Free This Is a Dark Ride by Melissa Harlow

anymore.
    Maybe it was a foolish thing to worry about. The last thing on Brody’s mind was sex. Brody wasn’t the nicest guy in the world, but if he’d slept with her, she wouldn’t be out here lying on the couch now, would she? Sam stared down at the girl again. Maybe she’d had drugs. Maybe she and Brody had gotten high together.
    She lay on her back, and she was all bruised up. They were fresh, bright purple against her fair skin. A ring of black-and-blue skin around her neck like someone had choked her… Fuck, fuck, fuck, what had Brody gone and done? This wasn’t good. He blinked, and the girl suddenly became someone else, the one that she reminded him of, the one that once haunted his nightmares. Sam pulled the sheet back up to her chin, covering her body.
    Sam stood motionless for a few seconds, trying to decide what exactly was going on and what he should do. Finally he squatted down by the sofa and looked at her more closely. She shivered beneath the thin sheet. Sam clenched his hand into a fist. Brody was an asshole for not giving her the blanket.
    Fucking Brody, he’d really screwed things up now! If Sam found out he was in any way responsible for the condition this girl was in, he was going to kill Brody! He’d tried really hard to be understanding of Brody’s addiction problems, the mood swings, and outbursts that accompanied them, but if Brody had gotten all fucked-up and hurt this girl, there was no excuse that would be good enough. As much as he loved Brody, this was something unforgivable.
    He moved his face close to hers, listening to her breathing. She smelled clean. Like the green soap in the bathroom. Her hair was damp, and he wondered if she’d washed here. Sam gently pushed a lock of hair out of her face, and her eyes fluttered and opened slowly. She touched his face, sending goose bumps racing up his arms.
    “Brody?” she whispered hoarsely, and then her eyes grew wide. Her hand jerked away, and her gaze locked on to his. Her lips parted, and she let out a tiny gasp.
    “Brody’s sleeping,” Sam said.
    “Will you get him, please?” There was panic in her voice, and she held the sheet against herself like it was a shield.
    “Yeah, sure.” He wasn’t going to know what the hell was going on here until he got Brody up anyway.
    In the bedroom Sam flipped on the switch. The bare lightbulb on the yellowed ceiling came on, illuminating the bedroom. He grabbed Brody’s shoulder and gave him a hard shake. “Wake up!”
    “What?” Brody mumbled.
    “Get up! What the fuck’s going on? What did you fucking do?”
    Brody didn’t move. Sam grabbed both of his shoulders and shook him violently. Brody’s head bobbed up and down limply.
    “Get up! What did you do to that girl?”
    “I gave her some pills.” Brody’s words were slow, and he yawned. He put his hand over his face and covered his eyes. There was dried blood beneath his nails.
    Sam cocked his fist back, ready to smash him right in the side of his fucking head.
    “Brody?” the girl’s voice called out. Sam lowered his fist. Maybe he’d better not go jumping to any conclusions here. If Brody had done all that to her, it didn’t seem likely that she’d be so anxious to see him. He had a feeling he wasn’t seeing the whole picture yet. Still, why did Brody have dried blood on his hands?
    Brody’s eyes fluttered open, dull and unfocused. They were red, and if Sam hadn’t known better, he’d have thought it looked like Brody had been crying.
    “What?” Brody said.
    “Where are you?” she asked.
    “Give me a second, Angel. I’m coming.” He sat up and looked at Sam with a confused expression, his brows knitting. “What are you doing?”
    “I was trying to wake you up. She was asking for you.”
    “I’m up.” He scratched at the stubble on his jaw.
    Brody brushed by him and went into the living room. Sam followed, still trying to figure out what was going on.
    Brody knelt on the floor by the sofa, and Sam watched