Chapter 19
CHAPTER NINETEEN
TYLER
Whispers went around the school all afternoon about Tristan Holloway’s murder. I was kind of glad that Caden wasn’t there, or he would’ve lost his shit.
I’d been paranoid all day that each new article that was posted online would announce that Rory had been arrested, but some guy was instead.
Whatever Skeeter had done to cover it up, it was obviously working.
“Hey, you heading to Holloway’s?” Jensen asked as he dropped an arm around my shoulders on the way to the parking lot, and I did well not to show my emotions on my face.
“No. He texted me to ask if I can give him the day with Rory.”
I was more than happy to give them some time alone, but realization hit that whenever this happened, I didn’t just lose Rory for the day, I lost Caden too. It had always just been me and him, so what the fuck did I do when they were together?
“C’mon, we’re going to hang out at mine,” Jensen grinned, patting my shoulder.
“Your dad gone?”
“Yep. Woke up to a note saying he’d see me later.”
“How sweet of him,” I deadpanned, glancing at Lukas, who was trailing behind us. “Karen still bothering you?”
He grunted, his mouth twisting into a scowl. “She’s livid I didn’t come home for dinner last night. She had another person she wanted me to meet.”
“Just call it what it is, man. An arranged marriage,” Jensen muttered, unlocking his car and moving towards the driver’s side. “Just ignore her. I think you should pack your bags and live at mine full-time. You’re always there anyway.”
Lukas’ shoulders hunched and I gave him a nudge. “Think about it. You can crash with me or Caden sometimes, and Rory would probably love for you to crash with her too.”
“I’m handling it,” he grumbled, hating this conversation as always as he yanked open the car door, motioning for me to get in the back.
Jensen blew out a breath and slid behind the wheel, and I jumped in so Lukas could too.
My high from earlier had worn off, and I forced myself to deal with it. I couldn’t be high all the damn time, but it sure did help me relax.
Jensen cranked his music as he drove towards his house, my eyes flicking to his hand as he rested it on Lukas’ knee for comfort.
Whatever was going on between them had nothing to do with me, but I couldn’t say I wasn’t curious by it.
Jensen had been my friend since we were practically babies, and Lukas had been since we were thirteen.
Were they together and too afraid to tell us?
From the way Lukas jerked his leg away, my guess was that they weren’t, but Jensen surprisingly seemed interested.
“Yo, can we swing past my place? I’ll bring my car so I can get myself home later,” I called over the music as I leaned between the seats, and Jensen nodded. The last thing I wanted to do was get stuck there all night.
Lukas let me out when we arrived, and they waited for me as I got into my Roadster to follow them.
I smoked as I drove, my fingers tapping on the steering wheel to a silent beat. Burning that house down had only made me twitchy, but I couldn’t keep burning things.
I’d just chill with the guys for a few hours then head home to smoke weed in the bath. That should fix me and help me sleep.
Jensen parked in the garage while I left my car out front, the three of us walking up to the house and being greeted by the staff.
Relief hit me when Jensen asked to play video games, so we headed to his bedroom and got comfortable, starting Call of Duty.
My mind was silent for a while as my fingers smashed buttons and we trash-talked each other. I’d kicked off my shoes and tossed my blazer aside, loosening my tie a little to relax. Jensen and Lukas had gotten changed into T-shirts and sweats, but I’d wait until I got home so I could have a bath.
We ate Chinese for dinner before putting a movie on in the theater room, and it was half an hour before I glanced over to notice the guys had gone to sleep.
It was only seven, but I wasn’t surprised.
With Jensen’s dad being home, he probably hadn’t slept that great, and Lukas was stressing about his mom.
I watched them for a few minutes, noting how peaceful Lukas slept now he was curled into Jensen’s side. Even Jensen seemed dead to the world, suddenly making me feel like a third wheel.
Was this how things were going to be from now on? Everyone pairing up and leaving me on my own?
The guys had always been close, Caden and I were the same, but things felt different now that Rory was in the picture. They weren’t doing anything wrong, but it was like everyone was just passing through life together while I watched from the sidelines.
A spark of panic ignited inside me at the thought of being left behind. I should’ve seen it coming, I was always left behind.
Mom and Dad didn’t give a shit, none of our old staff gave a shit when they were told they weren’t needed anymore despite me being a child, and now my friends were pulling away.
Was there something wrong with me to make people do this?
I got to my feet and walked quickly through the house, not wanting to bother the guys. My fingers twitched, and I automatically took out my lighter to flick it on my way to the car, the panic turning to terror, then anger.
Why did they always leave?
I thought I’d driven home, but when I parked the car and glanced around, I realized I was at the Shed. Music blasted from inside, and I figured I might as well have a drink while I was here.
“Hey,” Diesel greeted as I approached the bar, raising an eyebrow. “You need a beer?”
“A bottle,” I grunted, pulling out my wallet and tossing some cash his way. “Anything interesting happening here tonight?”
“Apart from a few of the guys fighting, nothing much.”
“Who’s fighting?”
“Skeet and Matteo had one for fun. Well, that’s what they called it, but they’ve been wanting to beat on each other for weeks now,” he tsked, sliding a bottle of whiskey towards me. “You want a glass and some ice?”
I nodded, pouring myself a drink once it was in front of me and downing most of it in one go.
“Rough day?” he chuckled, but concern suddenly flashed across his face. “Rory okay?”
“She’s fine. She’s snuggled up with Holloway,” I muttered, refilling the glass. “Anyone in tonight that I can fight?”
He blinked at me for a second as if not hearing me, then he frowned. “You want to fight in the cage?”
“I need to blow off some steam.”
“No offense, but the fighters in here would kill you, Ty. It’s mostly crew members tonight.”
“If Rory walked in, you guys would bend over backwards to fucking find her someone,” I snapped, his eyes narrowing.
“No, we wouldn’t. Rory’s not allowed to fight in here anymore.”
“She’d blow Skeet and get her way,” I huffed, just as an arm dropped around my shoulders and Slash grinned at me.
“If you’re offering to blow me, I’ll give you what you want.”
“I want to fight,” I answered, making him snort.
“Absolutely not. Not even if you swallowed.”
“Why the fuck not?”
“You’d get annihilated, Johnson. These guys don’t fight like you rich assholes in the school yard,” he sighed, and I shoved his arm off me.
“Fuck you, I can handle myself.”
“It’s not an official fight night, the guys are just—”
“Let me take them on then!” I snapped, drawing attention from some of the Psychos close by. One of them eyed me with amusement, jerking his chin at the cage.
“Go on, boss. I’ll fight him.”
“I said no,” Slash said firmly, glaring at me.
“The kid wants to get his ass beat, so let him,” Matteo stated as he joined us, crossing his arms. His face was beat to shit, courtesy of Skeeter, I’d bet. “He thinks he can handle it.”
Slash scowled, snatching the bottle and grabbing the back of my shirt, hauling me away from the bar.
“I said no. He’d get his ass handed to him, and then what? His rich asshole parents report it to the cops and drag fancy lawyers in. I’m not having it in my Shed.”
“It’s not like they ever come home. You let Donovan,” Matteo reminded him as I struggled to get Slash to release me, but he held firm.
“There’s a reason she’s banned too. Get the fuck in my office, Ty. Now,” he snarled, dragging me across the room, much to other people’s amusement.
I cursed at him, but he didn’t let go until we were locked inside, where he shoved me back against the wall and got in my face. “Do you want to tell me why the fuck you’re trying to get yourself killed?”
“You know I can fucking fight, asshole. You’re acting like I can’t!”
“We put bodies in the ground for a living, and you fucking know it. What’s your problem? Do you need a fucking drinking buddy or something? Is this a rich boy crisis?”
I scoffed, shoving him away. “Fuck you.”
He frowned, hesitating before handing me the bottle. “Seriously, Ty. What’s up?”
“My parents are assholes, and I’m third wheeling with my friends,” I said, realizing how dumb that sounded, but he gave me a nod in understanding.
“Skeet and D won’t work with me. I get it.”
I swigged from the bottle, eyeing him. “Why not?”
“Rory,” he said with a shrug, his voice dropping. “Is she okay?”
“You mean after she hit you?” I asked dryly, making him wince.
“Yeah.”
“You want to tell me why she hit you? She won’t tell us shit.”
He looked guilty as fuck as he raked a hand through his hair, moving to sit behind his desk.
“I just overstepped, and she didn’t appreciate my apology, that’s all. Did she have a good night after I left?”
“She doesn’t really like celebrating her birthday. She got fucked up and spent the rest of the night with her head in the toilet,” I chuckled lightly, sitting on the edge of his desk. “You want a drink?”
He happily took it for a swig, and we passed it back and forth as we chatted about nothing of importance. I hadn’t even realized my panic had calmed until he asked to keep drinking at my place when I was ready to leave.
We were both too drunk to drive, but we somehow made it safely to my place, where I parked in the garage and narrowly missed the wall with my side mirror, leaving Slash to park out front.