Chapter Eight #2
I feel every ounce of color drain from my face, and I contemplate bouncing her head off the wood flooring a few times to knock some fucking sense into her.
“You don’t get to say shit like that.” Macallan moves toward her before I can.
“In fact, you don’t get to say shit at all.
You are a pathetic waste of space, Lana Crawford, and I regret ever going into that bedroom with you.
If I could go back and change one thing in my life, that would be it.
Because you have made my life miserable since, and I just want you to go the fuck away! ”
He stares at her for several long, tense moments before he turns, stomping toward the bed.
“Come on, Joey. I need you to get up.”
“Mac. Mac. Moo. Mac,” Joey slurs, slapping Macallan’s shoulder when he attempts to help him sit up.
“Fuck.” Mac groans with a shake of his head. “I would take this opportunity to leave if I were you,” he tells Lana over his shoulder, his teal blue eyes blazing with anger.
I watch her stare daggers into his back before slowly doing as he says. I blow out a breath when she reaches the hallway and sag forward in relief when she disappears altogether.
“Can you help me get him dressed?” It takes me too long to realize he’s talking to me, but once I do, I quickly snap into action.
“Of course.” I climb onto my knees on the mattress, rolling up Joey’s shirt before forcing it over his head.
Macallan forcibly pulls him upright and I slip one arm through a hole and then the other before tugging his shirt down his muscular torso.
Under different circumstances, I would rather enjoy seeing Joey Franklin naked, but as it is, I feel half sick.
“I’m sorry she dragged you into this,” Macallan says, grabbing Joey’s feet before twisting him sideways so his legs hang over the side of the bed. Lowering myself back to the floor, I cross around the bed and kneel down to slip Joey’s feet through his pant legs.
“I’m sorry I didn’t believe you,” I say without looking up at him. Tugging Joey’s pants to his knees, I try to ignore the fact that his cock is like two inches from my face. “Pull him to a stand and I’ll get them the rest of the way up,” I tell Macallan.
He nods once, leaning forward to wrap his arms around Joey’s back before hoisting him to his feet. He’s basically dead weight at this point, but Macallan is able to keep him upright long enough for me to pull his pants the rest of the way up before letting him collapse down onto the bed.
“Hey, I know you,” Joey repeats, the slur to his voice so thick now I’m barely able to make out the words.
“She said she gave him some Xanax. Do you think he’ll be okay?” I knead my bottom lip between my teeth nervously.
“Yeah, but there’s no way I’m going to be able to get him out of here like this.” He finally speaks after too long.
“I can help you. Wouldn’t be the first time I helped carry one of your inebriated friends home,” I tease, trying to make light of a pretty fucked-up situation.
“No offense, but I don’t think you’re strong enough to get him down the stairs.”
“Perhaps not. But lucky for you, I’ve got reinforcements. Give me a second.” I spin on my heel and take off down the stairs so fast I damn near face-plant at the bottom, having forgotten that I, too, am somewhat inebriated.
I find Lyric and Kai at the pool table and give them a very vague explanation of what’s going on and that I need Kai and Jackson to help us get Joey to Macallan’s car.
Kai jogs off in search of my brother, who is probably going to be quite disappointed by the interruption, given what Lyric told me a few minutes ago.
“Macallan?” Lyric asks the second Kai is out of earshot.
“It’s a long story. I’ll explain later. Right now, we need to help him get Joey out of here.”
“Okay.” She nods once before following me from the room.
Unlike Char, who would have demanded answers, Lyric is patient enough to wait for a more appropriate time, and thank goodness for that, because I am going to need to seriously digest tonight’s events before I even think about explaining it to another person.
Char and River opted to have a late dinner with his and Lyric’s parents, who are in town for family weekend, rather than come to the party with us, and while I was a little disappointed at the time, I’m suddenly grateful they aren’t here for the reason I mentioned above.
I’ve just reached the stairs when Kai rejoins us, Jackson in tow. My brother, who sways slightly on his own two feet, isn’t likely to be much help, but the more muscle we have the better. Joey isn’t exactly a small dude. Six-foot-five of pure muscle, more like it.
The three of them follow me back up the stairs and down the hall. When I reenter the bedroom, I find Mac trying to wake Joey, who now seems to be passed out cold.
“Is he okay?” I ask, quickly joining him at the side of the bed.
“Yeah, just sleeping.” He nods, looking over my head at the three people who followed me into the room.
“I brought help,” I tell him, turning to follow his line of sight.
“I’m sure you know Kai,” I say, knowing everyone knows Kai.
I guess that’s what happens when you earn the title of the campus’s biggest playboy.
Of course, that was before Lyric, who changed all of that.
“His fiancée, Lyric,” I continue. “And that one is—”
“Your brother.” He guesses. Not that I’m surprised. We do look a lot alike, especially the eyes.
“Jackson,” I confirm.
“What do you need us to do?” Kai approaches, assessing the situation much like Macallan did when he entered the room.
“If you could just hold him up on one side, I can get the other.”
Kai nods, bending down to pull Joey upright. Mac helps pull him to his feet as he slips in on his right side and Kai takes his left.
Joey’s head bobs to the side, his chin now resting on his chest.
“Jackson, can you get his feet? That way we don’t have to drag him the whole way.” It’s Kai who asks.
“Yep.” Jackson enters the fray, dipping down to grab Joey’s legs.
“You good to walk backward?” Macallan asks.
“I got it.” Jackson is quick to agree, though I almost interject my concern given that Jackson has been drinking all night. But as they begin to move, my brother is a lot steadier on his feet than I expect, so I keep my reservations to myself.
Together, they manage to get Joey down the stairs and outside, Lyric and I fast on their heels, doing our best to ignore all the gawking faces that turn their attention to us as we pass.
Macallan parked his car directly in front of the house, despite the fire lane sign.
Though given that he was here to pick up a drunk friend, he probably figured he’d be in and out.
I doubt the actual specifics of the evening ever crossed his mind, and why would they?
I was privy to it as it was unfolding and even I haven’t fully digested what Lana did. What I now know she’s capable of.
I rush ahead to open the back door just as the guys reach the car. Getting Joey outside might not have been very difficult for three able-bodied men, but getting him into the car proves more challenging than I think anyone expected.
Eventually, they get Joey fully into the back seat, Kai gripping him under the arms, pulling him in from the opposite side, while Macallan tucks his feet in.
“You good to get him wherever you’re going?” Jackson asks, taking a step back from the car as Macallan closes Joey inside.
“There’s no way you’re going to be able to get him up into the apartment by yourself,” I tell Mac directly.
“He could always sleep it off in the car,” Jackson suggests.
“Don’t be an ass.” I slap my brother across the chest, though not nearly hard enough to hurt him.
“We can follow you back to your place and help you get him inside,” Kai offers.
“I appreciate that.” Macallan nods in thanks, turning his attention back to me. “Would you mind riding with me? You know, just in case he gets sick on the ride over and I need assistance.”
“Sure.” I reluctantly agree because, well, I feel partially responsible for the mess we currently find ourselves in, and it’s only right that I help clean it up.
“He lives in Village Green. You know where that is?” I ask Kai because one, he’s driving, and two, he knows this area better than most because, like me, he grew up not fifteen minutes from campus.
“I do.”
“Okay, we will meet you there,” I tell him before turning to Lyric. I give her a reassuring smile and reach out to squeeze her hand, my way of telling her I’ll be fine. “I’ll see you there.” She nods once.
“I’m coming with you two,” Jackson announces, gesturing to Mac’s car.
“There isn’t any room for you. Unless you’re planning on sitting on top of Joey.”
“I’m not letting my baby sister get into a car with two guys I don’t know.”
“Now is not the time to press play on your overprotective brother routine.” I groan.
“I disagree. Now seems like the perfect time.”
I stare at my brother for a long moment, contemplating jabbing my hand into his throat.
“One, I am not a baby. Two, you don’t need to know them because I do. And three, you’ll be right behind us in Kai’s car. Now go. You’re wasting time.”
He looks over my head at where Mac is waiting just outside the driver’s door.
“Anything happens to her, I’ll break both of your fucking legs and you can kiss your football career goodbye.”
I gape openly at my brother, appalled and yet a little impressed too.
“Understood,” Macallan agrees without hesitation.
Jackson looks between me and Macallan for another long moment before finally conceding with a long exhale.
“I’ll see you there,” he says before spinning on his heel to follow after Kai and Lyric, who have already started up the sidewalk toward Kai’s car.
I wait until he’s out of earshot before turning back to Macallan.
“Sorry about him.” I tug open the passenger door and quickly slide into the car.
“Don’t be. I get it. If I had a sister, I’d probably do the same.”