Page 18 of You Cake My Breath Away

I pull up to a gas pump and Sebastian hops out and heads inside. Jessie comes around the side and leans against the trunk as I set the pump.

“Think he’s going to make it to finals without the pills?” he asks.

“Doubt it.”

His shoulders droop. Jessie grew up with Sebastian and me. Our families met at the country club, and naturally we became The Three Musketeers. We played sports together, had the same crushes, and even occasionally beat the shit out of each other for fun.

Sebastian’s addiction doesn’t affect only me.

I know if it wasn’t for my parents’ expectations he would have made it through med school without any issue, but he’s always been a people pleaser. Even the tiniest bit of disapproval from Dad sends him reeling, and Dad wields his power over him as often as he can.

Raised voices off to the side of the convenience store steal my attention. I’d know Sebastian’s voice anywhere. Twisting the cap onto the gas tank, I jog to check on my brother while Jessie moves to the front of the car.

A man with baggy clothes is arguing with Sebastian, and instantly I know the reason why he wanted to come to this specific location.

He wanted to score.

“Seb.” I come up beside him.

“Go back to the car, Arch.” Sebastian waves me away, but I can tell the dealer is tweaking. He’s scratching at his skin, pulling at the collar of his shirt, and his eyes look like they’re fighting to stay open.

“Here,” Sebastian says, handing the man a wad of cash before turning around and walking toward me.

“Really, man?” I ask as we walk back toward the parking lot. “One night. You couldn’t wait one night before getting high again?”

He shrugs. “I have a study session tomorrow night with the chick who might beat me for valedictorian. I can’t be nodding off. I need to be sharp.”

My stomach clenches, twisting tighter. I despise my parents for the pressure they’re putting on my older brother, and I wish he had the strength to stand up to them like I did, but that’s not him. He’s thegoodkid.

Rounding the corner, Jessie comes into view. He’s moved the car into a parking space so someone else could use the pump and is leaning on the hood.

Sebastian bumps my shoulder, a slick smile on his face. “After this exam, all I have is Residency then boards. I’ll be fine.”

I roll my eyes but bump him back.

Jessie rises from the hood of the car, his hands flying in the air, mouth open. Time slows as he lunges toward me and Sebastian. Fear ricochets through me as a loud bang echoes around us. My ears pop, pain bursting at the back of my head when Jessie slams me to the ground.

Disoriented, I scramble to get up, but his body is too heavy. I turn on my side and press my shoulder to the ground, trying to lift him off of me, but my brain is scattered. Blood pools in the gravel where I’ve just lifted my head, and instinctively my hand reaches behind me to feel thetorn skin of my scalp as I stare out at the crowd forming, pointing their fingers at us.

Jessie’s scream breaks the fog clogging my ears, and I finally notice Sebastian’s limp form beside me, a circle of red spreading out on his shirt.

“Seb,” I yell, but my voice sounds far away.

My heart is in my throat, my lungs refuse to fill, and my brain can’t process what my eyes are seeing.

Sebastian’s breathing is raspy, but he reaches for me and places my hand over the wound. “Put pressure on it.”

Tears mix with the blood dripping from my head as I place my hands over his ribcage and press down. He inhales sharply, and all I can do is keep chanting, “Please don’t die. I love you, Seb. Please stay.”

Sirens wail around us, but my focus is singular. The paramedics and Jessie have to pry me off of Sebastian as I’m sobbing and telling him I love him. I’m shuffled into another ambulance and promised I’ll see my brother at the hospital after he’s out of surgery.

Chapter ten

Tilly

No one realizes how dirty ceiling fans can get until they’re lying beneath one, watching dust particles float around. I’ve laid here since last night, contemplating what to do and how to feel about the bakery. All I’ve been able to come up with is anger.

Anger at everyone for keeping this from me, anger at myself for spending the last year so out of it that I didn’t notice something was going on right under my nose, and anger at Jessie for doing something so sweet and then leaving me before I had a chance to show him how happy his gift made me.

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