Page 106 of Five Summers

“I have no idea what went down between you and Xander, he never told me. But I want you to know that if you need anything, don’t go to Reg. Come to me, Theo, or Nate. If you talk to Reg, it might go back to the label, so I'd prefer to handle it ourselves if we can.”

“Does Xander know what's going on?”

“No. Xander has no clue. Maybe that’s a good thing," he says as he gets up.

I down the last of my coffee and get up.

“I’ll be in touch, Poppy. I appreciate your help with this. Sorry to rush you, but we need to leave soon to catch our flight.”

I walk beside Ace as he leads me towards the glass doors. They slide open, and right before I take a step outside, Ace speaks up.

“Thanks again, Poppy, for doing this.”

I say nothing to Ace because I wasn’t doing it for them. I was doing it for myself and my son. It was our chance to have a better life. Nodding, I walk out of the hotel and make my way to my car.

The hotel parking attendant from earlier gives me a dirty look and keeps his eyes on me as I walk to my car.

Chapter forty-two

Xander

There's a sudden knock on my hotel door, and I don't feel like dealing with it. Whoever is on the other side, I wish they would just fuck off and leave me alone. I'm suffering from a killer hangover.

The knocking intensifies, turning into forceful thumping. “Xander, get the fuck up now and answer this door!” Ace shouts from the other side, his thumping growing louder by the second, aggravating the throbbing ache pulsating through my head. “We’re all downstairs waiting for you, asshole.”

Shifting my legs to the side of the bed, I run my hands through my hair as his relentless thumping persists. “For fuck sake, Xander!”

“Yeah, alright, I’m coming, asshole.” I muster the energy to push myself up from the bed and stride towards the door. With a forceful pull, I swing it open, desperate to halt the pounding that feels like a drill piercing my brain.

Ace glances down. “Put some clothes on, man. I don’t want to see your fucking junk. Now hurry up.” He walks into the room ahead of me.

Closing the door behind me, I turn around only to find a pair of jeans thrown at me, landing on my chest.

“Put these on now and hurry the fuck up. Reg is already pissed.”

“So what? The asshole can wait.”

I try to put on my jeans but almost fall over because I'm still feeling the effects of last night's alcohol. Damn, I bet I'd still be over the limit if I had to take a breath test.

“We were supposed to leave forty minutes ago. Why the hell didn't you answer your phone?” Ace asks, gathering my belongings from the floor as he moves around the room.

He throws me a crumpled shirt, signaling for me to put it on. I have a clean shirt in my bag that I never bothered to unpack, but I’m feeling too drained to retrieve it. The one I wore yesterday will do because I can’t wait to get out of this fucked up town that always brings me down.

“There’s something we need to discuss,” Ace says, walking over to the couch and hastily gathering all the items of mine that are scattered on the floor, stuffing them into a bag.

“Yeah, I get it, asshole. I need to quit drinking.” My mimicking tone echoes the words I’ve heard from him countless times over the past five years. “Or else I’ll end up like my father. I’ve heard this shit before. It’s time for a new subject.”

“No,” Ace replies. “Well, yes, you really should quit drinking. I already talked to Theo about keeping you supplied with bourbon all night.”

"Yeah, I never thought you'd become such a boring old fart at twenty-four, always bothering me with nothing else to do," I snap back.

“And I never thought I'd be the one to call out my friend for ruining our dream.”

“Fuck you.”

“Put on some shoes, asshole,” Ace says, when all my things are loaded up in my bag.

In an attempt to defy him, I act like a spoiled child as I walk over and grab my shoes. With determination not to comply with his request, I slip my phone into my pocket while holding the shoes in my hand. Making my way towards the door, I prepare to leave.

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