Jeff pasted on a smile. “It means a lot to me too.” He hoped he sounded more casual than he felt. “Have a good day, Chrissy.”
Because all of a sudden Jeff wasn’t.
Beside him, Carter was sagging too. It was time for phase two of Carter’s rehab plan.
“I want shawarma,” Jeff said. “To go.”
Carter’s stomach growled on cue. Jeff still knew him. “That sounds awesome.”
AS JEFFhad planned, Carter’s eyelids started to droop when they were halfway through lunch at his kitchen table.
“Why don’t you have a nap?” he suggested. “You look like you could use it.”
It was a mark of how exhausted Carter must really be that he didn’t snark or argue. He lay down on Jeff’s couch with his right foot elevated over the arm and fell asleep within minutes.
Jeff quietly cleaned up their lunch dishes, then sat down at the table and took out his phone again. He had messages from Joe, Tim, Max, and Trix. He wasn’t ready to deal with Trix, he sincerely meant it when he told Tim to talk to his lawyer, he couldn’t talk to Max without having a breakdown himself… but he couldn’t abandon Joe.
What’s going on with you and Trix? Are you okay?
Then, half an hour later—I know I said we needed to talk but it seems like maybe now’s not a good time?
Jeff couldn’t leave him hanging indefinitely.I am so sorry. Being a shitty friend.He sent that, then bit his lip as he debated what more to say.Trix forced me to play a new song live onstage that she’d never even heard as some kind of power move. Idk whats going on. U got any idea?Maybe Tim was paying her to pressure him into getting the album done?
Jeff thought about Max’s habit and wondered. It was possible. Addicts did shitty things. But there was only so much coke you could put up your nose before you dropped dead. They made good money. Surely it couldn’t be that dire, that he needed to hit Trix up for cash?
Before he could spiral too far down that rabbit hole, he needed to grow up and deal with the last text.Sorry I flaked on u. Talk in VAN?
For a moment he only got blinky dots. Then—Wtf. No clue. Van works. Take er easy, ok?
That was the plan. Sort of. Jeff sat down in the armchair across from the couch and spent half an hour losing himself in his notebook.
At two, Carter’s phone buzzed on the coffee table. He didn’t even stir. Jeff picked it up and took it into the kitchen to answer. “Hi, Ella.”
“Jeff. Is Carter indisposed?” she teased.
“He’s napping,” Jeff said. “I didn’t want to wake him. Are you here?”
“About five minutes out, according to the GPS.”
Jeff made arrangements to meet her and offered her his parking pass since his truck was still at the airport. He was on his way back inside with Carter’s laptop bag over his arm when he spotted a familiar figure in the lobby.
Trix.
Objectively, she looked terrible. Her hair was greasy, rolled into a sloppy twist on top of her head, her Chucks were dirty, and she had dark circles under her eyes. Without her usual makeup, he could see a zit forming along her jawline, and from the redness around her eyes, she’d either been crying or she was high as a kite.
Maybe both.
“Jeff.” She stood when she saw him and took a step forward, her phone clutched in both hands. “I’ve been trying to get ahold of you, I just….”
Jeff waited.
She dropped her hands to her side in defeat. “Can we go somewhere to talk?” She swallowed visibly. “I… I owe you an apology and an explanation, but I don’t want to do it here.”
Jeff didn’t want to do it in his apartment either. “Carter’s napping on my couch. His foot’s broken because he’s an idiot.”
Trix winced. “Practice room?”
Jeff didn’t like it, but at least it was soundproof. “Fine,” he agreed. “Come on.”
