AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Tali
We spentthe day completely ensconced in music and each other. I met countless rockers whose names I’d never remember, but they all knew who I was. Apparently my boyfriend spent a lot of time talking about me, which warmed a place deep in my chest.
My summer hadn’t been as easy as I’d made it seem to Jude. I’d made the decision to present a brave face to him, no matter what. I couldn’t be the one to dull the shine of his first real tour.
I’d missed him with an ache that surprised me. Of course, I’d expected to be sad, and maybe anxious, but the deep, gnawing anxiety and melancholy that had taken over me, shadowing everything else, had snuck up on me like an intruder in the night.
I liked my job, but my manager flirted in a way that made me uncomfortable to the point I was contemplating quitting. He knew I had a boyfriend, but he also knew Jude was away for the summer. He’d even made a comment about the mice playing while the cat was away.
Heather had cheated on Nina with another girl. Maybe more than one girl. Nina had slept in my bed with me for a week, crying herself to sleep each night. And then Heather came around, apologetic and affectionate, making all kinds of promises, until Nina forgave her.
Ididn’t forgive her. Not when she’d callously turned my cousin inside out. Not when she’d made Nina doubt herself, weakening her knees until she folded and accepted Heather’s betrayal.
So, I’d been avoiding Nina, my best friend for life, because I couldn’t stand her girlfriend. I’d tried. We’d gone out to dinner, but watching Heather hold her hand and kiss her cheek had made me physically ill. It was lies. None of her devotion was real.
Tino had only mellowed out after winding up in the hospital with alcohol poisoning. I’d sat in the waiting room while he had his stomach pumped, wondering if this would get him to slow down or if he’d be back to drinking the next day. When I went in to see him, he’d confessed with tears streaming down his beautiful face his parents had given him several rental houses as a parting gift before they entirely disowned him because he was gay. He’d been adrift for years before I met him. I’d climbed into bed with him and held him while he sobbed. Luckily, he’d gone cold turkey with alcohol after that, but he carried a constant sadness with him.
Between the two of us, our house had become sort of gloomy. I spent most of my time outside, just to avoid some of it. But since half of it was inside me, there was no escaping.
And Ben...he’d all but moved into the house with Tino and me. It had happened slowly. First, he passed out on the couch one night, then a few nights later, he’d crashed in one of the spare rooms. After a couple weeks, he’d started keeping clothes in the drawers and didn’t even bother with the pretense of being too tired to go home at night. And neither Tino nor I bothered acting surprised he was spending another night with us. We’d just accepted him as another roommate.
I told Jude none of this.
It was probably a mistake, to hold in my worries and sadness, but I couldn’t lay it on him—not when he was finding his dream.
“We’re going out tonight. You two have to come,” Jin said, jumping around enthusiastically.
I glanced at Jude, knowing what his answer would be. He’d want to spend my last night alone, but I wanted to see what his nights were like when I wasn’t here.
“Let’s go out, just for a little bit,” I said.
He gripped my waist, pulling me close to his side. “Only for a little bit,” he murmured next to my ear.
Jin clapped, bouncing like an overenthusiastic puppy. “Hell yes. Tonight’s going to be off the chain!”
We ended up in some dance club in Philadelphia. One of the bigger bands had reserved the entire VIP area, so drinks were flowing, along with whatever else we could have wanted.
Jude had me in his lap while he talked to some guys from another band, and I rocked to the heavy bass of the music. He kept his arms tight around my middle, holding me close and possessively.
Jeremy plopped down next to us on the leather bench. “S’up, Tals? I’ve barely seen you since you got here.”
I held up my drink. “Just having a good time with my man. Are you having a good time?”
He dangled a small baggy containing a few pills. “It’s about to get better. You want?”
“What is it?” I asked.
“E. No big deal.”
I’d never done it before, but tonight seemed like the right time to try it. I held out my hand, but Jeremy shook his head.
“Stick out your tongue.”
I obeyed, and he dropped the little pill into my mouth. “Swallow it down,” he ordered.
Jude had stopped talking and stiffened behind me. “What’d you just give her?”
Jeremy laughed. “Just a little MDMA. Never hurt a fly. You might want one too; it’s more fun to roll together.”
