Page 99 of The Don’s Virgin Obsession

“He still throwing up?” CK asked through the phone. She had him on low speaker.

Vanessa sighed hard. “Bad.”

My stomach turned.

“The doctor said his CHS flaring up again like two years ago, and he ain’t taking care of himself.”

They disappeared further down the hallway, but I kept hearing pieces.

“Is he still smoking?”

“Yes.”

“Is he eating?”

“No.”

“You know how he gets, especially knowing our father isn't going good.”

Vanessa’s voice dropped lower after that, but one sentence still caught me.

“I don’t even think he’s using soap in that shower, just burning his skin with hot water.”

I looked down at the table, trying to focus again, but my mind was already somewhere else.

Hot showers.

Throwing up.

Not eating.

The way he looked at his birthday party suddenly made more sense.

That was more than a hangover.

Laila kept talking beside me about furniture deliveries, but I barely heard her.

By Friday, Vaughn still hadn’t shown up.

That man worked too much to disappear for days straight.

I tried calling him once around lunch.

Straight to voicemail.

I hung up before leaving a message.

Marcus came over that night with food and to watch a movie. He was lying back on my couch, talking about some business deal he had with his brother they were working on, while I stared at the TV, pretending to pay attention.

“You listening?” he asked finally.

“Hm?”

He laughed. “Exactly.”

“Sorry.”

“You okay?”