Chapter 15
Tegan
I throw my backpack over my shoulder and look back at Alec. I’m really hoping I get the hang of this selling thing, because I don’t want Stacks to boot me from the crew. I need to be here, with them. And besides, I kind of like being around Alec. I feel safe with him.
“Ready?” he asks.
I touch my forehead. “I don’t know if I should cover this bruise.”
He smirks. “Leave it. It might help with sales.”
We close the door behind us and walk toward the parking lot at the end of the building. Alec slams into Tye as he comes around the corner, and Tye’s backpack falls out of his hand and hits the pavement.
“Watch it, Ace,” he says playfully as he leans down to grab his bag.
“You ran into me, actually.”
“Yeah, right.”
With a laugh, he stands and goes to say hello to me, but the smile slides off his face when he sees the bruise.
His mouth falls open, and his eyes leap from me to Alec, then back again.
I don’t even register what’s happening as he drops his bag and pushes Ace against the wall.
He presses his weight into him. His arm lands across his chest to keep him from getting out of his grasp.
“Did you hit her?”
God, I knew I should have tried to cover it or something. I’m not above giving myself impromptu bangs.
I rush to Ace’s aid, trying to tug Tye’s shirt to get him to let go.
“She fell!” Alec says, and I realize how absolutely shitty it sounds as soon as it leaves his lips. That’s everyone’s excuse when it comes to domestic violence. But he didn’t hurt me. I genuinely fell.
“Bullshit!” Tye shouts.
“Tye, he didn’t hit me!” I try to squeeze between them, but Tye is an immovable force. Anger radiates from him in heated waves.
He throws his ice-blue gaze toward me. “You fell?”
“I passed out.”
Tye looks at Alec again, and his eyes narrow.
“Tye, how long have you known me? Come on. You know better than this. I would never hit a woman.”
His features are unreadable for what feels like an eternity before he pulls his arm away and releases Ace. My cheeks blaze hot. I’m coming between two best friends, and I haven’t even been here long.
Alec doesn’t seem mad as he rubs his chest. My unease lessens, but I’m still waiting to relax.
Tye turns toward me, and his hands go for my face. He lifts my chin and wipes some stray hair away so that he can see the bruise more clearly.
“Ace,” Tye says, “would you mind stepping into your room for a minute?”
“Sure,” he says. He nods and walks away as some unseen conversation passes between them. Once he’s out of earshot, Tye turns his attention back to me.
“He’s not here. You can be honest with me. Did he hit you?” His fingertips burn my skin. I’ve never had anyone else care about me like this. Besides Alec.
I place my fingers over his and remove them from my face. I look into his eyes. “No, Tye. I had a panic attack, and I fainted. Hit my head on the bed frame, I think.”
His blue eyes reach into me, searching for any hint of a lie. If he asked Alec, he’d know I haven’t been very good at lying thus far.
“I promise, Ace didn’t hurt me.”
He finally relaxes, and so do I. “I love Ace like a brother, but I would disown him entirely if I found out he hurt you.”
I reach out and touch his arm, and my fingertips meet with stiff ridges of skin.
Without being obvious, I steal a glance.
Scar tissue runs along his inner arm in lines.
He cuts? My mother self-mutilated, and I recognize the signs instantly.
I don’t remove my hand from him because I don’t want him to notice that I noticed.
“He hasn’t hurt me. I promise.”
He brushes my hair behind my ear, and the simple motion sends shivers up my spine.
“Hey, guys,” Ace says as he approaches again. “Hate to break this up, but you know how Stacks is about the schedule.”
I nearly break my neck to get away from Tye’s touch. I expect Alec to get mad, to say something about what he just saw, but he only checks his phone. Meanwhile, I’m nearly pissing myself as if I just got caught fucking cheating.
“Be good to her, Ace,” Tye says with a warning snip in his tone.
Ace nods.
What a weird, cryptic thing to say. Either way, the tension seems to dissipate from them, but not from me.
I’m overcome with panic as we head to the van.
The anxiety goes right to my gut, and I’m suddenly starving.
The muffin from an hour ago doesn’t feel like enough anymore. I want to eat. I need to eat.
Ace must notice something is wrong, because he pulls me aside and motions Tye forward. Tye leaves us alone after a moment of hesitation. We’re in the nook where the vending machines are, and all I can focus on is that hum—the sound of a vessel holding a snack. Or two. Or three.
“You don’t need to eat, pup. You aren’t hungry; you’re panicking. Don’t let what happened between me and Tye bother you. Tye is a good guy, and if he cares about you, I love that for you both. You deserve to have people who care about you.”
I blink up at him. His words soothe me like a balm. And when he puts his hand on my cheek and leans into me, I can’t even think about my hunger anymore.
“You don’t need food to calm your anxiety. If you’re anxious, let me feed you with this instead.”
He leans down to kiss me, and the worries evaporate. I haven’t even had time to process his words, let alone his kiss. Was he encouraging me to pursue something with Tye? And if so, why?
Probably so that he can go have some fun with Delia.
If that’s his angle, no thanks.
But for now, I return the kiss. There will be time to figure out everything later. Right now, we need to get in that van. It’s time to head to the next city.