Page 17 of Pretty Poisoned

"Can we go back downstairs now?" Hazel asks.

I take that as my cue and backtrack down the staircase. I sit next to Brady, who looks at me and shakes his head. Across from me, two girls I haven't met light another joint.

"Hi," I say to them. "I'm Teag—"

"Oh, that's not necessary," Brady stops me.

The girls laugh a little, although I'm not sure why. I'm not sure they know why, either, but they go back to what they were doing and don't seem to care.

"What do you mean?" I ask.

"You don't need to know who they are," he explains. "They aren't family. We picked them up in L.A., and Declan has a strict two-stop rule for non-family members. They'll be hitchhiking home or doing who the fuck knows what after tonight. They definitely won't be coming home with us."

I wonder if this counts as my first or second stop on the tour. I drove my own ass up here, so surely, it's the first. But…

"Home?"

He nods. "The next stop on the tour isn't until Thursday night in Seattle. After the show, we're going home to Coeur d'Alene. It's about a fifteen-hour drive, so we'll probably get there in the evening, depending on when we leave."

"Are they going to take me?"

He raises an eyebrow. "He took your blood, didn't he?"

"Yeah…"

"I'd say yes, then," Brady says. "But get ready. Home isn't for the weak."

"What does that mean?"

"We're back," River interrupts before he can answer. "You can put your stuff in our room, Teagan. Come on."

I follow her to a cabin on the first floor near the end of the bus. There's a full-sized bed and just enough room to walk around. Everything inside is red, black, and gold, just like the main living area of the cabin.

"You can throw your bag wherever," she says, then points to the back corner of the room. "There's a teeny tiny bathroom and shower behind that door, an overflowing closet behind that one, and that's pretty much the whole tour. We're going to be nice and cozy in here."

"It's fine," I tell her. "I'm used to small spaces."

"We need to go in, Riv," Hazel says from the doorway. "They're going to be taking the stage soon."

"Oh, shit," River says, then looks back to me. "Let's go."

Hazel takes River's hand, lacing their fingers together before pulling her into her body. "I missed you today," she tells her.

"I missed you, too," River says.

Then, she backs her into the door frame, pressing her body against hers. I watch as she leans in, her pierced tongue running along River's lower lip before she opens, letting her into her mouth. Hazel moans, gripping River by the hips as she tugs on her lip with her teeth.

The pink-haired girl leans in and whispers something into River's ear, sliding her hand up the back of her skirt. She smiles and laughs before she breaks away.

"Come on, Teagan."

With her free hand, she takes mine, and the three of us walk past a security guard and through the back door of the dark venue.

At the end of the hall, we slip into a small lounge just as Luca walks out.

"Hey, no way," he says when he sees me. "You made it."

"Yeah, I—"

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