Page 110 of Life of the Party

I had to see him. That was it, all there was to it. I knew I wouldn’t feel better until I was with him again. I got up off the bed, pulling on some clothes, frantically shoving things into my bag while making hasty plans in my head. I’d get a taxi to the nearest airport, catch the soonest flight and then call when I got there and then…and then….

And then what? I forced myself to stop, to take a breath and think somewhat rationally. What would I do? Hang out with Riley and (shudder) Emily? What would it change? It wouldn’t be the same, not like it had been, just because I missed him.

Riley had Emily. They were together. There was no room in his life for me, not now.

I was being ridiculous. There was no way I could leave. I flopped down heavily on the bed. I had Grey now. There was no reason for me to feel so lonely, so hollow. Like I was eight again, away at camp, homesick and sad, aching for home. The feeling was unsettling, unnerving.

I ran my hands into my hair, pulling it in frustration. All the walls, everything I’d built to protect myself from this pain, had been razed by Riley’s phone call. The realization angered me. Why did Riley have to call at all? Why couldn’t he just leave me alone? Why did he have to drudge up all the old feelings again?

I needed to stick with my original plan. I needed to forget about Riley McIntyre.

For that, I needed drugs.

I left my half-packed suitcase on the bed and began to scrounge desperately, opening drawers and banging shut cabinets, searching for something, anything to help numbthe pain. I found chalky mirrors and rolling papers and all kinds of paraphernalia, but there were no drugs in the room to help me, nothing to take the edge off, to ease the frantic pounding of my broken heart.

It was like he could read my mind. The door to the hotel room opened and Grey swept in, his handsome face brilliant as he smirked at me, his blue eyes alight with excitement. The entire room seemed to brighten as soon as he entered it. Just his presence helped alleviate my sadness, and I smiled back at him, relieved.

“I’m so glad you’re back.” I threw my arms around him as soon as I was near enough. Grey hugged me and chuckled into my hair.

“Me too.” He kissed my forehead. “I have a surprise for you.”

“You do?” Desperately, I hoped it was some kind of drug. “What is it?”

“You have to shut your eyes.” He instructed. “Here, sit down.”

I did as I was told, keeping my eyes shut as Grey sank onto the bed beside me. He put something into my hand then, something small and plastic.

“Okay, you can open them.”

I blinked for a minute, staring at the little baggie sitting in my palm. It was full of whitish-brown powdery crystals, like dirty snow or beach sand. I smiled excitedly. “Is this some kind of cocaine?” I wondered eagerly.

“No. This stuff is called China White.”

“China White?” I’d never heard of it before.

“Yeah. Heroin.” Grey stated casually. I looked up at him in surprise, and he just smiled back at me, like it was no big deal.

“Heroin?” My eyes lit up with curiosity. “Like, real heroin?”

“Yeah.”

“Have you done it before?”

“Yeah, a few times. The guys at the studio do it now and then, they hooked us up.” He grinned. “It’s good, Mackenzie. You’ll like it.”

“What does it feel like?”

Grey’s blue eyes gleamed fondly. “It’s so good. I can’t do it justice…just trust me, after this, you won’t care about your license. You won’t have a care in the world.”

I grinned eagerly, and nodded. It sounded perfect, just what I needed. Something that would take it all away. “Okay.” I handed the baggie back, my stomach churning in anticipation, making me tingle.

“The good thing about this stuff,” Grey explained as he pulled out a mirror from the bedside table. “Is that you don’t have to inject it. You can sniff it, just like coke.”

“Youhaveto inject the other stuff?” I asked with horror, covering my elbow pit with my hand. I made a face.

Grey chuckled at me. “Yeah. Why? Don’t tell me you’re afraid of needles.”

“Afraid doesn’t begin to describe it. Petrified, maybe. Terrified, even.”

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