“He’s that bad?” Sacha asked.
I lifted up a shoulder, fighting off the anxiety trying to make a home in my chest. “Notbad, he just… says really stupid stuff. They all do.” Hurtful, personal stuff that none of them had any business sharing.
He nodded as if he understood, and maybe he did. Most people had that one friend that turned into a wrecking ball once they had drunk too much or done something else that changed their personalities or thinking process.
When we got to the corner in front of the venue, I touched his side. “I’m going in through the front.”
Sacha tipped his head down. “I should start getting dressed so I can begin warming up.” He flashed me that bright white smile one more time. “If you ever want to go running again, let me know. You’re a better running buddy than Julian.”
I couldn’t help but smile and nod.
The dark slashes of his eyebrows went up. “I’ll even let you off easy with only seven miles next time if you want.”
I fought the urge to push him away like I would have if he were one of my demons and snorted instead before backing away. “Go put your make-up on and warm up, Celine.”
I could still hear my brother laughing when I entered the venue less than a minute later.
Chapter Six
Iknewsomething was going on when I found my twin and Gordo smiling sweetly over at me from their spots in the living space of the bus. The fact that all of the members of TCC and their crew were surrounding them didn’t help any. I usually didn’t sleep in, but a stuffy nose had kept me up. I grabbed a plastic cup from the cabinet over the microwave and then fished out one of the gallon jugs of water that were stashed in the lower kitchenette cabinets, all while watching the group closely and trying to listen to what the hell they were talking about.
The scent of bullshit was strong in the bus.
“I’m in,” Julian said first, looking at Freddy. “You?”
“I’m in,” the TCC tour manager agreed.
What exactly were theyinfor?
Slowly but surely, the rest of the members sitting on the couches all nodded or verbally agreed to whatever it was they were talking about. I slowly slid in to the only seat available across from Carter, which was one of the two chairs belonging to the small table in the kitchen.
“Carter, what about you?” Eli asked the man I spent a lot of time with.
Still in his pajamas and looking only slightly more awake than me, he shrugged. He had his hair down and parted down the middle, the ends brushing his thin shoulders. “I’ll play.”
I’ll play?
Ohno.
“How many people is that, then?” Gordo asked. I didn’t miss the smug look he threw my way after he asked.
“Eleven,” one of the TCC guys answered.
Gordo let out the most exaggerated sigh I’d ever heard in my life, even going as far as to make his eyes go wide. “E-lev-en?That’s an odd number. We can’t have an odd amount of players in the game.”
This motherfucker.
My brother turned to look at me and shrugged his shoulders. “Flabs, I guess that means you have to play.”
“The hell that means I have to play. I’m not playing,” I said in a careful, controlled voice before taking a too casual sip of water, making sure to keep eye contact with him.
“You have to,” Eli repeated.
“Odd numbers,” Gordo piped in like a little shit.
I shook my head, making sure to keep my features even. If I was careful and really nonchalant about it, my chances of getting out of this were higher. Eli knew too easily how to pull my strings at the right time, and I sure as hell wasn’t going there. “It’s not happening.”
Carter shot me a curious look. “You don’t like to play?”
