Page 52 of Just a Little Crush

“Oh, shit,” Raven said, echoing my own thoughts.

“Yeah, you could say that.” Remy swiped open his cellphone and started taking pictures of everything, including the names and prescriptions on the bottles. “Jesus,” he muttered to himself. “There’s oxy, Xanax, tramadol…all prescribed by different doctors. And who the hell knows what’s in the smaller, unmarked bags or where she got the pills from.”

He finished collecting the evidence, then shoved the large plastic bag back into her oversized designer purse. He set her bag on the table just as our server came by our table.

The young girl grimaced in apology. “I’m so sorry about the disturbance. “I’m just grabbing her purse since our manager is escorting her off the premises.”

We all watched through the windows as the server gave Alyssa her bag, while the manager of the club tried to reason with Alyssa, who was livid and still yelling. Surprisingly, it was the guy she’d arrived with who calmed her down with something he said to her, and they finally left.

Caleb came back inside, his expression grim, and I knew it was about to get much worse for him when he learned what Remy had discovered.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Caleb

Idrove backto my apartment late that Sunday afternoon, exhausted by the events of the past few hours, starting with Alyssa showing up at the club, demanding to see Owen. The fact that Owen had been afraid of his own mother’s erratic behavior had been shocking, and revealing, telling me that Owen had most likely experienced this unstable side to Alyssa before.

After the scene Alyssa had made at our table, my only concern was to get her as far away from Owen as possible, and it was when we were outside on the restaurant’s patio, with her yelling at me, that I realized she was high onsomething. It wasn’t just her frenetic, hysterical, and initially loud protests, but when the guy who’d accompanied her finally came out to talk to her, to try and calm her down when I couldn’t, her entire demeanor changed. She’d gone from irritable, to confused, to telling him she felt nauseous. That anxiety Alyssa’s mother had mentioned seemed to take hold, and she’d mumbled frantically beneath her breath, “Where is my purse? I need my purse.”

The hostess arrived with her bag, and Alyssa was near tears as she told the manager, who was ready to escort her off the premises, that she needed to use the restroom before they left the club.

The whole scene was bizarre, and concerning.

When I returned to the table, Remy informed me of what he’d found in Alyssa’s purse, and the amount of prescription drugs she’d had on her had been alarming. Not to mention all the different pills that were prescribed by various doctors and pain management clinics to feed her addiction. He’d texted me all the photographs he’d taken so I’d have the evidence I needed to take to her parents.

Unfortunately, I had to cut the day at the beach short, asking Remy to take Stevie, Cara, and Owen back home because my only concern was to confront Alyssa’s parents with the truth of what had been discovered.

With that done, I’d texted Stevie to let her know that I was heading back to The Cortland, and she asked me to stop by her apartment first, which I would have done anyway since I wanted to tell her what had happened with Alyssa’s parents. Not to mention Stevie and I had unresolved issues of our own to discuss.

Cara had Owen at her place, so I had at least the next few hours alone with Stevie. When I reached her apartment and she opened the door, her face lined with worry, all the tension and stress I’d been carrying with me since Alyssa’s appearance at the club finally evaporated.

As soon as I stepped inside and the door closed behind us, Stevie slipped her arms around me and held me tight. I didn’t hesitate to return the hug, grateful to have her support. The emotional and physical distance she’d put between us was now gone. I didn’t know what had happened to change things, but I was beyond relieved to have the Stevie I knew and loved back in my embrace.

“I’m so sorry,” she whispered, pulling back just enough to look up at me. “Confronting Alyssa’s parents with the truth of their daughter’s addiction couldn’t have been easy.”

“It wasn’t,” I agreed, “but it had to be done.”

She nodded in understanding and took my hand, leading me into the living room. “Valerie is out for the evening with Jack,” she said, letting me know it was just the two of us as we sat down side by side on the sofa, her hand still holding mine. “Tell me what happened.”

I exhaled a deep breath, and while she quietly listened, I told her the details, starting with Alyssa’s parents’ initial denial that their daughter had relapsed. But there had been no refuting the proof I had and I’d informed them if they didn’t finally do something about Alyssa’s addiction and get her back into rehab so she could get the help she needed, then it would be the family court judge who would be viewing the photos next.

That was the last thing her parents wanted, and I’d given them three days to get Alyssa checked into rehab. They’d also assured me that they would get Alyssa to drop the custody case, again because they didn’t want those photographs exposed. I was fine with that, but assured them that it would be a good long while before Alyssa had joint custody of Owen again. Maybe, in time, supervised visits would be approved, but that wasn’t a discussion I’d even consider until I knew with absolute certainty that Alyssa was clean again.

“Are you okay?” Stevie asked once I was done with my story.

I nodded. “Yes. I feel better knowing that I have her parents’ cooperation, which is important because I think they are the only ones who will really be able to convince Alyssa she needs to go back to rehab for a longer treatment. They were shocked to see all the prescription drugs she had on her, and they understand my concern is for Owen, and theirs is, as well.”

“Good.” Stevie squeezed my hand and gave me a soft smile. “I’m glad they were receptive.”

I was equally relieved, but now that I’d taken care of that issue and knew I had Alyssa’s parents’ support, my sole focus was Stevie and getting us back on track. “So, can we talk about what happened between you and me at brunch this morning, before Alyssa arrived?”

She bit her bottom lip a bit nervously and nodded. “Yes. I meant what I said when I agreed that we needed to talk.”

“Then tell me what you have to say, because this past week has been pure hell for me without you around,” I told her, meaning it. “I don’t know what happened for me to getyouback today, but I’m thankful that you’re here and no longer shutting me out. Tell me what changed,” I prompted.

She paused, collecting her thoughts. “A conversation with Raven put things into perspective for me and quieted those fears and insecurities of mine,” she said softly, quietly. “I can’t say that they’ve disappeared completely, but what I do know is that I’m not willing to let those issues define me when it comes to you, and us, together.”

I cocked my head curiously, wanting and needing to know more. “How do you mean?”

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