by A. D. Ellis
Jeremiah seemed to sense his wife’s distress, but also to recognize his son’s dangerous situation. Laying a hand on Audrey’s shoulder, he spoke softly, “Let’s hear Jay out. If Kendrick’s in trouble he needs us to be there for him, not pulling blinders over our eyes instead of facing the truth.” Jeremiah pulled his angry wife close and nodded at Jay to continue.
“I called you all here today in hopes of putting our observations and ideas together in a way in which we can help Kendrick. I know from stories you’ve all told me that Kendrick would be doing the same thing if he suspected one of you was in trouble because he loves you all more than life itself. I want us to come up with ways to help him. My hope is our ideas and love can pull him out of this.” Jay felt the confidence wane from her as she finished her little speech.
But, within moments, many members of the family began to speak and her hope was buoyed.
“Kendrick has been snappy at work over the tiniest little things. He and I have had more than one run in over the past several weeks since he came back to work full time.” Katie spoke up.
“I didn’t think much about it until now, but Kendrick seemed really weird at work the other day. Talking about how much he loved the sauna and almost giggling. Sort of like a kid who’s drunk trying to hide the fact that he’s drunk.” Decker’s brow creased in worry as he remembered the incident.
“Oh dear,” Grandma Cindy spoke up, “I didn’t think a thing about it until you brought this up, but Kendrick was over the other day. He brought over a piece of mail that had accidentally been delivered to The Center+. He was asking all about arthritis medication. Asked what I took for mine and what Judy takes for hers. He was overly interested in it, something he’s never even asked about before.” Cindy looked worriedly at her husband.
A dismayed sound came from Grandma Judy. She closed her eyes as if to will herself to continue. “Kendrick came over the other day asking to borrow a tool from the garage. He excused himself to go to the restroom and was gone for a very long time. When he finally came out, he gave me a quick hug, grabbed the tool, and left immediately. Later that night, I noticed the medicine cabinet was a mess. I accused Jack of digging in it and not cleaning it up, but he said he hadn’t been in that cabinet in weeks. If what you’re saying is true, it was likely Kendrick looking for pain medication.”
The entire family was silent while they absorbed this information.
Audrey laughed bitterly.
“So, a bunch of coincidental things happen, and because Kendrick’s new flavor of the month is trying to burn him at the stake, you all just automatically assume the worst about the boy you’ve watched grow up? You take her side over your actual family?” She shook her head in disgust. “Unbelievable.”
“Audrey, that’s enough.” The Captain spoke sharply. “You’re likely a bit too close to this situation as both a mother and someone who has dealt with some traumatic past issues. But, if Kendrick is in trouble, we all need to put aside our feelings on the matter and help him.” He sighed deeply. “You and I both know the backlash that can come from not admitting to problems right in front of our faces.”
Audrey’s jaw clenched. She looked as if she wanted to say something, but she kept quiet.
“Oh, shit.” Sawyer exclaimed. “I was cleaning out a drawer in my room about two weeks ago. I found an old prescription bottle of pain pills the doctor had prescribed after the attack in the park. It was empty, but I knew I hadn’t taken all of them. I even asked Luke if he’d taken some. We didn’t come up with an answer so we let it go, but now it seems more likely that Kendrick took them.” Sawyer’s face was tight with worry.
“So some pills go missing and it has to be Kendrick?” Audrey sneered.
“No, Aunt Audrey, it’s not just missing pills and assuming it’s Kendrick. I saw it with my own eyes. He was in the bathroom a very long time the other day. I walked in to find him holding an old pill bottle of Zoey’s in a death grip. He said he’d forgotten his at home and wanted to know if he could borrow one of Zoey’s. It was a really awkward situation. I’d bet money that the bottle is almost empty now, if not completely empty.” Zach’s face was etched in sadness and concern.
“So, Kendrick’s in trouble, he needs our help. What do we do?” Kyle spoke up.
“I remember, after the attack, you all took turns calling me or stopping by to talk to me. Maybe we could all take some time to talk to Kendrick and let him know we’re thinking of him. It won’t stop him from abusing the pills, but it will let him know we’re there for him whenever we figure out what the next step needs to be.” Zoey spoke softly.
The gathering broke up somewhat awkwardly. Even though no one was happy about what was happening, they were all grateful to Jay for bringing it to their attention. Goodbyes were said and most of the group had departed, leaving Jay with Audrey and Jeremiah.
“I’m so very sorry to have upset you like this.” Jay attempted to keep the quiver from her voice.
“Audrey, I think you should tell Jay about the day of the baby shower.” Jeremiah held his wife close to his side.
“That was nothing, J.” Audrey tried to dismiss the subject.
“Angel, if it was nothing you wouldn’t have mentioned it to me that night.” Jeremiah nudged her again.
“Kendrick took a long time in the bathroom and I was worried about him. I walked in on him because the lock still doesn’t work right…” She trailed off, trying to focus the attention on her husband for not fixing the lock.
“Go on.” Jeremiah nodded.
“It was nothing. He jumped when I walked in, spilled a basket all over the floor.” It was evident Audrey didn’t want to continue the story.
Jeremiah took over. “He was looking in the closet where we keep all of our medicines. Told his mom he was looking for the nail clippers. It struck Audrey as odd because we’ve kept the nail clippers in the sink drawer since before Kendrick was born.”
He stopped and looked at his wife. “You and I both know Kendrick knew where the clippers were. He wasn’t looking for them, he was looking for prescriptions. Audrey, Kendrick is in trouble.”
Jeremiah turned to Jay. “I’m sorry if you felt attacked tonight. It’s really hard to hear your child is having issues with drugs. Audrey may not be ready to accept it and apologize to you, but on behalf of both of us, thank you for speaking up.”
Audrey sighed and pulled Jay into a hug. “And I’m sorry for the nasty things I said in there. I just don’t think Kendrick has the problem you’re saying he does.”
Audrey looked at Jeremiah over Jay’s shoulder. When he nodded at her, she continued.
“And to be quite honest, it’s putting a lot of guilt on me because it’s very like mother, like son and that means bringing up my past sins which is not a lot of fun.” Releasing Jay from the hug, she smiled slightly. “The only thing I can cling to right now is that you’re wrong. Completely, totally, dead wrong.”
Jay’s eyes filled with tears. “Believe me, I wish I was.”
Chapter 18
Kendrick felt like he was in the movie Groundhog’s Day.
The entire week had been on a continuous loop. He woke in pain, took the fewest pills possible, but knew he was still taking too many. He completed his work to the best of his foggy-headed ability, but he knew he was doing a half-assed job. Deep down he feared he was at risk of damaging the program he’d been working so hard to build. He did his best to stay awake to spend time with Jay, but usually a warm shower and a bedtime pill relaxed him so much that he wasn’t able to keep his eyes open.
The other thing that played on repeat during his week, aside from the pain and the pills, was the strange occurrence of almost every single family member calling him up and asking to meet him for coffee.
The first day had been his mom and dad. It was a bit strange, but he figured they were just missing seeing him and wanted to check in on him. They’d sat around talking for about an hour, sipping their coffee at the local shop. His mom had he
ld onto him tighter than usual when they’d said goodbye.
“You know you can always come to us for anything, right?” Audrey had looked deep into his eyes. “I love you more than life itself and would do anything to help you. Don’t ever forget that, baby boy.”
Kendrick had watched the two of them walk away, confusion crossing his face. If he had heard his mother’s whispered words, “She’s right. I can see it in his eyes,” he would have been even more confused.
But, as it was, his confusion and suspicion just slowly grew as each day brought a new request for coffee.
Nate, Nicky, and Kyle had directed him to a corner booth in the back and seemed highly sensitive to his fingers tapping on the table. At one point he finally had to dismiss himself because Uncle Nicky staring intently at his eyes had made him extremely self-conscious.
When he returned from the restroom, the other three men had stood to leave. Glad to have the strange get together over, Kendrick had accepted the clap on his good shoulder and nodded when the three men declared he could call them at any time about anything.
By the time Zach, Zoey, and the Captain invited him for coffee, he was getting slightly pissed. He’d had a fight with Jay that morning when she’d snapped at him about their failed attempt at sex the night before.
“Hey, Pixie, stay in bed a bit longer. You can be late.” He’d nuzzled her neck and started his hand roaming over her body.
“No, Kendrick, you had your chance last night. You couldn’t get it up and fell asleep halfway through that lame-ass attempt at foreplay. Maybe if you stopped the pills, you’d have a better chance at gettin’ some. But, as it is, I’d rather be at work.” He’d watched in angry disbelief as she’d walked from the room.
Feeling ashamed and guilty, he yelled from the other side of the bathroom door. “Thanks for kicking a man when he’s down. I’ll see you later tonight.”
So sitting across from his cousins and grandpa, wondering if they knew about all the other family members planning secret little coffee shop talks with him during the week, he felt nothing but itchy and anxious.
“Let me guess. You all called me here today to let me know you love me, you’d do anything to help me if I was in trouble, and I should call you if I ever need anything. Is that about it? Because, unless you’ve got something new to say, I’m going to order my coffee to go and head back to work.” He inwardly sneered at the looks on their faces.
Zoey chose to ignore his little outburst. “Kendrick, I know you’re still in pain. I want to have you start some private yoga lessons with me. We can do it at The Center+ or at home. And the neurokinesis I’m trained in should be able to provide you with a ton of pain relief; it’s a therapy that addresses the underlying cause of your pain and works to correct the dysfunctional movement patterns stored in your brain. We can set up multiple sessions and get that pain under control once and for all. And the therapy sessions at The Center+ are always open to anyone needing to talk about issues. I run a lot of them, but Dr. Parks is available too.” Zoey ducked her head sheepishly, “I know you’ve been skipping therapy sessions and avoiding Dr. Parks. Maybe it would be helpful to get back into that routine?”
Kendrick could only glare at her, fearful if he opened his mouth he would say something he regretted. He looked to Zach and found the usually laid-back, affable man staring at him with a challenge in his eyes.
“You can think of the yoga and different therapies as payback to Zoey for the pills you borrowed from her the other day.” Zach spoke in a soft, yet deadly serious voice.
Shit.
Shit, fuck, shit.
“Kendrick, you know I don’t mince words with you boys. You need to get your head out of your fucking ass and fix this. You’ve got a girl you’re about to lose, a baby who needs a daddy, and a whole family of people worried sick about you. Fix it yourself, ask for help, I don’t care, just get it done.” The Captain spoke gruffly before standing to leave.
Kendrick watched the three of them leave. Their words swirling in his head. His shoulder throbbed. Coffee splashed on the table when he violently grabbed his cup. Turning to leave, he took a sip but threw it in the trashcan. He wasn’t sure which was more unappetizing, the cold coffee or the cold knot of dread and guilt forming in his stomach.
Sawyer was at least somewhat original in his attempt to talk to Kendrick. Instead of suggesting the coffee shop, Sawyer just showed up in his office.
Sawyer sat across the desk, staring at Kendrick for several moments.
Kendrick was shaky, on edge, almost looking for a fight.
“Got something on your mind, Sawyer, or did you just come in here to waste my time?”
Instead of blasting back, Sawyer took a deep breath. “You know, I wanted Luke in here with me, but he insisted it would make you feel like we were ganging up on you. But at this point I almost don’t care how you feel.”
When Kendrick raised an irritated eyebrow at his cousin, Sawyer continued.
“You stole from me. You’ve been a part of me, my heart, for my entire life. I would give anything to help you, protect you, support you, but you stole from me. I’m having a really hard time wrapping my head around that and reconciling it. You’re my family, my best friend, part of my soul, but knowing you would stoop low enough to steal from me, I have to tell you, it hurts.” Sawyer’s eyes sparkled with tears as he stood to leave.
“Whatever you need, whoever you need to turn to, do it. Make this right. For Jay, the baby, the family, and most importantly for you.”
Kendrick’s stomach dropped as Sawyer left the office.
The final family member to address him was Decker. Of course it was. Leave it to Decker to think he could come along and clean up everything and fix it all.
When his phone rang, he groaned to see Decker’s name. Accepting the call he growled, “Let me guess. You’d like to have coffee with me? We should meet at the little shop on the corner?”
“If that’s what you want. Sure, I’ll see you there in thirty minutes.” Decker responded swiftly and confidently which only served to piss Kendrick off a thousand times more.
Before he left his office, he shook the pill bottle in his pocket. He wasn’t in much pain, but he’d need the boost to get through a conversation with perfectly composed, perfectly in control Decker.
When he settled at the table with his coffee in hand, he laughed sarcastically at his cousin. “Did you guys all plan to use the coffee shop for all of my little mini interventions? ‘Cause I got to tell you, I feel like Bill Murray in that Groundhog’s Day movie. Every day it seems I’m back here drinking coffee with people telling me to stop being such a fuck up. Getting pretty old, Deck.” He wasn’t sure if his words slurred, but he knew his tongue felt heavy and he’d much rather be curled up sleeping than struggling to keep his eyes open to talk to his cousin.
“Well, how ‘bout you stop being such a fuck up and get yourself off those damn pills? God, Kendrick. You’re not a stupid man, how can you keep doing this to yourself? You’ve become a liar and a thief. That’s not you. You’ve always been larger than life, a complete cut-up, but you’ve never purposely hurt anyone or lowered your standards of integrity when it came to your family or your job. Until now.” Decker stared hard at him before air whooshed from his lungs. “Fuck, you’re high now, aren’t you? Damn it, Kendrick, what the hell?”
“You don’t get it, Decker. I’m in pain. I need to work. I need to be there for Jay. I need to be there for the baby. The pills help me with all of that. They are legal drugs, prescribed by a doctor. I’m not a druggie; I’m not a criminal. I’m a man trying my best to keep up with all of life’s demands.” Kendrick spit his words out, steeling himself against the urge to topple the table and storm from the coffee shop.
“Yeah, well, how’s that all working out for you? Gotta tell you, man, from my side of things it’s not looking like it’s working very well.” Decker shook his head in disgust, standing to leave.
Kendrick stood as well.
/> The men were no more than a foot apart, eyes locked, chests heaving. A glimmer of regret danced across Decker’s face, then his eyes turned to steel.
“I didn’t want to believe it, but I have no choice now. Fix this, Kendrick. Because if you don’t, we will fix it for you.” Decker watched his face closely.
“Oh really? Is that a threat?” Kendrick tried to sound uncaring, but he knew Decker was as serious as a heart attack.
“No, it’s a promise. And you know it.” Decker nodded curtly before turning on his heel to leave.
Fuck.
Chapter 19
He smiled at Jay as she wandered into the nursery. He’d been putting together the nursery furniture for several hours, and they’d not shared one cross word. It was a rare day indeed.
Her belly looked like a soccer ball protruding from her body. She hadn’t gained weight anywhere but her stomach, and he could hardly imagine a baby was cramped inside that tiny little bump. She grimaced as she placed her hands on her lower back before lowering herself into the newly assembled rocking chair.
She smiled at him. “You’re doing a great job in here. Thanks for getting the guys to do the painting so quickly. Why don’t you finish that piece up and then take a break. My back is killing me, and I’ve not been working nearly as hard as you, so you must be exhausted.”
“Your back hurts? What’s wrong? Should you see the doctor?” He spewed the questions quickly before crawling on his knees over to her position in the rocker. Large hands engulfed her belly, rubbing soft circles. Lifting her shirt amidst her giggles, he leaned in to kiss the tight skin stretched across her abdomen. Mouth right on the protrusion, he spoke muffled words.
“Hey there, baby pixie, you’re making your momma’s back hurt. Can you ease up just bit? I don’t want her hurting for another whole month while waiting on you to make your appearance.”
He placed more kisses around her belly before trailing upwards. Lifting her shirt over her head, he pulled her hips to the edge of the chair and settled between her legs. Flicking thumbs over her sensitive nipples before mouthing them through her bra, he continued the trail of kisses up her neck to her jaw and eventually to her mouth.