Page 114 of High Society

“I fell off the wagon last night,” he says, taking a seat.

She can’t help it. Her face falls. “Adderall?”

“And blow.” He sniffles a few times as if to emphasize the point. “The only reason I made it here this morning is ’cause I never went to bed.”

“What happened, Salvador?”

“Where to begin?” He starts counting with his fingers. “Elaine, JJ, Liisa…”

“Of course,” Holly says. “But did something specifically happen last night?”

“Who knows? Maybe the last of the ketamine wore off.”

“It doesn’t work like that, Salvador.”

“Nothing works at all now, Dr. Danvers! We were a tribe bonded by our weaknesses, our temptations, our shame. And now…” He tosses up his hands.

“Relapses are to be expected, Salvador,” she says. “It’s never a smooth road with addiction. It’s part of the healing process.”

“What process?” he cries, bobbing in his chair. “When’s the next ketamine session? The next group therapy?”

She shakes her head. “I’m happy to continue working with you one-on-one, but group therapy isn’t possible now.”

“Just as well.” He giggles nervously. “We don’t have much of a group left.”

Holly can think of nothing positive to offer, so she only nods.

“Next week was supposed to be a celebration,” Salvador says. “Two months of sobriety. That little milestone would’ve fallen on the very same day my new line premieres.”

“I’m sorry, Salvador.”

“The irony is JJ was supposed to help me with the after-party for my show. I texted her about it only hours before she jumped. I still can’t wrap my head around that.”

“What did she tell you?”

“Practically nothing. Like one- or two-word answers.”

Holly thinks of the empty bottles the police found in JJ’s condo that night. “Did you get the sense JJ had been drinking?”

“Nah. And trust me, I’ve seen enough drunk texts to spot them a mile away.”

“JJ didn’t mention anything about a run-in with someone earlier that day?”

“Run-in?”

“Nothing about a Dr. Laing?”

He grimaces. “Who?”

“It’s OK. Never mind.”

“It was only a few texts. She barely said anything.” Salvador rubs his eyes. “It’s too bad, though. JJ was supposed to have met up with Reese that night.”

“Reese?”

“Yeah. Imagine how different it might have turned out if they had.”

“Why didn’t they?”