Page 23 of Dark Notes, Volume Two

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Chapter Twelve

MIA

He stands in the entryway wearing the towel around his waist, his body looking like every bad decision I want to make. His face shows the opposite as he runs a hand through his wet hair.

“So that’s it then? You had enough dick and now you’re done?” He asks, the tone in his voice distraught with a hint of anger.

I fight the urge to slap him, choosing to yell instead.

“What do you want from me, Jett? What the hell do you want from me?”

Walking over to me, he cradles the side of my face and presses his forehead to mine and speaks with a vulnerability I didn’t know he was capable of.

Jett chokes back an anguished sob, his words coming out raw with emotion.

“I want you to believe in me, Angel. I want you to choose me. Nobody chooses me. I’m just the worthless fuck up. Have you ever asked yourself how I got here? I know somebody hurt you, Mia. But somebody hurt me too.”

Am I a fool to think I can be what he needs? I know drug addicts don’t stop using until they are ready to. You can beg and plead, but it won’t change a thing until they decide it’s time.

Lifting his head, he stares into my eyes and for a moment I swear I can see his soul.

“I’m asking you to not walk away. Everybody always does, and I don’t blame you for wanting to. I know you can do better than me, Angel. But I’m fucking begging you to not do what they do. See something beyond the shit I shoot into my veins and the pills I take to save me from the pain.”

He holds his hand on either side of my neck, his hands trembling against my flesh.

His eyes well with tears and it’s as if his pain radiates from his chest into mine. I can’t walk away despite it being the best thing for me. Even knowing he’s going to drag me down his path of destruction, I know I will stay.

Placing my hands on his cheeks, feeling the stubble underneath my fingertips, I ask the same question he asked me.

“Who hurt you?”

Darting his gaze away from mine, his voice comes out broken and distraught, “Everyone, Angel. Fucking everyone.”

Sliding my fingers into his hair I try to get more out of him as gently as possible. I don’t want him to shut down or make him angry, but I do want him to at some point get clean. And I believe getting clean requires him to deal with his past.

“And the drugs make you feel better?”

He chuckles softly, “No, they do not make me feel better. At first they did. They let me escape from the constant memories. Now, all they do is hurt. I’ve been empty for my entire life. Until you. Do you remember that party we went to? Back when Jagger was fucking that pop-tart?”

I nod slowly because even though we’ve been to many of the same parties, I know he can only be talking about one.

Jett takes my hand in his with a grin on his lips.

“Come with me.”

I tilt my head at him in warning.

“I have a boyfriend.”

“Come,” he growls, “anyway. I promise as much as I want to taste your skin, I won’t.”

It’s either I go with him or I hang with all the drunk assholes that will get handsy. I don’t completely trust Jett but I don’t believe he’d push himself on me either, so I relent since my friend is currently making out with Hendrix James, the drummer for The Dark Notes.

We walk outside Axl’s mansion which is massive and sprawls ten acres of land according to his bragging earlier. He is the keyboard player for Asylum and has clearly done well for himself.

When we make it across the grass behind the house, I spot a blanket with two glasses of wine and a little picnic basket.