Page 52 of Best Supporting Actor

By the time he arrived, he was feeling thoroughly out of sorts, cold, wet, hungry, and exhausted. And, more than that, he felt down. Just—sad really.Christ, he thought as he shoved his key in the lock and shouldered the door open. Was he still moping over Jay going out with Giles? And if so,why? What the fuck did it matter to him?

Inside, the house was dark and quiet. Despite his hunger, he decided to go straight to bed, too tired to cook. A rim of flickering light showed round the door of Clem’s room at the top of the stairs. No noise. She’d be gaming, headset on, probably eating bloody cereal and oat milk as usual. There’d been no light on in Mikey’s room upstairs, so it looked like he was out. Probably working.

Yawning, Tag opened his own bedroom door, snapped on the light… and froze in the doorway.

“Oh fuck,” he breathed and closed his eyes.

It had already been a long night, and it wasn’t over yet.

CHAPTERTHIRTEEN

Jay

The next day, Tag was late to rehearsal. Properly late. Thirty-six minutes.

Henry was seriously pissed off by the time he slunk in, muttering an apology about sleeping through his alarm. Taking hold of Tag’s shoulder, Henry walked him straight back outside, and when they returned, ten minutes later, Henry was thin-lipped while Tag just looked crushed.

After that, everyone was on edge and nothing went right. It was obvious to Jay that Tag was struggling to get into character. He kept glancing at Henry worriedly, which was only making things worse. As hard as Jay tried to continue as though everything was normal, it was no good. The tension was palpable.

Eventually, Freddie intervened. “Henry, I think everyone needs a break,” she said bluntly. “Long lunch today.” Without waiting for his agreement, she hefted her backpack over her shoulder and headed for the door. “See you all at two.”

Henry glared after her for a few moments. Then his scowl melted away, and he sighed heavily. “She’s right. Let’s all take a couple of hours to get our heads back in the game. Clean slate when we come back at two, yeah?” As he walked past Tag on his way out, he patted him on the shoulder. It was a gesture of apology, but Jay wasn’t sure whether Tag realised that. He still looked upset.

Bea and Rafe began chatting about where to go for lunch, debating the respective merits of an Italian bistro and the Dog and Duck.

“Do you two want to come?” Bea asked, after they’d decided on the Italian place. “The seafood linguine is amazing, and the pizzas are pretty good too.”

Rafe glanced at Tag and added silkily, “Maybe a couple of glasses of vino would relax you for this afternoon, Tag?”

Jay felt an uncharacteristic urge to punch Rafe’s stupid face for that crack, but Tag didn’t even react, just shook his head tiredly and said, “I think I’m going to head back to my place for a bit. I’ve, um, got some stuff to do.”

Shit, he looked sodefeated. Where was his usual fire? That annoying chippiness that drove Jay up the wall, but that he also reluctantly…liked.

“How about you, Jay?” Bea said, interrupting his thoughts.

Ugh, no. The thought of spending two hours watching Bea flirt with Rafe, while he droned on about everything he’d learned at Julliard, was not Jay’s idea of fun. Especially not after spending the whole of the previous evening fending off Giles Cox—both his attempts to persuade Jay to let the festival put out a ‘quick press release’ about his involvement in the play and his repeated invites to join Giles for a ‘nightcap’ at his place after they left the Bear. Giles hadn’t taken Jay’s polite rejections—on either count—with particular grace.

“I think I’ll pass,” he told Bea with what he hoped was a regretful smile. “I’m not really hungry. Besides, I could do with getting out and burning off some energy instead. Might go for a run.”

Bea, looking positively delighted to have Rafe to herself, grabbed his arm and began steering him towards the door. “Come on, Rafe, I’mstarving. I haven’t had a thing since breakfast.”

Once they were gone, Jay turned around to see Tag zipping up his bomber jacket and still looking beaten down.

“Listen,” Jay said gently. “Don’t take this morning to heart. Some rehearsals are just cursed. You start off on the wrong foot, and it’s like nothing can go right after.”

Tag sighed. “Yeah, I know. I just—” He broke off, rubbing a hand tiredly over the back of his neck.

“What?” Jay prompted softly.

“Well, it’s my fault, isn’t it? I’m the one who arrived late. And I know that’s really unprofessional—no wonder Henry’s pissed off.”

Jay studied his unhappy face, noting the dark shadows under his eyes, and the weariness etched there. He stepped closer. “Are you all right?” he asked carefully. “You look pretty exhausted.”

Tag gave a huff of unamused laughter. “I didn’t get much sleep last night.”

Jay felt suddenly stupid. “Oh, was your shift last night a long one? I didn’t realise theBear stayed open late.”

“It doesn’t,” Tag said. “I was done before midnight but—” He broke off. He seemed to be considering saying more, but in the end only shook his head. “I think I’m going to try and grab a quick power nap while we’ve got some time. I feel ready to drop.” He pulled out his phone and swiped the screen, checking the time. “If I go now, I can probably grab an hour and get back for two.” Seeing Jay’s frown, he added with a small smile, “Don’t worry. I’ll put an alarm on. See you later, okay?”