No way.
Dad stood and ambled over to the door. “I bet that’s Steph.”
My breath caught when he opened the door and my sister stood there.
Her hair hung loose around her shoulders, and she was wearing black leggings and an oversized sweatshirt. She looked exactly like Steph, but there was something different.
Her eyes darted around the room and landed on me. Her hands fidgeted, and she bit her bottom lip. Her pupils were dilated and her eyes bloodshot.
Steph was high as a fucking kite.
“Hello, Daddy,” she drawled. “Am I too late for dinner?”
Zephyr’s hand enveloped mine and squeezed.
I felt the warmth of his hand, but I couldn’t take my eyes off Steph.
My baby sister, who I had raised because our dad was either too high or drunk to even care for himself, swayed in the doorway. She reached out and put her hand on the jamb. “Is no one going to even say hello?”
I was frozen.
The world moved around me while I struggled to even breathe
Dad stepped to the side and held open the door. “Uh, come on in, honey.” His words were breathy, and I could tell he was in shock. At least, I thought he was in shock.
The thing I had always feared was happening right before my eyes.
The addict father was looking back at his addict daughter.
“You have company,” Steph chirped. Her bloodshot eyes moved to Zephyr, and a smile spread across her lips. “A present for me.”
Rage ran through me. She had the nerve to show up to Dad’s high off her ass and then thought that Zephyr was a present for her.
“Oh, Steph,” Dad laughed. “That’s Zephyr. He’s a friend of Lynn’s.”
Steph laughed. “Right, Daddy. Like Lynn would be with someone like Zephyr.”
What in the hell was that supposed to mean? Wouldn’t I be with someone as handsome as Zephyr? If she was insinuating that I wouldn’t be with Zephyr simply by the way he looked, then Steph truly didn’t know me.
Zephyr moved closer to me and laid his arm over my shoulders. “Stay with me, darlin’,” he whispered in my ear.
I turned, and my eyes connected with his. His voice was the thing that moved me from the stupor of my sister waltzing in. “Huh?”
His hand cradled my chin. “I’m gonna kiss you.”
I blinked slowly. “Huh?”
A smirk spread across his lips. “Some shit I don’t know about is going on right now, but I have a feeling a kiss would distract you.” His lips were on mine, and the world melted away for five seconds. The anger, rage, and disappointment faded. His lips were some magic force that made everything better.
Dad cleared his throat, and Zephyr’s mouth left mine.
“As if that is going to last,” Steph blabbed.
“Breathe, Lynn,” Zephyr whispered against my lips. “I’m right here.”
I leaned back in my chair and sighed. “Okay.”
“Knock it off, Steph,” Dad scolded.
I looked at Zephyr for one last second and then turned my attention to Dad and Steph.
It was crazy how much they looked like each other. Steph was a dead ringer for Dad when he used to come home after a three-day bender. She hated when he was like that, and now, here she stood, doing the thing she hated.
“I don’t know why you’re yelling at me,” she slurred. “I was invited here, wasn’t I?”
I rolled my eyes. “Hi, Steph.”
Steph rolled her eyes in return. “Is there any food left for me? I haven’t eaten all day.”
“Did you drive here?” I asked.
Steph plopped down in Dad’s chair and grabbed an eggroll. “I got dropped off by a friend.”
Her friend who probably helped her get high.
Zephyr stood and offered his chair to my dad. My heart skipped a beat at the chivalrous gesture.
Dad sat in the chair, and Zephyr stood behind me. He laid his hand on my shoulder and squeezed gently. “You want a drink, darlin’?”
“I’ll have a Coke, thanks.” Steph fluttered her eyes at Zephyr and licked her lips.
“Eat some food, Steph,” Dad gruffed.
I scooted my chair back and shot up from my chair. “I can get my own drink,” I chirped. I grabbed Zephyr’s hand. “But you can come with me. The ice might give me a problem.”
The kitchen wasn’t far away, but it was not right next to Steph. I pulled Zephyr behind me and marched to the fridge. Zephyr stood in front of it and opened the door. It partially blocked my view of Steph and Dad.
“You wanna clue me in on just what is going on here, darlin’?” Zephyr asked quietly. “I can sense shit is not good right now.”
That was a damn understatement.
I took a deep breath and scooted closer into the fridge, which also put me closer to Zephyr. “I don’t think I can condense everything down for you, but the gist is my dad was an addict for years when I was younger. I raised my sister, who now hates me for reasons I kind of understand, but I kind of don’t.” My eyes darted in the direction of the table. “I haven’t seen my sister for months, and she just waltzed in high off her butt.” I looked up at Zephyr. “Those are the highlights of my train wreck life.”
Zephyr chuckled and tucked a stray piece of hair behind my ear. “Hardly a train wreck, darlin’.”
“There’s a lot more, Zephyr, but I don’t think we should hold the refrigerator that long. I just hit on the high points.”
“So, you wanna get out of here or try to ride this out?”
Run, motherfucker! I closed my eyes and tried not to scream that out loud.
“Lynn,” Zephyr whispered.
I cracked open one eye. “We should probably stay and try to figure out what is going on. To say I’m shocked that my sister is high right now is an understatement. For twelve years, we both watched our dad ruin his life and our life with drugs. For Steph to be doing drugs, something has to be going on.” At least, I hoped something was going on. Somewhere Steph had gotten lost, and as much as we didn’t get along anymore, I had to try to help her.
“I’ll let you take the lead, darlin’, but if things get out of hand, I’m stepping in.”
My eyes bugged out. “What do you mean out of hand? It’s my sister. How bad can get this?” It was pretty stupid of me to think nothing bad was going to happen. Daily, I sat front and center before addicts, recovering addicts, and their families. If shit didn’t go sideways, I knew we weren’t making any headway. “I take that back. Things are going to go sideways. Just…I don’t know.” I had become an alcohol and drug counselor because I wanted to help people who were like Dad. I didn’t think my sister would be just like my father. “Maybe this is her first time, and it’s a fluke.”
Zephyr’s lips pressed into a thin line. “Darlin’.”
One word, and I knew what he was saying.
“So this probably isn’t her first time, and she needs help.”
He nodded. “Yeah, and I think that means she’s going to need someone to help her who isn’t you.”
I reared back. “What?”
“You trying to air-condition the house with the fridge open?” Dad crowed from the table.