If You Fall

Seventeen

"Addy," Reed was saying, softly so as not to startle me. I remembered immediately what was happening. We were still driving on a dark highway. I looked at him, eyebrows raised.

He smiled, the corners of his eyes crinkling. "Sorry, chérie. Hi. We're almost there," he said, apologetic. He knew I would want to fix my face before seeing people.

I looked at the clock on the stereo. 5:15. I wanted coffee in a major way.

"Neva calls me 'chérie'," Dane mock grumbled. "Still awake then, Intou? Good job. Need some tea, mate."

"I'm sure Ari will have tea for you."

"I'm sure she will, at that," Dane agreed. "Dépêche toi." Hurry up.

I flipped down the visor and began fixing my makeup, focusing first on the circles under my eyes. A few hours of sleep did not look good on me. I touched up my scars so they were barely noticeable, grateful I'd washed my hair the night before. It hung straight and sleek just where it was supposed to, thank God. I needed that curtain. Anxiety chewed at my insides like an alien.

Reed yawned, and I looked over to see him rub his eye with his fist like a three year old. "You need to sleep," I said, as if he didn't know.

He gave me a smile. His circles were dark, the bruises on his face worse today. "I will. We both can."

Hopefully that meant together, because the thought of being on my own made me freak out inside. I was neurotic. I kind of figured I came by it honestly, after my life, but still. It got annoying.

He took an exit ramp and my heart sped up. It went into residential and he turned into the driveway of one of the first houses. A red Camry was parked in the other half of the driveway, and a black Chevy truck on big wheels in front of the mailbox. There were lights on in the house.

I looked at Reed as he pulled the key out and took a deep breath. He held my eyes and gave me a reassuring smile and said, "Just my friends here. You'll like them."

I swallowed and clutched my purse and backpack strap. "'Kay." We got out.

"You'll jus' want to plan on plain ignoring Ari," Dane advised, with amusement in his voice. He seemed to be amused frequently. "She's well mad at this one." He nudged Reed, who gave him a look that clearly said shut up.

I didn't even ask. I was too tired. I just followed them up the steps, Reed reaching for my bag, but I shook my head. The weight was grounding me. It was cold but I was sweating from nerves, and uncomfortable all over. I fixed my hair again, covering my face. Reed texted someone and then the door was being unlocked.

A tall, tall Black man in his fifties stood there, solemn before his face broke into a smile, and he embraced Reed and Dane at the same time. "You scared us, son," he said to Reed as he pulled away. "I'm so glad you're okay."

"I know, I'm sorry, I am," Reed swore, looking up at this man the same way he used to look at my father.

The man turned to me. He had a little goatee and warm, parenting eyes. "You must be Addy, dear. I'm Don. Welcome. I apologize for the chaos. We didn't wish to bring you into this, but circumstances led us here anyway. Did you have a good trip? You're probably all tired. I'll get some drinks. The bedrooms are just through the family room, down the hall."

Too much information. Reed took my hand for comfort (mine) and we went into the next room, which boasted two couches and four big chairs.

That was when a girl around my age burst through the swinging door at the other end of the room, long red hair swinging behind her as she came right up to him, in his face and therefore in mine, and began yelling. "What the hell were you thinking, Intou! Are you fucking crazy! How could you be so fucking careless!"