Page 114 of Fractured Frets

“He will. Don’t freak her out like that, dick.” Lewis sneered and smacked Cole on the arm. “Mads, we’re watching him. Blake has grown concerned too and isn’t giving him any more blow. We’re at the point of further intervention. But nothing we do will work unless he wants to get better. I honestly believe you’re the only one who can get through to him.”

Me? Why would he listen to me over them? But I cared about him. Loved him. I nodded as an ache exploded in my chest. Fucking pills. Fucking drugs. “Okay. I’ll talk to him.”

“Thank you.” Sutton hugged me. “Are you okay? You want to come get a drink?”

I nodded. Sutton stepped back, took Flint’s hand, and led him inside. But as he passed me, he gave me a this-isn’t-over, worry-filled glance.

Great. Another thing to be concerned about—Flint.

Rejoining the party, I caught up with my old castmates, Polly and Rowena, from the show where I’d first met Sutton. But I struggled to make conversation, my mind stuck on Slip. Ten minutes later, when I chatted with Duke and his band, a shudder ran up my spine. I turned toward the front door. Slip walked through the crowd toward me with sunken shoulders. My heart cried. His hair was a mass of straw-like strands. Black circles surrounded his sunken, bloodshot eyes. His skin held a grayish hue. He’d lost more weight than I had.

“Oh, babe.” I fell into his embrace and gave him a big hug. I breathed him in, but he didn’t even smell the same. No cedarwood scent. No freshness. Just pot. “You look like shit.”

He kissed the side of my neck and murmured, “So do you.”

“What are you doing?”

He flinched and held me tighter. “Holding my beautiful wife.”

I stepped back and drew him into the foyer, away from the guests. “No, I mean...this.” My heart hurt as I brushed my palm down his thin face that used to have a healthy glow. I pursed my lips as I swiped my thumb across his protruding cheekbone and the dark circle beneath his eye. “Everyone just talked to me. They’re worried about you, and so am I.”

“Why? I’m good.” He jittered on the spot.

“Slip? You promised you’d never lie to me. They’re worried about the drugs you’re on. I am too. Please talk to me?” I cared about him. I didn’t want him to suffer.

He threaded his hand beneath my hair and cupped the back of my neck. He rested his forehead against mine. Fuck, he was hot, sweating, quaking. “I’m just exhausted from the tour.”

I closed my eyes and shook my head slowly, still pressing my brow against his. “I don’t believe you.” Anguish twisted low in my voice. “You’re shaking, but it’s not cold. I’m frightened and worried about you.”

“Don’t be.” He stepped back, taking my hands in his. “I’ve got it under control.”

“I want you to come home to me alive and well—not in a body bag.”

He staggered back a step and closed his eyes. “Fuck. Don’t say that.”

“It’s the truth.”

“Mads, I swear. I’m okay.”

“No. You’re not,” I whispered. “You need help.”

“Coming home to you is what I’m living for.” A low fire burned in his unwavering voice. “That’s what keeps me going every day. I have the drugs and meds under control, so can we not talk about that anymore? I want to enjoy the party. I want to catch up with everyone, have some fun, then make excuses so I can take you home. We have one night together; I want to make the most of every second I’m here with you.”

“Okay.” I nodded, still fretting over how much he’d changed in the past month. “But can we stay at my place? So I can see Mom before I fly out tomorrow at noon?”

“What?” Frustration flashed in his eyes as he pinched his eyebrows together. “Can’t we spend time together at my place and then see your mom in the morning?”

“Please? She hasn’t been well.” I needed time with both of them to make sure they were okay.

“Fuck. Whatever.” He flicked my hand out of his. “Let’s get a drink.”

At the bar, Slip poured a tumbler full of vodka and I grabbed a fresh champagne. Although...I didn’t feel like drinking.

While I caught up with Tia and Ava, Slip disappeared into the crowd. His sexy voice filled the air as he laughed and hollered and told funny stories, but then I lost sight of him. With my untouched drink in hand, I went in search of my husband. But I froze when I saw him walking out of the hallway behind Harper. They were laughing and jostling along. But as they hit the living room, she squeezed his arm and mouthed, ‘See you later.’

A chill shot through my veins. Why did she have to be there? No. Don’t go there....It’s okay. I sucked in a sharp breath and feigned a smile as she passed.

“Hey?” Slip glided over to me and wrapped his hand around my waist. “You okay?”

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