Chapter 2
Chapter Two
“Shit. Lex!” I scream as his hand reaches out, transferring his weight from me to the wall. And then he’s falling. “Someone help!”
Two teachers and the school nurse come running, stopping when they see Lex passed out on the floor. Their faces pale and they stand frozen.
“Don’t just stand there! Do something to help him!” I yell at them. My hands are on Lex’s face. His skin is so hot. “He’s burning up.”
“Okay. Let’s get him into the exam room. One of you… call the doctor and a backup. We cannot let anything happen to this kid,” the nurse rushes out.
One of the teachers, along with the nurse, manages to pick Lex up and carry him into the room. Shit.
I pull his phone from his pocket and unlock it, using the code he told me to remember in case I ever needed it.
I didn’t think I would ever have to use his phone.
But right now, I need to call his parents.
I don’t know what else to do, but they will.
I think. He speaks very fondly of his family.
I’ve never met them, but I know he loves them more than anything.
Scrolling through his call log, I find the name Pakhan. That’s what he calls his dad. I hit dial. Lex spoke to him earlier this morning. Did Lex tell his dad he was sick?
The line connects and an older man’s voice comes through the speaker. “Ah, sorry… I don’t speak Russian,” I tell him.
“Who is this?” the man asks. “And why do you have my son’s phone?”
“I’m Addison, Lex’s friend from school. He, ah, he’s sick and I don’t know what to do. The nurses and some teachers have called a doctor but these people look about as useful as a chocolate teapot.”
The faculty members in question look at me with wide eyes. They shake their heads, and I turn my back to them.
“Addison?” Lex calls out, and I spin back around to find his eyes boring into me.
“Oh, thank god you woke up. What the hell, Lex? You passed out. You said you weren’t that sick!” I hiss at him.
“Addison, where are you?” The deep voice on the phone has me pulling the device away from my ear. I look at the screen and then place it back up against my ear. I forgot I called Lex’s dad.
“Oh my god, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to yell at you but your son can be a real idiot sometimes. We’re in the nurse’s office,” I explain.
“Give the phone to the school nurse, Addison,” Mr. Petrov says.
“Okay.” I hold the phone out to the school nurse. She looks at it as if it’s going to bite her hand off if she touches it. “His dad wants to talk to you.”
Lex groans. “You called my dad?”
“I had to do something. You passed out,” I tell him.
“Hello, Mr. Petrov.” The nurse steps aside with the phone pressed to her ear.
“I’m sorry. Don’t be mad at me. I was worried.” I sigh, placing my hand on Lex’s forehead. “Holy shit, you’re hot.”
Lex smirks. “You think I’m hot, Addison?”
“Don’t be stupid. You know I do. How long have you been sick? You seemed fine yesterday.”
“I was fine yesterday,” he says.
When the nurse steps back over to us, she passes the phone to Lex. Her hands are shaky.
“Papa?” Lex says into the receiver, followed by, “Addison.” I can’t hear what his father is saying to him.
“I’m fine.” Another pause. “Just the flu.” Another pause.
“Today?” Lex looks directly at me when he says this.
“Okay.” He’s quiet when he shoves the phone back into his pocket. “My father is sending a doctor.”
“I know,” the nurse replies. “What can I get you?”
“Nothing. I’ll be fine,” Lex tells her.
She places a cool towel over his forehead. “Keep this here. I’m getting you some Tylenol.”
As soon as the school nurse leaves the room, I sit on the edge of the bed. “On a scale of one to ten, how much did I fuck up by calling your dad?”
“You did what you thought was best, Addi. It’s fine,” Lex says. “But he is sending a jet for us today. He wants us home.”
“Oh, well, that’s probably good, right? You should be home while you’re getting better. I’ll obviously be bored out of my mind without you.”
“No, you didn’t hear me, Addi. He wants both of us to go home.”
I frown. “What do you mean?”
“As in, when I get on that jet, my father expects you to be on it too.”
“Why?”
Lex lifts one shoulder and then lets it drop again. “Why does the Pakhan do anything? Because he fucking can.”
“Oh god, am I going to be fed to the fishes?” I gasp.
“What?” Lex raises his brows at me. “We don’t feed people to fish, Addi. We have other methods of disposing of bodies. Also, I’d never let anyone hurt you, not even my family.”
“Oh, great! You can just tell him I had to stay at school,” I suggest. “I can’t even afford to go to New York, Lex.”
“You don’t need to afford it. We own the jet, Addi.”
“What if I want to buy a bottle of water, Lex? I can’t afford New York water.”
“You can use my card for whatever you need or want to buy. It’s only for the weekend. We’ll be back at school on Monday.”