Embracing Trouble (Trouble Series)

by Bridle, Dee

  “Glue?” I asked.

  “Surgical glue. I’ve managed to stop the bleeding, and you won’t need stitches,” she said concentrating on my head.

  Then she looked at Noah and said, “Hold her head completely still for me.”

  Noah loomed over me, holding my face gently but firmly.

  “This is my mum,” he explained.

  “Oh,” I said.

  “Between Noah and the boys over the years, I’ve had to use my nursing skills quite a lot,” she said, concentrating on my wound. “Can you remember what happened?” she asked me next.

  I swallowed.

  “A guy fell back into me and I fell and hit my head on something.”

  She asked, “Can you remember what you had for breakfast this morning?”

  I bit my lip, trying to think.

  “Nothing.”

  “Breakfast is important,” she said with a smile. “I’m always telling Noah that.”

  I recognized the cheeky smile and realized how much Noah looked like her. She was very beautiful.

  “How’s Janey?” I asked looking to Noah.

  “She’ll be okay,” he said quietly.

  “After this, you need to concentrate on resting. Noah, you need to observe her for the next twenty-four hours to make sure it’s only a mild concussion. Otherwise, she needs to go into the hospital for a scan.”

  “I should be fine,” I mumbled.

  “Let’s wait and see,” she said softly, squeezing my hand.

  She tended to me some more and then left the room for a moment to clean up.

  “Where am I?” I whispered trying to look around.

  “My parent’s house,” he said with a quick smile. “I thought you might have more than alcohol in your system and ER doctors would ask too many questions and call your father.”

  I swallowed and replied, “Thank you, Noah.”

  He looked at me.

  “Zac’s going out of his mind with worry,” he said quietly.

  I looked away from him.

  “I know how it looks, but he’s trying to get over you the only way he knows how.”

  “I’m done,” I said with resignation. “I can’t keep on going like this. It hurts too much.”

  “What hurts?” asked Noah’s mother walking back into the room.

  “Her relationship with Zac,” said Noah.

  I glared at him, wondering how much she knew and if he realized how much I didn’t want to talk about it.

  His mother smiled as she packed up the first aid kit beside me.

  “I knew it would happen one day.”

  I looked at her questioningly. She continued to pack up the items. “Some girl would eventually come along and steal his heart.”

  I swallowed hard. I wanted to tell her that I hadn’t even come close to stealing his heart. He couldn’t be with me. He was with everyone else but me.

  She straightened a few more items in the box.

  “That boy has always carried an awful lot on his shoulders. All he needs is some time and understanding,” she said closing the lid. “And some love and care,” she said giving me a small private wink as she moved away and left the room.

  I looked at Noah.

  “Everybody needs a Mum, even Zac sometimes,” he whispered.

  Zac

  I walked into the unit and looked over at Noah who was in the kitchen getting a drink.

  “Where is she?” I asked quietly.

  Noah looked unsure for a moment.

  “She’s asleep. I’ve got to make sure she doesn’t sleep too long though and check she’s okay afterwards.”

  I walked in further, pausing at Noah’s bedroom door and saw her asleep on his bed. Pain hit me in the chest. She was in Noah’s bed and not mine.

  “I’m sorry, Zac man,” whispered Noah. “She refused to sleep in your bed.”

  I closed my eyes for a moment and then opened them to look at her. It was finally happening. She hated me. She could move on now, and find someone better. I swallowed hard, feeling angry and hurt.

  “Take care of her,” I said turning back around and leaving the unit.

  Chapter Nineteen: Relationship

  Ava

  A few days later, I went to visit Janey, making sure Zac wasn’t there. She answered the door, looking tired and a little unsure as she looked at me.

  “Hey, gorgeous,” I said softly, stepping in and kissing her on the cheek.

  She smiled and closed the door behind us.

  “I was just making a coffee.”

  “So how you feeling?”

  “I’m doing okay.”

  I was quiet as I sat at the kitchen table, watching her get two mugs down from the cabinet.

  “I’m sorry about a lot of things that night,” she said next.

  I reassured her, “There’s no need.”

  “There is,” she said with pain in her eyes. “No one really knows the real me except the boys.”

  “Is that the real you?”

  She stared at the table and admitted, “When I don’t take my medication…yeah.”

  I stayed silent.

  “I have extreme highs and extreme lows, so I take medication to level it all out, so I can pretend I’m normal,” she said as the kettle finished boiling. “But sometimes when I’m feeling good, I stop taking the medication, telling myself that I’ll be okay.”

  “But you’re really not,” I stated.

  “Exactly,” she said pouring the hot water in the mugs. “And then I go and do insane amounts of coke and jump off the deep end. I’m sorry you had to see me like that. I made Zac promise to never have me committed during one of my episodes, so that’s why he used a sedative to calm me down.”

  I nodded.

  “He’s so angry with me – putting you in the position I did with those guys and then you getting hurt.”

  I shook my head slightly and said, “It’s not your fault.”

  “It is,” she said softly. “I get so self-destructive and want to hurt myself. So, I do it with sex,” she said passing me the coffee mug. “Told you I was fucked up. So how’s your head?”

  “I’m fine,” I said giving a brief smile. “I’m all glued up and the swelling has disappeared.”

  She grabbed a packet of cigarettes and motioned for me to follow her out to the courtyard.

  “I’m taking it you don’t want to talk about my brother.”

  “Not really,” I lied.

  “You sure?”

  I sipped my coffee, not looking her in the eye.

  She gave a knowing smile and then changed the subject.

  “So how’s the tatt?” she asked lighting up a cigarette.

  “Okay,” I said. “The cream is working and there’s hardly any scab left.”

  “Anyone else seen it yet?”

  I went to laugh.

  “Janey, it’s been three days.”

  She grinned.

  “Stranger things have happened.”

  “I’ve sworn off guys for a while,” I said next.

  Her eyes narrowed as she exhaled her cigarette.

  “Nooo, you can’t do that,” she laughed. “We can’t go out and have fun together if you’ve sworn off them.”

  “You’re already planning our next night out?” I asked in disbelief. “Don’t you need time to recover?”

  She grimaced.

  “I’ll go even crazier if I have to spend much more time in here.”

  I shook my head.

  “You need to rest and be away from guys and parties.”

  “Nooo,” she groaned.

  “We can have a girly night tonight. We can stay at home, maybe watch something, and devour some delicious food.”

  “Sounds good. I don’t do many girly nights,” she said quietly.

  “I’m the Queen of Girly nights,” I smiled. “So Zac won’t be here, will he?”

  She shook her head.

  “They’re off to a gig tonight.”

  “Well, it’s a
plan then,” I said getting up. “We need to go and get supplies.”

  “Okay,” she said getting up as well and butting out her cigarette. “Give me five minutes to go and make myself look decent.”

  I carried the mugs back inside and put them in the sink, looking at the fridge beside me. There were two photos that had been put up with a magnet holding them in place. One was of the group, at some pub together with Janey on Will’s lap. She was laughing and the three guys were smiling as they held their mugs of beer. My heart ached as I zeroed in on Zac. He looked his usual beautiful sexy self with his tousled hair and fitted T-shirt. I moved it across to see the one under it. It was a photo of the boys at the beach, sitting in the sand and looking like the hottest three guys on earth. Will was sticking his tongue out, Noah had a cigarette dangling from his mouth, and Zac was sticking his finger up at the camera. I smiled for a moment, enjoying him looking so carefree, suntanned and sexy as hell.

  “Ready to go?”

  I jumped and quickly tried to put the photo back in place as the magnet fell and both photos landed on the tiled floor. I bent over to pick them up and put them back in place.

  “They’re my favorite two photos of my family,” smiled Janey. “The shrink says I need to put them up as a reminder, so I can focus on what makes me feel safe and happy.”

  “They’re lovely,” I said not meeting her eyes and heading to the door.

  “We need one of the two of us up there,” she said as she followed me out.

  Zac

  I got out of the car in the early hours of the morning and looked at Noah and Will as they climbed out, too.

  “Seems very quiet in there,” said Will looking over at the townhouse. “I can’t hear them having pillow fights in lingerie,” he said laughing at his own joke.

  “You need to get laid,” muttered Noah walking over to the front door.

  The front door opened and Janey stepped out in her T-shirt and underwear.

  “Wow, a visit at 3:00 a.m.,” she said quietly. “To what do I owe this pleasure?”

  “Thought we’d have a few quiet ones to end the night,” smiled Will.

  Janey’s eyes narrowed onto me.

  “Or maybe my brother is here to check up on Ava,” she said.

  “Have a good night?” I asked.

  “The best,” she said looking happy. “Girly nights are fun.”

  “Any pillow fights?” asked Will with a grin.

  “We just finished one while we were naked,” she returned with sarcasm as she opened the door wider to let us in. “Try and be quiet because she’s asleep on the couch.”

  I went straight over to her and looked down at her sleeping. She was so fucking beautiful.

  “Good night?” asked Janey going into the kitchen to get the bong down from the cupboard.

  I half listened to the conversation, focusing on Ava on my couch as I sat down on the edge near her feet. She would never be completely out of my life, because she would always be around Janey, reminding me of what I could have had.

  Noah stood up with a grimace and commented, “If I have to sit here and listen to you eat each other, I’m going to go and kill myself now.”

  I turned to see Will and Janey kissing and looked away.

  “I’ll get the gun and do it to myself first,” I mumbled, standing up as well. “We’re off.”

  “See you, fuckers,” said Will still kissing Janey.

  “Wait,” I said to Noah at the door, looking back to Ava.

  Without another thought, I went over and gently picked her up from the couch and carried her up to my room. I wanted her in my bed, comfortable and not subjected to the noises that fucking Will and Janey would soon be making.

  Ava

  I awoke, feeling a lot more comfortable than I thought I would be as I opened my eyes. I stretched slightly and then paused, looking around Zac’s room. I was in his bed. How had I ended up here? There was no way Janey could have moved me while I was sleeping and I hoped to god I hadn’t walked up here in a sleep induced haze. I sat up and looked around speculating if Zac had been here last night and put me to bed?

  After a hot shower in which I used his shampoo just to remind myself of his smell, I walked around an empty living room and kitchen, while Janey’s door remained closed. I could see a bong on the coffee table with empty glasses and suspected that the guys had come over while I was asleep on the couch. How embarrassing.

  I got my phone out and sent him a text message.

  Ava: Thanks for the bed…

  I moistened my lips, contemplating if he was in bed with a girl right now. Maybe he had brought her back here first and then went back to Noah’s because I was here? I rolled my eyes in frustration with myself. Whatever had happened, it had nothing to do with me. I had to let it go. I had to stop thinking about him. He sent a reply.

  Zac: Anytime

  I paused, knowing that one word could mean so many different things, depending if it was coming from a friend or someone who wanted more. I put the phone down on the kitchen counter and tried not to think about it as I started to make a coffee.

  “Hey.”

  I jumped in fright and dropped the mug onto the table when I saw Will standing there, his eyes still half closed from sleep.

  “Lucky that was empty,” he said coming around to make one.

  “You scared the shit out of me,” I said, my heart still pounding.

  “Go sit down. I’ll make you one,” he said with a yawn.

  I sat down at the kitchen table and watched him warily.

  “So you all came over last night?”

  “I was hoping you two were having one of those sleepover girly pillow fights,” he grinned.

  “Yeah, because they always happen.”

  “I know, right,” he taunted, pouring the coffees. “Get this into you,” he said passing a mug.

  ‘Thanks,” I murmured gratefully, taking a sip. “Where did you guys go last night?”

  “Went to a gig,” he said noisily sipping his coffee.

  “Good time?”

  “It was,” he said pausing at that and looking thoughtful for a moment.

  I waited for more from him but it never came.

  “I’m going out for a cigarette,” he said instead.

  I put my hands around the hot coffee mug, enjoying the hot pain as I asked, “Did he…was he with a girl last night?”

  Will headed over to the sliding door, an unlit cigarette dangling from his lips.

  “The only girl he put to bed last night was you.”

  My heart zapped at those words and I had to take a breath.

  “You should come out with us tonight,” he said next, stepping out and lighting his cigarette.

  “Great idea,” said Janey from behind me. “We’ll meet up with you guys at some stage tonight. We’re doing the girly thing first.”

  “As long as the girly thing doesn’t involve any cock, then I’m fine with that,” said Will.

  “Like you have any say in the matter,” smiled Janey making herself a coffee.

  “I do now, remember?”

  I looked to Will and then my eyes settled onto Janey. Something was going on between them both as she didn’t meet my eyes. Were they going to try a serious relationship?

  “Don’t make me set off any fire alarms, Janey,” he laughed and then paused, realizing what he had just said.

  My eyes snapped to him as he mouthed “oops” to me and went through the motion of zipping his mouth up.

  My mind raced for a moment and then I gasped.

  “You’ve got to be kidding me!” I said angrily.

  “For fuck’s sake, Will,” said Janey.

  “I didn’t say anything,” said Will suddenly concentrating on sipping his hot coffee.

  “He knew I was with Tyler and set off the fire alarm so I didn’t go any further with him that night?” I said to them both.

  Will focused on lighting a cigarette and didn’t answer. Janey was suddenly interested
in the coffee mug in her hand.

  “Oh, my god,” I said hoarsely, slamming my mug down and running my hands through my hair.

  My texts from Tyler had always mysteriously disappeared, his bank accounts had been closed twice and his credit cards cancelled. I closed my eyes. He had been there with me, every day of those two months of hell. I was furious and weirdly exhilarated at the same time.

  Will looked over at me.

  “Don’t be too pissed,” he said quietly, exhaling smoke.

  “He couldn’t let you go,” said Janey quietly.

  I closed my eyes and pinched the bridge of my nose and then looked back over at Will.

  “Did he ever try to get with Sophie?”

  Will laughed.

  “Hell, no! She offered. He fucking refused.”

  Zac

  Will stood at the bar and sipped his beer quietly looking a little perplexed. He was a bit off tonight and I didn’t know what the hell was up his ass, but he better fix it, because I was the only one allowed to be a moping asshole.

  “Okay, spit it out,” said Noah who was sitting beside him. “You look like you’ve just found some warts on your cock.”

  Will looked at me without his usual smug smile.

  “I’m dating your sister.”

  We all fell silent.

  “As in a proper…relationship,” he said, clearly uncomfortable. “Hope that’s okay.”

  I burst out laughing and rubbed my hand over my face.

  “Fuck, Will. You sure you’re up for that?”

  “I’m willing to give it a try. I really fucking like her, always have.”

  “Take good care of her, otherwise I’ll kick your ass.”

  Will nodded.

  “I might have also let something slip to Ava this morning, that maybe I shouldn’t have.”

  I glared at him.

  “Like what?”

  “You told her about the fire alarm, didn’t you?” said Noah.

  “Maybe,” said Will.

  “Jesus, Will. She’ll think I’m a fucking crazy stalker,” I said annoyed.

  Will shrugged and answered, “I know, but she already knows you’re fucking crazy, so why not add stalker to the list?”