Griff grunted then and I swung my gaze back down to him.
“He’s coming around. That’s good,” Chet said and leaned forward to put his hand under Griff’s back. “Come on, you need to sit up slow,” he told him.
“Where’s the fucker at?” he slurred worse than he had been before.
“He’s gone. Now if you can keep your mouth shut we might get you home before he kills you,” Chet told him.
Griff squinted at me. “What are you doing?”
“Helping,” I replied.
“I don’t want your help,” he said.
“She’s helping me,” Chet told him. “Just shut the hell up and focus on standing.”
“I’ll go get the car and bring it around to the front,” Maegan said.
“Thanks,” Chet told her but kept his eyes on Griff, who was struggling to get to his feet.
I stood up and grabbed my coat and purse from the booth then followed them as Chet held Griff steady with his arm around his back as they went to the exit.
A waitress hurried toward us. “If one of you can sign this on his behalf. It’s stating he refused medical attention,” she explained. Chet nodded at me and I took the paper, signed it and handed it back to her.
“I’m a fucking doctor. I don’t need medical attention,” Griff said.
“You’re right. You need mental attention,” Chet said sourly as we walked into the cold night air.
My eyes found Creed. He was leaning against his Jeep with his arms crossed over his chest looking furious. He wasn’t going to like my going to help but I had to. Chet couldn’t do this alone and I felt responsible for the entire thing.
Chet stopped beside Creed and covered Griff’s mouth with his free hand to keep him from saying something stupid. “You’re an ass,” Chet told Creed as Maegan pulled the car up beside us.
“I’m going with them,” I told Creed.
“What?” he asked, the anger changing to hurt quickly.
“Chet needs my help. I can’t. I don’t.” I stopped and shook my head, trying to find the words. “I can’t believe you did this, Creed. I’m not okay with it.”
“Did you not hear what he was saying?” Creed asked me.
“He is drunk. Drunk!” I yelled the last part. “I need to go help them and I need some space right now. Tomorrow. We will talk about this tomorrow,” I said then turned and climbed into the front seat beside Maegan who was driving. I didn’t look back at Creed as we drove away, but my stomach felt sick leaving him like that. He had been stupid tonight and I would forgive him. For now, I needed to be mad for a little bit. He would have to wait until I was calm enough to talk to him. Tomorrow, when Griff was fine, then I would be ready to talk this over with Creed. He couldn’t go smashing a guy’s face in because he said something about me or to me that wasn’t nice. I was not a fan of violence. I understood that he was upset with the things Griff had said but Griff was drunk. He was also still hurting. A hurt that I had caused him. I felt the guilt of that weighing on me. Maybe it wasn’t Creed I was mad at…maybe it was me.
Thirty-one
December 15, 2019
Boston, Massachusetts
“Sailor,” a voice broke into my dreams and I felt my shoulder being shaken. I struggled to open my eyes. It had been a long night, and I’d slept very little. Even when it was my turn to sleep, I had been unable to because I was worried about Creed. Last night’s events came back to me and my chest felt heavy again.
Opening my eyes, I saw Chet, looking as bad as I felt, standing over me. I had fallen asleep in the chair and it had been my turn to stay awake and watch Griff. Sitting up, I looked around. “Oh no, I’m sorry!” I hadn’t meant to fall asleep.
“Sailor,” he said again in a serious tone. I looked at him closer then and saw dark circles under his eyes.
“Is he okay?” I asked, then jumped out of my chair to head to Griff’s bedroom. The door was closed. I had left it open.
“Sailor,” Chet said again. “Griff is fine.”
I sagged in relief and turned back to him with a tired smile. “Oh. Whew. I didn’t mean to fall asleep on my watch. What time is it?” I asked him, realizing it had to be late since the sun was bright outside.
“I need you to sit down,” Chet said then and a tiny bubble of fear began to grow inside my chest.
“Why? What’s wrong? You said he was okay,” I reminded him, not understanding why Chet looked so damn upset.
“Please, sit,” he said the words too gently then.
I did as he requested because I needed an answer. My panic was rising by the second.