Page 69 of Joey

Ethan’s voice was a balm he hadn’t realised he needed, and Joey lay back on the bed and closed his eyes, imagining Ethan was lying beside him, talking right into his ear.

“Hi. How are your parents?” he asked.

“They’re fine. Mum is grumpy because she can’t do as much as she wants to, but she’s managing. I think Dad’s worse off because he’s having to put up with her moods.” Ethan chuckled. “He doesn’t mind. Not really.”

“I didn’t doubt for a moment he did. How is the house?”

“Same as I left it, though I should’ve thought to empty the fridge before I left. There was some nastiness in there I never want to smell again.”

Joey laughed. “Oh, god. I can imagine.”

“How was your evening? You mentioned someone called Ryker. That’s an interesting name.”

Joey slid an arm behind his head and explained about the whole motorcycle club thing and how he came to be the one to tattoo them. “Ryker is actually called Ryan. One of his friends started calling him Ryan the Biker, and it ended up being shortened to Ryker. And it stuck.” Until that evening, he hadn’t realised quite how close they had become, and he finally moved them into the “friend” category he always saved for those he knew before his unexpected climb to fame.

“Have you had any problems since you’ve been there?” he asked. “David’s not been in contact or anything?”

“No. I’ve not heard anything from him. Christi called earlier to confirm tomorrow’s night out, but that’s it. I’ve not heard from anyone but Ani.”

“Ani?”

“Yeah, she messaged to make sure I got here safely.”

Joey smiled. “I’m glad. I had a feeling you would become best friends in no time if you ever met.” Ethan’s laughter filled his soul, and Joey sighed. “I miss you.”

He could almost feel Ethan’s smirk through the phone line. “It’s only been fourteen hours.” He paused. “Not that I’ve been counting or anything.”

“Fourteen hours too many, in my opinion.”

“I agree. Not long to go, though.” Ethan sighed. “How has this become my life?”

“What do you mean?”

“I’ve found a man I love, I’m moving to London, and I’ve found a job I believe I will enjoy all in the space of two weeks. How is it possible to have everything fall into place in such a short time? It seems inconceivable.”

“It does, but it’s right for us.” He remembered the phone call from Grey. “Grey called me earlier. He said Robert had been hanging around more, checking up on him. I don’t know what to think about him now that we know he’d been at the party.”

“Me either, in all honesty. I took everything he said originally at face value, but maybe we should find out more before deciding if to trust him completely.”

“I might get a friend to look into him and see what they can find.”

“It certainly wouldn’t—Holy shit!”

Ethan’s outburst coupled with the sound of glass smashing had Joey sitting upright. “What? Ethan? What happened? Ethan? Ethan!”

****

Chapter 19

Ethan

Glass shattered and splintered through the air as Ethan covered his head with his hands. The pinpricks of the shards hitting him made him hiss, but he waited until the sound ended before lifting his head again. The front window was in pieces, cool air blowing through the gap.

“What the hell?” he said, staring at the brick now decorating his living room floor. He knew better than to touch it, but he knelt closer to see if there was anything on it. White markings were on the side that he could see, but he couldn’t decipher them without moving it, so he left it. No matter what it said or didn’t say, he had a feeling who had sent the “gift.”

“Ethan! Ethan!”

The tinny buzz of his name registered, and he dived for his phone, which he’d dropped when he’d covered his head.

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