Page 13 of Fake Rocks
“So can you come?”
He plucked at his dusty t-shirt and ripped jeans. “I don’t exactly have the clothes for it. All my stuff is back at Uncle Col’s.”
I wasn’t letting him get out of it so easily. “Jonas will have some stuff you can borrow. You’re about the same size. Or we can go shopping before the gig?”
A shadow crossed his face. “I, er, don’t exactly have the funds for clothes shopping right now. Not until my first pay packet.” The shadow disappeared, a cute flush taking its place.
“My treat. It’s the least I can do, considering what else I’ve asked of you.” I paused. “If you don’t mind me paying?” The last thing I wanted to do was make him uncomfortable.
Tris rubbed his chin. “I’ll make you a deal. I’ll come along tonight. You can buy me some jeans and a t-shirt, and I’ll pay you back.” He fixed me with a look. “No designer labels though. I definitely can’t afford them.”
“It’s a deal.”
There was a noise from behind us and Tris’ uncle stood in the doorway with a bunch of tools and other paraphernalia I didn’t recognise.
“Everything okay, Tris?” he asked.
“A minor skin wound.” Tris held up the hand with the plaster on it. “Saff made sure I didn’t die.”
“Right.” There was a note of suspicion in his voice.
“Anyway, I should let you two get on, I’m sure you’ve got loads to do and I’m here bothering you…” I babbled on, watching the way Tris was trying not to smile at me. “I’ll talk to you later.”
Bouncing off the door frame, I passed Col and dashed up the stairs back to my room. I grabbed my phone and messaged Rosie. I had to tell someone about my new boyfriend.
8
Tris
“You accepted her offer, didn’t you?” Uncle Col placed the tools carefully on the side, so as not to mark the pristine new surfaces.
I stared at my boots. “I guess. And if it means you and Aunt Annie get something out of it too…”
He shook his head. “You don’t have to do this for us, Tris. I think it’s a crazy idea. It’s not something the likes of us would usually get involved in.” He went over to where his folder of paper was. “Jonas gave me this. It’s a sort of contract, a non-disclosure document. I haven’t read it through properly. Your aunt is so much better at understanding this sort of thing than me.”
“We don’t have to tell her, do we?”
“How’s she going to react when she sees you in the papers with your new girlfriend? It’s not as if she doesn’t know we’re working here.” Col pushed the papers towards me. “And if he’s going to pay the money he has promised, she’s definitely going to ask where it’s come from.”
I leaned against the side and scan-read the document. There was a lot of complicated legal jargon I didn’t understand. But then I saw the amount of money Jonas Barnes was prepared to pay to save his cousin’s skin and my eyes almost popped out of my head.
“Wow,” I breathed. “He’s pretty serious about this.”
Uncle Col nodded. “We had a brief chat when you were upstairs with Saff. He’s looked after her since she was twelve after her mother died. Sounds like he’s always had her back and doesn’t like to see her throwing her life away. He thinks with a stable influence, she can sort the music stuff out and get things back on track.”
His words rang true. Getting my life back to some semblance of normality and having fun were things I craved right now. And it seemed Saff Barnes and I had more in common than either of us had probably realised.
Shopping with Saff was a nightmare. Although it was definitely better than spending the evening dressed in Jonas’ clothes.
Once Uncle Col left, Saff told me to take a shower in the guest bathroom. Willingly I agreed, using all the expensive Molton Brown products, the scent of black pepper lingering on my skin. Saff insisted Jonas wouldn’t mind if I borrowed some of his stuff and presented me with a pair of navy chinos, a pale blue shirt and a black bomber jacket. Paired with my work boots, I thought the whole outfit looked ridiculous.
“You look amazing,” she said, making me twirl around in front of her.
“I feel like an idiot.” The clothes felt stiff and uncomfortable, mainly because they were things I wasn’t used to wearing.
Saff appraised me. “Wait, you look like Jonas. Shit. That’s not a good thing. We seriously have to get you some clothes.”
I lifted an eyebrow. “And you told me I looked amazing?”
