The Ruby Riot Series: Box Set Part 13

"It's all right. You're fine."

She looks at the bed and at me. "Did I ask you here? What's happening?" she slurs. When she checks her clothes, my stomach turns over. That's not me. I don't do that.

"Don't you remember what happened?"

She rubs a hand across her face and sinks back again. "No. Really tired, Jax."

What do I do? I pull my phone out and try several people - Nate, Will, random numbers of tour management that I have. No answer.

Ruby? No, it's midnight. She'd be p.i.s.sed off with me; and if Jem smells the drugs from the party, I'm f.u.c.ked.

Can I leave Tegan and find somebody to help? I grip my hair. Think. s.h.i.+t, I wish I was sober; my brain won't work. I've been around stoned chicks before, some taking similar s.h.i.+t to what I think Tegan's been given, and they were okay. How did this happen to her? She's not a nave kid. Tegan's travelled and kept herself safe. I stand, ready to leave and find Bryn, until Tegan sits again.

"Jax. What's going on?"

f.u.c.k, she has no idea. What if I leave Tegan and she stumbles off somewhere?

She attempts to stand and slumps again.

"I'm not sure. I'm going to find somebody to help, Tegan. I don't know how to help you."

"No. Don't go. I don't know what's happening." To my alarm, tears well in her eyes.

"I think your drink was spiked."

Tegan stares past me then sinks back down and turns to her side, curling up on the sheets, saying nothing. Her breathing deepens as I perch on the edge of the bed and wait for her response.

I want to lie next to Tegan, to hold her and make sure she's okay. Be there when she wakes up again and look after her. I half-laugh at myself; the idea of Tegan and me in bed wasn't like this. I stroke Tegan's long, dark hair from her pale face and kiss her cheek. Suddenly, I understand Bryn's overwhelming need to protect Tegan. The idea of anything or anybody hurting this girl sickens me.

"I'm going to sort this out," I whisper. "I'll be right back."

I don't know how I can, but there has to be somebody nearby who's sober enough to help. I fold the bedding from the other half of the large bed across Tegan and with one final glance, head to the hotel door.

Who else can I call? I uselessly scroll through contacts on my phone as I open Tegan's door and step out.

A tall figure heads along the hallway from the direction of the elevator and I freeze as he sees me. Bryn stops too and, as if to confirm my guilt, the door to Tegan's room closes loudly behind me.

Bryn strides closer, his face hard. "What the f.u.c.k are you doing coming out of my sister's room?"

12.

JAX.

Oh, s.h.i.+t.

The shock at seeing Bryn hits me as hard as I expect his fist to at any moment. Within seconds, Bryn is in my face and I back toward Tegan's door, bracing myself for his attack.

"Explain," he growls, closing the s.p.a.ce between us. His breath on my face smells strongly of alcohol, which isn't going to help the situation.

I hold both palms out in an attempt to stop us touching. "Bryn, listen -"

"Did you just come out of Tegan's room?"

"Yes, but -"

Air rushes from my lungs as my back slams against Tegan's door, Bryn's large hands on my shoulders. "You. Will. Regret. This."

"Bryn, I -"

"Did you not hear me when I told you my sister was off limits?" he interrupts loudly, his face darkening as he continues to grasp the wrong conclusion.

"Yes, I understand that. Bryn, listen -"

"No! You f.u.c.king listen!" His aggression silences my attempt to communicate, subdued by his bulk and anger. "I am so f.u.c.king close to punching you right now so you'd better give me the right answer here. Have you fuc..." He tightens his grip. "Have you had s.e.x with my sister?"

"What? No!"

Bryn's grip remains on my shoulders. "Then why are you sneaking out of her room? And where is she? Have you left her in tears because you couldn't get what you wanted?"

"No! I haven't! We haven't! That's not what happened!"

"So something happened?"

"What the f.u.c.k is going on out here?" yells another voice.

I look past Bryn along the hallway where a s.h.i.+rtless Jem stands in the doorway of a nearby suite. Bryn twists his head around too; I take advantage of Bryn's distraction and pull away from his hands.

Or try to. Without looking at me, Bryn curls his hands around my s.h.i.+rt, holding me in place against the door.

Jem storms across, barefoot. "What the h.e.l.l, guys?" He looks between us. "Bryn?"

"Caught this d.i.c.khead sneaking out of Tegan's room," he growls. "n.o.body treats my sister like that!"

"Jem, listen to me! Bryn won't!" I say, grabbing Bryn's hand before his grip on my s.h.i.+rt tightens the material around my throat any further. "I haven't done anything with Tegan, apart from help her into bed."

Bryn yanks me forward, nose centimetres away from mine. "You did what?"

"No, not like that!" This would be much easier if I was sober.

"What then?" snarls Bryn "I swear, I'm going to rearrange your pretty boy face if you've so much as touched her."

Jem puts a hand on Bryn's arm. "Bryn. Let him explain. Smacking him won't solve anything, f.u.c.k knows you've told me that enough times."

The two men stare at each other and Bryn's continued heavy breathing and tight grasp worry me. This guy is beyond p.i.s.sed off, I'm lucky he didn't hit first and ask questions later.

"Just b.l.o.o.d.y listen to me!" I pull at Bryn's arm. "Tegan isn't well! She needed help and I stepped in. I haven't done anything I left her in there, so I could look for you!"

Bryn slowly loosens his hand and I step to one side, re-adjusting my s.h.i.+rt. The anger in Bryn's eyes doesn't drop with his hand. "What do you mean she isn't well? Drunk?"

"No, I think it might be drugs and..."

"What the f.u.c.k? Stupid girl! Let me in that room!" Bryn grabs the keycard from my hand and shoves me to one side; I stumble, relieved the threat of violence has gone.

Jem steps closer and studies my face. "What's going on, Jax? Have you just screwed Bryn's sister? I didn't think you were that stupid!"

"No. I'm not that f.u.c.king stupid." I rake my fringe from my face. "Jem. Talk to him. I think somebody drugged Tegan."

Jem stiffens. "What the f.u.c.k?"

I stammer out what happened in the few minutes before Bryn arrived on the scene. With a black look and not another word, Jem follows Bryn into the room. I'm desperate to follow too and see if Tegan's all right; but I'm terrified, I'll get the blame. Even if they believe I didn't screw her, the fact I'm drunk and stink of the drugs others were smoking won't help my credibility.

Resting against the wall in the hallway, I close my eyes and wish to h.e.l.l I was sober and none of this s.h.i.+t happened.

A door clicks closed nearby and I open an eye. Ruby walks over, dressed in loose grey pyjama pants and a black tank top printed with a picture of a pink sugar skull. Face free of make-up, her softened features are tired. "Tell me what the f.u.c.k is going on, Jaxon. I'm trying to sleep."

How many people are going to ask that question and not wait for my answer?

"Tegan isn't well. I took her back to her room. Sort of." I wave my hand uselessly at the open door.

"So why the f.u.c.king drama? What did you do to her?"

"Wanna hear the story or will you just ignore me too? Bryn and Jem are."

Ruby tips her head, a strand of scarlet hair falling into her face. "Jesus, you're drunk too. I'll listen but if you've done anything to that girl, don't expect me to help you."

Barely halfway through my story and Ruby grabs my hand, yanking me after her into the hotel room.

"So you ask me to check her over because I'm the local f.u.c.king addict?" Jem's angry voice carries from the bedroom toward Ruby and me.

"No! I just need to know she's okay!" retorts Bryn, loudly.

I hang in the bedroom doorway and watch proceedings. Tegan sleeps through the commotion around her; she hasn't moved position since I walked away. Bryn sits on the bed next to her watching while Jem studies her face.

Jem steps away and crosses his arms tightly over his chest. "What do you expect me to do?" he asks Bryn.

"I dunno! When Dylan OD'd you knew what to do!"

When Jem doesn't reply or move, regarding Bryn with a tight mouth, Ruby crosses and touches Jem's arm. "We should go. You seeing Tegan like this isn't a good idea."

"I know what you're thinking, but don't say anything," says Jem in a low voice. "This is totally different."

Oh, c.r.a.p. The situation in front of Jem - unconscious girl and drugs involved - would be an uncomfortable reminder of Liv, the girlfriend he found dead from an overdose in their hotel room just over a year ago.

"s.h.i.+t, Jem. She's right. I didn't think." Bryn gently pulls hair away from Tegan's face. "We'll deal with this."

Tegan mumbles and s.h.i.+fts position with a loud sigh. Jem glances at her. "If I thought this was like... the other time I'd be straight on the phone calling an ambulance. She's not OD'd. Tegan's out of it, but she's fine as far as I can tell. Up to you if you want to call one."

Bryn drags a palm down his face. "s.h.i.+t. I want to. If we can't wake her, I will."

What a f.u.c.king mess. I back against the wall as Bryn attempts to rouse his sister, heart thumping, but scared more for Tegan than myself. What if leaving her was the wrong thing to do? Should I have called an ambulance? My shoulders sink in relief when I hear Tegan's mumbling voice.

"Right, a doctor instead," says Bryn. "Someone contact Steve or Tina or whoever and get hold of one. If we go straight to the hotel staff and ask, the press will probably be tipped off, and that's not what we need. Then if the doctor says she needs to go to hospital, we'll take her."

"I'll do it." Jem walks away, not looking back at Tegan.

Ruby follows Jem, and pauses as she pa.s.ses me. "Do you know what she's taken?"

"Not sure. Nothing voluntarily, I think her drink was spiked, like I said."

"Yeah, that s.h.i.+t is bad. She'll feel like c.r.a.p tomorrow. "

"How do you know? Have you...?"

Ruby's face is impa.s.sive. "Yeah. It happened to me. I lived with a controlling psycho remember? I have memory blanks from some nights and after a while, I figured out why." Her voice is low as she glances after Jem. "Depends what he used on Tegan. Do you know who did this?"

I can't move past the kick in the gut from Ruby telling me this happened to her.

"Stop looking at me like that, Jax. I'm fine. She isn't."

"I don't know. Maybe it was the guy taking her back to the room - Tomas, he's with an ad agency that did some promo for the tour. But unless somebody saw him do it, there's nothing to prove it was him, is there?"

"Yeah, I bet he made himself scarce too."

I slump against the wall again. "I'm glad I found her before..." His smug face flashes across my mind. "I should have f.u.c.king punched him harder!"

"Everything's going to be okay, Jax." Ruby folds her small hand around mine. "She'll be fine."

But the same words run through my head every time I glance at Tegan's vulnerable figure on the bed: this is my fault.

13.

TEGAN.