Relentless (Relentless Soul Book 1) (17 page)

Ava

"It's Beautiful Ava."

"Thanks Emma. I really wanted to get something that's meaningful, what could be more meaningful than this?" Looking down at the eternity symbol with the word 'family' incorporated into it makes me feel that little bit closer to my family in some weird way.

"Has Jeremy seen it?"

Sighing I shake my head at Tori, "Jeremy knew how much this tattoo meant to me, and still got drunk to the point that he couldn't even get out of bed this morning."

"What will he say about Brody taking you? When he sees where it is he's gonna be pissed that Brody was there watching. "

"I don't think he has any right to say anything Em, he knew I wanted this but was scared. And he couldn't even be there for me today."

"How was Brody?"

"He was great. I think he felt a bit awkward that I had to take my pants off and lift my shirt up. But he was great and he held my hand the entire time." Looking over to Tori I see her grin, I have no idea what is going through her head.

"Dundee!"

Jeremy's voice drags my attention to the front of the bus. "Hey, Jer, how are you feeling?"

"I feel a little better after sleeping for half the day. I'm so sorry that I wasn't able to take you to get your tat today we can go tomorrow if you like?"

Looking at the girls I shrug at Jeremy "I uh… I already got it."

"You went by yourself?"

"Umm no, Brody took me." Jeremy seems a bit disappointed and I feel bad for not waiting for him to take me. "Do you want to see?"

"Yeah, sure, what did you get?"

Undoing the button on my pants I pull my jeans down and lift up my shirt to show him the design. His eyebrows draw together and he looks a little upset.

"Wow, it's really pretty Ava. I have to go…uh…get ready for tonight's show.

Watching Jeremy walk off the bus I feel bad that I went without him, but he knew how important it was to me. Obviously he thought it was more important to get hammered.

Jeremy

It's about an hour before our show is due to start and as I walk into the dressing room, I spot Brody sitting in one of the chairs in front of the large mirror. He sees my reflection in the mirror and swivels the chair around to face me. Gripping onto the collar of his shirt I pull him up out of the chair.

"What the fuck is your game?"

Brody struggles and tries to push me away from him but I hang on tight. This has been building up for a while now and I need to know the truth.

"What the fuck are you talking about?"

Gritting my teeth I try to remain calm so I don't bust his face "What the fuck is going on with you and Ava?"

He looks away from me and mutters "Nothing is going on with us."

"And the fact that you couldn't look me in the eye just now while you were saying that tells me you are full of fucking shit, Brody."

"Jeremy, how many times do I have to tell you? We are just friends. You couldn't get out of bed this morning and she had her heart set on getting that tattoo, so I went with her. You would have done the same thing."

"She's my girlfriend. I should have been the one with her."

"You're right, Jeremy. You should have been there with her, but you were too fucking wasted. So once again, I stepped in to be there for her. Just like when she was sick and you were too busy with Jo."

I can feel my blood boiling and I am so close to doing something I will regret later, so I let go of his shirt and take a few steps backward.

"This has nothing to do with Jo? It's about you and the fact that you are in love with my girlfriend."

Brody's eyebrows lift in surprise and he is speechless as a look of guilt washes over his face.

"I'm right aren't I? You aren't even going to deny it. I've seen the way you look at her when you think no one is watching. You're in love with her."

At this point I look around the room to see Hunter and Luke watching us with concern showing on their faces.

"Okay, Jeremy. I admit I really care about Ava. But she chose you and I respect that. You're my friend. I would never do anything to come between you and the girl you love."

I look away from Brody and this was the wrong move.

"You do love her don't you Jeremy?"

I don't know how to answer that? Do I love her? I'm not sure. Surely it's too soon to know that. "Honestly, I don't know. But I'm giving it a go. And you're there every step of the way making me look like the asshole."

Brody mutters something that sounds like "You're doing a fine job of that on your own."

I ignore the comment and sit down on one of the sofas behind me.

"I think I'm falling in love with her. I love spending time with her. And the sex is really great."

Brody winces before looking me in the eyes "Sex isn't everything."

Suddenly, the door bursts open and Tori and Emma walk in and stop still when we all look up at them.

"Geez, what the fuck's going on in here? I could smell the testosterone from the corridor."

We all ignore Tori's comment and start getting ready for the show. A few times I catch Brody watching me but I try to bite my tongue. The rest of this conversation needs to happen when we have some privacy. I don't want Tori running back and telling Ava that we were fighting over her. Then I'll look like an even bigger asshole.

Brody

Tonight's show is intense to say the least. After what happened in the dressing room earlier, I am really struggling to hold it together for the entire show. I need to go and find a punching bag or something. I know Jeremy has a point. I have found it really hard to hide my attraction to Ava, but the fact is I have tried. I realized they were building some kind of relationship so I put Jeremy before myself and took a step back. I actually pushed Ava away from me because I knew he wanted her and he was so much better for her. But now I'm not so sure. The way he just left her to go off to that fucking fundraiser when he knew she was really sick. There is no way I could have done that to her. I wouldn't have left her side for a minute.

Then there’s this whole thing with Jo. Ever since that happened the cracks have been appearing in Jeremy and Ava's relationship. He needs to wise up and make a decision, because when we get back to L.A there is no need for Ava to fucking hang around with his sorry ass anymore.

As the show ends and we leave the stage my thoughts stray back to this morning when I took Ava to get her tattoo. It started out completely innocent, I was there as a friend in support as it was a big event for her with a lot of meaning behind it. I'm glad I was able to share that with her. But, holy fuck, the image of her in her little panties has not left my mind all day. Like so many times before, we shared a moment while she was sitting in that chair, her eyes on me the whole time. The intensity and depth in her gaze set my whole body on fire and all I could think about was how amazing it would be to have her body beneath mine, writhing in ecstasy as I made love to her. The way she held my hand in hers made me feel like she put so much faith and trust in me, and for a single second, I had no doubt that I could be good for her. My love for her would surely overcome any insecurity on my part. For the first time in my life I feel like I am ready to love someone wholeheartedly and give them my complete trust. I just wish she felt the same.

Ava

Staring at the underside of the top bunk my thoughts stray to Brody's soulful, grey eyes. The way he looked into mine while I was getting my tattoo made my heart leap. It felt like he was able to see right into my soul. His eyes kept me calm, the nerves and pain were gone when I looked into his eyes. Who would have thought that his eyes could have had that much of an impact? He is an amazing friend who always seems to be there for me when I need him.

"What are you thinking about?"

Rolling on to my side I look at Tori shifting on her bunk. "Brody."

"Really?"

Is that excitement I can hear in her voice?

"Don't get all crazy about it. I was just thinking about how great of a friend he is."

"He is really good to you Ava."

"He is always there for me I'd trust him with anything."

"Your life?"

"Yes."

"You didn't even have to think about that. Ava is this all not telling you something?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean think about this Ava, Jeremy, your boyfriend couldn't and didn't want to be there when you were sick. Brody was by your side the whole time and was constantly checking in on you and asking us if you were okay."

"Tori he did want to be there but couldn't."

"Not really Ava, he knew you were sick when he left, and when Brody called him he didn't even answer."

"What? What do you mean he didn't even answer?"

"No, we knew before he did. Brody tried calling him a few times before he answered."

"Oh."

"Ava I'm not trying to break you two up, I just want you to know. Brody really likes you. It's clear as day, and it's so obvious that you like him too."

"Really?"

"Yes, and it's so obvious that he makes you happy. Every time you are near him you just smile and laugh. Honestly you don't seem happy around Jeremy anymore."

"I'm so confused Tori. My head is all over the place."

"And your heart?"

Shrugging at Tori I just don't know.

"What are you going to do when we get back to LA?"

"I don't know."

"Well we are almost there."

"Let's just get the last show over and then I guess I'll just wait and see what happens."

Jeremy

I can't believe it's the night of our last show in Vegas. Tomorrow we head back to L.A and back to some kind of normalcy. I don't know what the fuck is going to happen when we get back there. Brody and I will need to sit down together and have a chat about what's been happening. If this band and our friendship are going to survive, he needs to be honest with me. Feeling my phone vibrating in my pocket I pull it out and see Jo's name across the screen. Smiling I hit the answer button.

"Hey Jo."

"Hey, Stone. What's happening?"

"Not much. Apart from the fact I nearly punched my best friend last night."

"Let me guess; was it over a sexy little Aussie girl?"

"How did you know?"

"Oh, just woman's intuition. So what's the problem?"

Shaking my head, I move to the back bedroom for some privacy from Luke who is currently on the sofa practicing his race car driving skills. I have no idea where Brody and Hunter are, they disappeared pretty early this morning and I haven't seen them all day. They had better show up soon though, we go onstage in two hours.

"So, I'm pretty sure that Brody is in love with Ava."

"Okay, have you asked him?"

"Yeah, last night. Right after I almost rearranged his face."

"And what did he say?"

"Well, he didn't admit it. But he didn't deny it either."

"So, Jeremy, what makes you think he is in love with her?"

Running my hand through my hair I sit down on the bed "It's a lot of things. The way he looks at her when he thinks I'm not watching, the way he talks about her. He's always there for her when she needs help. I mean, he had only known her a few days and he was helping her find an apartment. He just seems to go out of his way to be there for her."

"And why does that bother you? Aren't you glad they are friends and you can rely on him to look out for her?"

"It's not that." Fuck, how can I put this without sounding like a douche? "It's just that…since I've been with her, he's done more for her than I have. I kind of feel like a really bad boyfriend."

"So, change it. You be there for her instead of Brody."

"The problem is I normally don't find out about the issue until after he has already fixed it. It's like…she talks to him about stuff more than she does with me."

"Oh." There is silence for a few seconds. "The only advice I can give you is to just be you. You are an amazing person, Jeremy. You are strong and confident and so caring. I fell in love with you as soon as I met you, so if this girl has any sense at all she will appreciate you as much as I always have."

Hearing those words coming from Jo makes me feel a little happier than I should. Here I am thinking of ways to improve my relationship with Ava and I'm floored by the tenderness in Jo's words.

"Thanks, Jo. You're an amazing woman."

Hearing a soft sigh on the other end I tell her I'd better go and get ready for our show. She tells me she will be in L.A in a couple of weeks looking for apartments, so we make plans to meet up. It won't be fun trying to explain that to Ava, but we'll cross that bridge when we get there.