Page 67 of Fake Rocks
I let out a heavy sigh. Jonas hadn’t exactly been slow in getting there. “I guess so.” A thought struck me. “It’s not Carl, is it?”
“No, it bloody well isn’t!” I recognised Darren’s voice immediately. “As if I’d let that bastard anywhere near you again.”
He came into the cubicle followed by Tris. Somewhere in the depths of my memory, I remembered Tris in that room. He’d laid into Carl and I’d stopped him. Although in retrospect, maybe I shouldn’t have done.
“Hey. How are you feeling?” He hung back, seeming unsure as to whether to come in.
“Like I’ve gone several rounds with…you.” I remembered him laying into Carl, making the guy’s nose bleed. I caught my breath.He’d been trying to protect me.Exactly as he had done the night of the gig.
And stupidly, I’d let him walk away.
No.
I’d pushed him away.
The thumping in my head intensified.
I’d been an idiot.
“Tris, can we…?” The end of my sentence was cut off by Jonas’ arrival.
He pushed his way into the small space, already occupied by two pretty big guys, and took over.
“Right, I’m here now,” he announced. He took in the sight of Darren and Tris there and immediately demanded the two of them leave.
“No, I want them to stay.” I reached out and grabbed Jonas’ wrist. “They were there for me when I needed them.”
Jonas snorted. “I doubt that very much.” He fixed Tris with a glare. “What the hell are you doing here anyway? I thought I told you to stay away.”
Tris hung his head. “I’m sorry, I’ll go.” He turned to leave.
“No!” My voice came out louder and stronger than I anticipated and the three men stopped stock still. “I want you to stay. If I’d have asked you to stay earlier, I wouldn’t be here now.” It was the absolute truth. An overwhelming sense of exhaustion hit and any traces of adrenaline which had been keeping me going left my body.
A frown flitted across Tris’ handsome features as he realised what I was trying to say.
“If I’m going to stay, I owe you an explanation.” He glanced at Jonas and Darren, both of whom eyed him suspiciously. “Hell, I owe you all an explanation. I never realised my lies would compromise the contract we had.”
“Contract? What contract?” Darren asked, puzzled.
“I’ll tell you another time,” I chipped in. “Let Tris finish.”
“I recently spent three months in prison. It was the worst three months of my life.”
His face fell and he seemed so vulnerable, all I wanted to do was kiss him. And he hadn’t even finished his explanation.
“I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. I’d been out for the evening with some friends, drinking and clubbing until the early hours. When it came time to leave, I spotted a guy being hassled by a group of men and stepped in to try and stop it. The ringleader began taunting me and I lashed out. I landed one punch and broke his nose. He pressed charges and despite the fact I was trying to protect someone I barely knew from getting a good kicking, I ended up with a record for common assault and a six-month prison sentence. Good behaviour meant I was out in three.”
I closed my eyes.He was one of the good guys after all.“Tris, you should have told me.” I stretched to touch him, but he stood just out of reach.
“You should certainly have told me.” Jonas let out a hard breath. “All this could have been dealt with sooner.”
“But your dad?” I frowned, wondering why he’d turned up when he did.
“Is nothing but a money grabbing lowlife. He couldn’t wait to find me when he thought I’d hit the big time dating you. In the three months I was inside, I didn’t see him once. We had no contact. I was alone in there. Can you understand what that feels like?” His hazel eyes were glassy, and I wanted to hold him, to tell him it was going to be okay.
“Can you give us a minute?” I begged Jonas and Darren.
Neither of them appeared particularly happy about it, although they reluctantly did as they were asked, Jonas muttering under his breath about getting my release sorted out.
