Piano Man (Tradley au)

Chapter 10- Tristan's POV

I feel a bit awkward- it's the first time I've seen Brad since I ran out on him, and he's not even mad. He was even nice enough to bring my stuff here just in case I showed up. Over a drink, I'm telling him everything. "Corey texted me and it was quite threatening." I begin. "I panicked, and that's why I ran away. I'm sorry."

Brad smiles at me. "It's ok. Are you alright now? What happened after you went back?"

I take a sip of my wine. "He asked me who the hell I thought I was bringing you back there, but I just let him yell at me. Then he stormed off again and I haven't seen him since. Maybe he went off with some other guy."

"Some other guy." Brad repeats, looking shocked. 

I nod. "It happened a lot. Sometimes I would confront him, then we'd have a fight, then he'd slap me, then I'd go to bed and cry. The usual." I manage a laugh, but it's somewhat fake. 

Brad still looks shocked. "That's awful. Why did you put up with that?"

I sigh. "I'm not very confident about being alone. I guess I figured that it's better to have someone horrible than no one at all."

Brad gives me a small smile. "At least he's gone now. What's happening now then? Because it's nearly closing time."

I look over at the clock and see that he's right, it's nearly 1am. "I don't know. Corey hasn't come back yet, but it's Saturday so it's likely that he's been drinking. God knows what will happen now."

"It's probably best that you don't go back there then." Brad muses. "Do you want to come back to mine. You've been before, briefly..."

I bite back a laugh. "I'd like that." I hope Brad knows how grateful I am to have him looking after me. He leads me out into the night, and despite the fact that my boyfriend (or maybe my ex boyfriend, I honestly have no idea)  is God knows where with God knows who, I feel safe. I'm not alone, Brad's here, and I'm safe. 

I've spent so long walking on eggshells that this feeling is kind of new to me, but it's nice, so I'll try to enjoy it. I feel like myself around Brad, like I can tell him my stories and he laughs with me rather than at me, which is more than can be said for Corey. As we walk, Brad tells me some of his stories from working in a bar. "I once had a drunk guy try to punch me." he says in a way that makes it sound like that happens every day.

"Really?" I ask.

Brad laughs. "Yeah. He was trying to get me to play some guitar song, which would be ok if I was a guitarist, but I'm a pianist."

"Why did he nearly punch you then?" I ask.

Brad smiles. "He was just getting really angry. He literally said 'What kind of musician are you?' then I said 'a pianist, not a guitarist.' It didn't go down well."

"I can imagine." I say, laughing. I'm feeling happy and relaxed for the first time in ages, but I then suddenly freeze as a familiar looking figure crosses over the road. 

I tense up, and Brad turns to me. "Are you ok?"

I nod weakly, then breathe a sigh of relief. It's not Corey- it's just someone who has the misfortune to look like him. "I'm fine." I say shakily. "I just thought it was.."

Brad cuts me off. "It's ok. It's not Corey." I must still look a bit nervous, as Brad reaches to take my hand. "It's ok, you're safe." 

I let out a shaky breath, but start to believe him. I trust Brad, he wouldn't lie to me. He holds my hand the entire time, which I'm grateful for- it's comforting, and it gives me something to focus on other than the crippling anxiety. When we get back to his house he says "Are you ok sleeping on the spare room again? It's not the most comfortable, but you'll be safe."

I nod. "Thank you." Brad smiles, but I then feel slightly awkward when he vanished- I hate being left alone in people's houses. 

Luckily, he quickly returns. "It's not the tidiest." he explains apologetically. "Sorry."

"It's ok." I say, smiling softly. "Thank you for doing this for me." Brad gives me a smile in return before heading off to his room. As I get into bed, I'm still anxious. Logically I know I'm safe, but I just can't stop with the 'what ifs'. But stewing over it won't help- the only thing that will is sleep.

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This was bad 😭 But please still vote and comment, I love reading comments :)

I got back late from another uni open day, I walked so far and now I'm totally exhausted *lazy* it was a good day though.