Total pages in book: 99
Estimated words: 109903 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 550(@200wpm)___ 440(@250wpm)___ 366(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 109903 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 550(@200wpm)___ 440(@250wpm)___ 366(@300wpm)
"But for how long?"
"Up in the air," Wymack said. "Andrew was scheduled for rehab in May so he'd be out of classes. It'll take time to get the drugs out of his system. Once his head's cleared the staff has to figure out the next step in his treatment, whether it's ongoing counseling or some new type of happy pill. Take Andrew's complete inability to cooperate into account and we're looking at maybe four, five weeks."
"If we get him back by New Year's it'll be a miracle," Abby said, with a hint of her former frustration. "You're forcing him through withdrawal and recovery at the same time."
"It's both or neither," Betsy said. "You know that."
"Do it," Neil said when Abby started to argue again.
His breathless command had all three of them looking at him, but Neil had eyes only for Betsy. He'd wanted to hurt her in the car for reinforcing the awful rules of Andrew's medicine. She hadn't defended herself because she knew she didn't need to. She knew just like he did how cruel it was to keep Andrew on his drugs, and she'd already reached out to the people who could help him.
Betsy's smile was small and approving. "I promise I'll try. Wish us luck?" She plucked a new chocolate bar off the counter and led Wymack and Abby upstairs.
Neil didn't really believe in luck, but he watched them go and hoped for it anyway.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Nicky's bedroom door was unlocked, so Neil let himself in without knocking. Nicky and Kevin were on Andrew's bed, but they weren't speaking to each other. Kevin sat rigid and silent at the foot of the bed and Nicky was stretched out on his back down the middle. Neil looked from one haggard face to the other, then set his racquet off to one side and closed the door. Kevin's stare went immediately to the racquet. Nicky didn't notice, too busy staring at the ceiling.
Neil sat on the bed between them. It was pointless to ask if Nicky was all right; anyone with eyes could see he wasn't. The best he came up with was an insubstantial, "Hey."
"We shouldn't have come here," Nicky said, sounding as wretched as he looked. "I should have listened all those times Andrew told me to give up on them. If I had we wouldn't be here right now. Andrew wouldn't—" Nicky closed his eyes and sucked in a deep, unsteady breath. "What have I done?"
"You didn't do anything," Neil said. He searched for words, but the ones he found weren't his. They were Wymack's, shared with Neil to ease Neil's guilt over Seth's death. "You didn't know this was going to happen. None of us did. If we'd known, we wouldn't have come."
"Betsy said that, too, but do you really believe it?" Nicky asked. "Can you? We knew Andrew didn't want to come but we made him anyway. I should have just trusted him. I should have known it was something big if he could hold a grudge through all those drugs."
"This is your father's fault," Neil said. "He set Andrew up."
"With alcohol," Nicky said, with a broken laugh. "He told me and the police last night. He talked to Andrew knowing it was going to end with an argument. He promised Andrew alcohol as a peace offering. Drake's idea, see? Dad just had to tell Andrew the bottle was upstairs, and Drake and Andrew would have all the privacy they needed to 'work on their issues'." A savage edge crept into Nicky's voice as he mocked his father's words.
"There was no bottle," Neil guessed.
"There was. That's what Drake hit Andrew with. Son of a bitch." Nicky's face crumpled and he rolled onto his side to present Neil with his back. "I need to call Erik. I haven't told him yet. I don't know where to start."
"We'll give you space," Neil said, and eased off the bed.
Nicky didn't answer, but Neil wasn't waiting. He went back down the hall to the kitchen and was only a little surprised that Kevin followed. Kevin seized the back of a table chair and stared into the distance. Neil waited to see if he'd say anything, then set about looking for their breakfast.
Betsy bought enough groceries for breakfast and lunch, nothing more. Either she was feeling optimistic or they really were going to be back on campus tonight. Neil hoped someone thought to call the registrar's office about their absence from class. Wymack must have called the other Foxes, too. Neil wondered if Wymack told them the entire story or if he just canceled practices for the day and promised an explanation for later. Matt knew they'd come down here to see Nicky's parents, which meant the girls knew. Likely they thought Andrew's violent streak had gotten the better of him in the reunion.
"We researched him," Kevin said at last, voice thick with some unknown emotion. It wasn't grief and wasn't quite guilt. "We looked before we offered him a spot on the line. We didn't see anything about this. No one knew."
"He didn't want anyone to," Neil said, unloading the breakfast groceries onto the counter. He was a passable cook at best, but luckily Betsy had gone for basic comfort food: biscuits, bacon, eggs, and two bulk-sized bags of cheese. Even Neil could handle that.
"But you knew."
"I knew Oakland PD was investigating," Neil said. "I didn't know why. But it doesn't make sense that Drake would come here. Higgins was here a month ago. Why wait so long, and why risk it? The police can track a cross-country plane ticket easy."
Kevin only shook his head, so Neil turned back to breakfast. He'd only finished a couple strips of bacon before a door banged open upstairs. Neil hurriedly moved the bacon off the pan and onto some paper towels. Thumping footsteps on the stairs were too quick and light to belong to any of the staff, but they weren't alone for long. It sounded like Andrew was bringing an entire crowd down with him.