He needed a friend, and not having one of those, he needed the next best thing.
His ex-cellmate.
He needed Thomas.
Chapter four
Scottcalledataxito take him into the city. He asked the driver to go through the centre, over endless crossings and round as many roundabouts as possible. It was midnight, and the crowds of people stumbling across the road, rushing out and breaking up traffic were exactly what Scott had been hoping for. If Warren was trailing him, he would struggle to keep Scott in his sights, especially when Scott paid the driver, slipped out of the car and hurried down the pedestrian street with the most nightclubs and bars. The mass of people swallowed him up, hiding him from the roads.
He stopped in the alcove of a shop, yanked a hoodie from his bag and shoved it over his head before continuing to the next taxi he’d booked.
Scott kept his hood up, and once he’d given the driver the address to Thomas’s place, he lay down on the backseat. The driver adjusted his mirror to keep glancing at Scott but didn’t ask him why he’d keeled over onto his side.
By the time Scott got to Thomas’s place, it was two in the morning.
There were lights on around the gate and leading all the way up the stone path to the mansion. The downstairs was dark, but there were a few windows illuminated on the top floor.
Scott stepped up to the intercom on the smaller gate meant for people. Two cameras pointed down at him from tall pillars that were painted black to match the main gate. He didn’t know which one to look at as he buzzed the mansion and kept turning his head between them.
Thomas didn’t answer.
Scott tried again.
And again.
He poked the button over and over as his shoulders and head both drooped. It had been a long day. All he wanted to do was curl up in a safe place and hibernate for a million years.
The speaker crackled, and Thomas spoke one word. “No.”
Scott held down the button. “What do you mean no?”
“I mean, whatever it is, the answer is no.”
“But –”
“Stop pressing the button. I’m trying to sleep.”
Scott buzzed, and buzzed, and buzzed until Thomas hissed through the speakers, “Go home, Scott.”
“That’s the thing, I can’t do home right now.”
“Why not?”
Scott’s heart thumped behind his ribs. He didn’t want Thomas to know the truth, to pass judgement, to sneer or shake his head. “They’re doing maintenance on the building. A sewage pipe burst in my apartment, ruined everything. It’ll take time to fix.”
“What about yourdate? Why can’t you stay with him?”
Scott bit his tongue. “He only paid for the afternoon.”
“Then maybe you should’ve offered him the night and the morning after for free so you had a place to stay.”
“I don’t want to stay with Anthony –”
“Why come here?”
“I…” He slipped his bag from his shoulder, and it dropped to the ground with a thud. “I’ve got nowhere else to go.”
“It’s so nice to hear I’m the last resort.”
