One of Those Faces (23)

She continued yelling right before she hung up on me.

I stood up and glanced down at my black leggings and oversize blue sweater, the knit fabric stretched out from me folding my legs underneath it when I sat at my desk. I pulled my longest coat out from behind the desk and zipped it up before tugging my boots on. As I opened the door, the wind whipped my hair across my neck. I paused at the top of the stairs and texted Iann back.

On my way.





CHAPTER NINE


I hadn’t ever been inside the Robey Hotel although it had often made an appearance in my sketches. The hotel was the tallest landmark in Wicker Park and the earliest skyscraper constructed outside of downtown. It had survived the neighborhood’s darker days and was the revitalized art deco icon that beckoned the trendy bohemian crowd through its doors. Now it was best known for its rooftop bars on each tower, the highest and better-known bar being the Up Room.

The Up Room was classier than the other places Erin usually dragged me to. When we first met, she’d managed to smuggle me into many downtown bars when I was nineteen, before she left for rehab. While she didn’t party quite like she used to, she couldn’t let the alcohol go.

The sound of Erin’s chatter reached me as soon as the elevator doors opened on the top floor. Vibey indie music played from overhead speakers, and the lights were low and ambient, particularly where Iann stood beside Erin in the back corner. He set a glass of water on the table in front of her, then pushed up the rolled sleeves of his black button-up shirt. He looked up as I approached, and smiled. “Hey—”

“Harper!” Erin interrupted, reaching up from her chair to hug me, her eyes half-closed.

I waved her arms away. “What’s going on?” I turned to Iann.

He tugged on his tousled hair, making it even more disheveled. He pushed the water closer toward Erin, but she knocked it over onto the wood table. He didn’t even flinch. “I don’t know, she came here with Jeremy and stayed after he left and just kept drinking.”

“Why did you keep giving her drinks?” I accused, setting the glass back upright.

He ruffled his hair again. “She seemed fine until a little while ago,” he said. “And she got more drinks from Mike whenever I stepped out.” He gestured to the bar, where a man with a shaved head and bold-framed glasses stood, wiping down the counter.

I believed him on both accounts. Erin could down a lot of alcohol before she started acting like a lunatic. And she became surprisingly crafty whenever people tried to cut her off.

“Sorry,” he continued. “We’re about to close, and I didn’t know who else to contact. I tried to call her a car, but she’s refusing to leave at all.”

I sat in the seat across from Erin. She was slumped back in her chair, her skirt precariously edging up her thigh. “Erin,” I said, my voice still hoarse from sleep.

Her eyes widened suddenly. “Harper!” She grabbed for my hand.

“You’ve got to get up. I’m taking you home.”

Iann shifted beside me. “I brought my car, so if you can wait with her until I get off in a few, I’ll give you both a ride.”

I didn’t relish the idea of fighting and dragging her all the way to her apartment on my own. “Okay, we’ll be here.”

He dashed back to the bar as the last few customers walked to the elevators, casting curious looks over their shoulders at Erin. Mike glanced at us and nodded before Iann reached over the bar and grabbed his jacket.

Erin slipped back into her seat and closed her eyes. I shook her shoulder, and one eye popped open.

“Okay, he’s going to finish everything on his own, so I can give you a ride now,” Iann said, pulling his jacket on. “Is she asleep?”

I stood and shook her more vigorously. “Erin, come on.”

She straightened in her seat long enough for me to wrap my arm around her before she slumped over.

“Do you need help with—”

I shook my head. “No, I’ve got her. Let’s go.”

We got to the elevator, and she slouched in a corner as we rode down.

“Is she normally like this?” Iann asked, fishing his keys from his pocket. “It doesn’t seem like you’re surprised.”

I shrugged. “Sometimes.” But usually not without reason. “Did she and Jeremy fight or something?”

“I have no idea. We were really busy around the time they came in. They seemed fine.”

I put my arm back around Erin as the elevator opened, and we walked out, Iann holding the door behind us.

“Why don’t you wait here, and I’ll pull my car up front?”

I nodded, and Iann sprang out the back door.

The doorman nodded at Iann as he passed before quickly walking over to us. “Here, I’ll get the door for you,” he said. He swung the heavy wood door open to the street, eyeing Erin.

“Thanks,” I muttered, straining to walk over the threshold. She was falling asleep again, and her legs weren’t moving. I shook her shoulder once we were on the sidewalk, and she snorted, her eyes flying open. “Are you okay?”

She turned her head and rested it on my shoulder. “Thank you,” she slurred.

Iann’s Jeep turned the corner, and he pulled up to us before getting out.

“For what?” I asked her.