AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Rhys finished the song and rose to his feet, only daring to open his eyes so that he could walk to where Luna sat behind her drumkit, mouth hanging open in shock as Rhys held out his fist and bumped her knuckles, not trusting himself to speak.
Keeping his gaze firmly planted on the ground, Rhys felt the weight of his panic against his chest and he needed to get out of there. He headed toward where Andi was holding his jacket, a steady stream of tears falling from her eyes. He vaguely heard Jameson call him, and heard Luna ask him to wait.
He had to stride past Shay to get to Andi, because she had moved to stand beside Cathal some time during his performance. He was fucking pissed as hell at her for making him do this. For forcing his hand and Rhys reacted when Shay reached out to touch his arm.
Jerking his hand away from Shay’s touch, Rhys smirked at her before turning to Cathal, who watched Rhys cautiously. “Shay’s not happy and you know it. You’re so fucking worried about running the shop that you ignore the fact that all she wanted to do is be a tattoo artist. And she lets you get away with it and it’s making her fucking miserable. Either offer to train her or let her go to some shop that will let her be her.”
Rhys glanced over his shoulder to where Shay had gone very pale and he shrugged. “A deal’s a deal, right? Now we’re fucking even.”
He hadn’t tried to mask the venom in his words and he saw how hurt Shay was and Rhys tried to quash the guilt that surged through him. He wouldn’t feel guilty about this...he shouldn’t.
Rhys took his jacket from Andi and stormed out into the bar, his blood pounding inside his head as he fumbled in the pocket of his jacket for his keys. When he couldn’t find them, Rhys snarled his frustration and kicked the wheel of his car.
“Looking for these?”
Rhys spun at the sound of Declan’s voice, saw his friend dangling his keys from his fingers. His face was sombre, a muscle in his jaw twitching like he was trying to keep his features calm and not add to Rhys’s anger.
“Andi took them from your jacket,” Declan told him, his tone clipped. “She knew you’d run.”
“Just gimmie the keys, Dec,” Rhys ordered as he took a step toward Declan. “Just gimmie the goddamn keys.”
“Not until you tell me what the fuck that was all about? Why the fuck have you lied to me all these years?”
Rhys shook his head, the pounding in his head getting louder. “I don’t owe you shit, Declan. I don’t owe you or any one else any explanation on how I choose to live my life.”
Declan starred at him for the longest time and Rhys contemplated just hitting the road and walking his ass home, rather than stand here and having this argument with Declan that would go nowhere. Rhys heard Declan sigh, then run his free hand through his hair.
“I don’t get it, Rhys. I really don’t get it.”
“What’s to get, Dec?” Rhys retorted with a snort. “It is what it is. It was my secret to keep.”
Declan took a step toward him and Rhys stood his ground, jerking his chin up, trying to ignore the pain in Declan’s eyes.
“I don’t get why you felt you needed to keep your voice a secret from your best friend.”
Rhys barked out a bitter laugh, with Declan frowning as Rhys tossed his jacket on the bonnet of his car and held his hands out. “Best friend? Is that what you are, Dec? Because if I learned one thing in therapy that lying to yourself is a major part of the problem.”
Declan all but growled at Rhys. “What the hell is that supposed to mean? You are my best friend, Rhys. We might be going through some stuff now, but we will get through it.”
“Because you need me on side so Andi will marry you.”
Declan flinched like Rhys had struck him, and Rhys took that as irrefutable truth that all of his fears from when he was a teen, all his fears that resurfaced when Declan and Andi got together and nothing that Declan could say now would persuade Rhys otherwise.
Declan scrubbed a hand down his face and shook his head. “How the fuck can you say that? How the hell can you think that?”
Rhys was angered by the hurt in Declan’s tone, like Rhys was making this all up in his head, like he was paranoid. Declan had given him all the evidence he needed. Rhys had been diving head first into a pit of despair, and like the lyrics in the song, he had acted out, holding out his hand when he felt like he was drowning and Declan had been so caught up with Andi, that he had simply bypassed it.
Lifting his hand, Rhys rubbed his temple. “Because it’s the truth. The moment Andi was back in Ireland, you didn’t stop to think how it would affect us, when you went after her. You didn’t think about how you hurting my sister would make me see our relationship differently. That it wouldn’t change things between us? Jesus, are you that fucking hard-headed? I wish I’d knocked more sense into you at the fundraiser.”
Watching as Declan digested what Rhys was trying to tell him, Rhys saw the disbelief on Declan’s face and Rhys wondered would Declan ever accept his part in all of this, even if Rhys was willing to accept what he had done to add to the rift. Rhys had spent the last few weeks wondering how he could start to mend all the hurt he’d caused but standing in the cold night air, Rhys realized that sometimes, what’s broken cannot be fixed and it’s futile to keep trying.
“Just forget it, Declan.” Rhys said with a cold laugh. “I think everyone will be happier if we just park the drama between us for now. I’ve spent a long time pretending to be something I’m not, someone I’m not. We can just pretend that we hugged it out and you and I are cool. You’re off the hook, Dec, I’m giving you an out....you can finally stop pretending to be my friend.”
ChapterTwenty
Rhys
“Jesus fucking Christ,Rhys. I was never pretending to be your friend.”
