Yet a Stranger (The First Quarto #2) - Gregory Ashe Page 0,57

sit differently on the couch to leave room for him, or why you stock Doritos, or why some nights you think crazy things like where you could go on vacation, that cabin at the lake maybe, and what it would be like to sit on the porch, just let him talk until he ran out of things to say—he could talk all night if he wanted, and you wouldn’t mind—if nobody could tell you anything like that, Theo wondered, why should I have any idea why I’m freaking the fuck out?

His breath was coming faster. The room wobbled. He got out of bed, pounded back the beer, and made his way downstairs, almost tripping on the towel. The fifth beer he drank at the table; his naked ass peeled away from the wood when he stood and tossed the empty at the recycling. Miss.

When Theo opened the fridge, the White Rascals were gone. He made his way up to the bedroom. This time he did trip on the towel, and he started laughing as he lay on the stairs, laughing until he couldn’t breathe. His knee hurt, though, and he had to drag himself the rest of the way to his bedroom. Sitting on the floor, he unscrewed the outlet plate. Then he pulled the outlet out of the box. Then he pulled the box out of the wall.

Once, and only once, Cart had searched the house. Just so we can trust each other, Cart said, and Theo had smiled and nodded. He knew firsthand that if you had to search, everything else was bullshit. And Cart had been thorough. Cart was smart, even if he didn’t give himself credit, and he was a cop and good at his job. But Cart hadn’t lived with Luke Stratford.

Theo peeled the strip of tape from the back of the box. He liberated one of the pills—Percocet, plenty of refills, so Cart could take the bottle and Theo could smile and nod—and swallowed it dry. Then he closed his eyes and waited for the room to stop spinning.

But it didn’t stop. It got worse, the whole structure tilting like Theo was on the deck of the ship. He was sliding on the floorboards. Another pill might stop it, so he tried that, and then he jammed the box and outlet back into the wall and left the plate for another time. He crawled into bed. The spinning got worse. For a long time, it seemed, Theo couldn’t understand why it was getting worse.

And then it all made sense: he was still in the car. Still in the car with Ian and Lana. Still spinning. This wasn’t the bad part, not really. One bad part had happened—when the semi struck the car—and a lot of bad parts were still coming. But this, the spinning, it was an in-between. It really wasn’t bad.

Except it wouldn’t stop. And somehow Theo got his phone. Then the spinning got worse, and the only thing left in his world was spin and drift.

He came back to a warm hand between his shoulder blades and someone saying, “Get it all up. Good. That’s good, you’ve got to get it all up. Jesus, how much did you drink?”

“Auggie?”

“It’s me.”

Theo thought about this. Then he managed to say, “’m sick.”

“I know. Just aim for the bucket, please.”

When the next wave of puke came, Theo did. He thought he did a pretty good job, all things considered. Then he slept, and when he woke, the house was dark. His head was resting on a ribcage, and he could hear a heartbeat like the secret clock of the universe. He groaned.

“Any more puking,” Auggie said, “and we’re going to the hospital.”

Theo weakly shook his head.

Auggie’s hand settled on the side of his face. “Do you think you can keep down some water? I’m worried you’re dehydrated.”

Theo licked his lips, but his voice wouldn’t come. He nodded.

“Stay right here. Don’t get up.”

Footsteps moved away. The stairs creaked. The boards on the main floor creaked. Old pipes groaned. Then everything in reverse until the mattress dipped.

“Do you want me to hold it for you?”

Theo shook his head. He opened his eyes. Auggie was Auggie, except for a purple bruise like a storm cloud on the side of his face. Something like foam had buried Theo, insulating him, but underneath, embers flickered to life. Hand trembling, Theo took the glass and managed to get a few gulps.

“That’s probably enough for right now,” Auggie said as he took