Page 1 of Just Enough

Prologue

5 years prior…

The sound was hard,immediate.

I peeled my eyes open, fighting the hold sleep had on me and trying to decide if I really wanted to be awake. Then I heard my cell phone and realized the reason I was even awake.

I rolled over and went to grab it from the dresser next to my bed and ended up knocking it on the floor instead. I cursed, leaning down to pick it up. When I saw the name flash over the screen, the anger and sleep faded. I glanced at the glaring red of my clock and saw that it was two in the morning.

I answered. “Emily?”

“Benjamin.” Emily was the only one that called me by my full name, everyone else called me Ben or Benny. My name on her lips sounded more of a question.

“What’s wrong?” My voice was hoarse and full of sleep. “What are you doing up?”

“Do you think you can come get me?”

Raising up, I grabbed my glasses from the dresser and stumbled over to the window and peeked out to the house next door. Her house. “You’re not home?”

“Josh picked me up earlier, I just want to go home,” she said quickly.

“Emily.” I swore.

“I know,” she whispered. “So, don’t start. Can you please come and get me?”

“Where are you?” I was already putting on a shirt and jeans over the boxers I slept in.

She gave me the address and hung up. I crept downstairs and grabbed my mom’s car keys because her car was a lot quieter than mine or dad’s. I’d like to say I wasn’t one of those privileged boys that got things handed to them from their parents, but I was. To be fair, I had just turned seventeen.

When I started the car and backed out of the driveway, I knew there was a good chance they heard me leave so I’d have that to deal with when I returned. Getting Emily out of the mess she was in trumped everything else.

It took me twenty minutes to get to the address she gave me. The parking lot was full, cars parked in the grass, and the music could be heard as I put the car in park and stepped out.

Josh was in college, and Emily had been dragged into this partying scene ever since they got together six months ago. I never liked any guy Emily dated; she had the worst taste, but Josh was a stocky little shit that walked around like he owned the world.

I spotted her sitting on the steps, her thin jacket wrapped tight around her. She must have spotted Mom’s car because she stood, and her gaze caught mine. Her green eyes had a way of holding me captive but not tonight. She must have sensed my mood because her lips faltered, and she didn’t know whether to smile or look away. She chose to look down at her shoes.

“Let’s go,” I told her.

She nodded, walking down the steps. The front door opened from the house, and Josh stepped out. Seeing him pissed me off to no end. Emily called me to come get her, but I wasn’t stupid. I’d known her forever, since she moved in next door around preschool if you wanted to be precise, and I knew exactly how to read her. Something happened. He did something. If not him,someoneat this party had fucked with her, and the simple fact was: I saw red when it came to her well-being, much to my mom’s displeasure.

“Where ya going, babe? You can’t just leave.” He moved down the steps to catch her. I beat him to it and pulled her into me. At the sight of me, he glared at her. “Did you tell him to come get you?”

“Let’s go.” She pulled at my shirt, completely ignoring him.

“Emily, don’t be like that.”

He went to grab her shoulder, and I pulled her behind me. “I think it’s clear she wants to leave.”

“I’ll take you home,” he told her.

“Are you fucking serious? You’re drunk. What, do you want to kill her in the process?” I knew not to go pissing off a drunk, but like I said, I lost reason when it came to Emily.

“Who the hell do you think you are?” He glared at me. “You’re just her next-door neighbor, I’m her fucking boyfriend.”

“You’re not my boyfriend, Josh,” Emily spoke up, glaring at him. “Not anymore.”

“What the hell, Emily?” I didn’t like the dark way he was looking at her, like he had every right to her.

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