Page 46 of I Am Sin

“For crying out loud,” I say. “Everyone was worried.”

“If you were that worried, you would’ve answered your phone when I told you I was stuck on the roof.”

“My phone was in my purse, which was in Teddy’s bedroom. It’s not like I carry it around at parties. I was trying to be social, not buried in my phone.”

“Most of the people there had their phones out.”

I ball my hands into fists. “For God’s sake, this isn’t about me, Dragon. It’s about you. You could’ve let me know you weren’t coming back to the party once you got off the roof. Teddy and I were looking for you.”

“You didn’t look that far. The diner’s about a block away from Teddy’s place.”

“That’s not even the point.”

“That’s exactly the point, Diana. You’re not my keeper.”

“You texted me saying you were stuck on the roof,” I say through gritted teeth. “That makes me your keeper. You were asking for help. I came to give you help.”

“Not quick enough, so I found another way.”

“Didn’t you think you should have let me know? Didn’t you realize I would eventually get your text and wonder if you were freezing your ass off up on the roof?”

He says nothing then.

Good. Maybe I knocked some sense into that hard head of his.

Until—

“I don’t have to tell you where I’m going.”

“Oh, for God’s sake, here we go again. It’s just common courtesy, Dragon. I came to let you off the roof, and you weren’t there. You didn’t end up back at the party, so it was common courtesy to let me know where you were so I wouldn’t worry.”

“You weren’t really worrying anyway.”

His words should be the truth. He’s a grown man, and I’m not his keeper. He’s right about that. So yeah, I shouldn’t have been worrying.

But I was.

I mean… If something happened to him, Jesse and Brianna would never forgive me.

“Look,” I say. “We’re going to have to come to some agreement. If we’re somewhere together, and you decide to leave, let me know. It’s common courtesy. That’s all I ask.”

He sighs. “I didn’t exactly decide to leave, Diana. I got locked up on the roof, and no one came to help me. So I helped myself. That’s a good thing.”

Yes, it’s a good thing. I’m tempted to yell at him some more, but he probably learned all that shit in rehab. That you have to help yourself.

I don’t want to fuck up his rehab or his therapy.

Maybe it was too hard for him to be around the booze and the pot tonight.

Maybe I need to be more understanding.

“Fine,” I say. “I’m heading back to Teddy’s. That’s where I’ll be if you need me.”

“Okay. I guess I’ll see you when you get home, then.”

“I guess so. Bye, Dragon.” This time I slide my phone into the pocket of my jeans. It’s on vibrate, so I should be able to feel it if he calls.

This shouldn’t drive me as crazy as it does. I shouldn’t feel responsible for him.

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