The Bad Boys of Summer Anthology(271)

“What?” he asked, staring down at my vice grip on his arm. “What? Eliza, please say something.” He pulled away slowly. “Shit, where’s Ben?”

“Right here.” Ben stormed around the corner with my inhaler in hand. “I had to dig around for her inhaler.” He placed the inhaler in my hand and I brought it to my lips, gasping for dear life, sucking in and pressing the top to get as much medicine as I could. It would have been embarrassing had my life not been on the line, but I didn’t care that Gage or Ben were watching me. I didn’t even care when Cal came strolling into the living room fully dressed. He was humming but stopped immediately when he saw them standing in front of me with eyes full of concern.

“What’s going on?” he asked, switching glances between all of us.

My heart steadied a little with each pump until finally I could breathe again. I inhaled one last time and breathed through my nose, pulling the inhaler away from my mouth.

“Are you okay, Liza Bear?” Ben asked. I nodded slowly, but my hands were shaking. Gage noticed and swallowed, shaking his head. “What the hell happened?” Ben hissed, smacking Gage on the shoulder.

“It wasn’t me!” Gage snapped, standing to his feet. “Deed has warned you about Bentley since day one, yet you still keep him around. Why the hell can’t you just dump his ass?”

Dump him? What did he mean dump him?

“Bentley is a huge part of this crew. He takes care of the drivers of the buses, handles the maps, and makes sure we get to each destination on time and safely.”

Gage’s frowned deepened. “Bentley is a fucking asshole.” I finally noticed how shaky Ben’s voice was before. Why did his voice waver? Gage shook his head, running his fingers through his hair. “Bentley almost… kicked Eliza.”

I shuddered, begging my body not to relive it. Ben stilled at my side and sucked in a breath. “What do you mean kicked her? Why would he try to kick her?” There was rage in his voice.

Gage folded his arms, taking a step back and cocking his head at the door. “I don’t know. How about you go ask him? You’re the closest one to him besides Deed. If I see him, I’m fucking him up.”

Ben shoved past Gage and rushed for the door.

“Gage,” I croaked. I was still shaking. Gage looked down at me and, sitting beside me, pulled me into him. “Why would you say that to him? You shouldn’t have told him. It might ruin the tour.”

“Today’s show probably has to be cancelled anyway. Might as well settle differences.” He shrugged. “Besides, had he really kicked you, his ass would’ve been handed to him on a silver platter.” He looked me over briefly, his eyes depressing. He grabbed my hands and kissed the tops of them. “Why didn’t you come for me? He could’ve hurt you, Eliza.”

I shrugged, shaking my head. It would have been too late. “I couldn’t let him hit Deed again, Gage. Someone had to step in the way.”

“You’re so tiny, Eliza. He could have hurt you way more than he could’ve hurt Deed.”

I sighed and that’s when Cal cleared his throat. “So, no show today?” he asked.

Gage shook his head. “Most likely not.”

Pressing his lips, Cal nodded and turned on his heels to get down the hallway again. Gage sighed, pulling me into him again and kissing my forehead. “What was that?” he asked.

“What?” I whispered, knowing exactly what he was talking about. It was better to play dumb.

“That… the wheezing and gasping. Were you having an anxiety attack?”

“Something like that.” I sighed. I looked up and Gage smiled warmly, making me want to sink against him even more. “I have a small case of PTSD.” His eyebrows lifted as if I’d spoken another language and I laughed at his twisted face, shaking my head. “Post traumatic stress disorder.”

He frowned at that. “Why? What happened before?”

I bit on my lower lip, refusing to go there again. Going there meant thinking about the past and I didn’t want to think about it. I didn’t want the flashbacks to surface so I turned into his arms even more and shook my head.

“I get it.” He sighed. “It’s okay. We don’t have to talk about it right now.”

I was glad he understood. I didn’t want to panic again. “Sorry your show got cancelled,” I murmured as he hugged me.

“It’s not your fault,” he whispered, leaning against the sofa. “It’s no one’s fault but Bentley’s. The security guards helped get Deed to a hospital. They think he has a fractured rib. He’s pretty banged up. He won’t even talk to me.”

I shook my head, hating to hear that. Gage’s grip tightened around me and soon he began panting unevenly through his nostrils. I looked up, confused about why his body had gotten so tense. “Gage, what’s wrong?”

“I just…” He shook his head, pulling away from me. “I feel like it’s my fault that Bentley kept getting that close to him. I was supposed to be with him—” He stopped talking again, sighing and running his hands over his face. “Every time Deed would leave from a party early, Bentley would find him. Deed told me last night. He thinks he can escape him, but it’s like Bentley is constantly on the lookout for him. He gets mad when Deed isn’t with the band.

“At first, Bentley started hitting him because he expected perfection. He’d told Deed a long time ago that if he wanted to be a part of the band, he had to act like the professional he wanted to be. That meant with drumming, he couldn’t miss a beat. Bentley is a master at the drums and hearing Deed fuck up one time—one time… Bentley got on him for it. He got so upset that he gave him a black eye. Deed had to cover it up for weeks.”

Gage stopped talking and my breathing stifled as I finally heard the truth about his black eye. So Gage knew why he’d had it all along. He knew since day one but kept it a secret. I wondered if Montana and Roy knew as well. When Deed wore sunglasses, I was sure most people thought of it as a fashion statement and looked past it, but not me. Not us. Not when I knew what was really behind those sunglasses. Gage played it off extremely well.

“Why haven’t you guys told Ben?”

“Ben?” He shook his head, laughing dryly. “Ben’s probably at Bentley’s trailer kissing him as we speak.”

I gasped, smacking his arm with no intentions of being playful. “Why would you say that?” I snapped.

“Because they date, Eliza. It isn’t obvious? Ben isn’t the only fruit in the vegetable garden.” Gage revealed a small smile and I couldn’t help but snicker at that. The snickering didn’t last long for me, though. Not when I realized Ben had been hiding it from me.

Ben was very secretive about his love life. I didn’t mind him being gay. It didn’t steer me away or make me think less of him. I wouldn’t have cared if he’d told me about Bentley. He didn’t make it obvious that he was dating him, but I did notice how Ben always mentioned having a night out with a few friends. I put it all together then. By “friends” he meant a night out with his “friend” Bentley.

“So he hasn’t gotten rid of Bentley because he likes him?”

“More like love.” Gage sneered. “Ben and Bentley have been messing around for a while.”

“Well, loves him. Whatever.” I waved it off.

“Yeah,” he sighed. “Bentley was around way before the band even got popular. He was our driver for a while and Deed hated it because it meant Bentley had no choice but to attend every show. Deed was always so stiff around him, so… out of it. He hardly talked while Bentley was around, and I picked up on it. Of course he would brush it off and say it was nothing, but I found out one day. I witnessed Deed’s bruises and black eyes when I paid him a random visit. It’s a shame that it’s dragged on for this long. Bentley is better to Ben than he is to his own stepson. That’s the sad part about it all.”

“Stepson?” I questioned, my eyebrows shooting up. Perhaps Deed and I had more in common than I thought.

“Yeah.” Gage cleared his throat, running the palms of his hands over his face again. “Just… don’t say anything to anyone,” he said, looking at me sternly.

“Why would I, Gage? I’d never stoop that low.”

“I believe you. I’m just saying. Montana and Roy don’t even know… at least not yet.”

I shrugged off his statement and as soon as I felt stable enough, I stood to my feet and went for the kitchen. I grabbed a bottle of water and gulped it down and then Ben came bustling in, letting us know that the show was indeed cancelled for today and that he’d sent Bentley home. Ben made a call to the hospital a few minutes after and told us Deed had fractured a rib and was bruised up pretty badly. They had to stitch up his forehead and left hand.

I felt terribly sorry for Deed and wanted to visit, but Gage told me not to worry about it and that he and the band would send my condolences along with a few playful kisses. I tried to be happy after he left, but as I turned around, I felt even more terrible.