Page 25 of Tease
“Kailey!” His voice booms, loud and stern, while he continues to shake me.
“Breathe! Now!”
My hand goes to my throat as I gasp for air. Pressure in my head causes me to wince.What have I done?
CHAPTER 19
Jared
“Now!” I yell. My heart is pounding fast, and it feels like it’s going to pop out of my chest at any second.
Kailey’s body is fading; she’s about to pass out in my arms. When I walked back inside the emergency department from trying to reach Joey, her body was crouched down in the middle of the floor. I’ve never been in this position before; I don’t know what’s up or down, except this whole night has gone to shit. I’m praying Beth comes out of this hospital alive. Seeing Kailey break down, right before my eyes, broke something deep inside me. I want to protect her from this pain.
“You’re okay. Breathe with me, baby. In and out. In and out. Come on, you can do this.” Whispering these words into her ear while I stroke her black hair in a slow, calming rhythm, I grab her hand and lift her from the floor. My mouth goes to her racing radial pulse, and I give her two quick pecks there.
She doesn’t acknowledge the kiss. Kailey’s red, splotchy, tear-stained face looks up at me. Wiping the snot that’s dripping from her nose with her bare hand, she snaps, “I’llneverbe okay again.”
Kailey’s eyes shift from my face to something behind me. Her face morphs right before my eyes, from devastation into purerage. She shifts her body to get past me with determination as she runs outside. Before I can comprehend what’s happening, Kailey launches herself at Joey.
“What the fuck have you done?” she screams before punching him square in the face, and I can hear the crunch of bone. Instantly, blood pours from my brother’s nose.
He shoves at her chest, and pushes her away from him. “Not a fucking thing, you psycho! I’m here because Jared called me.”
“Don’t fucking touch her, Joey!” I grab his elbow, pulling him back.
“You did this, you bastard!” Her voice—it doesn’t sound like her. Before she can attack Joey again, the rest of the group comes outside. Greg grabs Kailey’s hips from behind and pulls her backwards until she’s flush against him. He’s actively holding her thrashing body back. Greg, Steffan, Brittney, and Travis look angry and disgusted.
“Hey!” Steffan yells, his stare bouncing between Kailey and Joey. “What the hell are you doing here?”
“This wouldn’t be happening if she didn’t take something you gave her!” Kailey points her shaking finger at my brother. Her shoulders are heaving up and down, like she can’t get enough air into her lungs.
“We don’t know what all happened.” I put my hands up in surrender. Trying to calm her down like you would a rabid dog.
“I didn’t force her to take shit.” Joey spits blood on the sidewalk after his snide remark.
Damn, my girl got him good.
“I’m sure she’ll be fine. Haven’t you ever seen someone on a bad trip before?” An evil grin takes over his face.
“Get the fuck outta here!” Steffan shoves Joey back a few feet.
“I’m going to tell the police! Tell them it’s all your fault! Sarah told me what happened!” As the words leave her mouth, shelooks like a ghost—pale and like her soul has left her body. She’s shaking her head back and forth, her eyes glossed over.
Joey brushes invisible lint off of his left shoulder. “Well, good luck with that. Let’s go, Jared.” He attempts to grab my elbow to pull me toward him. “They don’t need or want us here.”
I look back at Kailey, the woman I’ve fallen madly, deeply in love with. “No, I’m going to stay. We need to be here for Beth, for when she wakes up.”
“You need to leave.” Those words slice through the quiet air.
I swallow the lump forming in my throat and attempt to regain my composure that’s slipping. I look at Kailey. “What?” My voice is pleading.
“You need to go, with yourbrother,” Kailey flatly states, her voice devoid of any emotion.
“No.” As I reach for her, she takes a step back at the same time, putting her hands up as a barrier.
“I can’t be around you right now.Leave,Jared.”
Her words are a whisper, but her message is clear. Sharp pain radiates inside my chest.She can’t mean that…It has to be the adrenaline from the night talking. Kailey turns around and walks back inside, her body latching onto Brittney’s side. With every step she takes away from me, I can feel my heart cracking into pieces.
