Page 76 of Tainted Tempos

“Fucked up,” she admits. “There was a lot of drugs. A lot of drinking.”

“A lot of women,” I fill in the blank.

“No.” She sighs. “I mean, yes, there were women present along with men at the brownstone but don’t even go there. Mav wasn’t even coherent and everything he did say circled back to how much he loves you.”

I blink back the tears that swell in my eyes. Maverick loves me, he has from the beginning. And I took that love for granted.

“Seriously, Kenny. He couldn’t even say his name,” Allegra says. “Derek and the guys are at the house. Derek said it was swarming with strangers, and everyone was coked up or strung out.”

“Jesus,” I mutter, trying to picture the brownstone—my home for the past few months—as a scene in a rave.

“He stole a boat.”

“What?” I sit straight up, my eyebrows lifting. “He stole... That doesn’t sound like Mav.”

“He’s not in a good place, Kenny.”

“I’m sorry,” I whisper.

“It’s not your fault. I just pulled up to your dad’s.”

“I’ll be down in a second.” I end the call and force myself from bed. I tug on a hoodie and move to the front door.

Allegra is already on the other side.

I pull the door open, and she draws me into a hug. The second her arms are around me, I collapse.

Now that she’s here, the dam breaks. The tears surge. My shoulders shake, and my fingers twist in the material of Allegra’s fleece as I sob.

I hear my father enter the room. Then, the retreat of his footsteps as he lets me fall apart privately, with only my best friend as a witness. The same best friend I stepped up for when she faced challenges with Derek.

There’s no embarrassment with Allegra; I’m free to react how I feel. Right now, I feel heartbroken. Devastated. And guilty as hell.

“I pushed him away,” I confess.

“You asked him for space.”

I shake my head. “I made him leave. And then, I yelled at him. I told him I wanted a break.”

“Shh.” Allegra hugs me tighter.

“A, I broke his heart.” Another wave of tears hits me.

“You guys are going to get through this,” Allegra says comfortingly. “You’re both too broken up about things to pretend this isn’t real, Kenny. Whatever it is between you and Mav, it’s real.”

“I love him.”

“I know you do.”

“I was so wrapped up in my own head, in my own feelings, that I never considered what this was doing to Maverick. He was trying to protect me, to help me, and I pushed him away because, why? It wasn’t the type of help I wanted?” I toss out an arm, furious with myself for not seeing how much Maverick struggled with the idea of losing me. With the obsession of keeping me safe.

Allegra sighs. “What do you want to do?”

“I want to go to the brownstone.”

“Now?” Her eyes widen.

“Will you drive?”

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