BILLS, BOOZE & BETRAYAL | LARRY AU

CHAPTER 11

BILLS, BOOZE & BETRAYAL | CHAPTER 11

Driving up to the location Harry texted me, I can already tell that this is going to be a proper crisis when it gets to Mark. This literally feels like a red-light area and I cannot process how the girls ended up here, and even so, how did the tabloids get to them?

Upon arriving, I throw a 50 to the driver and bolt inside the dark, shabby club, my eyes immediately raking the surroundings for the girls. On the way here, I saw the pictures on the tabloids and as angry as I am right now, my biggest fear is that they looked very much out of it in the pictures and I just hope they're not completely drunk out of their senses.

As my eyes look past the smoke in the air, I finally spot the two sitting in one of the booths and peering over their phones. I can see the men gawking at them and some boys I've seen before in my life sitting in the same booth.

"Phoebe, Daisy!" I call to them and they look up at me as relief washes over their faces. "What are you two doing here?"

"W-we kind of snuck out of school with friends."

"Friends who bring you to dodgy places like this?!" I question rhetorically, anger coursing through me at the girls' carelessness.

"Hey, it ain't that dodgy, dude. Right, Pheebs?"

One of the boys slurs drunkenly and leans into Phoebe, who I immediately grab and make stand behind me along with her sister. My hands immediately balls into fists and as my jaw tightens, I remind myself that the kid is probably a minor and that I can't beat him up right now.

"It's Phoebe for you, dude. Seriously?" I look at the girls and they squirm under my gaze. I roll my eyes and grab their arms, leading them away from their 'friends'.

"Louis, we're sorry. W-we never wanted to get drunk and end up on the tabloids."

"Well, you did, and now everyone's going to be mad. At all three of us." I sigh in defeat and they melt into a series of apologies. I hold up a hand in the air to stop them before signalling for them to get going.

"Did you ever end up at the school at all?" I ask as I lead them out of the club.

"No, we bumped into friends just outside."

"If you wanted to go partying, you could have told me, girls." I sigh as they get into the car, but just as I am about to get into the car myself, I hear a distinct click and in the next instant, a flash of light fills the surroundings. I look up at the direction of the sound but see no one in sight. As my feet drag me to the place to locate the pap, my mind is already considering and calculating the repercussions from tonight's events and coming up with a plan that will hopefully shield the girls from all the heat.

Walking back to the cab empty-handed, I settle into the passenger seat as my phone rings.

"It's your school." I sigh as I show the twins my phone screen before clearing my throat and pressing the 'answer' button. "Sister Grace, how can I help you?"

"Mr. Tomlinson, are you with your sisters right now?"

"Yes, I am, ma'am."

"Well, I just needed to confirm that since they're not in bed and none of their classmates have seen them on the grounds. I was afraid they must have snuck off or something."

The only perk of a Catholic boarding school? No internet, not cell-phones.

"No, ma'am, not to worry. It's just been a long time since I've seen them and I was thinking I'd just take them back to the hotel with me and drop them off to school in the morning before their classes. They're already very tired anyway."