Tangled Love

CHAPTER 118

I bite my lip nervously waiting for him to answer. It's the fifth time I've rang him in the past hour, I need to speak to Jake and it can't wait.

"Hey, this is Jake's phone, leave me a mess -"

I huff loudly, slamming my phone onto the club table and pick my drink up, taking a sip.

"Is it wise that you're drinking more?" Tobias appears out of I nowhere, giving me a questioning glare.

"Get stuffed Tobias," I grumble, turning away from him. I've come to the conclusion I'm not the happiest drunk tonight . . .

"I told you, you wouldn't like the answer." Tobias says quietly, sitting opposite me. He places a glass of water on the table and pushes it towards me.

"Drink up." He instructs me and I roll my eyes dramatically.

"You're so demanding."

"It's the way I am, get over it."

"I don't like it." I respond childishly.

"Tough," he says back, his eyebrow raised high. I huff again and can't think of anything to respond with so in true Emily fashion, I do the only thing I can think of.

I stick my tongue out at him.

He gives me a questioning glare an I watch his mouth twitch before he finally splutters with laughter, the skin near his eyes creasing as he does so.

"You're so childish," he grins, wiping tears away from his eyes. He glances at me quickly from under his hair before looking away, smiling. He clears his throat and pushes his hair back away from his face before speaking again.

"You're going to get hurt Emily," he says seriously and I pause, my drink hovering in mid-air. My heart begins racing and I shake my head in protest.

"Don't Tobias."

"Don't bury your head in the sand. He can't leave the gang, trust me I know." Tobias says, his jaw clenching tightly. I watch as his eyes darken and a haunted look appears on his face.

"How did you leave the gang?" I ask him, intrigued at what his answer was. If he could leave, surely Jake can?

"I almost didn't."

I snap my head towards his chest, underneath his clothes where I know lay the deep scar.

"Is that why you were shot?" I ask suddenly and Tobias stands abruptly from the table, spilling his drink in the process. He face contorts in pain and I stand up with him, my eyes widening at his reaction from my question.

"Hey, are you okay?" I ask, reaching out to place my hand on his arm. He nods quickly, pulling his arm away from my grasp and walks away from me, his head hung low. I watch him disappear into the crowd and chew on my bottom lip, feeling sympathy for him.

"Have you had an argument with your boyfriend?"

I turn to see a young man no older than Jake smiling at me, concern in his eyes.

"He's not my boyfriend," I respond politely taking a seat on my chair once again. I breathe deeply and rest my chin on my hands. Trish left me to go dance, Tobias left me and now I'm alone, at a club opening.

Great night out this is turning out to be.

"I'm Andy," he introduces himself, taking a seat opposite me where Tobias had previously sat.

"Hi, my names Emily," I reply, giving him a quick friendly smile. I glance down at my phone to see if Jake has rung or even messaged me back. Nothing. I let out a heavy sigh.

"I can see you're busy, I can go if you want?" Andy says sheepishly, pointing over his shoulder. I close my eyes and breathe out, realising how rude I'm being.

"I'm so sorry, I'm just a little distracted." I apologise, putting my phone back into my clutch bag. I grimace at my attitude and reach for the glass of water Tobias left me.

It's time for drunk Emily to sober up.

"So where about are you from?" Andy asks politely and I place the glass down, feeling instantly refreshed from the cool water.

"I live a twenty minute ride away from here, not that far." I respond, making small conversation. That's how I spend the next hour, getting to know a stranger named Andy who has an obsession with cheesy potato mash and didn't really like the clubbing scene.

I laugh heartedly at a joke Andy tells me and he grins, pointing towards my phone.

"Can I give you my number?" He asks, beaming at me. He notices the look on my face and holds his hands up in surrender — "As friends."

"Sure." I grin back, chuckling quietly. I take a sip of my drink, waiting for Andy to add his number to my phone.

"It's under Andy, because you know. . . That's my name." He says awkwardly, scratching the back of his neck. I bite the inside of my cheek, stopping myself from chuckling at his behaviour.

Suddenly the music in the club turns off abruptly causing everyone to look around, confused. There's shouts of protest coming from the crowd and I scrunch my eyebrows in confusion. What the hell is going on?