Rock Bottom (Tristan & Danika #2)(51)

Estella’s eyes were wide and shocked, but she didn’t say a word. More intimidated by me by the minute, I thought.

Anthony shook his head back and forth, throwing his hands in the air like I’d done something way crazier than grab a guy’s shirt.

Danika just watched me, arms crossed, eyes troubled. After one pregnant moment, she looked away, striding to Preston.

She touched his arm, asking if he was all right.

“I’m fine,” he said shakily. “I’m fine. Just a misunderstanding.”

Unaccountably, that just made me want to deck him. Hard.

She gave him a quick hug. “Thanks for being cool about this. I’ll see you next week.” She let him go quickly, turning away.

He stopped her with a hand on her arm, saying something too low for me to catch.

I body checked him.

Danika moved into my chest, trying to shove me away from him. I let her. As long as she was coming with me, I was fine with that.

She ushered me out of there like the place was on fire. We didn’t speak until we were driving home in her car. I just left mine behind. I’d get it later.

“Why Tristan? Why did you behave like that? Did he say something awful?”

I shook my head. My excuse was not so solid as that. “He’s just so f**king pleasant.”

She shot me a wild-eyed look. “Are you kidding me? You attacked a guy, my friend, because he was being pleasant?”

My hand cut through the air in a negative motion. “No, though that didn’t help. He’s just the kind of naive f**ker that reminds me how f**ked up I am. Life must be a f**king picnic, to grow up and never have a bad thing happen to you, like your Preston there.”

“First of all, he’s not my Preston. And second, you don’t know a thing about him, or what he’s been through.”

“Oh, was I wrong then? Does he not come from a perfect f**king family, with two parents, probably still married, who think the sun sets in his ass?”

Her mouth twisted, and I could tell she was trying not to smile. “How did you know that? What did you guys talk about?”

“I could just tell. The stars in his eyes are too f**king shiny. And we talked about you. You know he has a thing for you, right?”

She grimaced. “He knows I’m not interested.”

“So that’s a yes, you do know. How f**king perfect. You’ve got a bullpen all ready in case I screw up.”

She pulled over, turning to look at me. “What’s gotten into you? Did something happen?”

I closed my eyes, my head dropping back against the seat. I was being an ass, and I damn well knew it. I’d let my jealousy get the best of me, and I felt like a tool because of it.

“I’m sorry, alright?” It was a plea. “I know I was a jerk.”

“Tristan, answer me. Did something happen?”

I hated talking about some things, and this was one of them. “My mom called me earlier just to tell me that she missed Jared, and that she still blamed me. Sweet, huh?” It didn’t matter how old I got, my mother could still make me feel like scum in a few short sentences.

She made a soft noise of sympathy, unbuckling her seat belt, and climbing over to my seat, hugging me tightly.

I squeezed her back so hard that the breath whooshed out of her.

“Oh, Tristan, you know how wrong she is, don’t you? You know she’s just lashing out, right? She’s like a wounded animal, attacking anyone that gets in reach.”

“Yes, I know,” I spoke softly into her hair. That wasn’t precisely true, but it was the easiest answer.

I needed her comfort more than I needed her sympathy.

“Are you mad at me over the Preston thing?” I asked her. I didn’t deserve her forgiveness, but I needed it if I was going to take my next breath.

I’d been out of line, there was no doubt, but she didn’t hesitate. “No, Tristan. I just want you to take better care of yourself, and I need you to work on your temper.”

“I will,” I promised, my tone solemn.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

DANIKA

I got a short text from Tristan, asking me to meet him at a specific time at his apartment. I’m not sure what got my back up, but I was suspicious right away. The message just didn’t feel like Tristan.

Something was up. I knew it in my gut.

I called him. And called, and called. I left him text after text, but his responses were short, each one stressing the exact time I should come over to his place. I couldn’t put my finger on why, but the whole thing reeked of Dean.

I made a point of showing up early, letting myself in the door. I was very quiet. Deliberately stealthy, in fact.

I could hear Dean talking loudly somewhere in the house, and a female voice responding. As I got closer, I could tell that it was Nat. I waited on the other side of the wall from the hallway that led to the two bedrooms, trying to make out what they were saying.

I only caught about every third word, but I could tell they were plotting something. Something nasty. And all the while, not a peep out of Tristan.

Dean said a terse good luck to Nat, moving into his room and closing the door. I moved.

The hallway was empty as I made my way to Tristan’s bedroom. I knew what that meant, but I still couldn’t believe what I was seeing as I slowly opened the door to his dark bedroom.