Page 54 of Twisted Fate

He was older than me, but I couldn’t be too sure by how much it would be.

“Hey, you’ve got balls, Donovan. Come have a beer whenever you want, yeah? Door’s always open for you.”

“Thanks, I appreciate it,” I nodded back, accepting the joint he handed me without hesitation.

The guys talked crew business, letting me in on the conversation for once, but I jumped when hands clamped on my waist and I was spun around to meet Tyler’s unimpressed steel grey eyes.

“Oh, hey.”

“Don’t hey me. What are you doing here?” He muttered, tugging me across the room and ignoring the amused glances from the crew members.

I tried to keep a bored expression on my face, but I was honestly just getting angry.

“Why can’t I be here? C’mon, you know Slash…”

“Slash is going to get you in fucking trouble. Who knows you’re here?” He cut me off sharply before I could even finish my sentence.

I yanked back from him with frustration, giving him a scathing look.

“So, now I need to tell you guys where I am all the time? Why don’t you guys trust me?”

He ran an annoyed hand over his face, meeting my gaze with an impatient sigh.

“We do trust you, but we don’t trust Slash.”

“I do,” I retorted in a bratty tone, a snort of disbelief coming from him.

“No, you don’t. You don’t trust…”

“I do fucking trust him. He doesn’t sugar coat shit like what you guys do to protect me or whatever your bullshit reasons are. He just tells me how it is,” I snapped, his dark eyes narrowing on me.

“Last time you were here he fucking beat you.”

“Like he was supposed to. I know the rules here, so it’s not like he snuck up on me with it. He’s my friend, so back off,” I hissed, giving him a small shove to get my point across.

He hardly moved, but it was the thought that counted.

“So why are you here? Fighting again?” He finally asked, and I waved my beer at him in response, my tone petty.

“No. Just having a beer.”

“Considering you don’t smoke weed, why do you smell like it?” He frowned, raising an eyebrow as I scowled and ignored his question.

"Why are you here if it’s not safe?”

“Because…”

“If you say because you’re a guy, I’m going to knock your fucking head off your shoulders,” I bit out, his mouth slamming shut without hesitation.

He glanced up as Slash wandered over, handing Tyler a beer with a smirk plastered to his face.

“I brought her here to wind her down, not rev her up. Leave her be, Ty.”

“Skeet know she’s here?” He asked bluntly, but Slash continued to smirk, knowing he was causing trouble.

“Nope.”

“Damnit, Slash. You’re going to cause problems,” Tyler glowered, but Slash narrowed his eyes.