“I like being with you, too.” It felt safe enough to say. But those things he wanted to put aside? They were too big for us to ignore indefinitely.
My phone buzzed, reminding me that there was a real world beyond this one. I sat up and scooted down the length of the cot until I reached the canvas tote that had my things in it. I rummaged around and discovered my extra room key, the one I always kept in my pocket. I grabbed it and then located my phone in my purse.
It was a text from Mandy asking me to meet her in the lobby immediately. “Uh-oh. I have to go.”
“What’s up?”
“I think something’s going on with Sadie’s mom.” I put my keycard and my phone into the pocket of my pajamas.
“I’ll come with you,” he offered. I knew I should probably turn him down, but I rationalized my negative feelings away by considering that I might need his help. I had no idea what I was walking into. And Camden seemed reliable enough.
“Okay. But we can’t let Troy catch us. He’s out there patrolling the border like he’s in the secret police and apparently forcing people to go back to their tents.”
“We’re on a secret spy mission, then.”
“I’m not a spy!” I protested but he ignored me as he crawled over to the tent entrance. He stayed low, peering through the flaps.
“It looks safe to me, let’s go.”
Then he grabbed my hand and I didn’t even have a chance to register the sensations flooding through me because we were running across the grass toward the hotel, both of us crouched over. I wasn’t sure how that was supposed to help, and I couldn’t help but giggle as we ran.
When we got through the lobby doors, I noticed the curious looks from the different staff members and guests as Camden held up both his arms and yelled, “Made it!”
I didn’t get a chance to laugh because Mandy was waiting near the front desk, looking serious. I made my way over to her. “What’s going on?”
“She’s drunk. The concierge is helping me get her room key. I know I could go ask that wedding planner, but then Sadie would find out and I want her to have this one night where she doesn’t have to worry.”
“Where is Brandy?” I asked.
“In the hallway on the fourth floor. She raided a mini-bar restock trolley. I’m so sorry. I was watching her and then she said she wanted to go for a walk and I believed her and—”
I put my hands on Mandy’s shoulders. “You didn’t do anything wrong and this isn’t your fault. Camden and I will go get her to her room while you grab the key. Meet us there.”
She nodded, wiping away tears from her eyes. I wished there were a way to make Brandy see the damage she was doing to her family, how much her addiction hurt the people she claimed to love.
Camden had come up behind me and gave Mandy his room number and full name. “You tell the concierge to bill all of the expenses to me. I don’t want Dan or Sadie to know about this.”
That made my heart flutter in my chest. If I hadn’t been attracted to him before . . . this would have pushed me over the edge. “We have to go to the fourth floor,” I said, telling my surging hormones to behave.
I tried to fill him in on how bad things had been with Brandy during the events this week, and how I’d taken it as my personal responsibility to try to keep her sober for Sadie’s sake.
“That’s not your job,” he told me as we walked out of the elevator.
Only, it was. And I wasn’t doing so hot.
We came around the corner and found Brandy surrounded by mini-bottles of alcohol. I glanced at them. Rum, vodka, tequila, whiskey—it was like she was trying to host a United Nations summit in her stomach. At some point her liver was going to declare its independence and flee her body in order to save itself.
I berated myself for my mental unkindness, but gallows humor had often been my go-to when I felt this stressed and upset. I knew alcoholism was a disease and that I should be more patient with her. “Come on,” I said to Camden, “We’ve got to get her up.”
Camden reached down and hefted her up easily, getting her into a standing position. It was so nice having an extra set of hands to help me. Somebody else who was willing to shoulder the burden. I was really grateful for Mandy and her personal connection to the situation, but having Camden here to help was making a world of difference.
He put one of her arms around his shoulders and I got on her other side, doing the same thing. We supported her weight between us, with him bearing most of it.