She nodded, deciding it would look suspicious if she dawdled while he waited on his prescription. While she pretended to shop for vitamins near the prescription counter, she kept an eye on Trey out of the corner of her eye.
He opened his wallet and presented a prescription slip to the technician at the counter. “I need to have this filled.”
The technician read the prescription. Her eyes widened and she looked up at Trey.
“Head injury,” he said, pushing back his hair to show her the wicked scar that curved across the side of his head. “I need those quick. I ran out of my last prescription a few hours ago and I am supposed to take my next dose in a few minutes.”
“You need to be careful about running out of these things. I hear the withdrawal symptoms are horrible.”
“Yeah. I was going to wait until Monday, but my doctor told me to find the nearest pharmacy and get it filled.”
“Do you have an insurance card?”
Trey made a big deal about riffling through his wallet several times. “Shit. I seem to have lost it.” He sighed and buried his forehead in his hand. “What am I supposed to do now?”
“If you have a credit card—”
Trey looked through his wallet again. “I’m sure I have enough cash, I just hate to see my insurance company get out of footing their part of the bill.” He grinned at her. “Leeches.”
She smiled. “Maybe if you keep your receipt they’ll reimburse you. Or you could call them and get your prescription card number.”
He sighed. “I think they’re closed on the weekends, but you’re a real sweetheart for helping me out.” He pinned her with those sultry eyes of his and Jessica knew the sweet thang behind the counter didn’t know what hit her.
The technician blushed. “I’ll just call your physician to make sure this is legit and put it in with the pharmacist.”
Trey’s face fell. “I know my doctor doesn’t work Saturdays. Is there any way around that? I kind of need this now.”
“It’s company policy.” She shifted from foot to foot.
Trey brushed his hair back from his scar. A move that seemed inadvertent, but Jessica knew better.
Staring at the side of his head, the young woman clutched the prescription slip to her chest and winced with empathy. “I know you’re in a bind. I’ll take care of it.” She typed something into a computer and winked at him.
His smile of gratitude probably set her socks on fire. “Thanks. You’re a doll.”
Biting his lower lip, Trey tapped the counter with his fingertips and pushed off its edge with both hands. He turned and his gaze landed on Jessica. She started and knocked half a dozen bottles of vitamins off the shelf. She squatted to pick them up.
Trey’s hand came into her line of sight as he retrieved one of the bottles. “For prostate health,” he read off the bottle. “Either you’re the best transvestite I’ve ever seen or you’re spying on me, Jessica Chase. Did Sed put you up to this?”
She snatched the bottle out of his hand. “No, I was just… just looking for the… uh… iron supplements. I get sort of anemic this time of the month.” She glanced up at him and smiled. “Blood loss. You know how it is.”
He paled and cringed. “No, actually, I don’t. Thank God.” He stood and scanned the shelf. He quickly found the iron supplements, plucked a bottle off the shelf, and put it in her hand. “There you go. Now go find the rest of your girly stuff and head back to the bus.”
Jessica bought all the stuff she’d told Trey she needed. She tried to see what he was up to while she stood in the checkout line, but her line of sight was blocked by a display of cheap stuffed animals.
Sed was waiting for her outside the bus when she left the store. “Well? What did you find out?”
She sighed. “Not much. He had a new prescription slip and he didn’t have his insurance card with him so he paid cash. He somehow talked that poor girl into not calling his physician for verification. She’ll probably get fired.”
“He had a new prescription slip? He didn’t try to get a refill or trick them with that bullshit story about him spilling his pills down the sink?”
“Nope. He handed the pharmacy tech a new prescription slip.”
Sed looked thoughtful for a moment. “I wonder how many of those he has.”
“Sed, I feel sort of bad sneaking around trying to catch him doing something wrong. He’s been through a lot.”
“Yeah, I know. But if he’s using, I’m going to put him through a hell of a lot more.”
Chapter 30
Sed dumped the little peach-colored pills from the prescription bottle into his palm and counted them. Thirty-six. Yesterday, there had been fifty-two. The label clearly said one to two tablets every six hours, not to exceed eight tablets per day. Though math wasn’t Sed’s thing, he knew Trey was taking more than double the proper dosage. Would this be enough evidence to get the rest of the band to make a stand against him? Sed didn’t want to waste any more time. He knew in his gut that Trey needed help and he wasn’t going to wait until they found him overdosed in his bunk as the final sign that they should do something.
Sed carefully returned the remaining pills to the bottle, secured the lid, and tucked the amber container into his pocket. He let himself out of the bathroom and settled on the sofa beside Trey. Trey had dozed off again, his head leaning at an odd angle against the back of the sofa. He never did much more than sleep these days.
“Tired, Trey?” Sed asked and nudged him in the side to wake him.
“Let him sleep,” said Brian, who sat on Trey’s other side watching TV. “The concerts are really wearing him out.”
Sed snorted. “Yeah, the concerts have really been knocking him on his ass lately.” Sed shook Trey’s shoulder. “Hey, sleepyhead, wake up.”
Trey groaned and covered his eyes with both hands. “Fuck, man, leave me alone.”
“Why don’t you just go to bed? You don’t look very comfortable sleeping like that.”
Trey sat there for a long moment as if he were physically incapable of lifting his head off the back of the couch. He finally hauled himself to his feet and headed directly for the bathroom. The bottle of pills in Sed’s pocket suddenly felt very conspicuous.
A lot of loud rattling and swearing came from the bathroom. Trey opened the bathroom door. “Has anyone seen my pills?”
He opened his wallet and presented a prescription slip to the technician at the counter. “I need to have this filled.”
The technician read the prescription. Her eyes widened and she looked up at Trey.
“Head injury,” he said, pushing back his hair to show her the wicked scar that curved across the side of his head. “I need those quick. I ran out of my last prescription a few hours ago and I am supposed to take my next dose in a few minutes.”
“You need to be careful about running out of these things. I hear the withdrawal symptoms are horrible.”
“Yeah. I was going to wait until Monday, but my doctor told me to find the nearest pharmacy and get it filled.”
“Do you have an insurance card?”
Trey made a big deal about riffling through his wallet several times. “Shit. I seem to have lost it.” He sighed and buried his forehead in his hand. “What am I supposed to do now?”
“If you have a credit card—”
Trey looked through his wallet again. “I’m sure I have enough cash, I just hate to see my insurance company get out of footing their part of the bill.” He grinned at her. “Leeches.”
She smiled. “Maybe if you keep your receipt they’ll reimburse you. Or you could call them and get your prescription card number.”
He sighed. “I think they’re closed on the weekends, but you’re a real sweetheart for helping me out.” He pinned her with those sultry eyes of his and Jessica knew the sweet thang behind the counter didn’t know what hit her.
The technician blushed. “I’ll just call your physician to make sure this is legit and put it in with the pharmacist.”
Trey’s face fell. “I know my doctor doesn’t work Saturdays. Is there any way around that? I kind of need this now.”
“It’s company policy.” She shifted from foot to foot.
Trey brushed his hair back from his scar. A move that seemed inadvertent, but Jessica knew better.
Staring at the side of his head, the young woman clutched the prescription slip to her chest and winced with empathy. “I know you’re in a bind. I’ll take care of it.” She typed something into a computer and winked at him.
His smile of gratitude probably set her socks on fire. “Thanks. You’re a doll.”
Biting his lower lip, Trey tapped the counter with his fingertips and pushed off its edge with both hands. He turned and his gaze landed on Jessica. She started and knocked half a dozen bottles of vitamins off the shelf. She squatted to pick them up.
Trey’s hand came into her line of sight as he retrieved one of the bottles. “For prostate health,” he read off the bottle. “Either you’re the best transvestite I’ve ever seen or you’re spying on me, Jessica Chase. Did Sed put you up to this?”
She snatched the bottle out of his hand. “No, I was just… just looking for the… uh… iron supplements. I get sort of anemic this time of the month.” She glanced up at him and smiled. “Blood loss. You know how it is.”
He paled and cringed. “No, actually, I don’t. Thank God.” He stood and scanned the shelf. He quickly found the iron supplements, plucked a bottle off the shelf, and put it in her hand. “There you go. Now go find the rest of your girly stuff and head back to the bus.”
Jessica bought all the stuff she’d told Trey she needed. She tried to see what he was up to while she stood in the checkout line, but her line of sight was blocked by a display of cheap stuffed animals.
Sed was waiting for her outside the bus when she left the store. “Well? What did you find out?”
She sighed. “Not much. He had a new prescription slip and he didn’t have his insurance card with him so he paid cash. He somehow talked that poor girl into not calling his physician for verification. She’ll probably get fired.”
“He had a new prescription slip? He didn’t try to get a refill or trick them with that bullshit story about him spilling his pills down the sink?”
“Nope. He handed the pharmacy tech a new prescription slip.”
Sed looked thoughtful for a moment. “I wonder how many of those he has.”
“Sed, I feel sort of bad sneaking around trying to catch him doing something wrong. He’s been through a lot.”
“Yeah, I know. But if he’s using, I’m going to put him through a hell of a lot more.”
Chapter 30
Sed dumped the little peach-colored pills from the prescription bottle into his palm and counted them. Thirty-six. Yesterday, there had been fifty-two. The label clearly said one to two tablets every six hours, not to exceed eight tablets per day. Though math wasn’t Sed’s thing, he knew Trey was taking more than double the proper dosage. Would this be enough evidence to get the rest of the band to make a stand against him? Sed didn’t want to waste any more time. He knew in his gut that Trey needed help and he wasn’t going to wait until they found him overdosed in his bunk as the final sign that they should do something.
Sed carefully returned the remaining pills to the bottle, secured the lid, and tucked the amber container into his pocket. He let himself out of the bathroom and settled on the sofa beside Trey. Trey had dozed off again, his head leaning at an odd angle against the back of the sofa. He never did much more than sleep these days.
“Tired, Trey?” Sed asked and nudged him in the side to wake him.
“Let him sleep,” said Brian, who sat on Trey’s other side watching TV. “The concerts are really wearing him out.”
Sed snorted. “Yeah, the concerts have really been knocking him on his ass lately.” Sed shook Trey’s shoulder. “Hey, sleepyhead, wake up.”
Trey groaned and covered his eyes with both hands. “Fuck, man, leave me alone.”
“Why don’t you just go to bed? You don’t look very comfortable sleeping like that.”
Trey sat there for a long moment as if he were physically incapable of lifting his head off the back of the couch. He finally hauled himself to his feet and headed directly for the bathroom. The bottle of pills in Sed’s pocket suddenly felt very conspicuous.
A lot of loud rattling and swearing came from the bathroom. Trey opened the bathroom door. “Has anyone seen my pills?”
