Page 64 of When We Fell Again
“It’s been a rough night,” I managed, my voice cracking.
“What happened?” He sounded much more alert this time.
Keeping the story as brief as possible, I told Jordan about Arlo’s proposition.
“What an utter prick. Where is the fucker? I’ll end him.”
I could feel Jordan’s anger crackling through the phone. “Please. Don’t go after him. We have a tour to finish.”
“How dare he treat you like that? Doesn’t he know how hard you work? I knew you shouldn’t have done this tour,” he raged. “You need to talk to Theo about this. Does he know he’s put you in a potentially dangerous situation? You should come home now.”
“I can’t. A few more dates and then it’s over.” The silence which met my statement said more than Jordan’s rant. “Look, I’m tired. I’m going to get some sleep. We’ll talk tomorrow.”
“Sure. Night, Lex.” And then he hung up on me. Tears formed in my eyes again. When I needed Jordan’s support, for him to comfort me, all I got was his anger.
Debating whether to call him back, I saw a message from Arlo.
Arlo: Such a shame you turned me and Suki down. You have amazing tits and the most perfect arse.
Dashing to the bathroom before I threw up all over the bed, I thought that maybe Jordan was right.
Maybe I should think about going home.
CHAPTER27
Jordan
I staredat the picture on Arlo Carmichael’s socials, a fireball of anger forming in my stomach. Swiping through the carousel of photographs, my blood boiled, the string of hashtags accompanying the bland caption only making it worse: #partyingwithmybabes, #tourlife, #tourfamily, #rockstarlife. Pictures of Arlo with Suki, his current girlfriend, other members of the band, and then the money shot, one of him with Lex and Claudia as they smiled for the camera. Was that before or after he’d propositioned them?
Wanting to hurl my phone against the wall, I restrained myself, the device being the only way I could communicate with Lex. I balled my hands into fists so hard my nails dug into my palms.
Since we’d spoken in the early hours, I’d barely slept, tossing and turning, replaying our conversation a million times in my head. I should have handled it better, shouldn’t have gone off on one, should have gone to Birmingham. Hindsight was a fucking marvellous tool. I’d tried calling Lex a few times already, but her phone went straight to voicemail. Having checked The Dicers tour schedule, I saw they were scheduled to play one of the football stadiums in Swansea the next night. I could go there, make sure she was okay, but I didn’t know whether to turn up unannounced.
Fuck. What’s the right thing to do here?
I let out a frustrated cream. Seconds later, Levi banged on the door.
“You all right in there, mate?”
If anyone could talk me down, Levi could. I needed a rational voice. One to quell the battling ones in my head.
“Yeah, but I could do with a chat.”
The door opened and Levi entered, a frown on his face. “If you’re asking to talk, there’s definitely something wrong.”
I tossed my phone in his direction. “Check out the pics on The Dicers page.”
Levi perched on the side of my bed and did as I suggested. “Lex looks great. How’s it going with Arlo?” He glanced over at me. “What?”
Pinching the bridge of my nose, I took a deep breath. “Last night, that fucker Arlo Carmichael asked Lex and Claudia if they wanted to take part in an orgy with him and his girlfriend.”
A laugh burst out of Levi’s mouth, quickly subsiding as I fixed him with a murderous stare. “He said what?”
Saying the words aloud again made the fire burn stronger in my chest.
“And I didn’t exactly support Lex when she told me. I lost it. With him, obviously, not her.” I dragged a hand through my hair, pacing around the room. “Now I think I should go to Swansea.”
Levi dropped my phone onto the bed. “You turning up in this state isn’t going to help anyone, least of all Lex. You go steaming in, all guns blazing, fight with Arlo, and what’s that going to get you? Probably a fat lip and a restraining order. Not to mention Lex being pissed at you.” He paused. “I get that you want to protect her, but she’s got Claudia and a whole road crew, who I expect hate Arlo as much as you do.”
