Page 96 of Revelry

Ash gives me a sad smile as I walk past, and then he follows me up the stairs. Everyone boards, and the mood is so damn sombre, it’s as if we all fell into a My Chemical Romance video.

“Everybody on?” James asks.

“Yeah, we’re all here,” Coop says back from the kitchen.

The engine roars to life beneath our feet, and it’s as if everything goes silent, save for the ringing in my ears. I stare at the bench seat, where Leif had drugged me, and then the world snaps back into place and I shout, “Wait.”

Everyone turns to look at me. “I can’t do this.”

“Ali,” Cooper says.

“Can’t do what?” Levi asks, snagging my hand as I pass, I glance down at him.

“Can I talk to you?” I glance between them. “Both of you, outside?”

“You can talk here,” Coop insists. “James, start the bus.”

“No,” I shout to James, and then, looking at Levi, because I can’t quite face Cooper’s anger just yet, I say, “I’m not going with you.”

“Like hell you aren’t,” Coop snaps.

“Fucking lay off,” Levi says, standing, and wedging me between the two of them. In the past this had been one of my favourite places to be, but right now? Not so much.

“Let me out, James,” I say, squeezing past Cooper. He grabs my arm, and I whirl around to face him. “Let. Me. Go.”

He does, but I think it’s only because he’s afraid of hurting me. He may not touch me, but his presence can still be felt right behind me as I stalk toward the exit. I spot my bag in the luggage storage area as I approach. Someone must have put it there last night, or maybe they moved it out of the way to let the paramedics through. Either way, I snatch it up and head for the exit.

“Open that door and you’re fired,” Cooper says to James.

“Coop,” Deb chastises.

James raises a brow at Coop, and opens the door. “You can’t hold a woman against her will, you little shit. That’s called kidnapping.”

“Ali, get back here,” Coop shouts, as I descend the stairs and head straight for the town car. Two sets of footsteps clatter on the stairs behind me. The driver leans against the side, having a cigarette. His eyes bug out when I approach. “Can you take me to an airport?”

He stares back and forth between Coop and I. “Yeah.”

“Great.” I toss my bag on the back seat and turn to face the boys. Levi stands with his hands shoved in his pockets, his expression difficult to read. He looks torn. His eyes are sad, but his gaze is stoic. Cooper, on the other hand, is furious, bearing down on me like a tornado. One that will tear up everything in his path.

“I can’t do this anymore. What they did—what you did …” I look at Coop. “I can’t process any of that with you around. You lied to me, Cooper. You slept with me and you paid me for it.” I sniff and turn to Levi. “And you knew about it.”

“I didn’t pay you for sex, Ali,” Coop hisses. “Where would you have gone? If Vanessa had fired you, and I hadn’t brought you with us, what would you have done then?”

“It doesn’t matter. You’re not responsible for me,” I say.

“We didn’t fucking lie, Ali,” Levi says, shaking his head adamantly.

“Don’t.”

“I didn’t know about the money at first. He told us about Vanessa and the record company the night we boarded the tour bus, but what does it fucking matter? His money, my money, Guidelli’s?”

“This isn’t about the money, and you know it,” Coop says, and his eyes are blazing with fury. “You’re just fucking scared. Well guess what? We’re all scared. All three of us fucked up big time. I fucked up big time. Yes, I should have told you from the start, but I wasn’t paying for sex, Ali. I thought if you knew, you’d leave. And I couldn’t have that.”

“Why?”

“Because I felt normal with you.” He exhales sharply. “I felt like I’d finally stopped spinning.” He runs his hands down over his face, and his expression is so miserable that I just want to go to him. I don’t. Because what would it solve?

“I can’t be a part of this world, Cooper. My reputation is in tatters. That reporter thought I’d tried to off myself—she basically called me a drug addict. I was drugged, stripped naked, and exposed in the worst possible way, and they’re acting like—”

---