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“They’re not letting themselves go,” José argued. “They’re trying hard to cope. What happened isn’t easy to brush off. It looks like Leaf is feeling a lot of guilt, thinking it’s his fault. Some understanding would be appropriate.”
Andrej shook his head and crossed his arms. “And what happened in Vegas?” he asked, although he already knew the answer.
“Tris crashed into a house, had all the guardian angels on his side, and somehow convinced the doctors that he just flipped out briefly.”
“And he gets away with that,” Andrej concluded. He threw his hands up again as if a sudden thought came to him. “And what was that with Carol earlier? Are we just sweeping the elephant in the room under the rug? That was a damn suicide attempt, man!”
José nodded. “I don’t think this Dr. Snider was clueless. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have discharged Tristan.”
“Incredible how lucky that man is. And on the way here? What did you talk about?”
“About nothing.”
“What? The drive takes at least five hours. You must have talked about something. Anything.”
“He was quiet. Lost in thought. He was asleep when you called and whined.”
Andrej twitched his mouth and skipped the part about him. “Is that a good sign now? Or has he fooled everyone?”
“I wish I knew.”
“Then let’s hope he doesn’t turn into a ticking time bomb like our other zombie in there.”
“Do you have a spare phone you don’t need?”
Andrej was already at the door, but he turned back around. “Why?”
“His phone doesn’t work anymore. And knowing him, he probably won’t bother getting a new one.”
“That’ll make it even harder to reach or find him than it already is.”
José nodded in agreement.
“I’ll check.”
Together, they returned to the bar.
7
–––––
Chelsea
With both hands resting on the sink, Tristan stared into the mirror. Water dripped from his face and his lips quivered. Memories of that day kept resurfacing, haunting him in every spare moment, especially when he sought peace and a chance to catch his breath.
And then there was Leaf. Tristan hadn’t expected to be greeted by a radiant knight, but he hadn’t anticipated Leaf to appear so haggard and broken …
My fault.
Tristan hung his head and massaged his temples.
It could be coke. That’s what he had started taking again at the end of the last tour.
Keep calm. He got off it before.
We’ll manage.
Damn, what was I thinking?
