Regret

Chapter twenty Nine- Nice Tats

I found myself watching him a lot this week. I didn't mean to, but I just wanted to make sure he was doing okay. These past few weeks have been a lot on him, and he realised he lost a lot of friends as well as his mother.

I was worried about him.

Another reason why I caved into going to this party was because I wanted to meet his new friends. I wanted to ensure that they would be enough to keep him from rolling off the deep end.

I quickly focused on doing my mascara when he winked at me, catching me looking at him.

Neither of us said anything as we finished getting ready, listening to music on his phone as we did so.

I slipped into some black boots with a slight heel that I had packed for the funeral, but ended up not wearing.

"Damn, and here I was thinking I was over you." I rolled my eyes at Josh's comment, but the slight smile on my lips gave me away. Josh and I hadn't done anything the whole time I've been here, but that didn't stop the guy from making flirtatious comments.

He knew about the situation between Xander and me, and he respected my boundaries. From what he told me, he also had something going on with a girl named Rose, although he didn't say too much about her.

"Stop being a flirt." I shoved at his shoulder slightly as I walked towards the bedroom door.

He was hot on my tail and flicked the light switch off before replying. "Don't lie. You love it when I flirt." I shook my head at his behaviour and walked after him down the stairs, but he was right. I did enjoy his comments. Not only did they boost my self-esteem, but I would be worried if he stopped making those kind of comments to people. It would mean that he wasn't being himself.

Josh's dad was asleep on the couch when we reached the bottom of the stairs. He had a blanket thrown over him lazily with the TV playing quietly. I stayed in the entrance as Josh walked into the living room and pulled the blanket over his dad better. He then grabbed the remote and turned the TV off before turning back to me.

"How far is this party?" I asked once we had left the house and started walking down the drive. The town Josh lived in was bigger than the one I did. He lived on the upper side of town, and it would definitely take an hour or so to walk if it was on the other side.

"About 20 minutes away, come on, it's this way."

~

We had finally made it to the party.

Apparently, his friend Elijah was throwing it. I had briefly met three of Josh's friends at the funeral, but I couldn't remember their faces as that day was a bit of a blur. Although, the name Elijah stuck out to me like a sore thumb, and I couldn't figure out why.

As soon as we walked into the house, people looked at us. Mostly, people were staring at Josh. He ignored the looks of pity people were sending his way and wrapped his arm around my shoulder, leading me to the other side of the house.

"Be careful with drinks here, doll. It's not like the parties we have at home." He whispered by my ear so that I could hear what he was saying. I nodded my head to show that I understood what he was saying before we stepped into the kitchen.

Three guys who were at the funeral were standing by the drinks. Now that I had seen their faces again, I could remember who they were. The one to the left was named Connor. He had light brown eyes, almost a honey colour, which trapped you in instantly. They looked beautiful beside his darker complexion.

He kind of reminded me of the model Reece King but with more tattoos and a slightly bigger build.

The boy to the right was the opposite. His name was George. He was pale, almost ghostly looking, and had grey eyes that drew you in. There was something about him that screamed he had been through shit, and if you looked closely, you could see small scars on his face.

But it was Elijah that seemed to grab the attention of everyone around him. He was standing in the middle of the two guys. His frame was well built, and he was slightly taller than Connor. He definitely used his height to intimidate people.

I had spoken to the other two guys at the funeral, but I don't remember having a conversation with Elijah.

He was scrutinising my every move with his green eyes until he realised I had caught him staring before his eyes flicked back to Josh, who was saying something to him. Ink covered both his arms, and he even had a few on his right hand. Some looked put together and clearly had meaning, while others seemed purposely messy.

"You guys remember Taylor, right?" Josh asked, releasing his arm that was still on my shoulders as all three guys faced towards me. I sent them a smile as a way of saying hello.

"How could I forget a pretty face?" Connor asked. His eyes playfully looked towards Josh before sending a smirk my way.

"Don't," Is all Josh replied as he grabbed two red solo cups and poured in some vodka.

I stared at Elijah, trying to figure out where else I recognised him from, and then it clicked.

It was like the clogs in my head were turning this entire time, and now I had finally realised who he was. Elijah was the boyfriend of the girl that Josh flirted within the start of his year here. How the hell did they manage to become friends?

My eyes moved towards Josh, dancing with humor as I put the pieces together. His face dropped when he looked at me, and it didn't take long for him to realise that I knew. Josh handed me one of the drinks he made, telling me not to say anything with his eyes. So I didn't, but I made sure to remind myself to ask him about it later.

I took a sip of the vodka coke and flicked my eyes back to Elijah, who was still looking me up and down. I guess he didn't take kindly to newcomers.

"Nice tats." I complimented, trying to get rid of some of the tension, and I wasn't lying. He did have some pretty nice tattoos, although I wondered how he managed to get so many considering he's still in his senior year.

"Oh god, do you want him to get an even bigger ego?" Connor groaned, causing his friend to roll his eyes.

"I do not have an ego." Josh, Connor, and George snorted at their friend's reply, clearly disagreeing with their friend's statement. Before anyone could respond, Elijah quickly muttered that he had to go.

His green eyes trailed behind me and his entire attitude changed as he stood straighter with his shoulders squared back. He didn't wait for anyone to respond before he lightly placed his hand on my side, moving me out of his way so he could head over to the man waiting for him in the doorway.

The man was wearing a grey suit with the top button of his shirt done up. He had the same pale complexion as George, with golden blond hair and piercing blue eyes. The way he stood against the doorframe showed that he was comfortable here, but I couldn't tell if it was because he had been here before or because he was cocky.

My attention moved from the man in the suit, who was now in the middle of a conversation with Elijah, back to the boys. Not one of them looked happy to see this guy.

"Why the hell is Max here? I thought Elijah said there were no fights tonight?" George muttered angrily, but he was loud enough that I could hear him over the music.

"Fights?" I asked, looking towards Josh in questioning as his two other friends conversed between themselves.

Josh lifted the hand that wasn't holding his drink and scratched the back of his head. It was an action he did when he was nervous. "I guess I have some explaining to do, doll." He laughed nervously before downing the rest of his drink.

It didn't take a genius to know that Josh had gotten himself in a messy situation that he knew I wouldn't be happy about.

What on earth did he get involved with?