Dax and I freeze in place and exchange shocked looks. “You mean, every Friday night? Like a permanent thing?” I ask.
George pats my shoulder, “Of course like a permanent thing. They fucking loved you two.” His eyes dart from me to Dax, waiting for an answer. Before either of us can speak, he continues. “Have you ever thought of bringing in another guitarist and a drummer? Because my nephew is here with my sister for the school year. He’s American, and he and his mate have been looking for a few guys to play with. You’d be brilliant together.”
I shoot Dax a concerned stare, one eyebrow raised suspiciously. I don’t want to get stuck with George’s halfwit nephew for a band mate.
“Uhhh, we hadn’t really thought about it, George. To be honest, we’ve only just started seriously playing in the last year or so,” I tell him truthfully. Dax and I have both had guitars since we were ten, but it’s only recently that we started putting together actual songs and not just screwing around.
“No worries, I’ll have them stop by next Friday to see your show. You’ll love them!” George pulls a wad of bills out of his pocket and hands us each a large amount. “Here, you did great. See you next week!” He spins and disappears back into the pub.
“Lovely,” Dax hisses, “Now we get to babysit George’s nephew?”
I can’t worry about new band mates or George’s prat nephew. I’m too distracted by the thought of Ellie Palmer and whether or not she would be willing to kiss me again.
6
Ellie
“You can do this, Ellie,” I mutter as I walk toward my first period class.
I’m nervous to see Adam after I bailed Friday night at the DK. I told Kate my stomach hurt and convinced her to leave her friends and go home with me as soon as Adam and Dax’s set finished. That way, I wouldn’t have to face him at the pub. After the intense looks we had been exchanging all night, I was too afraid to find out what exactly, they meant.
Now, it’s Monday morning at eight, and I have no choice but to see Adam. This time, without the com
forting buffer of alcohol, a crowd of people, and dim lighting. Wow, am I ever stupid. I should have just gotten it over with at the pub on Friday night, because facing him today under the harsh fluorescents and stares of other students is going to be awful.
Taking a deep breath, I wipe my sweaty palms on my skirt, shoulder my bag and walk into the room. Keeping my eyes down, I let them flick up briefly as I approach my desk. When I see that Adam’s seat is empty, I’m simultaneously relieved and dismayed at the same time. I’ve only known him a few weeks, and haven’t spoken to him since that dreadful day. How is it that I’m so affected by him?
I drop into my chair and pull my brows together in confusion. From my observations over the past few weeks, I’ve noticed that he’s usually here by now. I waited until the last possible second to enter the classroom to make sure he would be here first. Thankfully, Callum and Ryan don’t say a word to me, or even acknowledge my presence. Strangely enough, they’ve been leaving me alone, but I’m afraid of what might happen today without Adam next to me.
The bell rings and I resign myself to a long day complete with a nervous stomach, crushing disappointment, and no sign of Adam. Somehow I trudge through my classes, hardly able to concentrate on anything my teachers say. Kate manages to get a laugh out of me at lunch, but that’s about the extent of my happiness.
“Ellie! Wait up!” I’m about to head home when I hear a deep male voice shouting my name. My body stiffens in fear as the heavy footsteps approach from behind.
Grabbing my overloaded book bag tight in my fists, ready to swing at an attacker if necessary, I spin around. “Dax! Bloody hell, you scared me!” I clutch my chest to calm my racing heart.
His eyebrows shoot up in surprise. “What? Oh shit, Ellie. I’m sorry.” Dax’s face and neck turn red with embarrassment when he realizes that he frightened me.
“So…” I twitch nervously, “what do you want?”
“Oh, I uh…” Dax runs a large hand through his very short blonde hair and looks around us nervously, not meeting my stare until he speaks again. “Can you come with me?”
I narrow my eyes and look up at him. “I think I’ve learned my lesson about going off with boys I don’t know. And why weren’t you and Adam in school today?” I’m acting somewhat braver than I probably should feel. Dax is absolutely massive, easily well over six feet tall and fourteen stone. His fist is probably as big as my head.
Dax turns and takes a few steps away from me, hands laced on the back of his neck, obviously struggling with what to say next. “Crap, Ellie.” He spins back to face me, his handsome features twisted up into a grimace and his brown eyes urging me to trust him. “You can’t go home alone, okay? Adam didn’t want me to tell you, but he’s been following you every day to make sure that Callum and Ryan don’t try anything and he can’t be here today. He… he asked me to bring you to his place.”
My heart soars at the news that Adam has been looking out for me all these weeks. All that time I thought he was ignoring me, watching girls throw themselves at him as I sat nearby, and he was actually worrying about my safety. As Dax’s words sink in, I become confused and frown. “Why can’t he be here? And why can’t you just walk me home?”
Dax huffs impatiently, waving his arms around as if he can’t speak without them moving. “Adam will explain it all when you see him. He really wants to see you Ellie, and he … he’s not in any condition to leave his flat.”
What?
Swallowing loudly, I decide to go along with his instructions and save all of my questions for Adam. “Okay Dax, take me to see him.”
It’s only about a ten-minute walk to Adam’s flat, but it feels much longer. I thought my street was bad, but it has nothing on Adam’s. Graffiti covers the abandoned properties, broken glass crunches under our feet, metal shells that used to be cars are left to rust alongside the curb, and everything smells like rubbish. It’s positively depressing.
Neither of us says anything, and Dax only speaks right before he opens the door to Adam’s rundown flat, hand hovering over the handle.
“Ellie, don’t freak out, okay?”