Crave Me (The Good Ol' Boys #4)(4)

“Austin!” I shook him. “Austin!” I shook him harder. “AUSTIN!” I slapped him across the face.

Nothing.

“Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!”

He wasn’t breathing.

“Don’t do this to me! Don’t you do this to me again! Do you f*cking hear me! Please! Don’t leave me!”

I reached for my phone.

“9-1-1, what is your emergency?”

“He’s not breathing. I don’t know what to do! Please, please, help him!” I explained as much as I could to the operator, but my thoughts were scattered.

“Where is your exact location?”

“We’re in the back of the warehouse overlooking the harbor by Wallace Street and Grant Avenue.”

“Ma’am, help is on the way. I need you to calm down. Can you do that for me?”

“I don’t know! He’s not breathing. Please don’t let him die!”

“Ma’am, I need you to calm down. You can’t help him if you don’t calm down.”

I nodded even though she couldn’t see me.

“Ma’am, are you still there?”

“Yes.”

“I need you to lay him on his side with his knees bent for support. Make sure his face is turned to the side. Can you do that?”

“I think so.”

I gently laid him down on the couch and did as I was told. My hands shaking the entire time.

“The paramedics are almost there.”

The rest proceeded in slow motion.

Paramedics filled the vacant space, pushing me to the side. Narcan being injected up his nose. Paddles shocking him back to life.

“One, two, three, clear.”

His body jolted.

“One, two, three, clear.”

His body jerked again.

“He’s breathing.”

Laying him on a stretcher.

Rushing him into the ambulance.

Holding his hand the entire ride.

Emergency room…

Paperwork…

Insurance…

“Briggs,” a familiar voice called out, pulling me out of my fog.

I cocked my head to the side.

“Briggs, do you remember me? I’m Aubrey’s mom.”

I nodded unable to form words.

“They’re not going to let you go back there, honey. You’re not immediate family. It’s hospital policy. He’s in good hands. I promise I will do everything I can to make sure he comes out of this alive. That being said, there’s a chance he’s not… he was dead for too…” She placed her hand on my shoulder in a comforting gesture with hesitation, unsure how to proceed. “Honey, you need to call his family as soon as possible, time may not be on our side today. They need to be here now.”

I nodded again as she reassuringly squeezed my shoulder. I walked out the double doors of the emergency room, wanting some privacy. The cool breeze was a welcome feeling against my feverish face. The chaos all around me was too hard to ignore. I reached into my pocket for my phone and it was then that I noticed I was shaking. I couldn’t form one coherent thought as I dialed his number. Shame and remorse submerged me, pulling me under, making it hard to breathe.

“Hello,” he answered. I opened my mouth to say something, anything, but nothing came out.

“Darlin’, are you there?”

“Dylan,” I softly whispered his name into the phone. He was Austin’s best friend, and the only one that knew the truth.

“Briggs? Are you alright?”

“I-it’s Austin,” I blurted out, my voice breaking, the words causing my stomach to turn.

“What?”

“It’s Austin, Dylan. I found him. He called me after you did.”

“Is he—”

“He OD’ed. He’s in the ICU. They don’t know if he’s going to make it,” I informed him, my tone sounding distant and detached.

“Jesus Christ,” he rasped. “What the f*ck, Briggs? You promised me. You f*cking promised me that you—”

“I’m sorry,” I wept, tears streaming down my face. “I’m so f*cking sorry.”

“How did it get this bad? How has it come to this? How could you let this happen?” he roared question after question, looking for answers I didn’t have.

I violently shook my head. “I tried. I swear to God I f*cking tried! You have to believe me, Dylan!”

“No, Briggs. You didn’t. You’re the reason he’s there. If he dies, it’s on you, do you f*cking hear me? You!”

I shut my eyes, my phone falling from my trembling hand, crashing to the ground. My body shuddering, knowing in my heart, he was right.

It wasn’t always like this.

At least…



Not in the beginning.





Chapter 1





<>Austin<>



“Austin, there you are!” my best friend Alex called out, running towards me with a huge smile on her pretty face.

Her name was Alexandra, but everyone called her Alex for short. She was only eight years old and thought she was one of us boys. Following us everywhere we went from the time she could crawl. Our Half-Pint shadow was our nickname for her.