8. Money Makes The World Go Round
James fell through the door a few minutes later, looking so much like his normal self that I nearly crushed him as I barrelled into him for a hug. He staggered on his feet at first and then hugged me back, taking care not to graze the stitches on my forehead.
My entire life had shifted over the course of a few hours. Seeing James here in this overly extravagant hotel in his rumpled maroon hoodie - complete with his messy, dark hair and usual scowl was the closest thing I’d felt to normal all day.
Andy stood a few paces behind James and winked at me as I mouthed my thanks to him. He disappeared into the corridor and let the door close with a gentle ‘click’ behind him. It was time to face the music, and no, that wasn’t just a ironically placed pun that seemed to fit the situation I was in perfectly. If anyone was blunt enough to tell me what to do about the band, the contract... all of this, it was James.
“They manhandled me before I was allowed in.” He grunted, his eyes raking over the humongous room. Ellie’s face was blank as she nodded to him from the couch, her usual sunny demeanour completely absent.
It always surprised me growing up that people found James intimidating. Maybe it was because I’d known him for so long that I was able to look past his hostility. Or maybe it was because I was the only one who knew about that time he’d wet his Spiderman pyjamas at karate camp.
“It’s because I’m a diva now.” I wandered to the fridge and tossed him that beer I knew he was dying for. “They have to make sure you’re not here to assassinate me.” I winked to let him know I was kidding.
His expression remained sour as he stared at me. The beer sat on the bench in front of him, unopened. “It’s not funny, Ava. You have no idea how it was to turn on the TV and see your face on the news.”
A fresh wave of guilt washed over me. I’d waited hours, I should’ve called him sooner. It was a shitty thing to do. A small part of me knew that I’d called Ellie first because I knew exactly what James would say. Or rather, what he wouldn’t say... he’d be too pissed off to say much.
“Cut her some slack.” Ellie chimed in. “It wasn’t exactly a load of laughs for any of us.” She appeared beside me and pulled a bottle of water from the fridge. James glanced at her in surprise, as if he’d forgotten she was there.
“She called you first.” He growled. “We had no idea what was going on or if you’d been injured. After charging a guy with a gun, by the way.”
“She knows.” Ellie narrowed her eyes. “She was there.”
I felt terrible. I knew James well enough to know that he was just angry because he didn’t know what else to be. I could see the worry lines in his expression. And despite the fact that Ellie wasn’t the type to bicker, around James, she seemed to rise to the occasion.
“She was injured and I’m her roommate.” Ellie’s grey eyes turned to steel. “I was the closest. They were taking her to the hospital for god’s sakes!”
James opened his mouth to reply and then closed it. He turned to me with his eyes wide.
“You went to the hospital.”
It was more a statement than a question. His words seemed to linger in the air, their implication like a weight on his shoulders. He cleared his throat. “How are you feeling now? It looked like a hard fall. What did the scumbag weigh? Two-fifty pounds?”
I felt the tension in the room dissipate slightly, as we slipped into familiar conversational territory. Discussing the hits we’d taken after a fight was routine between us. It was comfortable. I let out a shaky laugh and shrugged.
YOU ARE READING
Chasing Blue Roses
Humor"He was the type of guy who would break your heart into thirty million pieces and make sure you had the time of your life while he was doing it. It was the kind of heartbreak where after he was done, you'd drag yourself up off the ground, compl...
