Revive Me (4 page)

I gripped my steering wheel tightly. Why did he have to kill everyone? If he was so unhappy, why couldn’t he just do it to himself? I was being selfish … I knew that. In the past I would’ve never wished suicide on anyone, but this someone took my brother from me. He’d taken my family away from me. And I’d never forgive him, dead or alive.

I walked through the front door to find my younger brother, Derrick, on the couch with a video game controller in his hand. His fingers tapped the buttons quickly as he shouted at the TV.

“Are Mom and Dad here?” I asked, interrupting his game and standing in front of the TV.

He paused the game, and his eyebrows squished together. “You seriously asking me that?” He tossed the controller onto the coffee table and shook his head. “Even when they’re here, they aren’t.” My brother was strikingly similar to Tanner. His thick, blonde hair was cut short, and he was growing taller, and more muscular, with each passing day.

“They’ll get better, just give it time,” I said, wishing I believed my own words. After Tanner’s funeral, they’d tuned out and forgot they had two living children to take care of. I was old enough to deal with the neglect. But Derrick was too young. So I took on the role of taking care of him.

He rolled his eyes. “Yeah right. You’ve been saying that for months. They don’t even come home after work until midnight.”

“Come on,” I called, heading into the kitchen. “I’ll make you something to eat. I’m sure you’re starving.”

“I’m always starving,” he said, laughing lightly. “But I’ve already eaten.” I twisted around to look at him. Derrick was fourteen, but the boy couldn’t cook. He’d starve himself before figuring out how to make a grilled cheese sandwich. “Dawson fed me,” he added. “He stopped by looking for you. We waited for a while, played a few levels, but you never showed. So he took me out for ice cream before going to work.”

Shit, I’d turned off my phone and forgot about calling him. At least I’d gotten out of having the dreaded conversation with him.

“Ice cream isn’t dinner.” I walked into the kitchen, turned on the light, and peeked at him from around the corner. “Now get your butt in here so I can feed you some real sustenance.” He groaned, but did as he was told. I threw some easy-mac in the microwave and made us sandwiches.

Derrick devoured his dinner as I picked at mine, listening to him ramble about school and his upcoming field trip to a football game. He might’ve been a teenager, but he was still young, and I didn’t want him corrupted. I shielded him from my parents’ problems the best I could. I’d choose him over my parents if I had to. Brother and sister bonds, even when they’re cutting your favorite doll’s hair off, are strong. Sibling friendships were something that would never deteriorate.

“I’m going to go watch some TV in my room,” he said, getting up from the table when we’d finished his homework. “Goodnight, sis.”

I nodded and started to clean up. I heard his bedroom door click shut upstairs at the same time the front one opened. I walked into the entryway to find my mom stumbling in and nearly falling face first against the staircase. I could smell the alcohol lingering on her breath from across the room. Her blue eyes took one look at me and turned cold. Muttering something under her breath, she shook her head and wandered up the stairs to her bedroom. I painfully watched until she disappeared and the door slammed shut. Thirty minutes later, my dad came home and repeated the same motions.

I sat down and slammed my hands down against the kitchen table. Taking a deep breath, I reached for the pile of mail sitting to the side. A large white envelope stuck out from the stack, and I pulled it out. My stomach fell when I saw the letterhead. I drug the rest of the pile to me, sorting through it, and noticed another matching envelope. I pushed the others away, set the two in front of me, and my eyes fixated on them. They both had the same address, just sent to different names. One had his name and the other mine. Both from my dream college. Tanner hadn’t wanted to go to college on the east coast, but he’d applied for me. He’d follow me anywhere to protect me.

I grabbed both envelopes, stormed across the room, and threw them into the trashcan. Screw it. I grabbed my bag and stepped out into the sticky night. Maybe Reese was right. Maybe I needed to numb myself.

I parked my car across the street from a one-story house in need of some serious TLC and double-checked my GPS to make sure I was at the right place. Yep, it matched the address on the napkin. I squinted my eyes, noticing people standing on the front porch, the front lawn, and the small driveway. Bodies trickled in and out of the open doorway to the house. I tucked my wallet underneath my seat, ran my hands down my jeans, and got out of my car. My steps followed the loud music until I walked into a room full of people with cups in their hands, cigarettes between their fingers, and sweat running down their face.

A few pieces of furniture were pressed against the walls as people were scattered throughout the place. There were no familiar faces and most of them looked too old to be in high school. I kept walking, taking only a few steps, and landed in the kitchen. The cabinets hanging on the walls were either broken or open. Alcohol bottles were strewed along the countertops and floor. A group of people surrounded a circular table in the middle of the room. I stood up on my tiptoes, and my eyes widened as a guy dropped his head down to a rectangular mirror and snorted a line of a white substance. He finished the line, shook his head, and threw his hands up in victory as a few others cheered and clapped his back.

I walked backward, ready to flee, when a pair of hands stopped me. I stilled as a splash of liquid smacked into my hair and someone pushed me from behind.

“Damn pretty girl, you actually showed up,” a deep voice growled into my ear. I turned around to find Reese standing in front of me. He grabbed my hand. “We’ve got some good shit here. Can I get you something from the keg?” I stared at him, debating with myself whether to stay or leave. “Or something harder? Vodka? Whiskey? Whatever you want, love, I got you.” His wiry lips gave me a sly smile.

A red, plastic cup was gripped in his hand, and he took a drink while waiting for me to answer. I gave him a weak smile, noticing the blood-shot veins around his eyes and his enlarged pupils. I glanced around the room, observing everyone’s carefree behavior with envy. That’s how I wanted to be. That’s how I wanted to feel. That’s why I was there.

My eyes zeroed in on a guy across from us. He sat slack against the wall, his body settled on the floor, as his head bobbed from side to side. A line of drool was dripping from his mouth onto the stained carpet. “I’ll have whatever he’s having,” I said, gesturing to him.

Cold lips kissed my cheek. “That’s my girl. I’ll hook you up real good, I promise. Be right back.”
His girl?

I nodded, running my teeth against my lower lip, and watched him disappear into the kitchen. I slouched back against a wall and shut my eyes. What was I doing here? Reese wasn’t my type. He was a bad boy and a bad boy had never been in my plans. They weren’t my type. But he was giving me attention, and he wasn’t treating me like I was the sister of the murdered football star. He was going to help me … or at least he said he was.

My eyes shot open as something hard collided into my side. My head turned to find two people practically dry-humping each other next to me. Their mouths were connected, their tongues and spit sliding against one another’s as their hands clawed at each other’s skin. I covered my mouth, turning away, and scurried off to find an open chair at the corner of the living room. Where the hell was I?

“Here ya go,” Reese said, stopping in front of me and handing over a plastic cup that resembled his. “You’re going to love this shit.”

I glanced into the cup to see an unrecognizable brown liquid. Slowly bringing the rim to my chapped lips, the liquid hit my tongue, causing me to instantly cringe. Gagging, I brought my hand to my chest, forcing myself to swallow down the repugnant concoction of licorice, sugar, and what I’d imagined Drano would taste like if I ever took a go at it.

“Holy shit!” I gasped, grabbing my throat, coughing, and pulling the cup away from me. I shook my head and stuck my tongue out as it began to feel fuzzy. “Why are you feeding me turpentine?”

He chuckled, pushing a hand into the pocket of his pants. “It’s a Jagerbomb in a cup, love.” I looked up at him and blinked a few times. Was I supposed to know what that meant? He smiled proudly like he’d invented the drink and was about to receive some cash prize for it. “My specialty and favorite. It’ll take you a few sips to get used to the taste, but after that you’ll be addicted. I promise.”

I coughed. “I highly doubt that.”

“Just give it a chance.”

I held in a breath, exhaling slowly, and forced myself to take another drink. I wasn’t new to drinking, but I’d always stuck to the beginner drinks; wine coolers, rum with fruit juice, or wine on holidays, definitely nothing this potent.

His hand shot towards me. “Come on,” he said, and I grabbed it, giving him the power to pull me up from my chair. “I’ve got some people for you to meet.”

He tucked me into his side and guided me back into the kitchen. The idea of meeting new people felt more nauseating than the drink. The old Tessa was a people person, but now, I loathed social interaction.

“Hey guys,” Reese called out. I curled closer to his side as everyone’s attention turned to us. “This is my girl, Tessa. Be sure to make her feel at home, or you’ll have to answer to me,” he pointed to a few guys, “and hands off assholes.”

The guys laughed while a few greetings and waves came my way. “Aren’t you a cute thing?” a soft, patronizing voice sang out.

I caught a glimpse of a skinny frame jumping off the counter and sauntering over like she was walking the runway. Her dark hair draped down her shoulders and stopped at the peak of her full cleavage. A tight top covered the outside of her boobs, and dipped down into her bellybutton to expose the dips in between her large breasts and stomach. I blinked, watching her get closer, as her smoky eyes narrowed, but her bright red lips smiled. I looked down, noticing the ripped jeans hanging on my waist and my long-sleeve top. I looked homeless compared to her.

“Alexa, play nice,” Reese warned.

Her smile expanded. “I am playing nice. I was giving the girl a compliment, she’s cute.”

I looked away from her and decided not to thank her for the backhanded compliment. She waited a few seconds for my reaction, but shrugged when she realized I wasn’t falling into her trap.

I moved my eyes to the floor as Reese’s hold tightened on me. “Don’t fuck with her. You do, you’ll deal with me, and I know you don’t want that shit,” he snarled.

She laughed in his face. “Whatever, you know I’m not scared of you.” She waved goodbye to everyone in the room, ran her hand down Reese’s arm, and left the room.

“You’ll have to excuse Alexa, she takes a minute to warm up to you,” a guy situated at the table said. His head was full of black dreadlocks and brightly colored beads. I recognized him as the one snorting his victory earlier. “I’m Bobby, by the way, and this is my girl, Maya.” He nuzzled the girl’s neck sitting on his lap, and she giggled loudly before turning around and kissing him full on the lips.

“Hey girl,” she said, waving. Her eyes were covered with a pair of cat-eye framed glasses and her bright red hair was dyed blue at the tips.

Reese slid out an empty chair from the table and plopped down. Grabbing my drink from my hand, he set it down, grabbed my waist, and pulled me onto his lap. The weight of his arms wrapped around me, his hands landing high on my thighs, and I reclined against him. His chin sat in the crook of my neck as his hands began to roam higher. I moved forward, trying my hardest to deter his touch, but not look uncomfortable at the same time.

“Did you just move here?” Maya asked. “I’ve never seen you around.” My stomach rolled as I stilled. I didn’t want them to know. They couldn’t know. Or they’d treat me differently.

“She did,” Reese said, coming to my rescue. He clapped his hands together. “Now, how about we take some shots, fuckers? Get this fucking party started!” I let out a breath of relief. “I got you love,” he whispered into my ear, his breath hot. His lips hit my neck, moving across my bare skin, then back to my ear as I shivered in his arms. “I got you,” he repeated, his rough hand moving along the hem of my shirt.