Edge of Disaster (Edge Series Book 1)

Chapter 1

The relentless hammeringin my skull yanked me out of my sleep. Why wouldn’t the clanging just stop already? Why, why, why? I kept repeating that question when I knew damned good and well what the answer was. Groaning, I tried to pry my eyes open, but someone must’ve super-glued them shut. Knowing exactly what would happen next, I still prayed it wouldn’t. But, bam, then it happened as I expected. That nasty churning in my stomach. I could feel the bile twisting its way up my esophagus. I scrambled around, attempting to untangle myself from the sheets in order to get to the bathroom before a gigantic mess ensued.

I finally succeeded in opening my eyes, but immediately wished I hadn’t. Dizziness plowed into me, intensifying the turbulence in my guts. What greeted me made that churning turn into a volcano of epic proportions. I was naked and sandwiched between two men like bologna between two pieces of bread. I clambered out of bed and hunted a bathroom because I had no clue where it was.

Luckily, it wasn’t too far off. I made it just in time for the morning eruption. I finally finished dumping my guts, and then used the commode for what its original intention. Then I staggered to the sink to wash my face and rinse my mouth. As luck would have it, I spied a tube of toothpaste, squeezed a glob onto my finger, and hastily scrubbed my teeth. Glancing in the mirror, the reflection staring back at me almost made me hurl again. Mascara was smeared across my cheeks and my lashes were clumped together. No wonder I couldn’t open my eyes. I looked like I’d been rode hard and put up wet, as the saying went, and I was pretty sure I had been. From the scene that greeted me in the bedroom, no telling what happened last night. My body trembled as I tried to piece the puzzle together, but that roiling in my gut cranked up again. I had to think about something else for the moment. Getting away from here was paramount.

Cracking the bathroom door open, I peeked out to get a glimpse of what awaited me. When I was confident that John Doe one and two were still crashed out, I tiptoed into the bedroom in search of my clothes. No such luck, hence I found my way to the living room. Where in the world was I? I hadn’t been here before that I could recall. That was probably a good thing. It would save me tons of embarrassment later on. At least I’d never have to run into either of them and act like I knew them.

Finally spying my missing clothes, I quickly snatched them up. My sequined halter top and miniskirt looked like hooker attire in the morning hours. Would my mom be proud of me now. I held back a little giggle as I didn’t give a hoot what my mom thought. But gawd, what had I been thinking last night?

There was no use denying the truth about my slutty wardrobe. Geez, how was I supposed to go home wearing this getup? The shakes hit, along with the nausea. I’d over imbibed plenty of times, but never felt this bad afterwards. Don’t get me wrong, I deserved every bit of it, but I felt off-kilter. I looked around for my purse and teetered as I wriggled into my slutty outfit. Then I noticed all the remnants of our partying from last night. Or maybe I should say this morning. A tray with a razor blade, a short straw, and a dusting of coke was all that remained. Bitterness filled my mouth as I shook my head. I turned away and resumed the hunt for my purse and shoes. Grabbing them, I made a beeline for the door and exited the place.

I stood in a cutesy neighborhood but didn’t know where. Where was my car? Did I even drive here? My car wasn’t in the street, which meant I must’ve ridden with the two John Does. Every time I thought of the scene that greeted me, I wanted to hurl again. It finally dawned on me that I had walked to the club last night and left my car at home.

My hand dug my phone out of my purse, and I asked Siri to tell me my location. In that stupid voice of hers, she told me I was near Mathis Ferry Road in Mount Pleasant. Great! How was I going to get back to downtown Charleston, where I lived?

I hit my best friend, Terri’s number and I heard, “Uh-huh?”

“I need help. You gotta pick me up. Please.” My voice held an edge of desperation.

Her answer came in at full-on alert. “Lex. What did you do now?”

“I’ll tell you when you get here, but please hurry.”

“Where are you?” she huffed.

“In Mount Pleasant. Off Mathis Ferry. I’ll send you my location.”

“It’s only eight thirty!”

“I know. I’ll make it up to you. I promise.”

“On my way. You owe me.”

“I know. Love you, Terr.”

“Yeah. I know.”

The bushes were my best friend as they provided me a place to hide, but I hoped the neighbors didn’t think I was some sort of pervy stalker. Or even worse, I hoped that Barney and Fred, or whoever they were, didn’t walk outside for the Saturday morning paper that sat at the curb.

God, I felt plain awful. I really needed to straighten up.

Twenty minutes later, Terri pulled up and I hopped in the car. A long breath rushed out as I rubbed my arms up and down trying to dispel the chill, even though it was already over eighty degrees outside.

“I won’t say a word other than this has got to stop. You’re going to end up dead one day,” she said, her tone harsh.

“I know. I don’t know what gets into me.”

“Come on, Lex. Would you be honest with yourself for once? You know what’s going on or do I need to spell it out for you?”

I just sat there, huddled in the seat, feeling like a tired old hag. “No,” I finally answered.

“Then when are you gonna do something about it?”

Not wanting to answer her, I shook my head. There really wasn’t any point. Then came the big question I’d been dreading.

“Who did you end up with this time? Did you even know the poor guy?”

I bristled at that. The poor guy. What about me? In a trembling voice, I said, “There were two of them, and no, I didn’t know either of them.”

Terri hit the brakes with both feet sending the car into a near-fishtail spin. If I hadn’t been wearing a seat belt, my ass would have shot clean through my stomach and would now be plastered to the windshield. Bringing the car to a stop, she looked at me with eyes that dug into my soul.

“Please don’t go all mommy on me now. I’m about to crack here,” I begged.

“That fucking makes two of us.”

She wouldn’t stop looking at me and it was killing me. I clasped my hands in my lap and dug my nails into my palms. I couldn’t tear my eyes away from hers.

“If he were here, this would kill him all over again.”

“Oh God, don’t. Please don’t say that. I’m the biggest piece of crap around. I know that. But don’t rub my nose in it.”

The enormity of what she said bulldozed into me and I opened the car door, leaned over, and threw up again. Tears ran freely but I never really cried anymore. Not the sobbing sort of crying that you’d think of. Those days were long gone. Only a shell of my former self remained.

Terri grabbed my hands and held them tightly in hers. “Listen to me, Alexia. You know I love you. But you gotta promise me something right now.”

“What?”

“No! You gotta promise first!”

“Okay, I promise. What did I just promise?”

“You gotta promise to quit doing the recreational drugs. You have white powder all over the outside of your nose. I know you were coked up last night. No tellin’ what you snorted. Add alcohol to that and you’re a disaster waiting to happen. And what comes next? Meth? Heroin? If I ever got that call in the middle of the night, it would kill me. Promise me!”

“Okay. I promise.”

“No more drugs. Say it.”

“No more drugs.”

“I mean it, Lex. This is the last time I’m bailing you out. The next time you’re on your own. I can’t keep doing this for you ’cause it’s killing me. I look at you and see what you’re doing to yourself. I can’t do it anymore. Do you understand?”

I sniffed and nodded. She handed me a box of tissues and I wiped my face. “I’m sorry I’ve put you through all this. I know how close you were with him.”

“He would be devastated over you right now. Straighten up for him, Lexi. I know you. This isn’t you. It’s been three years now. You have to find a way to move on. Get into therapy. Anything.”

“I’ve done therapy. You know that. I think it made me worse. That’s when I started doing the stupid drugs.” I looked at our joined hands and felt hollow inside.

“You had a bad therapist. Try a different one. Anything, Lex. You can even do it online. I can’t watch you do this to yourself anymore.”

She let go of my hands and started driving again. We crossed the Arthur Ravenel Bridge over the Cooper River and made our way into downtown Charleston. I lived on Legare Street, right off of Tradd, in a carriage house owned by the wonderfully wicked blue-haired Charlestonian, Lisbeth Rhett Dubose Rutledge. I worked part-time as her personal assistant in exchange for free rent. My other job was working as a waitress at Camellia’s, an upscale restaurant.

Terri pulled into my driveway, which was separate from Lisbeth’s of course (as no self-respecting blue-blooded Charlestonian would want to share a driveway with their help) and turned her car off. When she got out of her car, I began to get suspicious.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m coming in for a visit,” she answered as she made her way to my door.

“No! I don’t need a lecture right now, Terri. I’m tired, and sick, and quite frankly I just don’t want to hear it.”

She grabbed me by my shoulders and squeezed. I winced, feeling the bruising from last night’s romp with my two unknown bedmates. “Someone has to get through to you, Lex. You’re gonna end up dead one day if you keep this up.”

“Well, maybe that would be best for everyone.”

“Don’t say that!” Terri yelled. “You don’t really mean that!”

“My life isn’t worth a crap. Even my parents don’t give a rat’s ass about me. If they don’t, why should I?” I rubbed my face and felt sick and tired … so damn tired of it all. “Look, I just want to go inside, shower, and take a nap. Thanks for the ride. I’ll call you later.” I walked inside before she could get another chance to argue. She hung out in the driveway for a few more minutes and then I heard her engine come to life as she drove away.

Relief filled me after she left because I didn’t feel like a full-blown argument. I headed to my fridge and grabbed a bottle of Gatorade, cracked it open, and quickly guzzled half its contents. My pickled insides instantly responded. My guts stopped twisting and even my throbbing head felt better. Then I headed to the shower and scrubbed myself mercilessly. I took a good look at my naked self afterward and winced at my reflection. There were multiple bite marks and bruises all over my chest, breasts, stomach, and the insides of my thighs. Those guys obviously had gone to town on me. I pushed that thought to the back of my mind, fearing the Gatorade would make a return appearance.

After my teeth got a good brushing, I threw on a pair of comfy shorts and a t-shirt. Climbing into my bed, I pulled the covers up to my chin and took a nap that left me feeling worse when I awakened. I dreamed of Peter, Terri, and those two men I had been with the night before. I was heartsick over my behavior, but every time I told myself I would stop, I knew it wasn’t the truth.