“And your parents? Did they have any clue as to what was going on?”

Alexia shook her head. “Not for a while, or at least I don’t think so. I had never been a problem child so they probably overlooked the initial signs. When they found out, they really didn’t know how to deal with it.”

“How did they find out?” Brant asked quietly.

Alexia dropped her head in her hands. “My mom walked in on me shooting up. The one thing I remember from that moment is how confused she looked. Her mind simply couldn’t grasp what she was seeing: her daughter with a rubber band around her arm, injecting something. The sad thing is that I could have probably talked my way out of it had I not panicked. I think at that moment, regardless of what she thought, she would have jumped at any other explanation. I just started blabbering how sorry I was over and over. Unfortunately, my father was walking by at that exact moment and heard the commotion. Unlike my mother’s shock, he was livid. He yelled, threatened me and generally went ballistic. He demanded that I pack my bags and get ready to go to a clinic that night. When they left my room, I called Josie and had her pick me up at the end of the driveway. I snuck out of the house and left. Other than making friends with Josie in the first place, that was the worst mistake I ever made.”

“What did you do after that? Did your parents look for you?”

Another tear escaped the corner of her eye as she said, “I’m sure they did for a while, but what could they do really? I was an adult. Even making bad decisions, there was nothing they could do to make me come home legally. I had a bank account in my name, which meant they couldn’t freeze that either. God, I almost wish they had been able to. Maybe if the money had run out sooner, I’d have been forced to go home before all of this happened.”

Curious despite himself, Brant asked, “What made you come back?”

“They say you have to hit rock bottom before you admit that you have a problem and that finally happened to me. I was at a party and overdosed on cocaine. There were a few big names at the party and one of them had a bodyguard with him. If not for him being there and sober, I’d probably be dead. He had medic training and knew the signs. All I remember is feeling like my heart was going to burst from my chest. My body temperature had also risen so high that they had to dip me in an ice water bath at the hospital. The doctor there just gave it to me straight. He said I was damn lucky I hadn’t had a heart attack and that if I continued, that was just around the corner. I cried then, while he stood there looking at me. I’m sure he had seen junkies like me before and had long since lost any sympathy for them. He offered me a place in a treatment program he sponsored and I accepted. I don’t think either of us really believed I would do it. He looked surprised when I asked him the next morning to be transferred into it.”

Brant moved back, giving her room to collect herself. He was reeling from her story. Never in all of this time had he suspected what she had become involved in. He mentally kicked himself, knowing he should have seen the signs. Even though she had broken it off with him, he felt like he had let her down. “Alexia, I’m sorry. . . .”

Shaking her head, she said, “Don’t, it’s not your fault. There was nothing you or anyone else could have done. I was sheltered for so long that when I finally broke free, I just lost it. Without Carter, I don’t know if I would have made it back. . . .”

Quirking a brow, Brant asked, “Carter?”

He didn’t miss the soft smile curving Alexia’s mouth. “Carter is the doctor who helped me into treatment. He . . . he was there for me through it all. When I wanted to give up, he pushed me. He saw something in me worth saving. I was terrified I would relapse when I was on my own, but he continued to encourage me, checking in often. We . . . um . . . fell in love. Can you believe that something positive came out of the nightmare my life had become?” Suddenly her hand flew to her mouth. “Oh my God, Brant, I hadn’t even thought of how this might make you feel!”

“Alexia, it’s fine. I’m happy that you have someone in your life now; you deserve it.” Strangely enough, he was happy for her. “So what happened with your parents? You mentioned that they know about your addiction problems.”

“Yes, I told them everything yesterday and they asked me to leave. I had told them over the phone a few weeks ago about Carter, but not about my time in rehab and how bad things had gotten before I checked myself in. I wanted to talk to them about that face-to-face. I think they had convinced themselves that my drug usage was just a small act of rebellion. When I told them in detail how bad things had gotten for me, they completely locked down. They were happier not knowing where I had been or what I had been doing.” Alexia looked down at her hands. “The sad part though is that for a brief moment, I was their daughter again. They were thrilled to welcome me back with a doctor as a fiancé. I found out that they had been telling their friends that I was away at college and had met a doctor there. They were ready to acknowledge my existence again, but that ended when they found out that their daughter had been a serious addict for the past few years. I’ve lost what little relationship I had with them and, more important, I may have lost Carter.”

Surprised, he asked, “Why would you have lost him?”

“He didn’t want me to come see my parents or risk seeing anyone from my past. He felt like it was too soon in my recovery to face such strong emotional triggers. I had told him all about my parents, so he knew they were likely to reject me when they found out the truth. I just . . . didn’t want to accept that he was right so we fought and I told him I needed a break. Time apart to think. Of course, when I walked out, I thought I would be staying with my parents for a while, but that’s obviously out.”

“I’ll help you get settled in a hotel,” Brant found himself offering, falling right back into his old habit of taking care of her. “You can take a few days or weeks to see where you want to go from here. I’m sure your parents will just be glad to have their daughter back when they have time to think.”

He was shocked speechless when she looked at him beseechingly, and said, “Could I please stay with you . . . just for a little while? No one will look for me there. I promise, I won’t be any trouble! You’re the only person in my life right now that I trust not to push me. I need a place to think and someone to lean on. I just . . . don’t have anywhere else to turn.”