Read Online Say When by Tara West - Free Book Online

sounds concerned because she has church at eleven and Karri isn’t answering her phone. The next two messages, Karri’s mom says she took Tyler with her to church and he cried during the service. Would I let Karri know she has bridge club at six-thirty and she’d like to spend time with her friends? The final message, Karri’s mom actually sounds frantic. Do I know if Karri is okay? She hasn’t heard from her daughter all day. She goes on about all the weirdos in Karri’s apartment complex and how she fears for her daughter’s safety.
    The images of two particular weirdos flash in my mind, Karri’s greasy fuck buddies, and probably her drug dealers as well. Karri has to be back on meth. That would explain why she doesn’t have the funds to change the oil in her car when she makes good tips bartending, especially considering the tight tank tops and pushup bras she wears on the job.
    Poor Mrs. Peterson. She deserves a better daughter. Now she is stuck with Tyler, when I’m sure she needs a break. The woman isn’t in the best health, and I know Tyler can be a handful. He’s just learned how to crawl and is into everything.
    I dial Mrs. Peterson, not surprised when she answers on the first ring.
    “Karri, is that you?” she cries into the phone.
    I’m fairly certain Karri’s mom has caller ID, but she doesn’t know how to use it.
    “No, Mrs. Peterson.” I sigh. “It’s Christina.”
    “Have you seen Karri? Is she okay?” Even through the receiver, the woman’s fear is palpable.
    “I saw her last night,” I say, hating to be the one to tell her the bad news. Mrs. Peterson has already taken on so many of her daughter’s problems. “They had to tow her car. The engine blew up.”
    “Oh, damn.”
    Wow. Karri’s mom rarely swears, and I feel terrible for upsetting her.
    “I’m sure she just needs a ride.” I do my best to sound upbeat, even though I feel this sinking feeling in my gut. Karri has to be back on drugs. “Do you want me to go get her?”
    I instantly regret my offer. The last thing I want to do is go to Karri’s apartment, but I feel partially responsible for my friend’s fuckups. Maybe because the last time Karri was doing meth, I did the stupid thing and helped her conceal her addiction, not to protect Karri, but to protect Mrs. Peterson. I knew the poor woman would keel over if she found out. Karri had promised me she’d quit, and like an idiot, I believed her.
    “My bridge club will be here in a half hour,” Mrs. Peterson says, and there is no mistaking the desperation in her voice.
    “Okay. I’ll come over and get Tyler,” I say. I make no promise to take Ty to his mother. If Karri wants her baby, she can come get him. Besides, if she’s back on meth, I don’t want to leave the baby in her care, anyway.
    “You wouldn’t mind?” Mrs. Peterson’s tone is a mixture of relief and despair.
    “You know I love Ty.” I’m already slipping on a pair of jeans as I scan the room for my flip flops.
    “You are such a dear girl,” Mrs. Peterson says through a sigh. “I don’t know what we’d ever do without you.”
    And there is the reason I haven’t broken off my friendship with Karri. Because no matter how badly she pisses me off, Ty and Mrs. Peterson depend on me. This, of course, makes me resent Karri even more. In a way, I resent myself, too, for standing by and doing nothing while she makes a mess of everyone’s lives.

Chapter Eight

    A half hour later, I pull into my driveway with a strawberry-haired, pudgy-faced infant in the back seat. He’s sleeping, so I decide to let the car idle a while. If I try to move him, he’ll only wake up and proceed to throw a tantrum. My mom would freak if she saw how his car seat digs into the pristine leather of my expensive guilt-mobile.
    Yes, that’s right, a Lexus RX my dad bought for me for high school graduation. I wasn’t expecting it, not after the money they were shelling out for college, and not after my dad’s