Addicted After All(95)

“Ernie,” he says, and my heart swells. And then he taps his baby’s arm. “Ernie, buddy? Can you hear me?”

The doorbell rings, and I jump in fright. “Who is it?” I ask.

Everyone shakes their heads like they didn’t invite someone over today.

Connor sets his doll on the table and then disappears in the foyer to answer the door. The room is layered with tense silence. Since we’re all here, the person outside is most likely a bearer of bad news. Why else would they stop by?





{ 28 }

LILY CALLOWAY



“Do you need a hand with that?” I hear Connor say.

“No, I have it.”

I recognize the second manly voice: Sam Stokes. And in a second, both guys emerge in the living room, Sam carrying a box with Fizzle’s logo on the side. He’s in a suit like he’s been at work all Saturday afternoon.

“Hey,” he greets, but his gaze lands on Ryke, heading over to him. “The shipment came in today, and we’ll need to talk later about the unveiling.” He sets the box at Ryke’s feet and squats down to open it. I remember Ryke mentioning that my dad wanted his help, but he shrugged it off and said it wasn’t going to pan out.

So his face is darkened with confusion.

I find myself patting my doll’s butt in comfort, like Bert is alive. My cheeks heat, hoping no one noticed.

“He really wants to go through with this?” Ryke asks Sam. “It’s a f*cking bad idea.”

“It’s not,” Sam says, trying to cut through the taped package by ripping at it. He struggles as he talks. “We did multiple focus groups, and more people were drawn to the product when you were the face of it.”

“I was dropped by multiple f*cking brands,” Ryke reminds him. “My image isn’t good, and I shouldn’t be representing any kind of drink.” Huh. My dad is creating a new drink?

Sam stops fighting with the box and looks up at Ryke. “You’re masculine, athletic and you never quit, which is what we’re branding. If you don’t want to help, all you have to do is say so. Don’t waste my time.”

“You don’t have to do this,” Daisy chimes in. “Not for me.”

Sam catches sight of Daisy, and his eyes grow big at her hair. “That’s a…new color.”

“Neon I’m-Going-to-Blind-You Yellow,” Lo adds. “What’s terrifying is that some girl is probably going to copy her.”

I don’t elbow Lo again. Daisy is solely concentrated on Ryke, and I can read his expression pretty well. He wants to smooth things out with our parents, and she can’t stop him from doing it. He reaches into his back pocket and pulls out a Swiss army knife. Then he bends down and cuts open the box for Sam.

I near with Lo, too curious to stand back, and Ryke grabs one of the slim plastic bottles, translucent blue liquid inside. I understand the moment I read the silver label: Ziff. And below that is the flavor: Blue Squall.

It’s a sports drink, the kind that can rival PepsiCo’s Gatorade and Coca-Cola’s Powerade. It’s the one arena Fizzle has failed at multiple times, and I suppose he’s hoping they can launch a new string of sports drinks with Ryke as the face.

“Ziff?” Ryke says with furrowed brows.

“It’s Fizz backwards, with two f’s.”

“I got that,” Ryke says and then uncaps the bottle. I’m guessing it’s blueberry flavored, more of a midnight color. We all watch Ryke put the bottle to his lips and take a swig. He instantly puts his bicep to his mouth, his face contorting in disgust.

Oh no.

Lo lets out a laugh. “Swallow it,” he says in jest, reaching into the box to grab a bottle for himself. I blush at those words.

Connor even collects a bottle. “It must be bad if Ryke can’t keep it down.”

“I’ve tried it. It’s decent,” Sam says.

Ryke finally swallows the liquid and takes a breath like he was drowning. “What the f*ck is this shit?” He stares at the label and starts reading the ingredients. “It tastes like deer bile and piss.”

Connor arches a brow. “He’s tasted piss before.”

“And deer bile,” Lo chimes in with a grimace.

“Fucking A, you two try it.”

I’m glad I haven’t been included in this. I’m not going near anything that tastes like pee. No thank you.