Free Whisky Melody: Rock Star Romance, New Adult College Romance (Tennessee Romance Book 2) by Lexy Timms Page B

time I want to.”
    “Spoken like a true addict.” Charlie shook his head and headed for the door.
    Kaylee yanked a shoe off her foot and sent it flying, hitting him right in the back of the head with it. Horrified and already moving to protect Kaylee, in case he decided to retaliate, Ashley managed to get between them. Kaylee shoved her so hard she knocked her to the floor.
    Without another word, Charlie opened the door and left, shutting it softly behind himself.
    Ashley scrambled to her feet, still stunned by the whole encounter. The whole thing had spiraled out of control, and she wasn’t sure how to get her very high and unreasonable cousin down to any reasonable place of logic and common sense.
    Charlie’s diagnosis was spot on: she was so high that her pupils were huge, and her cheeks were splotchy and red. What’s she taking? Molly? Ecstasy? Or worse, meth? Ashley had heard a rumor that some of the frat boys had been cooking up batches of that nasty concoction in their upstairs bathroom and selling it at their parties. The master chef for that little operation was a chemistry major. Everyone claimed he was some kind of genius who knew what he was doing, and they swore he wouldn’t create anything that could actually kill anybody, but she had no way of knowing that. She’d seen plenty of drug-addled people in her lifetime; it was impossible to grow up in New York City without coming across a few now and then. Just walking down the street had put her in contact with drug users every single day, some functional and others who could barely even walk. At the moment, Kaylee was among the latter. She was high, angry, and paranoid. That, coupled with her already impulsive and spoiled behavior, was not a good combination for Kaylee or anyone in close proximity to her.
    Ashley held out her hands. “I don’t want to fight with you, Kaylee. We’re cousins, and I love you.”
    Kaylee said nothing and just stared, unable to focus her stare on anything in particular.
    But I don’t freaking like you, especially right now, Ashley thought but didn’t say. Looking back, she remembered a lot of times when Kaylee had done horrible things, things she’d held her tongue about. Kaylee had a reputation of going too far, but no matter what messes she made someone always came along behind her and picked up the pieces.
    At Kaylee’s 14 th birthday party, Ashley was locked in a closet with a girl while the other kids stood outside the door and chanted, “Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!” Since Kaylee was drunk on the schnapps she’d smuggled in, and was the one who tossed them in the closet and locked them in, Ashley was sure she would never speak to her cousin again. She told her parents, and they were angry about it, but after a talk with Kaylee and her parents it seemed everything was smoothed out and over, and they all went on as if nothing had ever happened. It had always been that way, Kaylee getting away with anything and everything, and she was tired of it.
    “I don’t care if you don’t want to fight with me!” Kaylee said, right in her face. Her hands met Ashley’s chest, and she shoved her into the wall. “I hate you! You ruined everything! This is my freshman year, and you show up and make everyone like you and take your side. Then you steal my boyfriend, and now everyone wants to know why I couldn’t keep him but you can!”
    “Nobody has ever said that, Kaylee.”
    “Bullshit! I hear them!”
    “Then maybe you need to quit taking whatever you’re taking, because you’re obviously hallucinating.”
    “You’ll be sorry for this, Ashley. Boy, are you gonna be sorry by the time I’m done with you. Also, I want you out of my room. Tell your broke mommy that your free ride is over, you moocher!” she yelled before she turned and ran out the door, almost toppling over on her one heel she still had on.
    Ashley stared after her, shocked, hurt, and angry. Once again she was reminded that there was nothing she could do for