Page 57 of Mostly My Boss

Jules, please don’t call my parents!

Hopefully she heard that. Did I say that out loud?

Then I was pushed through some doors and, as much as I struggled to stay awake, the darkness took over.

* * *

The next morning

“Oh thank God, he’s awake. Edward, he’s awake.”

I opened my eyes and my mother was hovering over me.

“Shit,” I muttered.

“I told you this would happen. I told you we shouldn’t have let him go.” My mother was screeching at my father who was now leaning over me, as well.

“Ethan? Can you hear me?” my father asked.

I nodded.

“You had a reaction to the medication mixed with too much alcohol. They pumped your stomach and put you on an IV. Can you understand me?”

I nodded.

“Jules?” I asked.

“I’m here!” I could hear her voice, but I couldn’t see her. I turned my head, but there was only my mother on one side, my father on the other. Both of them hovering. Both of them angry for different reasons.

I was such a fucking disappointment to them. Always. As an addicted baby. As an out-of-control child. As an adult man.

“What did I tell you?” My mother was screeching again. “I told you not to let him drink. I told you that you had to watch over him!”

“I wasn’t there,” Jules said. “I didn’t… I called you as soon as I could.”

Don’t attack her. It’s not her fault.

I tried to say those words, but it felt like I had cotton balls stuffed in my mouth.

I moved my head and I could see her there, standing behind my father. Her hands twisted together. She looked upset.

I didn’t mean to scare you.

Wait, I was angry with her. Why? She did something…no, it wasn’t her. It was Nicki. Both of them. What was it? Something I should remember, but it was all blank. I really did need to stop drinking vodka. It was a killer.

“Jules.”

She moved around my father so that I could see her.

“Ethan.”

“You should go,” my mother barked at her. “He needs his family right now.”

No, I didn’t want her to go. Jules was the only thing that made sense for me. It was something about her damn practicality. She was steady and constant, and she gave me a sense of balance I’d never had. She was my only friend.

“I’ll wait outside if that’s better,” she said.

No. Outside wasn’t better. I needed her here. With me. I needed to know she was close then I could focus on how to calm my parents down.