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I went to sit at the kitchen table, my shoulders slumping. It was so much easier to be alone, to not have to worry about the well-being of others.
It wasn’t too long before a heavy bag was dropped on the table, and I looked up, meeting Sawyer’s stare. He was more lucid than he was yesterday, but I could tell by his bloodshot eyes that he still felt a little out of it.
“Come on,” he said. “Let’s go.”
“No,” I told him, frowning, resisting my urge to go outside and smoke. At least my addiction was a legal one; it wouldn’t get me thrown in jail or arrested. “We’re waiting until Ash gets here.”
A muscle in his jaw ticked. “I don’t want to see Ash.” A lie if I ever heard one, and I grew up around liars.
“I don’t care what you want. I only care about what she wants.” Glaring, I added, “We’re staying, and there’s no way you’re driving yourself there.” His parents would be his emergency contacts once he was checked into the facility. It would be nice not having to worry about him.
“Fuck you.”
“No, fuck you. Fuck you for making everything about you,” I hissed, slowly getting up. Narrowing my eyes, I resisted my urge to hit him. It was one of the most difficult things I’d ever had to do in my entire life.
Sawyer grabbed his bag, shook his head and muttered, “I’ll be waiting in the car, then.” He said nothing else, leaving the house. I followed him, because I didn’t trust him not to run. Not after that outburst. I watched him from the front patio, making sure he actually got in the car. He did, after he threw his bag in the backseat and swore loudly.
Sawyer Salvatore was going to rehab. Who would’ve fucking guessed it?
Chapter Twenty-Six – Ash
I practically flew out of the car once Will pulled into the driveway, leaving Declan to grab the bags out from the back. Will poked his head out of the window, asking if I wanted him to stay for a bit, but considering I didn’t know what the hell was going on, I said nothing.
Travis stood before the front door of Sawyer’s huge house, and I met him on the steps. He was smoking, having freshly lit one up. I wanted to throw my arms around him and tell him that I missed him, but he looked tense, and he’d been ignoring my calls and my texts, the ass.
“What’s going on?” I asked, setting my hands on my hips as Declan moved around us to bring our bags into the house. We wouldn’t be allowed back in the dorms until Sunday. Campus rules, to save on electricity or whatever.
“Say goodbye to Will, and then say goodbye to the asshole sitting in the other car,” Travis muttered, inhaling deeply. When he breathed out, the breath was laced with smoke.
“What…” I turned, finally spotting the slumped over figure in the car parked in front of Will’s. Sawyer? My hands grew sweaty as I moved to the driveway. Will had gotten out of the car, though it still ran. I met Will. “You can stay if you want, but…” Again, I glanced at the other car.
Was Sawyer leaving?
“It’s okay,” Will said. “You can call me later, after this…whatever this is, is over.” He gave me a small smile, moving slowly as he placed a single kiss on my cheek. No romantic embrace, no passionate goodbye. It was fine though, because even though my mind had been in the gutter recently, the last thing on my mind right now was sex.
Once Will had driven off, I glanced to Travis. There was no sun in the sky, not today. It was a cloudy, cool day, and the weather made Travis look darker. More dangerous.
I moved to the side of the car Sawyer was in, opening the door. Or trying to, anyways. The bastard had it locked, his green eyes on me, even though his face wasn’t turned in my direction. He looked…like shit. He didn’t look like the Sawyer that was on the mend. He looked like the Sawyer of a few weeks ago, the Sawyer who could hardly hold a spoon without dropping it because he shook so badly.
My hand curled into a fist, and I knocked on the window as loudly as I could.
Sawyer pretended like he didn’t hear me, so I kept knocking. After a good minute of constant tapping on the glass, he finally frowned and pointed to the ignition, wordlessly saying he didn’t have the keys so he couldn’t roll down the window.
I pointed to the lock and said, “Get out.” Within a moment, I stepped back and gave Sawyer enough room to get out of the car. He didn’t look happy, but I didn’t care. “Care to tell me what the fuck is going on?”
“I’m leaving,” he said simply, refusing to meet my stare. His eyes were bloodshot.
“You used again, didn’t you?” Didn’t know why I was asking; it was clear what he’d done. This was his guilty face. The bastard didn’t want to look at me and face my wrath. And then…then it hit me, what he said. “You’re…you’re leaving?” I wanted to laugh, because of course Sawyer would leave at a time like this. “Where the hell are you going?”
Leaving. For how long? For good? Was he transferring out of Hillcrest? Was this…was this it? Even though it shouldn’t, my heart hurt at the possibility of never seeing this fuckup again. This dick. I hated him. I hated him so much.
“A rehabilitation facility,” Sawyer muttered. His lips pursed.
Rehab? Sawyer was going to rehab? I just…I had no words, no thoughts.
“I…I need to go, Ash,” he whispered, his voice much quieter, softer than it was mere moments ago. He was no longer an angry Sawyer, no longer a Sawyer that didn’t want to look at me. This time, when his green gaze landed on me, I saw past what he pretended to be. This was the Sawyer I’d seen that day in the shower, the Sawyer who’d clung to me and cried.
This Sawyer needed help, and it wasn’t the kind of help any of us could give him, even if we tried.
