Page 76 of Composed
Chapter twenty-four
Cole • Now
The Ghost of You – My Chemical Romance
Discolightsflickeracrossthe darkened club floor, drum and bass rattling the speakers.
I lean over the balcony and watch the dancing crowd.
When Axel barged into my flat earlier, two vodka bottles in hand, a joint stashed behind his ear, I didn’t have a good enough argument not to come out with him and the guys.
If anything, I needed to get out of my place, to escape the crushing weight that settled on me as soon as I came to my senses after sending Hendrix on her way.
“You in a better mood now?” Saint asks, wrists propped on the glass railing, whisky bottle dangling from his fingertips.
I grunt.
“Wanna talk about it?”
About as much as I want to throw myself in the Thames in the middle of December.
I drain my beer and shove off the railing. “Nothing to talk about.”
I snatch the whiskey from Saint’s hand, down a shot’s worth, and hand it back before sidling over the couch.
Carter shifts his bulky frame when I drop down beside him.
I squint through the flashing lights.
Sam, one of our security guards for the evening, stands in the corner, hard stare unwavering as he watches the women circling Axel. There’s something different tonight though. Axel isn’t flirting up a storm like he normally does. He’s there, dancing, but his flirtatious smile has been replaced by something more static, more forced.
“What’s up with Ax?” I ask Carter as I snatch a water from the ice bucket.
“Not a clue.” He lifts a shoulder, watching his oldest friend with a shrewd stare. “Some chick came onto him earlier and he couldn’t get away quick enough. Never seen him like it.”
“Interesting.”
A woman slides up to Axel, sleek red nails tracing over his white shirt. He doesn’t give her a lick of attention, just turns away.
Carter makes a non-committal sound.
I turn to him. “Why aren’t you on daddy duty tonight?”
“The girls are staying with my mum and dad another night. Didn’t want to chance it with Hendrix hanging around.”
“Nothing to worry about there. Pretty sure she’s back home by now.”
His eyes narrow and he scans my face.
“I basically kicked her out of the studio.” I laugh dryly. “She got a call, called me an old friend, and I…” Air hisses through my clenched teeth. “Turns out, writing songs with the only woman you’ve ever loved after ten years apart isn't all that easy.”
“Who’d have thought it?” Carter deadpans.
I roll my eyes. “You can’t say shit. You have to co-parent with yours.”
“Don’t really think a one-night stand classes as an ex.”
He chuckles before giving me a look. “You and Rix aren’t just exes, Cole. You were partners. Ineverything. You created a whole world together, only for it to fucking crumble at your feet when she walked away. It was never gonna be easy to come back together creatively.”
