A Safe Place to Fall (Places Book 1)

by Barbara Doyle

  “Which means that we always find a way back to each other,” he pointed out, letting go of my wrist. I walked over to the fridge and grabbed the milk out.

  With my back facing him, I said, “It’s a waste of time and energy though. We fight, we make up and then we do the same thing over again. What’s the point?”

  “The point,” he replied, turning me around. I locked eyes with him, “Is that we’ve always been there for each other when we needed it most. We’re friends, B. We always have been, and we always will be. Friends fight. Friends make up. We’re no different than anybody else.”

  “Friends don’t stop talking for a week straight.”

  He looked away. “I was busy.”

  I pushed him away and walked past him. That was always his excuse when he didn’t bother calling or texting. How long did it take to send a single text? He was bullshitting himself and me, and I didn’t appreciate it.

  “Don’t walk away from me!” he demanded.

  I kept walking despite his order. “You’re not the boss of me so go away. I never invited you over here anyway.”

  He grabbed my arm and whipped me around. “Stop acting like a child. I’m trying to be here for you. I’m not letting you stay with your brother. You’ll just be miserable there.”

  How did he know I wouldn’t be miserable with him? If we kept bickering like we always did I’d be miserable after an hour of his company. Nothing would change between us.

  “And you think I’ll be happy with you?”

  The lack of a response caused me to look over at him as I sat down on my bed. He was leaning against the doorjamb of my room, like he didn’t want to overstep his boundaries if he walked in. He’d been in my room plenty of times.

  “As a matter of fact I do,” he answered honestly. “I was stupid not to try getting in touch with you, and I’m sorry. I’d like to point out that you could have easily sent me a text if you were interested though.”

  He was right, but I didn’t want to admit it. It wasn’t that I wanted to place the blame fully on him, because I could have tried calling when he didn’t. I just wanted to believe that if he really wanted to hear from me, he’d do it sooner. When he didn’t, it gave me a reason to pull back. I was done pining for somebody that wasn’t worth my time.

  “Please just get your things ready,” he said softly.

  “I’m not going with you, Nate.”

  He closed his eyes for a moment. “If it’s because of last weekend, I shouldn’t have said what I did. I know that I have a reputation, and I know that you weren’t bringing it up because you were jealous. I was an ass.”

  “Yes you were,” I agreed casually, eating my cereal.

  “You don’t have to agree so quickly,” he grumbled.

  I smiled innocently, and then let it fade from my face. “It’s not because of what you said,” I admitted quietly. “It’s…nothing. I just don’t want to feel like I owe anybody anything. If I stay with you…”

  He finally came in and sat down next to me. “You won’t be a burden. You used to hang out all of the time at my place anyway.”

  “With my brother,” I reminded him. “Staying there is a different story. Plus, I hear that living with friends can be tense. With Sam and me, it was. We were always at each other’s throats about certain things.”

  “We’ll I’m not Sam.”

  “Thank the lord for that one…”

  He chuckled. “Stay with me,” he said, giving me his killer half-grin. I hated it when he did that because his right dimple always showed. I was a sucker for that dimple.

  I sighed. “I still don’t think it’s a good idea.”

  “So that’s a yes?”

  I smiled. “I guess so. I don’t really want to listen to my brother having sex so…”

  He laughed. “Nobody needs to hear that.”

  He went to bump my shoulder, but hit my arm which made me spill my cereal all over me and the bedding. I quickly got up and watched at all the pieces of cereal fell onto the carpet. Nate grabbed the tissues and started wiping me off. When I took off the robe, I saw that the milk soaked through and onto my white shirt, making my boobs incredibly known to the world.

  Nate’s expression darkened as he stared at my chest. My face heated up along with the rest of me. I wouldn’t have minded the attention if I wasn’t cold from the milk dripping down me. I ignored my inner goddess that wanted me to stay and let him stare me down so I could go to the bathroom and wash up.

  I left Nate in my bedroom to cool down himself. I’d seen that look on his face before. It was pretty similar to the one I saw at the hotel we were at. Not to mention he looked like that whenever he put his eyes on his latest hookup. The difference between this moment and those was that he wouldn’t actually make a move on me.

  Too bad.

  I reached into the cabinet and pulled out a towel, and was surprised when a small bag full of white powder fell out. I picked up the small sandwich bag and studied it. It was half full sugar-like crystals, but I knew better to believe that it was sugar. Why would it be hidden in the linen closet if it was something as common as that?

  “Where did you get that?” Nate demanded from behind me. I didn’t hear him walk into the bathroom, and he startled me enough to make me drop the bag. This time, the powder spilled out of the bag and all over the hardwood floor.

  “It was in the closet under the towels.”

  I went to pick it up, but Nate held me back. “Blair, those are drugs. Please tell me that they’re not yours.”

  I crossed my arms on my wet chest. “Of course they’re not! How could you even think that I’d have them? What is it anyway?”

  He stared at the floor. “I think it’s coke.”

  My stomach dropped. “As in cocaine?”

  He nodded. “Blair, if they’re not yours then…”

  “They must be Sam’s,” I finished quietly.

  She had been acting off lately, but I never thought it was because of drugs. What was she thinking? She always told me that she’d never do drugs. Hell, she was completely against pot, which was like the most innocent drug out there. If this was really cocaine then what was she into?

  “They can’t be,” I told him, kneeling down to pick up the bag. “Sam hates all types of drugs. It makes no sense why she’d be doing them. Unless…” I shook my head, and started brushing the powder into the bag. “She’s seeing some guy. I bet he’s the reason behind this. There’s nothing else that makes sense.”

  I dumped the bag in the toilet and flushed it. I looked at the leftover powder on my fingers and quickly washed away the evidence. To think that Sam even knew about this disgusted me. She should have come to me if she had a problem. Whoever this new guy was, I already wanted to punch him in the face.

  “When is she supposed to get home?” he asked.

  I shrugged. “She just kind of shows up whenever she feels like it. It’s not normally what she does, but lately she just lives for the moment. I should have known something was wrong.”

  His eyes softened, and he put his hand on my shoulder. “This isn’t your fault. If she was so against drugs, then how could you have known that she had this? I’m sure she’s just holding it for somebody. If you talk to her…”

  If I talked to her she wouldn’t listen if a guy was involved. She always told me that I had a tendency to meddle with her love life, and I wasn’t going to prove her right. I just needed her to admit that they weren’t hers so I could have peace of mind.

  “She won’t listen to me, Nate.”

  “I’m sure she would if she knew you were worried about her. You guys have known each other for a long time. That has to count for something, right?”

  It doesn’t seem to count with you.

  “Right,” I murmured.

  He smiled and his eyes drifted downward. “Here,” he said clearing his throat. He passed me the towel I’d dropped on the floor earlier. “You should probably put some clothes on. Well…new clothes. Maybe a br
a. Definitely a bra.”

  His cheeks reddened at his babbling, but I thought it was funny. He’d never babbled before, which made this entertaining. It was actually pretty cute.

  Snap out of it!

  I put the towel in front of my chest. “I’ll go get that bra now,” I told him, backing out of the bathroom. I kept eye contact with him until he was out of view.

  My inner goddess was high-fiving herself just seeing how he reacted. I knew that moving on was for the best, especially now that I’d be staying with him. If I wanted to keep being his friend, pining wouldn’t work out. A relationship would never happen. It was just fun to get a reaction or two out of him when I could, because I never intended to whenever it happened.

  It took me about ten minutes to get dried up and changed into a pair of jeans and sweater. When I was finished, I walked out of my room to see Nate leaning against the wall waiting for me. He had my suitcase on the floor next to him, and a cup of coffee extended out toward me.

  “You’re a god,” I said, wrapping my hands around the warm mug.

  “So you’ve told me.” He grinned.

  I looked at him in confusion, but was too afraid to ask what he meant. I’d never told him that before. I’d thought it a few times in many different contexts, but I would never have the lady balls to admit it out loud other than now.

  He chuckled and handed me the suitcase. “You better get packed before Sam gets home. If she realizes that the drugs are gone she’ll probably flip out.”

  “They’re not hers,” I told him again, walking back into my room.

  “It doesn’t matter. If she’s holding them for somebody they’re still gone. I’m not an expert with drugs, but I know that much cocaine isn’t cheap. She’s going to be in a lot of trouble if she knows you dumped them.”

  I froze and stared at him. What if she got hurt because of me? I didn’t think about that when I got rid of them. I just wanted them gone!

  “You don’t think she’ll get hurt do you?”

  He shrugged. “I honestly don’t know. I just hope that they were hers. That way she doesn’t have to answer to anybody if they know they’re gone.”

  My stomach twisted at the thought of what could happen to her. Sure, she was being a bitch lately, but if it was because some bad people were in her life then I understood. If I became the reason some mob boss ordered a hit on her I’d never stop feeling guilty. What if she was killed because of me?

  “You look pale,” he noted in a worried tone. “I’m not trying to frighten you, but I’m being realistic. Pot is one thing to deal with, but hard drugs? I don’t know what situation she’s in, but it could get bad. You need to talk to her.”

  I grabbed my cell phone. “I need to call her.”

  He nodded and left me alone to do it.

  I set the coffee cup on my nightstand and waiting impatiently as the phone rang. My knee bounced like it always did when I was nervous, and the feeling I got in my gut wasn’t a good one.

  Pick up, damnit!

  When I got her voicemail I hung up and dialed again. If I called enough times she would know it was an emergency. It had always been that way with us if she didn’t answer the first time. She may be different now, but our friendship had to mean something to her.

  Unless she was with the guy that got her into this mess. If he was there when she answered I couldn’t say anything. I didn’t know how drug dealers were, but something told me they weren’t very friendly. Especially if they found out their drugs got flushed.

  When she didn’t answer for a third time I slammed my phone on the bed. I couldn’t do anything because I had no clue where she was. If I learned anything in the past few years, it was that you couldn’t help people that didn’t want to be helped.

  I stared at my suitcase knowing that I should stay to make sure she got home all right. Another part of me knew that leaving was probably safer. If drugs were in the house, somebody was going to want them. I wasn’t going to be here if they decided to show up. For all I knew, Sam was on her way with her dealer now. What would I do then? Call them out? Something told me I wouldn’t be in great shape after that conversation.

  Luckily I barely had anything to my name beside my wardrobe and some DVDs. It would be easy enough to pack away in Nate’s truck. After about half an hour of gathering my belongings, I met Nate in the living room. He took my suitcase and we left the apartment without looking back.

  Deep down I had a bad feeling about this.

  3

  Three things had crossed my mind regarding Sam last night. One was that she was in serious trouble, which was why she never called me back or texted me since yesterday. My second theory was that maybe she did just change, and I didn’t want to accept it. I hated changes, so it was plausible. The third theory involved some sort of demonic possession. When I told Nate he just informed me that I watched too much Supernatural. I couldn’t help it though. I needed my Winchester fix.

  In all seriousness though I was still worried. Nate told me not to worry about it, but how could I not? If Sam couldn’t call me back because something happened to her it would be my fault. I had to figure out some way to help her before she became a missing person’s case. Staring at my phone wouldn’t help me get in touch with her, and I doubted spending my only day off this week in bed was worth it. Sam knew what to do if something ever happened, and she hadn’t done it yet. Maybe Nate was right. Maybe I didn’t have anything to worry about.

  It took me a few minutes to find the energy to get out of bed. My comforter was tangled around my legs, and my lack of motivation was strong today. Usually I was able to sleep in on my days off, but today was different. Despite my lack of energy, I was wide awake before nine o’clock. Even Nate would be proud of me.

  Once I was freed, I walked to the bathroom. Without thinking I opened the door before knocking, and yelped when I saw Nate’s bare ass standing in front of the sink. I instantly covered my eyes and felt my whole face heat up with embarrassment.

  “I’m so sorry!” I said quickly. “I keep forgetting that I’m not in my own place anymore. I never had to knock on the door, and if Sam was in the bathroom it never mattered because we’re both girls. Oh, God.”

  My babbling must have been entertaining to him because he laughed at me. I was too afraid to move my hand from my eyes, and my feet were glued to the floor. I tried leaving, but the mortification currently running through my body had me frozen.

  “We used to bathe together,” he reminded me.

  “I was a baby! I don’t remember seeing your…”

  I couldn’t even say it. Was I that immature? Since when was penis such a dirty word? Apparently when it involved Nate, I was tongue tied. Sam used to tell me I swore more than a truck driver and had a dirtier mind than her grandmother, which was sad. I met her grandmother and she could make even the dirtiest-minded people blush.

  “I should uh…” I cleared my throat.

  Move it! I commanded my feet.

  “Blair,” he said.

  “Yeah.”

  “You’re not moving.”

  “I think I’m…stuck.”

  He chuckled. “Did the sight of my ass scare you that much? I’ve been told by many people that I have a fantastic ass.”

  “You do—” Why did you say that?! “I mean it’s okay. That’s not why I can’t move. I’m just…uh. I feel…embarrassed. Definitely embarrassed. I never meant to see you…well, naked. So…”

  “So you think my ass is just okay?”

  My feet finally decided to unglue themselves from the floor just in the nick of time. There was no way I was answering that question. His ass was more than just okay, but if I said that I’d be even more embarrassed than I was now. Red wasn’t a good color on me to begin with, so why add to my mortification?

  “I’m going to go now,” I informed him. I backed into the wall, cringing at the stinging pain in my shoulder from the contact. I collected myself and listened to him chuckle as I turned and sped walked
into the guest room.

  I didn’t uncover my eyes until I knew it was clear. Who stood naked in the bathroom anyway? He had clearly just taken a shower since he was still wet, so where the hell was his towel? If I saw any more of him I would have died.

  It would have been worth it.

  I mentally slapped my subconscious. She was the part of me that was dirty-minded and got me into bad situations. I let Sam talk me into hitting on Nate, and my subconscious inner goddess took over as soon as it got the chance. Look where that got me! Sure, I was living with Nate at the moment, but it was temporary. It took him a week before he talked to me. Clearly hitting on him made me look like an idiot, since the only reason he reached out was because I was going to be homeless.

  There was a knock at my door.

  I looked up to see Nate standing in a towel.

  “Aren’t you going to put clothes on?” I asked him before filtering what I was going to say.

  He smirked. “Am I making you uncomfortable?”

  Yes. “No,” I lied. “It’s just…cold in here.”

  “Cold?” he looked down at himself with a spark edged into his eyes. “Sweetheart, if it was cold I’d know. I’m toasty warm.”

  I blushed. “Good to know.”

  “So about my ass,” he began. “I don’t think that my ass deserves the ‘just okay’ rating. In fact, I believe that my ass deserves a five star rating and top notch reviews.”

  I gaped at him.

  “You can be honest with me, Blair.”

  “You have no ego problems, huh?”

  He just smiled at me.

  “I have no opinion regarding your ass or any other parts of you,” I declared. It was obviously a lie, but for once I actually sounded believable.

  He flashed me his famous boyish grin, which showed his pearly white teeth and dimple. “If you saw the other parts of me you’d be raving about them. You’d never shut up.”