It hurt. It really fucking hurt.
They were all in the smoking area already. Ignoring everyone who greeted me, I chucked my bag on the floor before hauling myself onto the railing. Thanks to the repeated practice, I didn’t need Dominic to steady me anymore.
He might have needed me to sleep at night, but I didn’t need him for anything. Not anymore.
“What’s got your goat?” Max asked, taking a long drag of his cigarette and blowing the smoke in my direction. “Did Mummy not say goodbye this morning?”
“Fuck off. Just…fuck off.” I gripped the cold metal, reminding myself that it wasn’t worth smacking him, even if it might make me feel better. The feeling would likely last less than a second before I got my arse handed to me.
By both him and Dominic.
Max just laughed. “Great comeback, Bro. Maybe come and play when you’ve grown some balls.”
Our entire group had fallen silent, their eyes darting between the two of us. It wasn’t like Max’s comments were new, but me responding to them?
That definitely was.
I didn’t acknowledge any of them. Dominic’s gaze burned into the side of my face, but I ignored him too. Let him see how it felt.
Suddenly, Dominic dropped to the floor, his tall frame looming over me. “Come on.”
I stared at him. From the corner of my eye, I could see Max doing the same. “What?”
He inclined his head, shoving his hands into his pockets. “Let’s go.”
No. I wasn’t following him.
Then why are you sliding off the rail? Why are you picking up your bag?
My body was a fucking traitor, I swear. Had Dominic put some kind of spell on me? It sure as fuck felt like it some days.
Dominic turned to walk away. My feet tried to follow him, but I used the tiny semblance of control I had left to stay where I was.
“Wait,” Max called. “You can’t seriously be ditching us forRyan?”
He said my name like it was an insult, venom dripping from every letter.
Dominic glanced back over his shoulder, first clocking where I was stood still, then the sneer on Max’s face.
Then he said the last thing I ever expected to hear from him. The one sentence that could get my feet moving.
“Like Ryan said, fuck off, Max.”
Catcalls rang in my ears as I scuttled after Dominic. I couldn’t help but look back. Just once.
Max’s cheeks were flaming, but it was his eyes that sent a chill running through me.
Dominic might’ve been the one to throw down the gauntlet, but Max would pick it up.
And I’d be the one who’d suffer the consequences.
I didn’t speakas Dominic led me to a room I’d never been in before. The smell hit me first—stale sweat and something that reminded me of the changing rooms at secondary school.
Dominic hit the lights and I blinked in the sudden brightness. The changing room smell made sense. We were in some kind of rudimentary gym. Tired machines stood quietly beside free weights. I couldn’t say I’d ever been inside a proper gym, but I had to believe they were better equipped than this.
“What are we doing in here?”
Dominic ignored the question as he strode for a cupboard by the wall. He rummaged around for a minute before pulling out a pair of red boxing gloves. “Here. Put these on.”
