I walked up to them. “Hey!” I called out to get their attention since they were walking away from me.
All of them turned, and when Jilly’s eyes locked on me, she grinned. It wasn’t a friendly smile. It was a scary one. The kind that came with trouble.
“Ah, look, his latest castoff,” Jilly said, slinging her hair behind her back and placing a hand on her hip.
I wasn’t sure what she was talking about, but I ignored it. I needed a favor, and this was my only chance. “Can you get a message to Bradley for me?” I asked as sweetly as I could.
Please let Jilly be in a good mood. Please, God.
She laughed. “Sure.”
Relief flooded me. “Let him know I’m here. I’m late, and he has my ticket inside. Or could I call him from your phone? That would be better.”
She laughed harder this time. That wasn’t a good sign.
“Oh, sweetie, he doesn’t have your ticket. He used it to get Natalie—you know, your best friend—into the concert with him.”
Natalie? Did he call her, and when I couldn’t come, he offered her my ticket? That would make sense. He didn’t want it to go to waste.
“Oh, well, can I call him at least? Please. I need to apologize and thank him for giving it to Natalie.”
Jilly wasn’t the only one who laughed this time. They all did. One girl even covered her mouth and started to leave.
What was so funny? I was asking to borrow a phone. Why did they all have to act so ridiculous?
“You can call him, but the last time I saw him, his tongue was down Natalie’s throat, and his hand was on her ass. He didn’t give her your ticket because you hadn’t shown up. He’d invited her weeks ago. They just didn’t tell you. Oops,” she said, then placed a hand over her mouth, as if she were shocked.
I stood there, trying to process it all. The group continued to giggle and laugh as they turned and walked away, back inside to the concert, while I was once again alone, looking like a fool in a dress that I had hoped Bradley would like even though it didn’t fit.
I began to walk. I wasn’t sure where I was walking to. I was in shock. The more I walked, the more I realized it was Natalie I was hurt over. She had been my best friend for years. Bradley had just been a boyfriend. I wasn’t in love with him, but I had given him my virginity. He had begged me for sex until I caved a few months ago, and we started doing it whenever there was a chance. We didn’t get many of those. Not with me being unable to leave the house when Gail was awake.
I wasn’t sure how long I walked when I stopped and noticed the cars were gone and the lighting wasn’t as good. I didn’t know where I had turned, and it looked like I was in the back of the main facility instead of the front. I had to get back to Gail’s, but first, I had to figure out where I was. I could deal with my heartbreak from Natalie’s betrayal later.
“Sexy and brave,” a deep voice said from somewhere in the shadows.
I spun around until I saw a puff of smoke under a light coming from inside. I stood there, unable to see a face, but I was sure I should run or scream.
“I was looking for someone,” I said hastily.
“Like I said, brave,” the voice said again.
I backed up as the orange glow from the end of the cigarette moved closer.
“You found me, sugar. Or were you looking for Kiro?”
It was then that the owner of the voice stepped into the moonlight, and Dean Finlay’s face came into view before he took another pull from his cigarette—oh, wait. The smell … that wasn’t a cigarette.
I shook my head to clear it. Was this real?
The drummer for Slacker Demon was just out here, where anyone could come upon him.
“You’re supposed to be onstage,” I blurted out.
He chuckled. “Is that so?”
I nodded, staring at him, still trying to wrap my head around the fact that I was talking to Dean Finlay.
“Concert is over, sweetheart. Weren’t you in there?” he asked me.