6. Bobby
BOBBY
Bobby knew when he processed what he’d just heard his heart would shatter into a million pieces, but all he could feel right now was pathological rage. He grabbed Dillon by the scruff and slammed him against the door.
“Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t beat the shit out of you?”
“How much did you hear?” asked Dillon, looking fearful.
It was a look he’d never seen on his supposed best friend’s face before.
Dillon always exuded macho bravado. It then registered what Dillon had said.
“How much did you hear?” Not an apology for shagging his fiancé or betraying over a decade of friendship.
He wanted to know what he’d heard, probably so he could try to bullshit his way out of things.
Anger coursed through his body. He wasn’t a violent man, but right now, in this moment, he wanted Dillon on the floor bleeding. Before he could do anything, he felt a warm hand on his shoulder.
“Bobby, let him go.”
He turned and met eyes with Gabriel. They were full of kindness and compassion, like his mother’s eyes. They differed from Alex’s eyes, which was a weird thing to be thinking about right now. What had he said? That was it. He narrowed his eyes.
“You’re not taking his side, are you?”
“Of course not. I just don’t want you getting arrested in a foreign country and potentially fucking up your career. He’s not worth it.”
Gabriel was right. He let go of Dillon. “Fuck off out of my sight.”
“We need to talk about this, mate.”
“Mate? Are you for real? Right now, I never want to speak to you again. Get the fuck away from me before I decide prison wouldn’t be so bad.”
Dillon’s eyes widened. His friend was only five feet nine, and at six feet five, Bobby towered over him. Realising he shouldn’t push it any more, he left. Bobby stood watching him go, unsure what to do next. It took him a few seconds to remind himself Gabriel was standing next to him.
“Sorry, I’ll leave,” he said, feeling awkward.
“No you won’t,” said Gabriel, pulling him inside and closing the door.
He walked Bobby over to a sofa by the window and pushed him down onto it. Bobby’s whole body felt numb. A bottle of water was placed in his hand.
“Drink this. I’ll be back in a minute.”
“Where are you going?”
“I’m just going to make myself decent.”
He looked up and realised for the first time that Gabriel had nothing on other than a towel around his waist. Bobby had never seen his body before.
Gabriel was ripped. He didn’t have Bobby’s bulk, but you could see the ridges of his abs.
His body was smooth, which showed off his physique more.
The guy was stunning, which was a really weird thing for him to be thinking right now.
It was probably just admiration for his physique.
He’d thought that about other guys he’d seen at the gym.
Gabriel had a concerned look on his face, so Bobby just nodded. Gabriel left, and Bobby heard the bathroom door close after a few seconds. That was when the tears came.
How could she do this to him? How could his best friend do this to him?
Was it something Bobby had done to drive her away?
Could Dillon offer her something he couldn’t?
He’d overhead enough to know this had been going on for a while.
It explained why she’d been so distant, and he’d suspected something like this might have happened, but with Dillon?
Why did it have to be with his best friend? Didn’t Bobby matter to anyone?
Before he could spiral any more, he was pulled into strong arms. He buried his face in Gabriel’s chest and sobbed his heart out.
Bobby and his brothers had a father who had never been ashamed to show his emotions, which was good, as Bobby and Ryan were criers.
Martin was more measured, which sometimes came across as emotionless.
That wasn’t the case, but Bobby had seen the Terminator film when he was young and asked Martin if he was one of the unfeeling robots from the future.
He snorted at the memory of the ridiculousness of it.
“It’s good you can still laugh,” said Gabriel.
“I was just remembering something about my brothers from when we were kids.”
“Do you want to call them?”
“I probably should, but they’ll only rush in and try to fix everything.”
“That’s what big brothers do.” He stiffened. “Sorry, that was insensitive of me.”
“It’s fine. She’s still your sister. You love her.”
“Yes, but I don’t like her very much right now.”
That gave Bobby a warm, tingly feeling, like he mattered to someone outside of his family. Right now, he’d never felt more alone.
“Why was Dillon here?” he asked.
Gabriel sighed. He was stroking Bobby’s back with his hand. It felt comforting and supportive.
“He came to ask me not to tell you about him and Alex.”
Bobby looked up at Gabriel. The man had tears in his eyes, and a sense of dread washed over him.
“How long have you known?” he asked, bracing himself.
“About an hour longer than you.”
He exhaled the breath he’d been holding. “How did you find out?”
Gabriel looked torn, and Bobby didn’t want to make him uncomfortable. This couldn’t be an easy situation for him. It was his sister, who Gabriel was very protective of. She spoke so highly of him too, which was why Bobby had wanted to do all he could to ensure they were good friends.
“It’s okay, you don’t need to tell me. I’m just trying to work out what to do next. I guess I need to tell the others something. We’re supposed to be going speed car racing in a couple of hours. No way I’m doing that.”
“Just say you’re not feeling well. I can tell them, so you don’t have to speak to anyone.”
Gabriel’s eyes darted nervously, and he looked at the floor. Bobby wasn’t sure what had caused it, then his lawyer brain kicked in and all the pieces started fitting together.
“How many people know?” he asked, his stomach churning.
Gabriel’s eyes widened before softening, and he smiled.
“What?” asked Bobby.
“Good looking and smart,” he replied, before his eyes widened again.
Bobby chuckled. “I’m happy to take any compliments right now. But Gabriel, you need to tell me.”
Gabriel explained how he’d overheard his uni friends talking about his fiancé and best friend in the pool.
“What did they say when they saw you?” asked Bobby.
“They didn’t see me. I left when they were splashing around and annoying other people. I came back to my room.”
“So, why was Dillon here?”
“Alex called him.”
“Why would . . . because you called your sister to hear her side first?”
He nodded.
“And she admitted it?”
He nodded again, looking uncomfortable. Bobby hated putting him in this position.
Gabriel had done nothing wrong, just overheard something he shouldn’t have, and it had spiralled from there by the sounds of it.
Bobby stood up, as he was feeling antsy.
Pacing around usually helped him gather his thoughts.
He glanced over at the bed and saw Gabriel’s suitcase half packed.
“What’s this?” he asked, walking over and pointing at it.
“Oh . . . I was going to . . .” He trailed off.
“If I hadn’t overheard you and Dillon, you wouldn’t have told me, would you?”
Gabriel was chewing his lower lip. Bobby hadn’t seen him anxious like this before.
Part of him wanted to reassure Gabriel that he understood the position he was in, but his rational brain had disappeared from this conversation.
All he felt was anger that the one person he thought was on his side actually wasn’t.
His sister would always come first, which would have made sense if he was thinking calmly, but he wasn’t.
He had to get out of here. Bobby rushed for the hotel room door, but before he could open it, Gabriel had his hand against it.
“I need to be by myself, Gabriel,” he said, not looking at him.
“Please, would you let me explain first?”
Bobby turned and looked at him. There were tears rolling down his cheeks, and Bobby had this overwhelming urge to wipe them away. What was that all about? Gabriel gestured towards the sofa, the implication clear. Bobby wasn’t getting the chance to leave until Gabriel had talked to him.
Once Bobby was sitting down, it was Gabriel’s turn to pace.
“When Alex confirmed things, she said the plan was to tell you when you were both home. She wasn’t intending to go through with the wedding.
I was being selfish. I couldn’t betray my sister, but I also didn’t want to be here lying to your face.
I thought it would be best if I just left.
Alex . . . she didn’t want me to do that.
She thought it would arouse your suspicions, or at least afterwards you’d connect the dots. ”
Bobby nodded at him. He would have put it together, but he also would have been concerned about why Gabriel had left. Bobby wasn’t sure if he’d have been able to enjoy the rest of his stag do knowing Gabriel was upset about something he might have done, but he didn’t need to say that.
“When Alex wouldn’t listen to reason, I hung up on her. She must have called Dillon, because I’d only just gotten out of the shower when he was banging on my door.”
“What did he say?”
“Told me not to say anything, and to unpack my case.”
“He threatened you as well.”
Gabriel laughed. “I’d like to see him try.”
Bobby raised a questioning eyebrow.
“When you grow up as a queer black lad in South London, you have to know how to look after yourself.”
A rush of heat rippled through Bobby’s body. What the fuck was going on with him today? His emotions were all over the place.
“What do you want to do?” asked Gabriel.
“I haven’t got a fucking clue.”
“Have you eaten today?”
“I’m not hungry.”
“That wasn’t the question.”
“No,” he sighed. “I haven’t eaten. Dillon dragged me out of bed at the arse crack of dawn to go . . .”
“To the Canyon?”
“How did you . . . he told you, didn’t he?”
“Yeah, he didn’t seem happy about it.”
That was an understatement. Dillon had been monumentally pissed off when Bobby said he wasn’t going on the trip.
They were already at the airfield before he learned what was happening.
When Bobby explained he’d already made plans with Gabriel, Dillon had spent an hour trying to persuade him.
Bobby had made a promise to Gabriel, and he didn’t let people down.
“I’ll order some food and we’ll make a plan,” said Gabriel.
“Do you think the others know? Not the ones you overheard, the rest. They are on the same rugby team as me and Dillon.”
“I don’t know. I haven’t seen them since last night. They weren’t at breakfast or hanging around with the others.”
“You had breakfast with the guys?” asked Bobby, surprised.
“No. We spoke briefly, but I ate by myself.”
“Why?” asked Bobby, prickling.
“They were having a conversation, and I didn’t want to intrude.”
“Gabriel?” His voice had deepened, which hadn’t been intentional.
“I didn’t feel welcome. They didn’t say anything specific. It was just something I picked up on. It’s hard to explain.”
“No it’s not. You’re an intuitive guy.”
They both looked at each other for a few seconds. Neither of them spoke, but it didn’t feel uncomfortable. Bobby wasn’t sure what it was, but he was feeling something.
The moment passed, and Gabriel went about ordering food. Bobby looked at his phone. No messages from Dillon or Alex. Was he expecting something? Did he want to talk to them? Would he be willing to give Alex another chance if she apologised?
If it had been someone other than Dillon, could he have forgiven her?
He wasn’t sure, but it was Dillon, and he had to deal with the situation in front of him.
Outside his family, the two closest people in his life had betrayed him in the worst possible way.
He’d never felt more alone in his life. Bobby looked over at Gabriel on the phone, ordering food, and his heart warmed. Maybe he wasn’t as alone as he thought.