Sed glanced at Jessica again. She nodded, her expression sad as she watched Trey amble past and slip into the bathroom again.
“We’ve got to do something, Jess,” he murmured.
“I think so too,” she whispered so only he could hear, “but what do we do?”
“Let me talk to the other guys first. See how they want to handle this.”
She nodded. “I’ll help any way I can.”
He reached across the table and squeezed her hand. “Thanks.”
Sed slid from the booth and sat next to Brian, who was tuning Trey’s acoustic guitar on the sofa. “We need to do something about Trey.”
“He’s doing the best he can, Sed. His fingers are getting stronger every day. Don’t be so hard on him.”
“I’m not talking about his guitar playing. I’m talking about his painkiller addiction.”
Brian’s fingers stopped moving over the strings and he looked up at Sed. “What do you mean?”
“You’re his best friend. How can you not notice? He’s in the bathroom right now poppin’ another pill or three. He’s going to end up killing himself.”
“He’s just using the bathroom, Sed. No need to call in the Feds.”
“He just went to the bathroom ten minutes ago. And do you really buy that story about him spilling his pills down the sink? Come on, Brian, look at the signs. We saw this happen to Jon and we ignored it until it was too late. I’m not going to let it destroy Trey too.”
“In case you’ve forgotten, Trey has a prescription and he needs his meds. Jon was abusing illegal drugs.”
“Addiction is addiction. Percocet is a narcotic. He was only supposed to be on it for two weeks and it’s been over a month. How does he keep getting refills? Something is not right here.”
“If it will make you feel better, I’ll ask him about it.”
Sed didn’t think Brian was taking him very seriously. The bathroom door slid open and Trey emerged. He paused next to Sed, unsteady on his feet.
“You okay there, bud?” Sed asked.
“Just a little dizzy. I need to sit down.”
Trey nudged Sed closer to Brian and sat heavily on the sofa beside him. “So does Jessica help you write songs, like Myrna helps Brian? I guess not, since you haven’t finished a song all summer. Have you run out of things to say or what?”
Trey obviously wasn’t thinking clearly. “Actually, as you should know, we’ve written several songs for the new album. Are you sure you’re feeling okay?”
“I feel fantastic. Brian, hand me my guitar. Let’s see if my stupid fingers want to cooperate today.”
“See, Sed. I told you he was fine.” Brian handed Trey his guitar.
Trey glared at Sed. “Are you talking about me behind my back?”
“I think you need to stop taking those painkillers.”
Trey ducked his head. “I can’t play without them.”
“How would you know? You haven’t tried. Your head doesn’t hurt anymore, does it?”
“It doesn’t hurt because I’m taking my pills.”
“How many have you had today?”
“Two.”
“Today, Trey, not in the past ten minutes.”
“Get off my case, Sed. If it weren’t for the pills, I wouldn’t be able to play at all. If I can’t play, you’ll kick me out of the band.”
“If you get messed up on drugs, then I’ll kick you out of the band.”
“I’m not messed up on drugs!”
Jessica appeared before Sed and took his hand. “I’ve got an itch only you can scratch, stud.”
“I’m sort of busy at the moment.” He couldn’t believe she’d just barge in the middle of his conversation with Trey.
She glanced pointedly at the bedroom. “I really want to get you alone.” She pulled on his arm until he relented and climbed to his feet.
“Jessica, now is not the time—”
She covered his mouth with her hand. “Come with me.”
Sed tugged her hand from his mouth. “I’m not going to let this rest, Trey,” Sed assured him as he allowed Jessica to pull him to the bedroom.
She closed the door behind them.
“I hope you didn’t bring me back here for sex,” Sed said.
“Of course not.” She moved to the bed and shook Myrna’s shoulder. “Myrna, are you awake? We need to talk to you.”
Myrna took a deep breath and opened her eyes. “Jessica?”
“Yeah, and Sed.”
She blinked heavily and sat up, holding the sheet over her naked breasts. What in the hell was Brian doing to her that left her in such a state of exhaustion?
“What’s up?”
“We were hoping you could talk some sense into Brian,” Jessica said.
Myrna looked entirely confused. “Huh?”
Sed sat on the bed next to her. “We think Trey is abusing his pain meds. Brian doesn’t seem to recognize it.”
“Abusing? Do you have proof?”
Jessica hesitated. “He keeps getting refills.”
“And he needs a prescription for those refills, so he obviously needs them.”
“Something doesn’t add up, Myrna.”
Myrna collapsed back on the mattress and covered her head with a pillow. “Did you already accuse him, Sed? Jesus, what are you thinking?”
“I’m not going to let him throw his life away on drugs.”
“He’s having a really rough time. You letting him know you don’t trust him will make it worse.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Sed grumbled. “You don’t see this as a problem either? I thought you, of all people, would recognize the slippery slope he’s sliding down.”
“Sed, he has a prescription. I don’t know why you’re equating this with a problem.”
“He’s taking more than he’s supposed to. A lot more.”
“Where’s your proof?” She slid the pillow from her face and looked up at him. “You have a tendency to jump to conclusions and assume you’re always right. Maybe you’re wrong. And you know what I see? I see Trey getting back to normal. The way he used to be. You don’t see that?”
“All I see is him heading to the bathroom to secretly take another pill when anything bothers him. Even little things. He’s not dealing with his problems. He’s trying to cover them up.”
“You’ve seen him in the bathroom taking pills?”
Sed sighed in frustration. “Not directly. No.”
“Maybe he just needs a moment to himself.”
“Maybe.” He knew that wasn’t the case, but Myrna wasn’t going to listen to him. She’d already decided he was off base. He’d been counting on her support to get Brian in his corner, because Trey would listen to Brian. Now what was Sed going to do?
“Myrna,” Jessica said, “I think Trey’s abusing his painkillers too. The longer we wait, the more addicted he’ll become.”
“His prescription will run out eventually and then you won’t have anything to worry about. Can I go back to sleep now?”
“Yeah, fine. Whatever.” Sed stood, took Jessica’s hand, and headed for the door. At least Jessica was on his side. It made him feel a little better about doing what he knew he had to do. No one was going to like it. Least of all Trey.
Jessica closed the bedroom door behind her and grabbed Sed’s arm, hoping no one could overhear their conversation in the main cabin. Trey and Brian were quietly strumming their guitars while Jace and Eric listened to them play. The bus slowed as it entered the exit ramp to a midsized town.
“I’ll go inside the pharmacy with Trey,” Jessica whispered. “He’ll be less suspicious of me.”
Sed nodded. “Yeah, we need to be careful or he’s going to become better at hiding it from us, which will make it harder to help him.”
She touched his face. He really did care deeply about people. She didn’t know why she hadn’t seen it before. Jessica leaned against him, resting her face against his chest and murmured, “You’re a good man.”