Chapter 15

I lock the phone screen again. I don't bother putting on any clothes. I make it my mission to torture Finnick for taking the suite, so I open the door and walk toward the bathroom with a towel over my shoulder, not caring about covering my parts.

The house is silent, I imagine they haven’t woken up yet. We’re all tired and stressed, even though my name is in the title of all the controversies, The Reckless is carrying this burden just as much as I am.

I sigh as the momentary relief of sex evaporates and, under the hot water of the shower, I try to ease the tension that tightens my shoulders. I tilt my head back, steam doing its job of helping me relax a bit. Although it’s welcome, my mind is still in turmoil.

Gravity hasn’t responded, still “analyzing” the contract as if it had much to do with it. We stayed up all night drawing up all the clauses with Camille.

A part of me knows that everyone in this world is like Nicola: they’re all after money and fame. With Gravity, especially acting where she wants, recognition is a requirement and being in a relationship with me is worth more than that; it’s the showcase that puts you on display for the entire world.

She would never have been my first choice, but Jared, Avalon, and Sydney are right: people would believe our story much more easily, and anyone who was asked in Humperville would know that Gravity has been part of my life since before the success with the band. No one would suspect that our relationship is based on clauses, rules, and meeting schedules to fulfill.

I turn off the shower, wrap my body in the towel, and step out. To my complete shock, Finnick is leaning against the wall across the hallway. His messy blonde hair, pale arms covered in tattoos, and his chest barely has space for any new ones.

Each year, Finn looks less like himself. It’s as if the darker side of his mind is in control. The monster that distances him from the human we saw him struggle to be when he met Effy seems to be taking over, and we have no idea how to push it away.

“Hey, man.” I raise an eyebrow at the zombie with his arms crossed standing before me.

His nose is red. Really red.

I furrow my brow, wondering if he’s catching a cold.

Finnick pushes past me, shoving me back toward his own room, and a dark cloud forms in my mind.

I walk past Chase’s room. I peek through the slightly open door and see him typing on his phone.

“Good morning, baby.”

“Ah. Good morning, what’s up?” Chase locks his phone and hides it under his butt when he sees me.

Suspicious.

“Already texting naughty things with Tess so early? Let me see!”

I barge into the room, laughing so hard it almost hurts my cheeks.

Chase grabs his phone back before running away from me.

“Get lost, Ashton!”

He points his finger, threatening me, but unlucky for him, I don’t care. It’s worth the risk if I have ammunition to tease the baby of the group.

“Damn, you’re unbearable! Leave me alone, damn it!”

Jumping on the bed, he tries to escape from me, but I leap after him, and Chase runs out of the room. I continue chasing him down the stairs.

“Why are you trying so hard to hide the messages?” I shout after him.

“And why are you trying so hard to read something personal?!”

As we head toward the kitchen, we come across Aidan and Bryan sitting at the table, having breakfast. They stare at us with disdain, that air of superiority rooted in both of them, completely ignoring my pursuit of Chase.

“Let me see, you know I love gossip!” I tease, laughing loudly, and the breath escapes me. “No use running. You know if I want, I can hack your phone.”

“You can’t! That’s an invasion of privacy!”

“Actually, I can.”

We stop in the middle of the room, surrounded by the sounds of our labored breaths. My towel starts to slip off my hips, and I use one hand to keep it in place.

“Chase is hiding something!” I squint my eyes, now believing it has nothing to do with Tess. “What’s it about?”

“Has anyone ever told you that you’re a nosy person, Ashton?”

“Another normal day in our life.” Bryan groans behind me. “Aidan, you’re the dad. Do something, man.”

“I’m the dad? Why am I the dad?”

“Because you’re the oldest?” he argues, and I can’t see Bryan’s expression, but I bet he’s crossing his arms, enjoying another day of me and Chase teasing each other.

“That excuse is the most ridiculous one I’ve ever heard!” Aidan counters.

But the laughter stops the moment we hear a bellow coming from the second floor, as if Finnick is expelling his very soul.

The clang that bursts from his throat makes Chase dash first, and soon I’m following him. I race up the stairs so quickly that my lungs burn. I know Bryan and Aidan are behind me because I hear the wooden floor creaking with the weight of their bodies on the steps.

“Finnick!”

Chase pushes the door open hard, the doorknob slamming against the wall, and the crash almost covers the gagging sounds.

We don’t expect him to be okay with the invasion, so we abruptly throw ourselves into the bedroom’s bathroom. The sight of him hugging the toilet, with vomit in his hair, is the worst I’ve ever seen. That redness on the tip of his nose looks even worse.

“Should we call someone?” Chase whispers, the four of us standing around Finn while he can’t stop vomiting, let alone explain what caused it.

Aidan shakes his head, expressing his answer.

“We can handle this. Finn, you good, man?” he asks our friend, and only then do I realize his ribs are more prominent than they used to be. He’s lost a lot of weight. “We’ll give you a bath.”

He gestures for me to turn on the shower.

Aidan takes charge of everything we need to do. It’s not like he knows what happened to Finn, but the way we glance at each other as we place our guitarist in the bathtub is clearly an answer.

We know what he has, we just don’t say it out loud because it’s embarrassing for him and desperate for us. We never know how to help him or if there’s a way to ease the pain he carries.

In the past, each of us used to deal with our own problems, but today, we rely on each other; whether it’s to give a bath after a binge or to cover up a fake relationship. We’ve found in each other a place much better than home, it’s shelter. Where you run when you need to feel safe.

Finnick doesn’t even resist when we refuse to leave him alone during the bath. He knows he needs us, even if he says nothing, even if he doesn’t know where to begin.

Our presence is enough to comfort him.