Page 180 of Camp Bliss
“Just okay?”
I chuckle grimly. “This isn’t going to be easy.”
“Tell me about it.”
And I do. At least the part about his withdrawal symptoms this morning. Not the story about him nearly drowning on the beach.
“I don’t see how he can wait in the shape he’s in,” I say doubtfully. “Not weeks. No way.”
Greta hums over the line. “I agree. And… I’ve been thinking about this since y’all left last night. I don’t see how we can wait that long either. What? Are we just going to keep him in a hotel until then? That’ll cost a fortune. We might as well just pay for rehab.”
I groan because she’s right and the thought nauseates me.
“Shit, this would have been so much easier six months ago. If he would have just asked for help then.”
She scoffs. “Yeah. We could have used insurance.”
“Hell, I wouldn’t have even minded paying out of pocket—before he took us for over four hundred large.”
“Zach?
“Yeah?”
“Umm… I know this sounds crazy, but what do you think about putting him back on the insurance plan?”
I blow out a low whistle. “Babe, he’d have to be back on the payroll and everything. A legitimate employee. Otherwise, we’d be violating our compliance agreement with United.”
“Really?” I can practically hear her wincing.
“Really.” I mentally run down a very short list of viable and legal options. The most obvious one makes me sick to my stomach. “You… You could marry him and put him on your plan.”
“Hell, no,” she claps back.“Youcan marry him if you want to.”
I laugh in relief at her swift dismissal. “Okay, so marriage is off the table.”
“Damn right it is,” she grumbles, and I swear, I love her more right now than I ever thought possible. Then she sighs. “When Josh and I did the research, we learned out-of-pocket for a private facility is like $30K.”
“Fuck.” I drag a hand down my face.
“Yeah,” Greta says. “He said he can’t afford it.”
I’ve suddenly lost my appetite—even though I can’t say I’m surprised. From the state Greta had described him in when he turned up at Camp Bliss, I assumed the money was long gone. Nearly half a million dollars goes a long way in an underdeveloped country, but it’s not impossible to blow through it if you’re out of control, and Josh is out of control.
“Honestly, I can’t let myself think about him losing all of that money,” she says weakly. “It’s sickening.”
“Yeah… except…” Josh’s background is in business and finance. His investments and financial decisions have always been carefully planned. Hell, he’s the one who told me to use my signing bonus to buy the condo in Somerville. If I’d have kept renting in the city, I wouldn’t even be here.
Did all of his savvy just unravel in six months? It’s definitely possible… “But what if he didn’t?” I ask.
“What are you saying?”
Just then the cashier at the counter holds up the bags for my order. I walk over and take them from her.
“I’m saying that I need to get some answers from him. I’ll call you back soon, babe.”
I hang up with Greta and head back to our room, the questions stacking up one on top of the other. Inside, I find Josh in the shower. But my wheels are turning so fast, I have to hold myself back from busting down the door and interrogating him.
As soon as I hear the water cut off, I’m knocking. Pounding.
