Making theirway swiftly through the busy reception area, they eventually foundthe pub where they were to meet their housemates. In a way, she wasboth dreading and looking forward to seeing them. She hated theidea of having to tell them of her granny’s passing. She was afraidshe would lose her composure all over again.
“Just so you know, I forewarned the guys of the circumstances.I hope you don’t mind,” Kell said as if reading herthoughts.
“Thanks, Kelley,” she said with a sigh of relief. It would bebetter than to have to tell them in person.
Of course, allhope of holding it together was dashed right from the moment shespotted the two Goths sitting in the far booth. They’d been talkinganimatedly to each other until they turned and saw her and Kellapproach. Dorian stood up first and then so did Crispin. With onelook at the pity on their faces, Becky started to cry. Oddlyenough, it was Crispin who came to her first, placing his hands onher shoulders, before pulling her in for a much-needed hug. ThenDorian’s hand was on her head, he was gently stroking her hair.
They werecausing a bit of a scene, Kelley noticed the questioning looks fromthe few patrons around the low-lit pub. That in itself wouldn’thave bothered him in the past, but today, under the circumstances,it did.
“Come on, let’s sit down.” He encouraged everyone back into theconfines of the booth.
“Poor little dormouse, I’m so sorry.” Crispin placed a kiss ontop of Becky’s head. “Here, slide on in.” The suddenly sensitiveGoth helped her off with her coat and hung it up on the peg besidehis. Without hesitation, he then climbed in beside her and put hisarm around her shoulders.
Seeing Becky ingood company, Kell sighed with relief. He hadn’t realized how longhe’d been holding his breath until that very moment.
Recognizing thelook on his housemate’s face for what it was, Dorian leaned overand placed a supportive hand on his shoulder.
“You all right, mate? You look a tad pale, even for yourself,”he said with a half smile.
Kell onlystared at him blankly for a moment before coming to his senses. Hehad to get out of there. If only for a while.
“I’m fine… Um, perhaps you and I should go get our things fromthe car and take them upstairs.”
“Good idea, mate. There’s something we need to discuss alongthe way,” Dorian said, glancing nervously from Kell to Becky, andCrispin.
“You’ll be all right here, just the two of you?” Kell askedwith concern. As much as he wanted to get some air, he would hateto leave her if she wasn’t so inclined to stay behind withCrispin.
“Of course,” Crispin said with an air of indignation. “Go on,we’ll wait for you right here.” He waved Kell and Dorian away. Thenas if no one else existed, Crispin spoke softly so that only shecould hear him.
“You’ll be safe with me, sweetheart.” He paused to stroke herhair. “Perhaps, Miss Becky would like something to eat?Hmm?”
She nodded,realizing that she hadn’t had anything to eat since they stoppedalong the highway, and that was hours ago.
“Maybe a wee bit of cheese for our little dormouse,” he teasedlightheartedly.
Seeing hersmile, set Kell’s mind at ease. He turned and followed Dorian outof the pub, taking Becky’s suitcase with him.
***
“Hold on a second, Kell,” Dorian said before they reached theelevator.
“What’s up, man?”
“It’s about the room.”
“You mean rooms?” Kell corrected.
“Actually, we only got the one room,” Dorian said, looking veryconcerned.
“What?” Kell scoffed.
“Yeah, and we were lucky to get it. Hey, don’t look at me likethat. Crisp and I hit, at least, a dozen hotels before this one andthey were all booked up. Apparently, there’s some conference goingon all weekend long. Trust me, this is the best we could do. Atleast, we have two double beds.”
“That’s just fucking great!” Kell grumbled infrustration.
“Come on, we’ll make it work.”
“Aw… fuck, I don’t know,” Kell said, dragging his hands downhis face.
“We haven’t much choice, have we?” Dorian said, pushing theelevator button. “Let’s just go get our things and getsettled.”
“Right…” Kell said, following him into the elevator.
After takingtheir bags to their room, Kell couldn’t think straight anymore. Hewas overwhelmed. He was worried about Becky, and how she would feelabout sharing a room with all three of them. He was concerned abouthaving to deal with the funeral tomorrow. The stress of it all wasgetting to him and if he didn’t get away soon, he might just loseit.
“Go on, get out of here for a while,” Dorian said, seeing thehesitation on Kell’s face when they returned to the lobby. “Take awalk, clear your head.”
“I can’t just leave,” he agonized, so obviously torn, lookinglongingly at the revolving doors of the hotel. Just the other sidewas the freedom he so desperately needed. But could he do it? Couldhe walk away? If only for a little while…
“Sure you can. For a little while. Seriously, man, you looklike you need it. Surely, there’s somewhere you’d like to go,”Dorian said knowingly. It couldn’t be easy for Kell to have to dealwith this. He was well acquainted with Kell’s past experience withthe horrific deaths of his entire family. How he’d kept it togetherthus far surprised him. “She’ll be fine. We’ll look afterher.”
With a finalglance at the pub entrance, Kell nodded and bolted for thestreet.
Chapter 12
When Dorianreturned to the pub alone, Becky couldn’t help but ask, “Where’sKelley?”
At her question, Crispin flinched but forced himself to biteback his unsavoury comment. AlwaysKelley… Why wasn’t he everenough?
“He went out for some air,” Dorian said, sharing a knowingglance with Crispin before sliding into the seat across fromthem.
“Oh…” Becky said pensively. She couldn’t help but feel slightlyabandoned. Of course, she had no reason to feel that way sinceCrispin was being so unusually sweet to her. Now Dorian was withher too. Yet the truth was, who she really wanted to have close wasKelley.
“We’ll be just fine on our own for a little while, won’t we,Becky?” Crispin said, leaning into her, reminding her of hispresence.
“Yes, of course, we will,” she said
