A Long Way Back (Unfinished Business #2) - Barbara Elsborg Page 0,51
heart rate drops when he takes it. He’s at risk of a heart attack. You really need to get him to talk to someone.”
Oh God. I gave him wine. “One last thing. If he stops—tonight—how quickly do the withdrawal symptoms kick in?”
“Depends on how much he’s taking, but possibly within a few hours of his last dose.”
Ink pushed to his feet. “Thank you for talking to me.”
“I wondered at first that you were the addict and looking for drugs, but I can see you’re not. I hope your friend accepts that he needs help.”
“Me too.”
Ink didn’t have enough cash to buy the things Tay needed. It wasn’t just that. He wasn’t going to be able to leave the flat for a few days unless Tay was with him and it didn’t sound as if Tay would be up for going anywhere. He could have paid with his card or used the hole in the wall, but his rule was—not to use a cash machine unless he was leaving an area. He’d already taken a risk swiping his card on the bus to the pool.
He didn’t want to wait to get Tay off the drugs. Not even a single night. But… if he waited, he could busk tomorrow morning, get enough cash to buy what he needed, then confront Tay. On the other hand, if he withdrew the cash now and it triggered some response from any one of those who wanted to find him, he might not get the chance to help Tay.
Ink decided to wait. Tay had already dosed himself up. He crushed the two tablets under his heel and hurried back to the flat, his anxiety off the scale. He was the one who’d opened the wine. He was the one who’d pushed Tay to drink last night and tonight. The pharmacist had said codeine plus alcohol was dangerous. Fuck! Ink started to run.
TAY WAS RIGHT WHERE HE’D left him, lying with his hand on Dog, and breathing steadily. Ink exhaled. Being so concerned for someone was an alien emotion. He’d not been this close to anyone for a long time. He’d spent so many years just working at keeping himself safe, not letting anyone into his world, and then Dog, and now Tay, had snuck in.
Ink took Dog outside for a pee and when he let him back into the flat, Dog ran to Tay’s room, then stopped at the part-open door and looked back at him.
“Yeah, I get it,” Ink whispered.
He went into the bathroom, had a wash, cleaned his teeth, then stripped down to his shorts and T-shirt. Tonight, he’d sleep on Tay’s bed. Hopefully, Tay would never know.
TAY WOKE TO FIND INK sleeping next to him and only just managed to hold in his gasp of surprise. His gaze locked on the faint mark on Ink’s cheek from where the bottle had hit him and memories of last night flooded back. Did Ink sleeping on his bed mean he was forgiven or was the floor just too hard? Tay frowned. But he could have slept on the couch.
As Tay carefully sat up, trying not to disturb him, Dog snuggled up to Ink. Tay’s tablets were hidden under his pillow. He needed them to start the day, particularly if Ink was going to take him out that afternoon. He took out the pills he needed, then removed another two before he put the bag back under the pillow. He reached for his water and once he’d swallowed them, he felt relieved he’d gotten away with it, only to turn and see Ink watching. Shit. How much did you see?
“I’m sorry I threw the bottle last night,” Tay said quickly.
“’S’okay.”
“No, it’s not. I shouldn’t have done it and I’m sorry. So…was the floor too hard?”
“I was worried because you’d combined painkillers and alcohol. It’s dangerous.”
Tay frowned. “A few tablets and one glass of wine?”
Ink sat up. “You were deeply enough asleep that you didn’t wake when I got on the bed. You didn’t even wake in the night and change into your sleep stuff. I was worried.”
“Sorry.”
He rolled to his feet. “There’s bacon in the fridge. Like me to make you a bacon sandwich while you shower?”
“Okay.”
“Bacon well done or not?”
“Well done. Please.”
Ink stopped at the door and looked back. “If you could choose one thing to do this afternoon in London, what would it be?”
“Go on a bus tour.” Sitting at the front upstairs—with you.
Once Ink was out of the room, Tay retrieved his tablets