Page 142 of Hooking Up
I nod.
"I thought it was the same for her. She went to college. She kept partying, yeah, but it seemed normal. It's not like I was a paragon of sobriety."
I move closer.
He rubs my arms with his hands. "You're shivering."
I nod.
He slides his leather jacket off his arms and slings it around my shoulders.
It's warm.
Sweet.
Affectionate.
I swallow hard. "What happened?"
"One day, I got this worried call from a party. Asking if I was Sabrina Williams’s brother. Telling me she was passed out. That an ambulance was on the way."
"She overdosed?"
"Yeah. A mix of prescription painkillers and alcohol."
"That's a dangerous mix. It's easy to OD."
His nod is weary, like he's been aware of this information for long enough for it to become a thorn in his side. "My parents got really serious. She went to rehab. For a while, she was clean. Then, one day, she wasn't. She graduated to heroin because it was easier to get."
"That happens a lot." It's common. Really common, actually.
"They made due on their threats to stop paying her tuition. She dropped out of school. Lived with some loser boyfriend. Then that went up in flames, and Mom and Dad offered to pay for rehab. She went, did okay for a few months, slipped. It's gone on like that forever. It's gonna stay like this. She doesn't want to get better."
"How do you know?"
"Evidence speaks for itself."
"It isn't like that. Addiction rewires your brain. It's not about willpower."
"Iris—"
"Sorry, I—"
"I'm sure you know a lot more than I do." His voice gets soft. "But I don't need a shrink's help right now."
"You need your friend?"
"Yeah." His eyes meet mine. They're vulnerable. Hurting. "She's gonna die with a needle in her arm and there's nothing I can do."
"I'm sorry."
"Thanks." He pulls me closer.
I can feel every ounce of his warmth. His trust. His need.
He's giving me everything.
And I want everything.
