Page 70 of You Had Me At Thirteen

I’m wide awake now. ‘Is Audrey okay?’

‘Yeah, she’s fine…’ There’s a pause before he clears his throat. ‘It’s Wren.’

‘What happened?’ Not that I care that much. At least that’s what I tell myself, anyway.

‘I’m not sure. He’s drunk, and he’s locked himself in his car. The only person I could think of to get him out would be you.’

I almost laugh. ‘Why would you think that? Wren wants nothing to do with me.’

‘Please, Til? I’ve never seen him like this before.’ Koby’s voice cracks at the end, and I hear Audrey in the background consoling him.

I blow out a breath, swinging my legs over the edge of my bed as I rub a hand over my face. ‘Fine. Where is he?’

There’s yelling in the background, but Koby moves from the noise before he speaks again. ‘Down at the old warehouse.’

‘Okay, I’ll be there in twenty minutes.’ I hang up the phone before Koby says anything else.

That he thinks I’m going to talk any sense into Wren is beyond me. He doesn’t listen to anyone, least of all me. And he’s made that clear several times now. But Koby has me worried, and I can’t help but feel that if I can help, I at least have to try.

I throw on my favourite grey sweater before slipping my feet into my UGG boots. The Uber I called is waiting in the driveway when I get outside, so I instruct them where to go, and arrive ten minutes later.

After I pay the driver, I spot Audrey and Koby leaning against Koby’s car in the middle of the gravel road. Emerson is banging on Wren’s car window while shouting at him, but there’s no response from what I can hear.

Audrey hugs me, her eyes bloodshot. ‘Thank God, Til. Wren’s in a bad way.’

‘Does someone want to tell me what the fuck is going on?’

Koby shrugs. ‘I don’t know. He… just flipped out and drove here. We followed him because he’s fucking wasted.’

‘I don’t know what you think I can do about it.’ I fold my arms over my chest as I stare at the back of Wren’s car.

Emerson scrubs his hands over his face, before kicking a tyre on the car. He makes his way over to us, sending dust into the air when he kicks his feet in the gravel, his face twisted in a scowl until he sees me. ‘Hey, Til,’ he says when he’s in front of me. ‘Thanks for coming. And good luck.’ He leans against Koby’s car door and scrubs his hands over his face. ‘Wren’s fucking lost it. He won’t listen to me.’

‘Do you know what happened?’

He shakes his head. ‘He was fine before he got a phone call, and then everything went to shit after that.’

I bite onto my bottom lip as I frown. What was the phone call about?

Audrey rubs my back, giving me a sad smile. I blow out a breath, psyching myself up before approaching Wren’s car. After I knock on the driver’s side window, I wait. The tint is too dark to see inside, so I knock again.

‘Wren?’ I say, staring at my reflection. ‘It’s me.’

‘Go away,’ he says, his voice muffled by the glass.

‘I’m not leaving until you talk to me.’

‘I don’t want to talk.’

‘Well, I’ll talk, you listen. How does that sound?’

There’s a groan from inside the car, but when I hear the snap of the doors unlocking, I scramble for the handle just in case he reconsiders and decides he doesn’t want to listen to me after all. Wren rests his forehead against the steering wheel, his eyes closed. The smell of alcohol engulfs me when I kneel next to the car, which has me wondering how the hell he’s not dead somewhere in a ditch.

‘I thought I’d come and check on you,’ I say as I position myself between the door and the side of the car.

‘Sorry you wasted your time.’ Each word comes out in a slur.

I take a deep breath, so I don’t lose my temper. Something has set him off and I don’t want to push him further. ‘It’s no trouble. I’m worried about you.’

---