Hood River Rat (Hood River Hoodlums #1) - K Webster Page 0,28
sits beside me on the bed, sobbing. She hands me my phone.
“Who is it?” I croak. “Hello?”
“Oh, Roan, honey, thank God.”
“Mom?”
“No, baby, it’s Kelsey. Roux called the house phone crying. Hollis and I are on the way to come get you.”
“What?” I’m so fucking confused right now. “Why?”
“It’s not safe there.” Her voice is firm. Motherly. Fuck, it makes my heart hurt worse than my head. “We can bring you here—”
“No,” I bark out. “I mean, we have someplace to go. The fire station. I have a friend there.”
“We’ll be there shortly. If it feels unsafe to leave, let me know and I’ll call the police.”
“Please don’t,” I beg. I’m eighteen, but Roux? They’ll fucking take her from me.
“Okay,” she says with a ragged sigh. “Be there soon. You have Hollis’s cell if you need to call us.”
We hang up and I frown at Roux, which makes my head throb worse.
“Why did you call them?” I murmur, hurt in my tone. I always take care of her. We don’t need anyone else.
Her bottom lip wobbles. “I tried all your friends. No one answered.”
“Mike?”
“He must be asleep or at a fire. He didn’t answer either.”
“The dresser is there. We would’ve been fine,” I try, hating that I don’t even believe my own words.
“Not you,” she utters. “You’re bleeding and I think you have a concussion.”
“Okay, Dr. Hirsch.”
She laughs and the sound is a miracle worker. “My new best friend said she’s going to be a doctor like her dad when she grows up. I think I’ll be a doctor too.”
“Good,” I tease. “Then you can take care of me in my old age.”
I hug her to me and kiss the top of her head. We stay like that for a moment before we get up and pack our shit. Everything we own fits into a couple of bags. There’s no coming back here. Not after Alejandro pulled a gun on me. Next time, if he’s fucked up on drugs, he might just pull the trigger. I can’t live without Roux and I’ll be damned if I let her watch me die. I’m not sure where we’ll go or how we’ll manage, but I have to try. Anything is better than this. Hell, I’d be happy camping in my favorite tent at Cal’s campground if it meant never having to see Alejandro again.
“Let me make sure it’s clear first,” I tell Roux as I move the dresser from the door.
The apartment is quiet aside from the music playing in the living room. One quick look toward my mother’s door and it’s still shut. I walk back into our room, gather up most of the bags, and leave a couple for Roux to carry. Quietly, we slip out of the apartment. At five in the morning, no one is up. We make it out of the building and into the blistery cold just as a suped up Denali pulls up with Hollis at the wheel.
“Oh, thank God you’re both okay,” Kelsey cries out the moment the passenger door flings open. She rushes to the hatch and opens it. We toss our bags inside and she closes it. Before we can get in the car, she pulls us both to her for a hug. “I have you now. You’re safe.”
Tears burn at my eyes as I slump against this woman. She’s small, but her strength is addictive. I need so badly to be strong right now. A sob catches in my throat. Her hand pats my back as she whispers assurances. I break away and quickly jump into the backseat with Roux so I don’t do something stupid like cry. Everyone is quiet on the way to the fire station. Hollis keeps glancing at me in the mirror, worry evident in his stare.
I can’t look at him.
I can’t look at either of them.
When I try to see myself through their eyes, I see a weak brother who can’t keep his sister safe. I see all of my insecurities like blinking lights for all to witness. I see the fatigue of a life that’s too fucking tiring for someone only eighteen.
Defeated, I close my eyes and hope I’ll find my way to a bed soon. We pull up to the fire station and park. One of Mike’s friends, Frank, comes out to greet us.
“Everything okay? Do you need medical attention?” Frank asks. When he realizes it’s Roux and me, concern washes over his features. “Roan, what the hell, man? You might need stitches.”