HEADLINE ✓

TRACK 33

I wasn't certain, but I had a feeling that I relapsed last night.

It wasn't the best way of waking up - that was for sure. It was confusing as all hell.

That sinking feeling began to creep its way in. Everything from last night flooded my vision. Nothing turned red. That was my one saving grace. There were no hallucinations of paint or blood that dripped down the walls this time. TJ had already fixed that.

Instead, it was only the painful recollection that I suffered from. Unfortunately, there was no cure to stop remembering the events of what I had done.

I wonder what our dear TJ would think about poor Annabelle.

I bet it would change her opinion of you quite a bit.

You know, for being a-

"Mmm, good morning," TJ said in a half-awake voice as she rolled over and rested her head against my chest.

I pressed a kiss to the top of her head, wrapping my arm around her to keep her close. "Morning. Sleep well?"

"Very well," she spoke softly, tracing the ink mark of one of my tattoos. "How's your hand?"

Stealing a quick glance, I shuddered quietly at its current bruised state. It wasn't painful in regards to the injury itself, more the reminder of how it resulted. "It's fine."

I wonder what our dear TJ would think about poor Annabelle.

I wonder what our dear TJ would think about poor Annabelle.

I wonder what our dear TJ would think about poor Annabelle.

I hoped he was all bark and no bite - but I worried about what would happen if that wasn't the case. What if Brandon came back and told her everything he supposedly knew?

The story of what happened had to come from me. She couldn't hear it from anyone else. But I wasn't ready for her to know. And I didn't want to be forced into telling her over some piece of scum like her ex-boyfriend.

Sweat began to pool on the palms of my hands. What if she thought I was a monster? What if she hated everything about who I used to be?

My chest began to tighten at the thought.

"Stay with me for the week."

TJ lifted her head. "The whole week?"

"Yeah, you're over almost every night anyway. With the album coming out next week, I know you'll get busy so I want to spend more time with you while I can. And for whatever you have going on this week, I'll make sure Mike drives you to wherever you need to go."

"I was only checking that I heard you correctly," she said with a grin, "But, I appreciate the speech to try and convince me."

There were hidden intentions behind her staying with me, ones she didn't have to know about. If she was with me, there was less of a chance he could come by. At least I could buy myself some time to figure out what I was going to do. Telling Jeff was the obvious answer to my problems, but him knowing about the situation worried me almost as much as TJ finding out. I feared he would find a way to blame our relationship for this becoming a problem - a problem he would have to clean up, once again.

At the end of the day, this was no one's mess but my own. It wasn't TJ's fault that she knew Brandon and he somehow knew the truth. And it wasn't Jeff's job to figure out how to fix it.

This one was all on me.

The sound of crashing glass met with Patrick's voice letting out a cry of despair was evident from down the hall.

"Well, I guess the clean-up crew has started," she said as she looked towards her door. "I better pack quickly and go give them a hand with cleaning. I can meet you at your house after if you want."