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Reggie looks across at me as if I’ll tell him something different. I shrug. “The bus has been just fine.”
And crowded. And loud.
The truth is that Noah would have agreed to a hotel room had Garrison not attempted to shove it down his throat the way he did, all high and mighty about the fact his name would get us the best place in town. He should have known better. So, while the tour crew and Josh and Dagger were put up in hotel rooms for the two nights we’re here, we’ve been staying in the bus with Justice and Paisley. It has been nice to have a quieter bus, but it doesn’t compare to a five-star hotel with a king-sized bed and a shower with amazing water pressure.
Maybe I’d be thinking differently if I didn’t have to sleep in a bunk below Noah every night instead ofbesidehim. God, I would do questionable things if it meant we could spend the night in the same bed. We’ve been like horny teenagers this past week, but there’s only so many times a girl can get eaten out in a dark hallway or empty dressing room before she wants something more.
“Well, next time, you should consider the hotel. You deserve the luxury for a couple of nights,” Reggie says.
“We will,” I reply before Noah can tell him to leave it alone. He squeezes my hand softly in punishment, and I swallow my laugh.
The bus comes into view then, and my steps falter when I see Justice turning him and Paisley away from the door, his head frantically swivelling as if in search of something.Us, I realize when he looks in our direction and starts jogging across the parking lot.
“What’s up with him?” I ask, but nobody answers me.
My stomach drops to the pavement when he stops directly in front of Reggie and croaks, “Take Paisley back inside. I don’t want her around for a little while.”
“What’s going on?” Reggie asks, automatically alert at those words.
With a wince, Justice awkwardly glances between me and Noah. His face is red, and considering his endurance with playing the drums for hours on end, I don’t think it’s from the short run across the parking lot.
“Fucking hell. Just go to the bus,” he tells us.
“That’s a toonie in the swear jar, Dad,” Paisley chastises.
Reggie takes a step toward them and settles a hand on Justice’s shoulder. “Tell me what’s going on.”
Justice shakes his hand off. “You don’t—just please take Paisley inside. I don’t think they will want you to see this.”
“Who?” Noah asks slowly.
A pause. “You and T.”
That’s all Noah needs to hear before he’s moving. I offer Reggie an apologetic glance before following after him. Justice hands Paisley over to Reggie, and then I hear his footsteps behind me.
“Noah! Slow down,” I shout. He ignores me.
The next few seconds happen in slow motion. I watch Noah tear a piece of paper off the bus door and pick something blue up from the stairs before kicking the side of the bus and turning his back to us.
“Noah!”
He jerks at the sound of my voice. I close the remaining distance between us and press into his space. He pulls away from me when I try to grab his arms and make him look at me. Fear pangs in my chest.
“No.” His voice is hoarse.
I furrow my brows and slide my hands down to his wrists, squeezing hard and bringing them between us.
“Tinsley. No,” he spits, trying to yank his arms back again. I tighten my hold and drop my eyes. When I see what’s in his hands, I wish I hadn’t looked.
“What the fuck?” I whisper.
31
NOAH
I’ve always hadviolent tendencies. I struggled to keep them under control, to not let them control my life. Didn’t want to scare anyone the way I did my dad the first and only time I fed into them, when I was fourteen and beat the trunk of a tree until I shattered my hand after getting suspended for shoving one of Adalyn’s bullies into a bathroom stall and flushing her hair in the toilet.
He was mad at me. Preaching about the proper way to behave when you’re upset. Calm and smart. It didn’t make sense to me. We were raised to protect our family always, regardless of consequences. I was doing that. Adalyn was brave, but it was going to take more than a snippy retort and an upturned nose for those girls to leave her alone. They were jealous of her. Of our family. I took care of it.
