The Hardest Part (14 page)

I could feel a worried itch begin in my stomach, leaving a dull ache.

"
Can you do me a favor?" she asked after a second of silence. The dull ache turned into something more.

"
Um." I hesitated. "Sure," I finally choked out, wondering where the response came from.

"
Brandon and I are going to come home early because I have a feeling something isn't right with Reed… but we won't be home until late tomorrow, and I was going to see…" Her voice faded into a long silence.

"
What is it, Lexi?" I asked. Deep in my gut, I feared what she was about to ask me.

"
It's just… it's too much to ask of you."

My chest exhaled the air it was holding.
"Lexi, what is it?"

"
Would you
—
" She paused again. "Would you mind going to his place and checking on him? I'm starting to freak out a little."

I sat there for a moment, wondering how to tell her no in the most polite way. Instead, the word,
"Okay," popped out of my mouth. My chest constricted.
What did I just agree to? Or maybe I didn't really agree to do anything. All I said was okay.

Before I could retract anything, Lexi's voice came back on the line, much more hopeful this time.
"Really? You wouldn't mind? I would be so appreciative. It would make me feel so much better."

Great. How am I supposed to say no to that now?

I couldn't lie. In the back of my mind, I was worried about him, too. Deep down, I guess I wanted to make sure he was okay as much as I wanted to ease my friend’s mind.

"
I'll call you as soon as I find something out," I promised.

"
Thank you, thank you!" she said before we said our good-byes.

I grabbed my purse and took the back exit, just in case there were any lingering reporters. After walking a couple of blocks over, I hailed a cab. I only knew the general vicinity of Reed's building. We had driven there at night and had pulled into the garage. I never saw the front of the building, but I did remember the streets I took to the train station the other morning.

On the way over, I fought the urge to call him. It didn't seem appropriate to just show up at his place unannounced. So, not wanting this to be any more awkward than it would be already, I pulled out my phone and dialed. Just like Lexi said, the call went straight to voice mail.

When we passed the alley I had walked down the other day, I instructed the cab driver to take a right at the next street. As we pulled up to the front of the building, I was relieved to see no reporters or paparazzi. Still, just to be safe, I put on my sunglasses and tucked my hair into the scarf around my neck. We pulled to a stop and the valet opened my door.

Once inside the lobby, I walked over to the security desk. The guy sitting there was my age, maybe even a couple years older. His nametag read Samuel.

"
Hi, I'm here to see Reed Alexander."

He smiled back at me.
"May I have your name, please?"

"
Emily Anderson."

He smiled again and checked something on his computer.
"I'm sorry, ma'am, but he doesn't have you on his guest list. I'll have to call him."

"
Oh, okay."
Great, a lot of good that's going to do me. His phone goes straight to voice mail.

As he tried to call him, I stood there, not sure what I would do when he told me he wouldn't answer. Now that I was here, I was eager to find out if he was okay. Actually, the desire to make sure he was okay was growing by the second.

"
I'm sorry, Ms. Anderson, but he's not answering."

"
Will you call Mr. Robbins?" I bit my lip. Reed had always called him Robbins. I hoped that was his last name.

Samuel sat there, hesitating for a moment, and then finally picked up the phone.

He continued to stare at me while it rang and then looked away, I guess when Robbins answered.

"
I have a Ms. Emily Anderson down here. She says she's a friend of Mr. Alexander's, but I don't have her on the guest list."

My heart was beating wildly as I stood there waiting.

"
I'll do that. Yes, sir. Thank you." He put the phone down and looked at me.

"
Mr. Robbins cleared you to go upstairs. He asked me to add you to the guest list."

"
Thank you," I said, following him toward the elevators.

When the doors slid shut, I leaned against the back wall and took in a few long, deep breaths. I had no idea what I was doing here or what I was going to say to him. I was sure Reed was going to wonder the same. The last time we saw each other was when I gave him the silent treatment and then yelled at him. That was after he gave me a place to stay, toiletries, and clothes to sleep in.
How could I have been so rude? Oh yeah, I remember. He sent his security guard into my apartment without my permission.

When the elevator doors opened again, Robbins was waiting for me.

"
Emily." He said my name in his deep, stern voice. I smiled at him. Things had been a little awkward the last time we saw each other, too.

"
Thank you for letting me up," I said, stepping into the foyer. "I'm here to check on Reed. Lexi is worried about him."

"
I assumed that was the reason. Lexi's been calling non-stop, but Mr. Alexander instructed me not to say anything to her. He doesn't want to worry her."

Worry her?
"Is everything okay?"

He closed his eyes and shook his head.
"Not really. I've seen him like this a couple times, but it's been a while."

"
Where is he?" Fear crept up my spine. From the look on Robbins's face, he must have been in pretty bad shape.

"
In his room." Robbins pointed behind me. Turning around, I saw the hallway he was pointing toward. "He's not going to like that you're here."

"
Are you going to get into trouble for letting me in?" I wasn’t sure of the relationship between Reed and Robbins, but I knew the consequences if one of Jake’s men disobeyed him. I didn’t want to be responsible or have anything to do with Robbins getting in trouble.

"
He told me to leave him alone and asked me not to tell Lexi anything when she called, but he didn't say anything about you." I wondered why he trusted me enough to let me up here; he barely knew me.

I turned in the direction Robbins had pointed, finding myself in a long hallway. All of the doors were open, except for a single door that was closed at the end of the hall. When I approached it, I stood there for a minute or so before I finally got the courage to knock lightly. I waited… and waited.

The longer I stood there, the more I felt like I was going to be sick and the more I wondered what I was doing there. Of course I wanted to know he was okay and I wanted to do this for Lexi, but it just felt strange standing outside his bedroom door. What if someone else was in there? I’m sure Robbins would’ve warned me about that, right? What if he wasn’t dressed? Or if he was in the shower?

There was no sound from behind the door so I knocked again, this time a little harder. Still nothing. Suddenly, it became clear he wasn't coming to the door and he wasn't going to invite me in. If I wanted to see that he was okay, I was going to have to just go in on my own. Turning the knob gently, I braced myself, not sure of what I was about to see.

What I saw was nothing as I expected. The room was empty. The bed was perfectly made, covered in decorative pillows, just like the guest bed I’d stayed in a few nights ago. The rest of the room was immaculate, too. A large walnut dresser sat on the wall next to me. It was empty on top except a small stack of books, almost like they were there for decoration, not for actually reading. The atmosphere in the room gave me an eerie feeling. It was if nothing personal of his were in here. No clothes. No pictures. Nothing but furniture. The most shocking thing was that the room was freezing. I shivered, crossing my arms over my chest.

I wondered if Robbins had been wrong. Maybe Reed wasn't even here.

My eyes drifted across the room and I finally saw the reason for the coldness. The sliding glass door to the balcony was open, white curtains whirling around as the cold air blew through.

"
Reed?" I called his name, taking a few steps farther into the bedroom. There was no answer, so I took a couple more steps, this time closer to the open balcony doors. Reed couldn't have been in here long with how cold it was.

"
Reed, it's Emily. I just came over to make sure you were okay." I felt like an idiot standing there talking to an empty room. Now, more than ever, I felt awkward for being here, standing in his bedroom no less.

The room was eerily quiet. There was no response. I realized it just wasn't the cold that was making my body shiver uncontrollably
—
something didn't feel right. Robbins said he was in here, but I couldn’t imagine someone wanting to stay in this room with how cold it was in here.

I made it across the large room to the balcony doors, and my mouth dropped open. I gasped.

There Reed was, curled up on a long couch, wearing jeans and a white T-shirt. Nothing else. It had to have been forty-five degrees outside.

Running over to him, I dropped to my knees beside the couch and gave him light shake. His skin was freezing. How long had he been like this? Why had Robbins not checked on him?

"
Reed, can you hear me?" I glanced around, seeing a half-empty bottle of scotch on the table in front of him. Had he been out here all night?

"
Reed, it's Emily. Reed, wake up." I spoke a little louder this time.

There was still no response. I shook him again. Still nothing. I shook him harder and he finally moaned.

"
Jesus, Reed. What are you doing out here?"

He didn't respond but moaned louder. At least I knew he was alive. I tried to pull him up, but it was clear he was too heavy for me to move on my own. I ran back out into the hallway and called for Robbins. There must have been terror in my voice because he came flying around the corner.

"
I need help," I told him, running back to Reed with Robbins following closely after me.

He didn't say a word or panic when he saw Reed passed out on the couch outside. It made me wonder if he’d seen him this bad before.

"
We need to get him warm. Can you help me bring him in the bathroom?"

He nodded and then, in one effortless movement, pulled Reed up into a sitting position before bringing him up to standing. I situated myself the best I could on the other side of him, brought his right arm around my shoulder, and placed both of my hands on his chest, trying to hold him steady, yet Robbins was doing most of the work.

As we carried him toward the bathroom, soft moans came out of him and his head bobbed from side to side. Eventually, it fell down toward his chest. Every few seconds, I would glance up and see his eyes flutter open, but then he would close them again.

We placed him in the bathtub. Robbins held him up while I turned on the warm water and began to fill up the tub. Turning back around, I helped Robbins take off his shirt and pants, leaving only his boxers, and lower him into the tub. Much to my surprise, he didn't wake when the warm water began to pool up around him.

"
Should we call an ambulance?"

Robbins had been staring at Reed. When I spoke, he then looked at me.
"No. He wouldn't want to draw any more attention to himself right now. It would only make matters worse. It may be hard to believe, but I've seen him worse. He'll be fine."

My heart squeezed.
Worse? I've never seen anyone this drunk before in my life. Even living in Vegas, I’d seen many drunk people, but never completely incoherent.

"
Can you take it from here?" Robbins asked. When I glanced up at him, he was looking away from me and away from Reed.

"
Um, yeah, I think I've got it," I said around the large lump in my throat. I wasn’t sure why Robbins was in such a hurry to get out of here, but I couldn’t help but think it had something to do with seeing him like this in the past. The lump felt like it was growing larger each second. I had so many emotions going on inside me right now. I was confused, scared, nervous, sad, and angry. I didn't know quite what to feel. I just wanted him to wake up. I wanted him to be okay.

Robbins exited the bathroom, leaving me alone with Reed. I let the water fill up until it covered most of his chest. Then I sat there, trying to think of what I was going to say to Lexi. I had to call, and soon. I knew how worried she was earlier, but now, I knew she would be even more so.

A
FEW
hours passed before Reed even moved. Then it was another few minutes before he opened his eyes and leaned forward a little. I had drained the water from the tub a while ago and packed blankets in around him.