Page 46 of A Magnolia Move-In
What was Spencer even doing here?
I squinted as a strobe light flashed. There was a mosh pit going on in the center of the dance floor. Most of the people were falling all over themselves as they tried to stay upright. I kept to the edge of the wall as I made my way to the bar.
I stood at the end, and a man stepped up to greet me. He narrowed his eyes.
“Penny?” he asked as he pointed his finger in my direction.
I recognized him. “Brett?”
He nodded. “What are you doing here? I didn’t figure that this would be your kind of place.”
I shook my head. “It’s not. I got a call to come get Spencer.”
He looked confused.
“He works at the hardware store.”
Before Brett could respond, a larger man with a white t-shirt and slicked back hair approached. “You here to give him a ride?” He jutted his thumb behind him.
Brett and I both turned. My heart picked up speed when I saw the full head of grey hair that belonged to Spencer. His head was down, and he looked as if he were sleeping.
“Is he okay?” I had to shout over the music as I pushed away from the bar and made my way to Spencer.
The bartender just shrugged. Brett was hot on his heels as he followed us. When I got to him, I wasn’t sure what to do. I paused before I reached out and tapped his shoulder. “Spencer,” I whispered.
He didn’t respond. Fear that he might be in some sort of alcohol-induced coma raced through me, and I gripped his shoulder harder and shook him.
“Spencer?” I asked again, raising my voice in case he couldn’t hear me over the blaring music.
He snorted and startled. His eyes were bloodshot but opened wider when he saw me. “Rosalie?” he asked, his expression softening as he leaned into me.
I glanced over at the bartender and Brett as if they held the answer to my question. Who was Rosalie, and why did he think I was her?
Suddenly, his arms were wrapped around me, and hewas pulling me to him. He sobbed as he buried his face in my neck. I could feel his warm breath on my skin as he kept muttering for Rosalie to forgive him.
It wasn’t until he was holding onto me that I realized how much he weighed. I had no idea how I was going to get him into my car by myself. Thankfully, Brett seemed to pick up on my predicament. He had rounded the bar and was draping Spencer’s other arm over his shoulders before I had a chance to ask.
“Come on, man. Let’s get you to the car.”
Spencer didn’t fight him as Brett helped him to his feet. Thankfully, his arm slipped from around me as Brett half walked, half dragged Spencer out the front door. I threw a couple hundreds to the bartender and then hurried after them.
Once we got Spencer in the front seat, Brett shut the door and turned to face me. “Are you going to be okay?” he asked.
I wasn’t sure what to say, so all I could do was nod.
Brett rested both hands on my shoulders. “Are you sure?”
I nodded again—almost in an effort to convince myself. “I think so,” I whispered.
Brett paused and then pulled away. “Call me if you have any issues,” he said as he pulled a business card from his wallet.
I took it, my hands feeling numb as I clutched it between my fingers. We said our goodbyes, and I climbedinto my car. Spencer was out, his head tipped back, and his lips parted. He was softly snoring.
The drive back to Magnolia was uneventful. I kept glancing over at Spencer, fearing that any minute he would stop breathing.
I pulled into the driveway and turned off the engine. I sat there in the silence, Spencer’s soft breathing filling the air. I took in a deep breath as I glanced over at him.
Even if this was a strange thing for me to do—picking up my landlord because he was drunk—it didn’t change the fact that he was going through something.
