Page 73 of Just Business

Seconds later, he thunders down the hallway and appears in the doorway. “Yeah?”

Josie arches a single eyebrow.

“Ma’am?” he corrects. He can probably tell tonight's not the night to be crossing Josephine Thomas.

“Grab some PJ’s and your swim trunks. You’re going to stay with Greg tonight.”

Jay punches a fist into the air, thrilled at this news, and runs down the hallway.

Lisa looks up from her phone and informs us that Greg is on his way, and Josie orders pizzas. We decide that13 Going on 30is the perfect girls’ night movie. By the time the pizza arrives, we’ve made cozy pallets on the floor and sent Jay out the door with Greg.

I look at my phone to check for a text, but Austin still hasn’t responded. I try to push aside the dread curling in the pit of my stomach. Just to be sure, I send him another message, in case he saw the first one and thought he had replied but hadn’t. Maybe he’s just busy.

Hey, change of plans. I’m sorry about this, but I feel like I need to stay here tonight. Josie is wanting a slumber party to get Abby’s mind off some girl problems. I kinda need this night with them too.

We spread out the pizza boxes on the coffee table and Josie hits Play on the movie. Smudge curls down between us, his big eyes begging for our crust while we eat. As the movie starts, I look down at my phone for the hundredth time, willing a text to appear, but when it doesn’t the knot of dread tightens. I do my best to push the uncomfortable feeling down, but every instinct in me is saying that something is off.

Bang, bang, bang.

Disoriented, my heart pounds in my chest as I struggle to get my bearings. I know right away I’m on Josie’s couch. Glancing down, I see Josie and Abby curled up together on the makeshift bed we made on the floor. Lisa is in the recliner, her mouth open slightly, soft snores coming from her. Smudge is curled up on her lap. The memories of the previous few hours flood back to me just as I realize the banging sound is someone at Josie’s door.

“Penny, it’s Cassie! Please open up!” Panic surges through me and I fumble for my phone. But when I touch the screen it stays black.Shit. It’s dead.I have no idea what time it is or if Austin ever replied to my text.

Groggily, I drag myself to the door and swing it open to reveal a red-faced, nearly hysterical Cassie. Instantly, I’m wide awake. I briefly clock that Liam is with her, but I don’t have time to question that right now.

“Something’s happened.” It’s not a question. I know from the look on her face that this is about him.

“It’s Austin.” Cassie’s voice trembles, her breath coming fast and uneven. “I thought he’d changed, but…” She trails off, shaking her head.

I grab my shoes, not bothering to put them on, and hurry after her and Liam to his truck. Right when I get to the passenger door I realize I forgot my phone, so I run back inside and grab it. Josie has one eye cracked open, but I wave her off.

“I’ll text you later,” I whisper.

The second we pull into my driveway, my stomach takes a nose-dive.

Shards of glass sparkle under the moonlight across my driveway. Liam curses under his breath and veers onto the grass to avoid driving over them and risking a punctured tire.

Then I see it. The neck of a whiskey bottle lies amongst all the shards.

No. No, no, no.This can’t be happening after weeks of Austin doing better. I know he’s struggled, but he was doing so well. I don’t know if I’m more afraid of what happened—or what I’m about to find inside.

I start to step out but Cassie grabs my arm. “Your shoes!” I’m glad she caught me because I’d have torn my feet up with all the glass on my driveway. As I hurriedly slip on my shoes, Cassie quickly explains that she was at the bar with Liam and Jackson when someone burst in, raving about seeing Austin James at the liquor store. Panicking, she rushed home and noticed the lights on in the apartment. When she tried to talk to him, he was hardly coherent, just rambling about not wanting to turn out likehim.

I sprint up the steps, taking them two at a time to reach the apartment, but I stop short at the mess in front of me. A broken kitchen chair lies sprawled on the floor and there’s a fairly large hole in the wall, that I suspect was from a fist. All in all, it could be much worse. Then I look and see him, and my heart sinks. The flame of anger that was beginning to spark in my chest instantly goes out.

Austin is lying, curled in bed, his body drawn tightly into the fetal position. I approach tentatively, my voice soft and gentle. “Austin? Baby, it’s me.”

He stirs, opening one bleary eye. “Penny?” he croaks, his voice hoarse.

He looks utterly broken lying there, so when he raises one arm, I lower down and curl up against him, the front of our bodies pressed against each other. He reeks of whiskey and sweat, and I don’t give a damn. His body begins to shake, so I raise up on an elbow, seeing silent tears streaming down his face. He flinches when I touch his arm, but I continue grazing my fingertips up and down, whispering soothing nonsense to him until little by little he seems to relax.

“It was him, wasn’t it?” I whisper.

His jaw flexes, and after several seconds he nods wordlessly. I don’t push him, I just lie back down, still facing him. I’ll give him all the time he needs.

After a few moments, he starts to tell me everything. Apparently, his dad saw the picture of us together and pulled his usual bullshit. He took his mom’s phone to call him, and because Austin never stops waiting and hoping for something from his mom, he answered.

He takes a shaky breath, his eyes focused on something in the distance only he can see. “It’s like I freeze up. My brain’s screaming at me to end the call, to hit one fucking button and make it stop. But I never can. Every time, it’s like I’m that kid again, standing there letting him spew hatred at me.”

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