AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Wait. You arranged for two cars to take us back to St. Ives?”
Derek nodded. “You need to be safe, and the only way to ensure you are is to have you driven home.”
“What about the band’s equipment?”
“I’ll drive the van home myself.”
So, he does care. Not once had I ever seen anything from him but greed and a desire to push his way to the top through any means necessary.
“Thank you, Derek.”
“No problem. I’m gonna sort this statement out now, so you should pack up and get out of here as soon as you can.”
It didn’t take long to throw my clothes, shoes and phone back in my bag, and head down the hall to Drew’s room. Only a couple of hours had passed, but waking up beside him seemed a million years ago. I needed his arms around me, to feel connected to him again, and to lose myself in that place where everyone and everything else ceased to exist.
My plan was scuppered when I entered Drew’s room and the whole band was in there. Not a hint of the camaraderie from the night before remained. The tension was so thick, it was comparable to being smacked in the face with a cricket bat. Everyone’s bags were strewn on the floor, and I threw mine on the heap. “What’s going on?”
Mack’s gaze flicked between Drew and Jason. “Everything’s fine,” he said. “We should probably be on our way soon.”
“Good idea.” Drew picked up our bags. “Ellie and I will share a car; you three can take the other one.”
Drew started towards the door, not giving me a second to figure out why everyone was so tense.
“Wait,” I said. “Jason, are you okay?”
Waves of irritation from Drew threatened to knock me to the floor. Leaving without checking on Jason was not an option, though. Not after the morning’s events.
“I’m fine. I’ll call you later.”
Silently, I asked him again, hoping he read the bigger question in my eyes. ‘Are you really okay? Do you need me? ‘ He gave me a reassuring smile and a small shake of his head, easing my concern a little. Something still wasn’t right, but I trusted he’d be fine with Mack and Joey.
“Okay. I guess we’ll see you later.”
The second Drew and I left the room, I grabbed his wrist, making him stop. “Hey. Do you want to tell me what happened in there?”
Drew shook his head. “It’s not important.”
“Not important? It was important enough to silence a room full of musicians who should be celebrating right now.”
“Hard to celebrate when my brother screwed you over, and you don’t seem to care that this mess is all his fault.”
My heart sank, not because I didn’t expect this, but because I’d hoped Drew would at least try to understand my position in all of the chaos. Did he expect me not to care how Jason felt after this gigantic bombshell was dropped on him?
“I care, but it’s done now. He apologised, he got Derek to come here to sort it out. What more can he do?”
Drew stared at me, his expression cold enough to raise goose bumps across my skin. “It’s really that easy for you, isn’t it?”
It might not have been if I hadn’t been distracted by the cocaine. Jason staying clean concerned me way more than his tantrum. Of course, I’d promised I wouldn’t tell Drew, which seemed like a massive mistake the longer he fixed his icy glare on me. Keeping the peace between them – or at least not making things worse – depended on me not telling Jason’s secret. No matter how much I hated the look on Drew’s face.
“It has to be,” I said. “I don’t want to be eaten up with anger for the rest of my life about stuff I can’t change.”
“Like me, you mean?”
I shook my head. “Don’t try to pull me into a fight. It’s been a hell of a morning, and I’m not up for arguing.”
“I’m not trying to argue, I’m trying to understand how you can be so okay with what he did!”
A door opened, and a young couple stepped out of their room, pausing to do a double take as they passed us. They stared, as if waiting for us to continue our argument, as if we were reality TV stars putting on a show for their enjoyment. To their credit, they didn’t linger when we stayed silent, but I was done being in front of people. I grabbed Drew’s arm and dragged him back into his room.
