Page 25 of Drag Me Up

“I don’t give a flying fuck what you think is best, Eli!” Matt’s raised voice brings me back to the present. “He isn’t a child! You had no right to keep this to yourself!”

Creeping over to the window, I peek through thecurtains to see Matt arguing with Eli. Clarence is standing off to the side looking at Eli in shock.I know the feeling oh frenemy of mine.They’ve gone from yelling to speaking quietly. I hate that I can’t listen in, but when I bump into the window crank handle, I smirk.

They’ll never notice the window opening…

“I get it,” Clare-issa explains it all says to Eli.I doubt you get it Clare Bear, but go for it.

“But you can’t protect him from everything. Remember who it was that brought him to you. I know exactly what is at risk, probably better than you do. You didn’t meet him until I had already been working with him for six months.”

I rub at my temple hoping to get the drummer in my brain to knock it off so that I can hear what is said next, but Clarence the douche leads the other two men toward his place. Judging by the way Eli doesn’t try to push into the trailer, I don’t think he knows I’m here. He means well, but I’m still not happy at the fact that he’s been acting like he’s my keeper and I’m some poor creature at the zoo.

With my entertainment wandering off, the pounding in my head becomes more persistent. I only had one drink last night, so I shouldn’t be hungover. Is it from the crying? Am I dehydrated?

Fuck. Did I take my pills this morning? Did I take them last night? Did I even eat yesterday?

Whereare my pills? Did I pack them in my rush to leave the house? Are they in the truck?

SHIT!

They can’t be in fluctuating temperatures and my bags have just been sitting in the bed of the truck for who the fuck knows how long. Please, oh please, don’t let me have fucked my entire supply of my medications again. I don’t want to go through withdrawals again waiting for a new prescription.

Racing to the front of the trailer, I jump off the steps and run to my truck only to discover the bed is empty. Did someone steal my shit?

Eli…

Did he take all my stuff back to the house? Is that fucking sadist going to hold me prisoner because I yelled at him?

My head feels like someone is repeatedly stabbing my left temple with a pencil and the counter strike is pounding behind my right ear. It hurts to even stand, so I sit down to lean against my back tire. The metal of the hubcap feels good against my throbbing temple, so I lean against it, hoping for enough relief to get up and find my pills.

I just need a minute for the drummer to take a break.

“Cutie? Why are you sleeping out here on the ground?”

I try to answer Mattie, but the only sound that comes out is a whimper, not me telling him I only need a minute. Moving my head hurts like a bitch. His arms wrap around my back and under my legs and suddenly I’m airborne. I can’t stop the cry of pain when I open my eyes and the light stabs through them.

“It’s alright sweet boy,” Mattie murmurs softly as Ihear the door close behind us. “Is it a headache or something more?”

I can’t seem to talk, but I manage to somehow indicate it’s my head that is the problem because Matt lays me down on something soft and moments later, there is a cool rag laying on my forehead.

“Is this a migraine?” his voice asks as the room beyond my eyelids gets darker. “Or is something wrong? Do we need to go to the hospital?”

I shake my head and whimper as the spikes drive further into my brain.

“Pills” I manage to push the word out. I am not even sure if he heard me until I hear the sounds of zippers and rustling. I really hope he’s not just trying to get me some ibuprofen. Then again, it might cut through enough that I can find out what Eli did with my stuff.

“Found it, I think,” he says from a lot closer than he was before. I open my eyes into the darkened room and see my Mattie kneeling next to the sofa, no the futon. He has a futon because he is probably just like Jackson and spends money on the dumbest things and not on the important things like fashion and décor. He is holding up something in his hand and I have to squint to make out that it’s my pill case. My headache is making me see double.

I give him a thumbs up as he helps me sit up and dumps the pills into my hand. I toss them back dry before I notice the bottle of water he just opened for me. Snickering at me, he holds the bottle to my lips while I drink down some water to chase the medications.Hydration won’t hurt with how much I was crying earlier.

After helping me lay back down, Matt gives me a kiss on the cheek with a promise we will talk after he comes back from lunch with his mother. He hasn’t called me by my name yet. I just hope I can get him to fall in love with me as a man instead of as his adorable little brother.

“Get some rest,” he whispers from the doorway. “Your phone is in the kitchen charging. My number is on the fridge if you need me before I get back.”

I’m certain it’s my imagination after the door closes. There’s no way he said he loves me already. Closing my eyes, I let the cool towel and darkness sweep me into dreamland.

20

MATT

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