Love & War | Brad Simpson ✔️

Bonus IV

Little bonus of Brad's POV from the last chapter

As the lift stops on the ground floor of the hotel, I feel anxiety wash over me and dread fills in my stomach. The doors slide open and I take a deep breath before stepping out into the lobby.

I'm slightly hidden by a plant but I can still see Joe's tall frame stood near the door. I can't see anyone else stood with him but I'm only really focusing on his face anyway. He looks mad.

Fuck.

I make my way over to him, quickly. He clocks me as I approach him and looks a little relieved, though still annoyed.

"Where've you been?" He asks sharply, a frown on his face. Yep, he's angry.

"I'm sorry" I say quickly, not really answering the question, "I'm really sorry"

"Van's outside" He sighs and I follow him sheepishly through the front doors.

When I climb in the back of the van, I'm met with a few sarcastic cheers as I sit down in the seat beside Tris. Our driver sets off almost immediately so that we aren't anymore late than we already are.

"Finally" Tris titters, making me roll my eyes.

"Where the hell have you been all night?" James asks, shifting around in his seat to face me.

"Nowhere" I mutter, shrugging casually to try and make the situation not seem like a big deal.

"You were nowhere all night?" Tris smirks, clearly not convinced by my answer.

"Yeah"

"We thought maybe you'd got lucky" James laughs. Shit. I know I told Ella that I'd say I'd slept with a girl and she seemed fine with that but I'm not sure I am. Technically it's true but that story makes it seem like a one night stand when in reality, it was so much more than that. It was more than sex. I almost want to keep the details between Ella and me.

I open my mouth to try and make an excuse but it's a second too late and James's face lights up.

"Oh my God, you did!" he blurts before he and Tris start laughing at their discovery. I sigh and run a hand over my face. I know the questions are coming and I'm going to have to be really careful about what I say.

"You kept that one quiet" Tris grins. He wouldn't be grinning if he knew who I'd been with.

"Mhmm" I hum, shrugging again.

"Oh, Mr Casual's playing it cool" James snorts at my nonchalant attitude.

"Wait" Joe pipes up from the front of the van, "you're saying that in the time that you left the bar alone and would have got to your room, you managed to meet a girl and convince her to take you back to her room?"

"Yeah, that's totally what happened" I mutter sarcastically, rolling my eyes.

"Who was it?" Tris asks.

"You don't know her" I lie, glancing over at Connor. He's being incredibly quiet and staring out of the window.

"Do you know her?"

"Yeah"

"You don't know any girls in Newcastle?" Tris scoffs, eyeing me suspiciously.

"Yes, I do" I counter, "I've known her ages"

"You've never mentioned having a booty call in Newcastle"

"It's none of your business" I retort, "and she's not a booty call, she's... a friend"