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“Because Sky is my friend and I’m the one he’s called time and time again to vent about the mess that’s become of his band and not just musically. You like to blow in like a hurricane then crawl away under the cover of darkness, leaving a fuckton of wreckage behind and I don’t want to see that happen to this band, or to Zakk!”
There was hurt in Dez’s eyes when he turned towards Zakk, who felt like shit, just seeing it on Dez’s face, but none of it would have been necessary if Dez had just told them the whole story. It wouldn’t have changed their desire to have him join the band, but it might have changed how close Zakk got to him in such a short period of time.
“I wouldn’t do that to you,” Dez insisted.
“I’m guessing Sky and the others felt the same way,” Zakk said, as he heaved himself up over the lip of the lazy river. “I get that Carrion fucked you over. You didn’t deserve that. But if your way of dealing with it was to fuck over another band, then fuck you.”
Maybe it was cold, but he’d taken Dez’s side repeatedly, causing rifts between him and Tripp, and all because Dez and the dirt sheets hadn’t told the full truth of his exodus from Saint’s Seduction. If Dez could get it in his head to leave that way, then what the hell would ever stop him from doing it to them?
Chapter 20
Sometimes silence is best
“I’m sorry about last night, I didn’t mean for it to blow up like that.”
Groaning, Zakk turned his head towards the door to see Tripp standing in it. “I don’t wanna talk about it.”
“Okay, so how about we go do something that doesn’t involve talking at all.”
“Not in the mood for fucking at the moment either.”
“Did I say anything about bending you over the side of the bed?”
“No.”
“Okay then. I was talking about the climbing wall,” Tripp said. “Maybe doing some rappelling. Who knows, we might find a picnic basket at the bottom of the cliff.”
“Long as I don’t have to wrestle it from a couple bears, I’d be down with that.”
“Well then, get your hiking boots on and let’s go.”
Rolling from the bed, Zakk felt nothing but gratitude for Tripp’s unexpected interruption. Sleep had been difficult at best. All night he’d tossed and turned, snippets of memories flashing through his head, all the amazing times he and Dez had had together, all their plans for future adventures. Now he wondered if it was time to pump the brakes on all that. As a band, they’d already been burned by someone they’d known since childhood. It had been stupid to allow a stranger to sweep in and become so important to them…and him. He’d wondered if Riley had gone to bed thinking the same thing and twice made it halfway to his room before turning back. Zakk knew a time would come when they’d have to talk about it, maybe get Damien and James in on the conversation too.
“Hey. Stop thinking and tie your boot.”
Tripp’s hand on his shoulder grounded him, brought his thoughts back to the present and the laces he held in his hands.
“Sorry.”
“It’s all good.”
Zakk got his boot tied and snagged a tube of sunscreen on their way out the door, only to slam into Riley.
“Ooof!”
It took Tripp to keep either of them from hitting the floor. Riley looked rumpled, and in typical Riley fashion, his hair was sticking up in several places. He looked well rested though. Good to know one of them was.
“Whatever it is, can we talk about it later?” Zakk said, attempting to step around him. “We’re going climbing.”
“Do you mind if I come? Winter, James and Tavis already took off on dirt bikes and Damien’s playing vampire again.”
It would have been easy to say yes, he minded, that he wanted to spend the day alone with Tripp, but this spa had been his idea and he’d be a shitty friend to ditch Riley in the wake of everything that had happened the night before. The fact that he’d specifically not mentioned what Dez was up to meant he either didn’t know or hadn’t made an effort to find out. A quick glance at Zakk’s feet showed he was already wearing boots, so what the hell.
“Yeah, come on.”
“Thanks, man.”
“Couldn’t leave you to your own devices, the gods only know what you’d get up to or how much it would cost us.”
