Bad Boy vs Millionaire (9 page)

“
So, how are things going? With the two of you. Any steamy reunion moments? I need all the dirt. And all the dirt about the weird marriage guy since I couldn't ask you last night. Was he cute? Were you tempted? If I had a rich millionaire potential husband, I'd be tempted as hell.”

I
was about to tell Angie all about the awkwardness with Jack, I needed some advice about how to deal with it, but a knock at the door interrupted me. We looked at each other.

“
No one knows I'm living here yet. It has to be a salesmen or something. Ignore it.”

They
knocked again.

“
Maybe it's the agent. You should answer it.”

“
Okay, but if I get stuck with a religious nut, you have to do my dishes for a month!”

I
opened the door and stood speechless for a moment.

Tamaki!

“Hello, Hannah. Didn't your father tell you? I'm living next door.”

It
was a good thing I had my shit together because Hannah just stood in the doorway like a stunned mullet, white-faced and unable to talk. I had to jump up and greet the poor guy. And when I say “poor”, I mean about as poor as a guy with stunningly handsome, prince-like good looks could be. Also, not poor when it came to money either, if that outfit was anything to go by. I guessed this was Tamaki, the guy from Japan.

“
So, what brings you here?” I asked. I mean, what was this guy doing suddenly popping up on Hannah’s doorstep in another country? I could see what Hannah meant by him being stalkerish.

“
Work. I have some business to do for the next month.”

“
Weird that you are living next door to Hannah, all coincidence-like.”

Tamaki
walked into the room and looked around. It kind of annoyed me that he'd walked in uninvited like that. This was Hannah’s apartment. Or was it? Who was actually paying for it? Hannah had thought it strange that her father suddenly organised an apartment for her. Now I could see why.

“
Not so strange. When Hannah's father found out that I need somewhere to stay, he asked me to organise something for Hannah as well. I hope the apartment suits you, Hannah. If not, I can arrange to change it for you.”

“
I'm not sure I want…”

“
Maybe you don't want me living next door?”

Hannah
didn't reply. This situation was getting even worse. She obviously thought she'd put it all behind her when she left Tokyo. Now Tamaki was here, right in front of her and living next door. This was not going to end well, I could just feel it. Hannah looked like someone who was in the dangerous stages of a bad stomachache. There was definitely still something between her and Jack, so this would be a huge complication. Tamaki would be right there with nothing to stop him from dropping over whenever he felt like it. The alarm bells were going off loudly in my head.

I
looked pointedly at Hannah then back at Tamaki. Hannah looked pointedly, as though she wanted to say something but couldn't with Tamaki's presence in the middle of the room. She was doing weird things with her eyes. I wondered if she was trying to blink a message to me in Morse code or something – which would be pointless because I didn’t even know Morse code.

“
I guess we should go, Angie.” Hannah turned to Tamaki. “We just dropped by for a look at the place. All my stuff is elsewhere.”

Tamaki
grinned. Wow, that was a killer grin. It changed his whole face from prince-like to loveable, and made his eyes sparkle. If Hannah didn’t want this guy, I’d have him. It wasn’t fair that she got all the hot guys. Even Eric. I couldn’t even consider Eric because he’d liked Hannah first and I didn’t want to be sloppy seconds.

“
I can drive you. If you have a lot of stuff to bring over, you will need help.”

The
panic rose in Hannah’s eyes. You didn’t need to know Morse code to read that. It was the international language of “holy shit, I can’t turn up at Jack’s place with my hot new potential boyfriend”.

She
was never going to get away from Tamaki. Ever. Well at least not today. Still, I couldn’t help myself. I wanted to get closer to this guy. I wanted to smell his nice smell. I wanted to curl up on his lap like a kitten.

“
That would be great, wouldn't it, Hannah?”

Hannah
glared at me in a way that said SHUT UP but I kept talking, getting her further and further in the shit. What was I thinking?

“
I'll get the car and meet you out the front.”

When
Tamaki left, Hannah glared at me.

“
What are you doing?”

“
Hey, what are we going to do? Carry all your stuff over here on our backs? You have a lot of stuff, Hannah and it's going to be much easier this way.”

I
was pretty pleased with myself for thinking about this.

“
What about Jack? He knows nothing about Tamaki. I can't just turn up with this strange guy who suddenly lives next door. And what if Tamaki says something ― about the marriage stuff or, I don't know, anything that might seem dodgy. I was hoping I could just forget that ever happened.”

“
Ah, hell. Maybe Jack will be at rehearsal still and won't even know. Anyway, you hate Jack. You never want to have anything more to do with him. Remember all that? What better way to prove that than to show up with a hot guy.”

“
Yeah, but I don't want to look like I’m sneaking around. I’m still the manager. If personal shit gets dragged into that, it’s going to be a huge mess.”

We
stared at each other, both trying to think of a solution.

“
Tell him you have changed your mind. You'll get your stuff later. Then you can have some time to explain things to Jack just in case they meet. It's got to be the best way. You don't even have to move in here today. Tomorrow is soon enough and you can get Jack to bring your stuff over.”

Hannah
nodded.

“
I guess that's the best solution.”

“
Yeah, and maybe we can get Tamaki to take us out for food in the meantime. He's really cute. You didn't tell me he was so cute. Those cheekbones, and that jawline. Woooh. Are you sure you don't want to marry him?”

“
You marry him if you like him so much. I'm sure you'd do just as well as me. Plus, I think he's gay.”

“
No way. That is not possible.”

“
He loves One Direction.”

I
shook my head. It couldn't possibly be true. He’d seemed so perfect for the whole five minutes that I’d known him too. Now it was all over.

“
Are you sure about this?” asked Tamaki when we explained things to him. He'd pulled up in a fancy car outside the apartment, a silver BMW convertible. We'd both jumped in.

“
Yes,” we said in unison.

“
It's better if I move in tomorrow. Trust me. Also we need to eat. With all the running around today, I'm famished.”

“
Me too,” added Angie, poking her head between the two front seats. “Wow, this is a great car. Will you let me drive it one day? I don't actually have a license or anything but I'm sure you could teach me to drive.”

“
Where do you want to go?” Tamaki asked.

I
turned to Angie. Obviously, we couldn't go anywhere we might be seen by the band.

“
Let's just drive around until we find somewhere,” said Angie. “Maybe somewhere down by the bay. That would be nice, since it's such sunny day.”

Good
plan. The last place the guys would be was the upmarket tourist places around the bay. If anything, I'd be more likely to run into one of my old friends. I didn't want to run into them either, after the recent scandal that had been all over the papers but, if I had to pick, I'd take that.

We
found a fish place and circled the restaurant but all the parking was filled. Angie made a face at me to say it looked expensive. Not the sort of place that Angie ever went to.

“
Are you paying for this fancy place?” she asked Tamaki.

“
Of course, it's my treat.”

“
Well, turn left, down that laneway. I bet there's parking down there,” she said. “If I'm getting fancy fish out of this, I'll sure as hell find you some parking.

We
headed down the narrow laneway. Tamaki seemed apprehensive about driving down there but we found a parking spot.

“
Will my car be okay, parked down this alleyway?” Tamaki asked.

I
thought about it. “I guess it will have to be, won't it. It's not like there is any other parking.”

“
Yeah and you have insurance, don't you.” Angie grinned.

We
were walking down the cobblestone street toward the water when we heard the yelping of a dog.

“
That dog's in trouble,” said Angie. She cocked her head, trying to work out where the noise was coming from.

“
It probably just wants dinner, right,” I said. I didn't know anything about dogs other than they wanted to eat all the time.

“
It doesn't sound like its hungry. You might be right. It's in trouble. Where is the sound coming from?” Tamaki frowned.

“
This direction,” said Angie.

Tamaki
and Angie took off and I trailed behind them. I wasn't sure about their ability as a dog rescue team but they both seemed anxious to do something to help. It wasn't as if they'd listen to me anyway.

We
turned the corner and saw a group of boys. They looked like thugs but couldn't have been more than 15 or 16 years old.

The
yelping of the dog got louder.

“
What are you doing?” Tamaki called.

“
Fuck off.”

“
You are hurting that dog.”

“
We said fuck off.” A chunky boy fronted up to Tamaki, his pants hanging low on his hips and his face covered in acne. “Are you a moron? Get out of here.”

“
What the hell do you think you are doing?” Angie moved in close. “We can hear the dog howling and you are just a little shit with no brains. Now scram buddy or you'll have to deal with me.”

“
And me,” added Tamaki.

The
kid looked at his friends. Angie shoved him in the shoulder.

“
Don't even think about it, just get home. You don't want to see me mad.”

I
remembered the first time I’d met Angie, how Angie had rescued me from the creepy, smelly homeless guy. Angie might be small but she could fight like a demon. If I were that kid, I’d scram for my life. I wasn't so sure about Tamaki though. He looked a bit too pretty to get into a fight. The kid stared at Angie for a minute, sizing her up, but he could see the anger in her eyes and obviously decided he didn't want to tempt that.

Angie
grinned as the kid turned to walk off but, in a split second, Tamaki flew through the air, hurling himself at one of the other kids. He grabbed him by the collar and pinned him to the wall, his arm across the kid's throat.

“
Drop it,” he said.

I
wondered what the kid should drop. I'd been so focused on Angie, I'd not seen what the other little thugs were doing. The boy struggled to get away from Tamaki but the more he struggled, the more Tamaki's arm choked him. The other boys had run off, not bothering to stop and help their friend.

I
froze. Tamaki wasn't playing around. The kid made a guttural moaning noise, a sound that seemed stuck in his throat.

The
boy dropped the rock in his hand. As it hit the ground, Tamaki loosened his grip. The little thug stared at him for a minute then struggled free and ran off.

When
they'd gone, a little beagle puppy ran over to sniff Angie's foot.

“
He's so cute,” she said. “How did you know that kid was going to throw a rock?”

“
Lightning reflexes,” he answered.

He
picked the puppy up and cradled it in his arms. As the puppy licked his face, he cooed over it. His body relaxed and he changed completely within seconds. He bit his bottom lip at the cuteness of the puppy as it climbed up to his neck.

“
What are we going to do with the puppy?” I asked. It was the cutest puppy I'd ever seen. It peeped at me around the side of Tamaki's neck and I reached over and scratched it behind the ears.

“
I'll look after it,” Tamaki said.

“
Yeah, but you are only here for a month.”

“
We should door knock to see where it came from. It must belong to someone. It's one helluva cute puppy and it's not a stray, even if it isn't wearing a collar. Let me take him, you'll get dog hair all over your good suit.”

Angie
put her hands out to take the dog from Tamaki.

“
That's okay,” Tamaki said. “I can get it dry cleaned but this little fellow needs comforting.”

A
softness I'd not seen before came into Tamaki's face.

We
walked around the neighbourhood, trying to locate the owners but not many people were home in the middle of the day. He had to have come from somewhere close by because his little puppy legs wouldn't have moved that fast. We knocked on door after door but most people weren’t at home and the few that were knew nothing about the puppy.

After
a while, the puppy started whining.

“
He wants food,” said Angie. “Poor little hungry thing.”

She
sounded like she knew what she was talking about. Tamaki had held onto puppy the whole time we’d been walking around.

“
Maybe he needs to run around for a little while too.”

“
We'll have to put signs up. I'll take photos and make the signs tonight,” Angie said. “And I'll post on Twitter.”

“
Who would leave a poor little puppy like this at home alone? It's wrong. Maybe he shouldn't go back to them.”

“
You can't keep it,” I said. “You can't take it home with you.”

“
Well, no fancy fish place for us then,” said Angie. “Let's just get fish and chips and take puppy for a run on the beach.”

***

Tamaki dropped me off at Jack's apartment. We'd swung by a pet store and bought a whole heap of things for the puppy. “Vicious” was what Angie had named him, Sid Vicious. I thought that was a pretty dumb name but couldn't think of anything better.

I’d
actually been about to ask him to drop me around the corner so Jack wouldn’t see us but then stopped myself and told him to park outside.

Vicious
sat up in his crate on the back seat of the convertible, wearing his studded collar. Angie's choice. She'd actually wanted one the same for herself. She'd also wanted to buy the complete punk outfit for Vicious but both Tamaki and I had said no.

“
You are really okay with the arrangement? I mean with me living next door. I didn't realise it would be a problem but you looked horrified when you saw me.”

“
Yeah, I think it will be okay and it will mean that I can see Vicious every day.”

When
I got inside, Eric and Jack weren't home. I assumed they were still at rehearsal. They hadn't said what time they'd get back. Our breakfast dishes were still in drying on the rack. It seemed so long since the morning, with all the excitement of the apartment then with the puppy. I'd have to find time to tell Jack about moving and maybe prepare him for Tamaki being around. I didn't owe him any explanation but that kind of logic didn't seem to matter with Jack and I didn't want to look like I was sneaking around.

I
put away the dishes then slumped on the couch watching TV. I thought about making dinner but I didn't know what time the guys would get home and I wasn't that hungry myself after our feast on the beach.

I
must have dozed off because the beeping of my phone startled me and suddenly it was dark outside.

I
checked. Eric had sent a message saying they'd be late and to help myself to anything I wanted out of the fridge. There were heaps of leftovers from the welcome home party.

It
was weird being alone in their warehouse. I could go snoop through their stuff if I wanted but I didn't think I'd find much that I didn't already know about. Maybe I'd even find stuff I didn't want to know about. I knew Jack did drugs and even Eric did occasionally but I'd rather turn a blind eye to that than blatantly know.

They
still weren't home when I went to bed.

During
the night, I heard a noise. I figured they'd gotten back from rehearsal. I tried to get back to sleep but I couldn't. I hadn't heard Eric come upstairs so figured the two of them must be talking, maybe even getting a snack. If they were still buzzing after a great rehearsal and Eric was with Jack, it'd be the perfect time to talk to him. Also, I was really hungry after skipping dinner.

As
I walked down the stairs, I noticed only the kitchen light was on and there was no noise. Last time I'd disturbed Jack in the night, he'd been in a dream and had tried to attack me. I thought maybe I should go back to bed. But then he couldn't be asleep if Eric wasn't in bed.

I
was walking through the main room to the kitchen when I heard a scream.

A
hand wrapped around my waist and I stood stock still, as though that would protect me. I couldn’t scream or move. It was as if I’d gone blank inside. The only part of me that worked was my heart, bashing to get out.

Before
my brain could unfreeze, I was hurled across the room. Crashing, then a blinding pain throbbing in my head.

This
was it. A psychopath had gotten in the house and I was going to die.

Then
I looked up at Jack.

He
had no recognition of me in his eyes. Nothing there at all. His pupils were massive and his gaze unfocussed. He mumbled something but I couldn't understand what it was. Just words being repeated. His face was drenched with sweat, so that his hair was plastered down and I could hear his rapid, panting breath.

I
tried to get up but my head throbbed with a world of pain. I was sure it’d been cut open. I must have hit the side of the kitchen bench when I fell. I reached up but I couldn't feel blood, just a huge lump.

Jack
fell back onto the couch and I wasn't sure whether to wake him completely or to just let him go back to sleep. He probably had no idea what had happened. It wasn't him. It was like he was not there, in his head. Something else had taken over.

I
couldn’t stay in the house with him. Not in that state. If something had taken over Jack’s body, I didn’t want to be with that something.

I
got up but my legs weren’t steady. I could hear something in the kitchen but I didn’t want to check what it was. I held my breath.

Obviously
, Eric hadn't come home and Jack was not Jack. I tiptoed back up the stairs, trying not to make a noise. Every creak or groan had me terrified that he’d come after me.

I
tried to get some air into my lungs and wondered if I should call Angie. But he’d hear me on the phone. He’d even hear me texting. The house had gone an unholy type of silent.