I squeezed him so close to me as my tears fell. Tears for a lost brother who meant the world to me, and tears for a boy who was my everything, my future, my Ryan.
“Don’t cry,” he said, wiping my sadness away and kissing my damp cheeks. “I did it so you wouldn’t cry.”
I laughed and hugged him even harder.
“Thank you. That’s probably the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me… And for Danny too. You, Ryan Hardy, are one in a million and I’m never gonna let you go.”
“I’ll hold you to that.”
Once we’d showered and dressed, we made our way downstairs into the kitchen. I froze when I heard the sizzling of a frying pan and smelt the bacon and eggs cooking.
“Morning, lovebirds.” Connor was standing at the oven, rustling up a breakfast feast, grinning like an idiot and wearing an apron that said, ‘Wanna see my sausage?’ “Figured you two would need the energy from a good hearty breakfast after your bedroom Olympics last night… And this morning.”
I felt the heat burning up my face and I glanced over at Ryan, but he was glaring daggers at his brother.
“Put some headphones on next time,” he spat back, then under his breath he muttered, “fucking perv.” He walked over to me and gave me a hug then turned back to his brother. “You’ve embarrassed my girlfriend. I know you’re shit at talking to women, but show some fucking respect next time, okay?”
“It’s fine,” I said, trying to calm him down.
Connor just huffed out a laugh and looked back at me as he shuffled the frying pan. “You’re not shy around me are you, Em? Don’t be. I’m a pussy cat.”
Ryan went to say something, but the banging of the front door made us all jump.
“Who the fuck is calling round this early?” Connor took the pan off the gas, turned the oven off, and stalked away to answer the door.
When Zak and Finn came charging into the kitchen seconds later, looking like they hadn’t slept a wink, I knew our day was about to get a hell of a lot worse.
“What the fuck is going on?” Ryan asked, looking between the two of them. From the tone of his voice I don’t think he really wanted to know.
“We’ve been trying to ring you both all night,” Zak said and then looked to Finn for back-up.
“Our phones died. Why? What’s going on?” Ryan took my hand and we both sat down at the table in the middle of the kitchen. Zak and Finn stayed standing and Connor busied himself plating up the eggs and bacon.
“Want to stay for breakfast?” Connor asked, not reading his audience very well.
“We’re not hungry.” Zak grimaced and Finn nodded.
“Jesus, guys. Talk about dragging out the suspense. You’re worse than old women. Spit it out, Atwood,” Connor said as he put the food onto the table and sat down next to me, helping himself to a large portion of scrambled eggs.
“It’s Brandon.”
“Isn’t it always?” Ryan interrupted.
“It’s worse this time. It’s so much worse. He’s gone. Last night… It all went to shit. The police are after him. We have no idea where he went, but it’s… Fuck, it’s bad.”
Zak wasn’t making any sense and Ryan pushed the chair next to him out to tell him to sit down.
“You need to slow down and start from the beginning, mate. What happened?”
Zak slumped into the chair and Finn pulled out another one to join him. They both looked beaten, and when they started talking, we realised exactly why.
I’d put everything on the line tonight. I’d stuck my fucking neck out for that girl, to tell her how I felt, and what did she do? She ripped my fucking heart out and threw it away like it meant nothing. I thought she was different. That she got me. But she was just like the rest. All she saw was a fucked-up mess, a fighter, a street rat. I wasn’t good enough for her. I wasn’t good enough for anybody.
When she’d pulled away, scowling at the fact that I’d kissed her, that hurt. But when she laughed in my face and told me she’d rather die than be with a man like me, I felt my insides crush with the weight of rejection. I’d never felt that pointless and fucking worthless before. Well, not for a long time, anyway. Emily Winters had managed to achieve what every opponent had failed to do to me over the years. She’d brought me to my knees and made me weak. It wouldn’t happen again.
I should’ve known Zak and Finn would stab me in the back the first chance they got. They couldn’t wait to tell Ryan what’d happened, making it sound like I was some fucking predator out to hunt his girl. I know I’d lashed out when I told Emily about the plan, but she had a right to know what’d happened. He wasn’t blameless in all this. He’d used her. He’d played a big fucking part in taking her down along with her father.
As far as I was concerned, they deserved each other. Ryan had the nerve to say he was done. Well, so was I. Some fucking best friend he was, putting pussy before his mates. I guess you never really know someone. I certainly didn’t recognise my friends tonight. Each and every one of them had turned their back on me. They’d chosen their sides and it wasn’t min