He laughs as I head out. Before I vanish through the door, he calls out, “She’s a good woman, Jake.”
I nod and wave without looking back.
When I get to the apartment, everything is quiet. I call into the void, “Drew?” with no response returning to me. After taking off my shoes, I walk to her room. The door is slightly open so I tap on it. “Drew? You in here?”
Nothing but silence.
“Shit. She’s at Bernie’s. How could I forget that?” The memory of Bernie knocking on my door in the nude, flashes before my eyes. I slide my phone out and text Drew. An hour later, I text her again.
Hey, I want to see you before I go.
I wait for her response. Just when I think one’s not coming, I get this:
I’m busy Jake. Have a great time in Denver.
I stare at it. “Fuck.”
I dial her, but she doesn’t pick up. Just her voicemail.
“Hey, Drew, uh, I’m sorry I didn’t wake you. I was really thrown by the whole Bernie thing. I’m sure she told you. But I…don’t know how long I’m gonna be gone for.” Pausing, I confess, “I really wanted to see you before I left. Call me back. I’ll come to you. Just text me Bernie’s address.”
I hang up expecting a quick response, but she never calls me back. She doesn’t even fucking text me. The rest of the long night I’m annoyed as hell. I do laundry, pack up, field calls from family, and stare at the fucking clock all the way until I lay down to sleep.
If she’s gonna be that way, fine. I don’t need this shit.
When I wake up, I text her again.
I’m leaving.
Jason knocks at my door at eight-thirty, and I’m still staring at the phone. “You look like hell.”
“Yeah,” I mutter, grabbing my suitcase. He picks up the other one and waits for me to the lock the door.
“Drew already at work?”
“Who the fuck knows what Drew’s doing or where she is or what she’s thinking” I mutter, heading to his car.
With the sounds of rolling wheels bouncing off the hallway walls, Jason asks, “Something happen between you guys?”
“Yeah, something you know a lot about.”
“Huh?”
“Bernie Fucking Lancaster.”
Jason stops walking. “What does she have to do with anything?”
“I’ll tell you in the car. I have a plane to catch and you were supposed to be here at 8:20 a.m.”
I can hear how pissed I sound, but I don’t fucking care. My patience is gone.
DREW
L ast night was a nightmare. I got absolutely no sleep at Bernie’s. I couldn’t stop thinking of Jake. I wanted to call him, but doing so would have been the dumbest, most doormat thing I’d ever done. And I’ve been a doormat many times. But at least now I have my eyes open and I can choose not to be one. Still, old habits are harder to kill than cockroaches in the desert.
I wanted to take him up on his offer to drive over to her place. Even with what he did – what they did -- Seeing him before he left was something I needed. For closure.
But the night proved to be very full and distracting. Bernie didn’t want to keep her promise to me.
“I really don’t think I need a rehab, Drew.”
“But you agreed to go to one!”
“I know I did, but that was before I had a good night’s sleep at your place.” Her smile makes me sick to my stomach. “And you were so good to me, it made me feel better. I think I can quit the coke now.”
“I thought you said you didn’t sleep last night. “
“Well, there are many ways to rest, Drew.”
I gagged, but put away my own pain to explain to her, “Bernie, you can’t quit something as addictive as coke without help. You need support.”
“I’ve got you!”
I put my head in my hands at that, feeling absolutely spent of patience. “I can’t be your savior. I don’t have that kind of power. I tried!” I looked up, pleading with her to understand. “When I lived with you, I tried to help you. Hell, I even hid your coke one night!”
Her eyes flashed. “I KNEW that was you! Where did you put it?”
“I flushed it.”
“You did WHAT? Do you have any idea how much that costs, Drew?”
Defeated, I told her, “See? You wouldn’t be so upset if you were really quitting now.”
The anger vanished instantly. “I’m quitting! I am! I don’t want this kind of life.” Her eyes became liquid as she ran both hands through her flaxen hair. “I have to get out. You HAVE to help me!”
“I want to. Let me help you.”
“Okay!”
“Great. Let’s go to the rehab.” I grabbed my keys and she took them from me then chucked them at her wall.