Page 112 of Pretty Mess

“I believe you,” I say sadly. “Well, I guess that answers the question as to why he isn’t stopping with you anymore. Mate, I’m so sorry.” I think hard and make a decision.ThisI can fix. “Give me your bank details.”

“Why?”

“Because I’m going to pay you back.”

“What? How?”

“I’ve got some cash.”

“Somecash? It’s thirty grand. Not ten quid in change you found down the back of your sofa.”

“It’s all good.”

He frowns, concern written all over his face. Ben’s always been like another brother to me. “Where did you get thirty grand from? It’s not your uni money, is it?”

I leap at that with relief. “Yeah, but it’s all good, Ben. I saved it up.” If he thinks for even a minute about this, he’ll know I’m lying, so I carry on talking quickly. “Bank details?”

He reluctantly gives them to me as I access my banking app. The amount of money in my account doesn’t even make me blinknow. I’m glad it’s given me the chance to repay this kind man. Maybe now the money is out of the way, he and Tyler can mend their friendship after a shed load of fucking work.

I tap away and then close the app. “Done. Check your account.”

He does it and nods slowly. “Yeah, it’s in there.” He looks up at me, his eyes suddenly hard. “Wes, I need to know if you’re okay.”

“Of course,” I say quickly. “Ofcourse,I am.” I spread my hands. “See? You’re looking at me.”

“You’re not in any trouble, are you?”

“No. I think Tyler’s got our share of the Archer family’s trouble at the moment. Have you got a paper and pen?” He nods, rooting through his bag and producing them. “I’ll give you my address. Could you pass the word to your group of mates that I’m living there at the moment so they can give Tyler the address and tell him I need to talk to him? Make sure he knows it’s urgent.”

He looks up, his pen paused. “Knightsbridge? That’s a bit swanky.” Suspicion is clear in his eyes. “How are you affording that?”

“I’m not,” I say quickly. “I’m staying with a mate for a while. It’s his place.”

He relaxes. “Wow, good mate, eh?”

“You have no idea.”

He steps back. “Okay. I’ll pass the word around. I’ll give the address to John at the Castle if that’s okay?”

“It’s more than okay. Thanks, Ben.”

“No, thank you.” He hesitates. “I don’t feel right taking that money off you, Wes. You need it.”

“I don’t feel right that Tyler pinched it off you, so I need you to take it. Don’t worry about me. I’ll work things out with Tyler. It will be fine.”

He draws me into a tight hug. “Thank you so much. I’ll never forget it. I was dreading telling Paula that it was all gone.”

“Just buy a nice house and be happy, yes?” He nods, and with a last quick hug, he walks away. I watch him go, biting my lip. It’s like he’s taking the last vestiges of my past with him. A few months ago, I was a man with a plan. I had uni, a promising prospective career, a loving brother, and a brilliant sister-in-law. Now, there’s nothing. It’s like walking onto a beautiful sandy beach only to find it’s quicksand.

I breathe in and out slowly to quell my panic. I need to talk to some more people and get the word out that Tyler needs to contact me. Desperation picks at my heels, but I keep moving. It’s all I can do.

Three Days Later

I lie on the bed amongst the tangled sheets. I’m sweating all over, and the throbbing in my arse and my heartbeat seem to have synchronised.

Mac is moving around the room searching through the clothes that are strewn everywhere. He curses, and my mouth curves into a smile I could have sworn I’d never make again. “Your shirt is by the window.”

He looks over in that direction, shaking his head. His lips are swollen from blowing me earlier, and there’s a bite mark on his shoulder that must have come from me, even though I have only a dim memory of it.