared and I felt like I could conquer anything.
I had no idea why I had gotten so crazy over Chloe, what the fuck did she matter anyway? No need to go all crazy over some chick that didn’t care about me. I could get any woman I wanted, and there were always several lined up and waiting with no strings attached. I had my music, money, my band, and a bag full of coke. What else could a guy ask for?
I stood and followed Jack back out into the living room, the cocaine and mirror still in my hand. I spent the next several hours sitting around and joking with them, snorting another line when I felt my high start to dwindle. By the time morning rolled around, I was out of Coke and out of money. Jack drove me to the nearest ATM and I withdrew a couple hundred dollars to make sure I had enough.
When we made it back to his place, I paid him for twice the
amount of coke I bought last night, as well as enough “hydros” to knock out a horse. I spent the rest of the day high as a fucking kite off both the coke and pain pills. I hadn’t felt this good in a long time and I savored every moment. I crashed at his house that night and stayed late into the afternoon the following day. I finally decided I needed to get back to the bus before Jade or one of the guys beat the shit out of me.
Jack drove me back to the bar parking lot and I was relieved to see the bus still sitting where it was the other night. Before I got out, I bought enough to hold me over until I could find someone else to supply me.
“If you’re ever back in the area and need more, you just let me know kid.”
“Thanks, I will.”
I stepped out of the car and waved as he pulled back out. I walked across the lot to the bus and started walking up the stairs. Eric and Adam were sitting around our small table, and both their heads snapped up as they caught sight of me.
“What the fuck?” Adam roared.
“Thank God, where have you been?” Eric asked with concern.
“Sorry, I met some guy after our show the other night and lost track of the time.” I said as I sat down beside Adam.
“You lost track of time? You’ve been gone two days, not two hours,” he said as he leaned over and sniffed me, “And you fucking smell. Did you forget to take a bath?”
I grinned. “Sorry, I’ll go shower.”
I smacked him across the back of the head as I walked back to my bunk and grabbed a pair of clean clothes before stepping into the small bathroom. The cocaine I had snorted before I left Jack’s place was already starting to wear off so I grabbed one of Jade’s mirrors and did a couple of lines before getting in the shower.
Once I finished, I dried off and dressed before walking back upfront to join the guys. Jade came up the steps just as I sat down and launched herself at me.
“You asshole! Do you know how worried I’ve been?”
I grabbed her wrists and pushed her off of me. “Sorry, like I told the guys, I lost track of time.”
She stared at me with her mouth gaping open. “Lost track of time? LOST TRACK OF TIME? I get a text saying you’re going to some party and then no one can get ahold of you for two days! I thought you were dead Drake!”
Twisted (Torn Series) Page 12
