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Carrying on eating, I considered all the things which Jimmy liked me to do for the sake of his image. The leather mini skirt and boob tube laid out on our bed to wear for Hugo’s birthday party was testament to that.
A bell rang in the distance, alerting us to the fact that Blind Devil were on their last song. As it continued to shrill, Ronnie groaned.
“I suppose that’s my cue to go and finish getting ready,” he said, leaning forward with his forearms on his knees. “Do you feel better now?”
“Better?”
“Yes. Now that I’ve fed and watered you and sorted your feet out.”
I nodded, realising that I did feel much better. Ronnie always made me feel better. “I’m great, thanks.”
“Good. Now, we’d better get out of here before we get into trouble.”
My eyes widened as I looked down at the plate of pastries and then back up at Ronnie. “I thought you said it was okay being in here. That you paid for it.”
He shrugged. “I have no idea who this is for. The sponsors always come back to our hospitality room. It’s probably for some dignitaries or something, paid for by the country’s government.”
“Oh my god, Ronnie,” I burst out a nervous laugh. “You are so bad.”
“I’m sure we’ll miss out on a prison sentence.” He stood and held out his hand. “Come on, let’s get out of here.” He paused to listen. “Sounds like they’re finishing up.”
There would be no encore, there rarely was for a support act, so I knew it was time to get back to where Jimmy had told me to wait.
“What do I do with this?” I asked, holding up the plate.
Ronnie took it from me and smoothed the cling-film back on it. He placed it back on the table. “There you go, no one would ever know.”
Turning back to me, he held his hand out again and I allowed him to help me stand. Not able to face putting my shoes back on, I picked them up with my free hand, my other still safely in Ronnie’s.
He led me to the door and when he reached for the handle, his fingers curled around mine and gave them a squeeze. My heart jumped and emotion pricked at the back of my throat as something struck me. The food, the water, knowing that I needed them, it may have been a small thing but the fact that he knew was huge. It was the kindest thing anyone had done for me in… five years.
“Y-You coming to Hugo’s party t-tonight?” I asked, stumbling over my words as Ronnie opened the door.
I saw his shoulders rise and then fall before he nodded. “Yep. I think so.”
That was all he said, but it was enough to make my stomach skitter with excitement.
CHAPTER7
RONNIE
Watching Amber from across the room was killing me. She was smiling but there was no joy there, that much was obvious. Her laugh was a little too forced and, if I was honest, she looked like she might have drunk too much. She wobbled more than once on another pair of stupidly high shoes, and she was continually hitching up the leather bra top thing she was wearing. It was too big for her, as was the skirt which was hanging off her hips. In fact, wearing just skimpy clothing it was clear to see how thin she was. I’d only known her for a couple of months, but she’d got skinnier in that time. As for her husband, he was wired, pissed up, and acting more of an idiot than usual, holding court with whoever was stupid enough to listen to him.
“He’s a fucking prick,” Beau said in my ear as he handed me a bottle of beer. “I just caught him snorting coke in the gent’s toilets. He had the damn cubicle door wide open.”
“Fuck.” I took the bottle and scrubbed a hand down my face. “We know where this is going, don’t we? Poor Amber.”
Beau nodded solemnly and clinked his drink against mine. “I’m pretty sure he’ll sink quicker than a rock in a lake. Quicker than Joey even.”
I grimaced, remembering just how quickly our friend had spiralled after that first snort of coke. We’d hoped that it had been a one off, just Joey letting off steam, but it was only a matter of days before he had his own dealer. Things had spiralled until he was the shell of the man we all knew. Stints in rehab hadn’t worked, the only thing that had was Cassie, Beau’s wife, nursing him through some cold turkey in their spare bedroom.
Glancing over at Joey, who was laughing with one of the sound engineers, relief that he was better flooded through my veins. The four of us were like brothers and if anything happened to any of them, it would break me. They’d all been through the mill one way or another; death, abuse, drugs, all your typical rockstar stuff, but were still standing. I’d been lucky, all my shit happened when I was a kid and ended with me living with my auntie Mo. It still hurt, but at least it was way in my past. My three best friends were still feeling the effects of their traumas, though.
“What are you two bitching about?” Elliot asked as he came up beside us.
Beau nodded in the direction of Jimmy, who had his arm draped around some tall, skinny woman who I’d never seen before. She had the look of a groupie, or a low-class escort. Too much eyeliner, too short a skirt, too skimpy a blouse, and hair like she’d just been fucked. My eyes flicked to Amber who was talking to Amelie, Hugo’s girlfriend. Amelie was whispering in her ear while Amber clung on to her arm.
“She’s absolutely wasted.” I turned my back to the scene; not sure I could hold myself back from acting like some sort of Knight in shining armour and making a tit of myself.
