Page 46 of Tone Deaf
“Your father?” Pen’s eyes narrow slightly, and a glint of anger sparks in them. “What does he have to do with us?”
“You know how my parents are. They are constantly fighting. It was even worse back when we lived in Australia. My mum—as much as I love that woman, she could never stand up to Brian. He’s a manipulating cunt, especially when he wants something.If it weren’t for my granddad, we would probably be dead because of the bad shit Brian was into.”
Pen opens his mouth, then shuts it like he wanted to say something but decided against it.
“What?”
“You knew that your father was into some heavy crap back then?”
I have to think for a second before saying, “All I know is what my granddad said to my mum before he gave us money to leave the country.”
“And what was that?”
“The friends—Granddad used his fingers as quotes—Brian was hanging out with were a bad crowd and if Mum didn’t leave with me in that moment, we would end up dead and buried out in the Bush. Granddad never messed around, so I took him seriously.”
“That’s all he said?” Pen questions, but something in his tone catches me off guard.
I sit up and face him. “What’s going on? What are you not telling me?”
“I think we should wait for Dom. He can explain better?—”
“No, Pen. I want you to explain it to me now. If this is about Brian and my mum, I need to know,” I demand, then get up from the bed and start dressing. “Now tell me, please.”
“Tell you what?”
I swing around and find Dom standing in the doorway, and he doesn’t look happy either.
Chapter Eighteen
Dom
“Tell you what?” I grate out. My eyes bounce between a nearly naked Pen, sitting up in bed, and Callum, half-dressed and upset.
“Tell me what you two are hiding from me about Brian,” Callum says in a huff as he pulls his t-shirt over his head. “I have every right to know what that bastard has done.”
“We aren’t?—”
Callum raises a hand. “Don’t lie to me, Dominic.”
Damn it. He’s pissed off.
“How about we all get dressed and come out to the living room and talk,” I suggest, hoping the bigger space will calm down my irate bassist.
“Fine.” Callum stalks past me without looking me in the eyes. But I see guilt written across his face and I know why. He and Pen slept together, without me.
I glance over to Pen, who looks equally guilty. And he should be, because we’ve talked about the best way to approach Callum. We should talk with him first about what we want for ourfuture. Talk to him sometime when sex isn’t on the table. But apparently, Pen wasn’t listening to me.
“You and me, we will be talking about this later,” I say, stone-faced.
He lets out a resigned sigh and then mumbles under his breath, “Yeah. Likewetalk about everything.”
Did I just hear him right?I pause for a moment, my eyes narrowing at Pen, the words of denial poised on my lips. But he’s right. I haven’t been forthcoming about my past—and I can’t blame him for being angry.
Therefore, I clamp my mouth shut and leave Pen to get dressed. I head back to the living area, my strides short and my shoulders slumped.
Callum’s standing in front of the slider, stiff as a board, and staring out into the darkness of the early morning.
“I never realized just how peaceful this place is,” he whispers, but I don’t know if it’s to himself or me. “Now I know what Danny’s been talking about. Maybe finding a piece of property with a lake is better… I need to sell my Evergreen home first.” He turns his head and eyes me with an emotion I can’t decipher, before returning his attention back to the black of night.