Page 23 of Dirty Rock

It definitely twitched that time.

Damn, Julia.She sure was strong… even when she obviously felt weak.

Chapter Seven

We were in the main suite again, three of us on one sofa facing the other two guys opposite us. I was wedged between Coops and Hawk, while Big D and Presley sat together. The atmosphere floating around this place was unsettling, and I wanted nothing more than to reach for a bottle of something to relax me.

“I’ve never seen Julia like that,” Coops said quietly, leaning forward and resting his elbows on his knees.

“Same,” said Hawk. “She’s usually so solid. Unshakeable.”

Presley released a sigh, leaned back and threw his arms over the back of the sofa. The sound of his leather jacket creaked, and his cool eyes found mine. “She’s as human as we are. Guess she’s having a bad day. We’ve just got to give her some time.”

“Very insightful, Gandhi.” I rolled my eyes.“Shall we burn some incense and pick a quote of the day to read out to her when she walks back in here, too?”

“Don’t be a prick, Rhett.”

I huffed out a quiet laugh. I was about to say something to break the weird tension in the room, when the door flew open, smacking against the wall with a bang that made all of us flinch and turn around.

Julia marched in, her movements urgent and her eyes erratic as she came to a stop in between us. Every member of Youth Gone Wild remained quiet, waiting for the big voice from the petite body to speak.

She was dressed in her usual outfit. Tight fitted jeans, white T-shirt, and a cropped blazer—only today’s was navy instead of black. She pushed her red-painted nails through her short, dark hair, moving the overgrown bits away from her eyes.

“Sorry about that,” she started, a small scowl immediately forming as she stared at a spot on the coffee table between the sofas. I glanced down at it, looking for something that could hold her interest and disapproval, but apart from a few papers, a couple of empty bottles, and an ashtray, there was nothing. “Actually, I’m not fucking sorry about that at all. They were warned not to ask questions, and she went and did it anyway.”

“Julia—” Big D started.

“Stupid bitch,” Julia spat quietly, cutting him off.

The guys and I all turned to look at one another, confused as hell. Okay, so the interview hadn’t gone to plan. It wasn’t the best we’d ever endured, but it also wasn’t the worst. We’d been through some shit over the last three and a half years, and not once had it ever gotten under Julia’s skin the way this one had.

“Julia, you’re worrying us. Is everything okay?” Presley rasped.

She turned and stared at him for some time, looking right through him until she blinked hard and quickly cleared her throat. Her back straightened like she’d only just realised she was back in the room.

“Yeah. Sorry. A little rattled, that’s all. I can’t stand people who go against their word. If we don’t have boundaries in this business, this whole thing can come crashing down around us.”

“It won’t,” he reassured her.

“It might,” she added, her brow rising as she held his gaze. “And what happens then, Presley, huh? You know how fickle the crowds are. They love you one minute, throw you under the bus the next.”

“We’ll do better. Tell us what to do, and we’ll do better.”

Julia smiled a sad smile and placed a hand on his shoulder.

Damn teacher’s pet. He was everyone’s favourite since Tessa came on the scene. The arsehole who used to roar, now the quiet little pussycat who liked to purr and sedate everyone with his calming vibrations.

I glanced between the two of them, something inside me stirring at the fact that Presley was the one to get through to Julia, and not me. I sat forward.

“Jules, listen, forget about that piece of shit in there. You did us all a favour by ending it. Let them deal with the mess they made.”

She turned my way slowly.

I hated seeing that sadness lingering in her eyes, and I couldn’t for the life of me understand why I gave a single shit—why her welfare mattered all of a sudden. But it did.

It really, really did.

“Not all of us are like you, Rhett,” she said quietly. “Not all of us like to find ourselves in the middle of a scene. Some of us feel like crap after a confrontation.”

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