Out of Time (Face the Music Book 3) (19 page)

‘You’re not the one with the problem. Dan is.’ Ed leaned back in his seat. ‘We’ve all been ignoring it, hoping he’d snap out of it.’

Gemma shook her head. ‘It’s getting worse. And I know you’ve had other things to deal with. But while you were busy, Ed and I have been propping up Dan.’

Ed tapped the dining table with one fingernail. ‘It wasn’t you that slowed us down in the studio.’

Mike took a moment to catch up with what they were saying. ‘Dan was drinking while we were recording?’

Gemma and Ed nodded.

All the times he and Dan had gone out and run amok. He’d thought it was just blowing off steam. That’s what he’d been doing. Drinking and getting laid to forget, even though at the time he’d known it wasn’t helping, and it had never felt good the morning after. He had zero regrets about sleeping with Ava and would do it again in a heartbeat.

‘It got worse after he and Lisa split. I’d spoken to him and thought it was going okay.’ Gemma rubbed the handle of her coffee cup as though there was a dirty mark that needed scraping off.

‘I tried too, but it made it worse. I think he started hiding it around Christmas.’ Ed looked at Mike. ‘About the same time you started checking out.’

Shit.
Over the last few months he’d gone out with Dan plenty of times. ‘I should’ve paid more attention.’ But he had noticed the mess in the flat and the empty cans in the car.

Once again he’d avoided the issue by pretending it didn’t exist.

‘No one blames you … you had your own stuff to deal with.’ Ed had that worried look again. ‘We can take some time to chill now. I’m out of here in in a few days but when I get back from Bali, we’re going to have to do something about Dan.’

‘What?’ Dan was an adult and capable of making his own choices … that they happened to be bad was beside the point.

Gemma grimaced. ‘For a start I need to tell you two what he told me. I know he told me in confidence, but I think we’re past that point.’

‘You don’t have to, Gem.’ But Mike was the only one who spoke. Ed was nodding.

This was bad.

‘Lisa was pregnant. She told him to quit, come home and get a real job. You know how well Dan responds to being told what to do … he stayed with us. She’s no longer pregnant but she’s real friendly with his family.’ Gemma brushed the end of her nose. Lisa thought herself just a little better than everyone Dan hung out with. That hadn’t exactly been a state secret.

‘She gave him an ultimatum and then when he didn’t obey, she terminated?’ Man, that was cold. He’d never really liked her but he hadn’t thought that she was that icy or demanding. What would he do if Ava got pregnant?

He’d have to marry her. He wouldn’t quit the band, even if he had to work a second job as a sparky to put food on the table.

‘It looks that way … who knows?’ Ed raised his eyebrows. ‘I don’t trust Dan at the moment and I trust Lisa less.’

‘That’s what Dan believed happened,’ Gemma clarified. ‘So in his mind he lost a girlfriend and a baby.’

‘I think we have to assume he’s telling the truth about what happened. She had to know that it would gut him.’ Mike didn’t want to start doubting what Dan said. He took a drink of his cooling coffee.

‘I don’t think she expected him to say no. She probably thought he’d skip home like a well-trained puppy.’ There was a trace of bitterness in Gemma’s voice. Many, including Lisa, blamed Gemma for the break-up.

‘I’ve seen my flat. He isn’t housebroken.’ No one laughed. There hadn’t been much of that lately. ‘I’ll catch up with him while you’re away.’ Maybe a few quiet beers and he’d be able to pry the truth out and have a conversation. He would go there instead of turning away. His mother would’ve never turned away. She’d have rolled up her sleeves and gotten on with it.

‘Thank, mate.’ Ed smiled and pulled out his phone. ‘I know you probably haven’t looked. But it was already posted, so I put up a quick message up on your behalf.’ Ed handed over his phone. There were hundreds of messages of support and condolences. He hadn’t realised that many people knew who he was. ‘There’s more in the band email too.’

Mike was stunned.

‘I think you should make a little video statement. Thank you etcetera … maybe get people to donate to a charity?’

Mike nodded. ‘Yeah I will. Thank you for doing that.’

‘We’d been tagged by some of your mother’s friends so it was public anyway … is there anyone she didn’t tell that you’re a not-quite-famous rock star?’

He frowned. She always told everyone as though she could encourage people to buy their music. She’d never laughed or told them they were crap.

But there was one person she hadn’t told.

One person she’d let him tell. Ava.

Chapter 18

Ava was waiting out the front when Mike came to pick her up. He was actually going to brave her family. Over the last two weeks she’d slept over a couple of times. It was definitely getting better, and he’d stopped worrying he was going to break her.

‘Thank you for doing this.’

‘It’s okay. Had to meet the parents eventually.’

It wasn’t her parents she was worried about.

‘It will be fine. Let’s just stick to the story that I’m an electrician. That might be easier.’ He nodded and glanced at her.

‘Well, it’s not a lie.’ He was still working as a sparky, and putting money aside for the inevitable tour.

‘Just not the whole truth.’

‘They do not need to know the whole truth.’ She gave him her best glare, which wasn’t very menacing, not like Rose. That was not going to be mentioned over dinner.

‘They will not hear it from my lips. I wouldn’t know what they were talking about.’

Ava shook her head. ‘You don’t look innocent and you can’t lie.’

‘Oh. In that case I will sit down and shut up.’ He smiled at her. ‘You know I love you, right?’

She blinked. He loved her. He’d never actually said it, put it at the end of text messages, yes. She’d thought about saying it. But it had never seemed the right time. Was there such a thing as the right time? She was almost sure it didn’t exist. You just had to make the most of the time that you did have.

‘I love you too.’ She twisted in the passenger seat, knowing that they were only minutes from her parents’ house. ‘I’ve started taking the pill.’

His head turned. ‘You mean no more condoms?’

She nodded. ‘In another week. Thought you should know before you meet my family.’

‘Right. Is that like bribery?’

‘More like a reward … if you survive.’ She wasn’t sure that they would.

‘Baby, I would crawl through hell.’

She placed her hand on his arm. ‘I think you’ve already done that this year.’

He turned into the driveway and parked. Then he leaned over and kissed her hard. ‘So you know how much I love you. I don’t think I would’ve survived without you. This will be a cakewalk.’

She hoped he was right. Even if it wasn’t, they were doing it together.

Thanks for reading
Out of Time
. I hope you enjoyed it.

If you’d like to know more about me, my books, or to connect with me online, you can visit my webpage
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You’ve just read a book in my
Face the Music
series. The other books in this series are
Out of Rhythm
,
Out of Place
and
Out of Chances.

If you liked this book, here are my other books
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