Page 23 of Tell Me When It's Over

“We know what the place is like,” Zayne tells me. His eyes must be on me because the top of my head burns like a pair of eyes are willing me to look up. “Because we live there too.”

My head snaps upward. “What?”

They’re both grinning, though Garrick’s is obscured by what little I can see in his reflection. “Not too far from your place,” he confirms.

I blink. I’m not sure Kyler will be happy knowing that unless he suddenly got over his rift with the guys. Namely, the one driving right now. To my knowledge, he’s friendly with Zayne, Jax, Cal, and Manning. I even remember him and Mia telling me about a few parties they all went to together shortly before he left. Then again, I’m sure they attended a lot of the same events considering the social circles they run.

When they know I won’t give them the answer they want, they move on. They ask why I’m out and about, what I’ve been doing, things I should have asked them first out of kindness. I manage to answer without stuttering or sweating through my shirt, which I take as a victory. “Job hunting. I think I may have found something that will work for me.”

“Job hunting?” Zayne makes a face. “At that place? Surely you can ask one of the Bishops to find you something nicer if you’re that bored.”

Bored. I suppose they don’t remember what it’s like to have to work out of necessity. I’m glad they made it out of their circumstances, Zayne especially from the stories he told on their docuseries, but I won’t know what that’s like anytime soon. Maybe never.

“It seems like a good place,” I respond quietly, seeing the gate that surrounds the neighborhood we’re apparently all in.

“Good tippers, I suppose,” he relents. I admit, I considered that when doing a Google search on where to apply. Anywhere where people had money to spend was a good pick. Plus, it’s somewhere in the middle of the house and campus, which means getting there and back won’t be bad.

Garrick fills the lulls in silence by asking about school. UCLA seems like my best option, but I haven’t heard back since I’m applying for late admission. He mentions that his younger brother was accepted to Stanford, UCLA, and a few schools on the east coast but he opted not to go. I vaguely remember seeing pictures of him years ago, but don’t remember his name. He’s not in the spotlight like Garrick.

I’m surprised when the attractive Aussie suggests, “Maybe you two can meet sometime, yeah? I’m sure he’d

like that. Lives a few neighborhoods away with Mum. Could use a friend or two that isn’t some hairy man online that he games with.”

Um…

I give him a hesitant reply, something that sounds like “yeah” before going silent again. It’s a sweet thought, I guess, since I don’t have any friends here besides Kyler and Mia. Maybe it’d be nice to meet other people before college. Practice socializing since I’m seemingly bad at it. Plus, it sounds like I could have things in common with his brother since he’s only famous by association. I know what that’s like.

It isn’t long before we’re outside the house I call home now, where Garrick asks for the keycode to drive me in. My hesitation has them both looking at me in wait. Zayne with amusement, and Garrick with a quirked brow.

“I don’t think I should give it away,” I murmur in embarrassment. They’ve been nothing but kind, so I don’t want to offend them, but I’m trying to think of Kyler. “I can just walk in from here. But I appreciate the—”

“Come on,” Garrick says. “How about you enter it and we’ll drive you in? We’re not going to do anything.”

My eyes go to the driveway, where Kyler’s car sits. Oh no. He was supposed to be with Gordy and a few of his old producers meeting about new songs he wrote until at least four. I think he mentioned an old country artist was coming out of retirement and wanted to cover a song he wrote as his come-back single.

Neither of the guys in front of me seems to notice whose car it is, though, because it’s new. As in, Kyler just bought it the day after agreeing he’d stay here for me. His old one, the pretty red Mustang he’s known for, is parked in the garage, which fits three vehicles. Ridiculous because we only have two, despite Ky telling me he’d help get me a “cheap” one for before school starts. His version of cheap and mine are vastly different, so I informed him I’d take the bus. An argument we still fight over because he insists that “public transportation is for murderers and rapists looking for young girls” which doesn’t scare me as much as he probably wishes it did.

“I get it. Don’t want us to meet your sugar daddy, right? We’re not going to judge you. You have to do what you have to do.” My stomach churns over Garrick’s assumption, even though his tone is teasing I can’t help but wonder if that’s what they really think.

“I’m not living with…I don’t have a…” Flustered, I close my eyes and inhale slowly. I usually handle myself better with flirts like him, but it’s hard knowing who he is. Not feeling like continuing this conversation, I ask to get out and punch the code in myself. To my surprise, they don’t fight me.

When the gate starts to open, the front door does too. I pale when Kyler comes storming out of the house shirtless with his running shorts on, directly toward the vehicle I’m still standing beside. Sweat slicks down his chest like he just finished his run, even though it’s late and hot.

From inside the car, I hear, “Well, this just got interesting.” Based on the lack of accent, I know it came from Zayne.

“What the hell, Leighton!” Ky booms, stopping just short of me. His eyes are narrowed at the people inside. “I knew when I saw the cameras, I wasn’t actually seeing you get out of Garrick’s car.”

Uh-oh. “Well—”

“It’s nice to see you too,” Garrick cuts in with a smartass smile on his face that provokes Kyler more. “We saw your little friend here walking and decided to give her a ride.”

“Leighton,” Kyler corrects like a slice to my chest, “could have called me or my sister to pick her up if she needed a ride.”

I can’t help but stare at him with pitiful eyes and a rip in my heart. Does he not consider us friends anymore? Or does he just not want others knowing we are? Either way, it’s a cut to my heart that I can’t ignore. I know my mother caused a lot of bad press for them, but I didn’t think he cared. Usually, he liked seeing Harry pissed off, and Katherine’s bigger-than-big lie did just that.

Unable to pretend that our questionable friendship doesn’t hurt, I grip the cell phone in my hand and turn to the men having a stare off with Kyler. “Thank you for the ride.”

Garrick smiles brightly at me. “Anytime, sweetheart. You know, if you give me your number, I could—”

---