I’ve been arrested.

Fuck!

The press is going to have a field day with this…

Tillie is going to have my balls…

Oliver is going to kill me…

Alex… Fuck! Alex will either laugh or be so disappointed in me I’ll never hear the end of it.

And Nate? Well, he’ll probably be the only supportive one. He’s being super responsible now he has Ria and a bub on the way. Actually, he’s really stepping it up, while I seem to be going in the complete opposite direction.

I’m always the responsible one. The smart one. The intelligent one. The one who keeps everything and everyone together, and now here I am, in a cell, being charged, and missing one of my best friend’s wedding.

Could I have fallen any lower?

“Levine?” a cop calls out into the massive cell that’s currently holding three other men besides me. One man—which I’ve already had a minor clash with—recognized me as the bassist from Recoil. Apparently, he’s known to the rapper, Debt Money, and of course with our band’s history with said rapper, me and T-Dog here don’t exactly see eye to eye. I seem to have managed to calm the situation before it’s gotten too out of hand, with a quick transaction of handing over my watch in exchange for none of my bones being broken. I’d say that’s a damn good trade personally.

“Yeah,” I call back looking at the cop who’s not even looking into the cell. His eyes are wandering around like he’s completely bored with his job. Who can blame him, I guess?

“You can make your one call now.”

I stand up and walk toward the large black barred gate as he unlocks and opens it. He lets me walk through taking my hands and putting them into a set of long, chained handcuffs.

“Is this really necessary?”

He half-smiles. “Sorry man, just following protocol.”

While letting out a long sigh as he locks the cell door, I set off with him down the hall to a line of phone booths.

He leads me to one and nods to it. “You have one call and five minutes… make it count.”

With a quick exhale, I think about who to call. My first thought is Tillie—damage control is probably best in this circumstance, but coping a grilling from her is not on my list of must-haves right now. Oliver is probably the next in line, but to be honest, I don’t want his judgment either. Nate would be understanding in this kind of situation, but I don’t want him to see me like this—he looks up to me.

No, I can only think of one person I need right now… Alex. She’d be wondering where I am anyway, and is probably pissed at me for not showing up. Even though she knows everyone, I know she’d be feeling awkward by herself at the wedding. I should have been there for her, and I simply wasn’t. I’m a fucking shitty friend.

“Anytime rocker,” the cop says breaking me away from my thoughts.

I grab the phone and dial Alex’s cell. It rings a few times and then finally answers. The music is clearly audible through the phone, so I know she’s still at the wedding when she answers with her usually ridiculous greeting.

“Penelope’s sperm bank, you yank it, we tank it,” she calls down the line.

Smirking, I shake my head. “God are you ever serious?”

“Matt, where the hell are you? It’s practically over!” she almost yells, the annoyance evident in her tone.

With a wince, I slump slightly. “I’m a little… detained—”

“Well, getting busy with a beaver shouldn’t take precedence over your friend’s wedding, sir!”

Her usual way with words has me smirking. Before I hit her with my news, I want to find out how her night went. “How was your date?”

She groans exaggeratedly. “Ronan was a bust. But there’s an Aussie biker here, though called Techie. He’s a babe, total hottie… and that accent plus bad boy… Oh. My. God. Can’t say as I haven’t thought about—”

The guard looks at me and taps his watch. So I give him a nod and interrupt Alex’s tirade. “Alex, I don’t have much time.”

“Huh, what do you mean? Time for what?”

“To talk. I’m in a bit of trouble.”

Her voice softens and takes a serious tone. “Okay… what’s wrong?”

“Alex, you need to come to the police station and bail me out. I’ve been arrested…”

She’s quiet for a pause, takes a deep breath, snorts, then bursts out laughing. “Oh, good one, Matt, you almost had me there.”

Exhaling, I let her laugh it out until she slowly stops and then pauses again. “Wait... Matt, you’re not laughing. What the hell are you playing at? Are you really at the police station?”

“Yeah Alex, I’m really here. I need your help. Can you grab Nate and come down? I need to be bailed out.”

“Fuck! What the hell did you do?”

I guess for you to understand where I’m at now, I have to take you back to where this all started…