“I’m not going in,” he assured, then nodded toward the thick metal door that led backstage. “That’s my friend Graham.” He started walking toward him and Fallon followed. Graham? She knew the name from somewhere; she just couldn’t recall where.
“Hey,” Rafe said as he approached his friend. The guy spun around to face them, a surprised flick in his eyes when he saw Rafe.
“Rafe, what’re you doing here?” he asked. He looked worried, anxious.
“I’m here with Fallon. What are you doing here?”
When Rafe said her name, Graham finally looked at her, as if he hadn’t even realized she was standing there. He reached out his hand to her. “Hi, Fallon. I’m Graham,” he said formally, but slightly irritated at the untimeliness of their arrival. But then recognition registered. “Fallon, I saw you the other week. You dance here, right?”
She nodded. “I’m the owner.”
Graham’s eyes rolled shut briefly and he sighed. “Thank fuck. I’m trying to get ahold of Jade. She’s not answering her phone and George called me this morning and told me what happened and— Fuck . . . can you open the door?”
That’s where she knew the name from. Jade had mentioned him.
Fallon raised her palms in the air. “Okay, first of all, slow down,” she soothed, attempting to calm his frantic rambling. He scrubbed his hands over his face and shifted in a circle before facing her again. “I’m going up to check on her now. She more than likely knows exactly why you’re blowing up her phone, which means she probably doesn’t want to talk to you about it. Let me go talk to her first.”
Nodding his defeat, he exhaled. “Yeah, okay. But you’ll tell her I’m here? Tell her I just want to make sure she’s okay.”
The poor guy looked beaten with worry. It was apparent he cared for Jade, which in turn made Fallon Team Graham. “I’ll tell her,” she reassured him.
“Thanks.”
• • •
Fallon knocked once to give Jade the heads-up that she was there, then opened the door. The blinds were drawn shut and the dim haze that seeped through the cracks bathed the dark room with narrow beams of light. Dust particles danced in the spaces of light as Fallon walked into the living room.
Jade was curled on the couch, her eyes shut, wrapped tightly in a blanket.
“Jade,” Fallon whispered.
Her lids lifted and a watery sheen glistened in them. “Hi.” Her weak voice cracked.
Walking to the kitchen, Fallon pulled a coffee mug from the cabinet, filled it with water, and stuck it in the microwave. Uncomfortable silence stretched between them, the only sound filling the room the soft hum of the microwave before it dinged.
Dunking a tea bag into the hot water, she carried the cup to Jade.
“Here,” she offered.
Jade sat up slowly. “Thanks.”
Fallon didn’t know where to start exactly, so she straightened the pillows at the foot of the couch and sat down. How was she supposed to bring up what happened last night with a level head? Now, seeing Jade in her coherent state, she wanted to scream at her until her vocal cords were raw and hoarse. But at the same time she wanted to throw her arms around her and tell her how glad she was that she was okay.
“Holy shit. Has hell frozen over?” Jade muttered between her failed attempt at a smile. “Fallon Kelly’s in a pair of jeans.”
She rolled her eyes. “I’m going to a cookout.”
“Hell has indeed frozen over,” Jade replied, bringing the steaming mug to her cracked lips.
Friendly banter and wisecracks weren’t on the morning’s agenda. Fallon was pissed and worried, and all Jade could do was joke? “Is this really how we’re going to do this? Just pretend that you didn’t shoot up last night? In my club? You scared the shit out of everyone. Na was a mess, all the girls were worried. Seriously, Jade. What in the hell were you thinking? Two years. You’ve been clean almost two years! Why?”
She shrank into the couch, her thin body diminishing beneath her blanket. Fallon watched as she swallowed hard and shook her head. “I slipped up.”
“That’s not a good enough answer for me, Jade. Why?”
“Dexter’s been fucking around on me,” she admitted. The volume of her voice rose along with her anger. “Hence the whole not showing up and the whole distance thing. I went to his house yesterday. I wanted to surprise him, take him to breakfast, spend the afternoon together before I had to come back here for work. Well, I ended up the one being surprised when I walked into his house and found him curled up in bed with another woman.”