“Then what?” I say impatiently as he falters. “You might as well tell me.”
He blows out a measured breath. “He got caught stealing.”
The words slam into me like a blow. “Oh mygod.” I loop my hands behind my neck, staring at Ben. “Oh my god,” I breathe again. “How? Why?”
“Apparently, they’ve been watching him for a while, and at first, it was skimming a bit here and there, but then he got obvious and desperate, and they caught him.” He grimaces. “As to the why, you know the answer.”
“He’s gambling again.”
“Again? Where have you been, Wes? He’s never fucking stopped.” We fall silent, staring at each other. “Sorry,” he mutters.
“Don’t be stupid. Why would you be sorry? You haven’t done anything.”
“Yeah, but I shouldn’t have taken it out on you.”
“Why not? I’ve not been much of a brother to him lately.”
“Hey. Stop that. You’re a fantastic brother.”
“I’m not. I just thought…” It’s my turn to falter. “I was just so fucking mad at him, Ben. But I thought it was a one-off—that he’d lost the house, but he would be okay. I thought it had scared him enough for him to be okay again.”
“I don’t think that’s how it works, mate.”
“I’m such a twat. I know how the world works. Why the fuck didn’t I make him tell me the truth?” I already know the answer—because I didn’t want to know. I wanted to hide my head in the sand and cultivate my anger at him.
“Wes, he lost your fucking house. And I can tell you now that he’s done other shitty stuff too. He’s an addict.”
The word falls between us like a percussion blast, and then my world goes silent. There’s something so final about that word.Addiction. In my head, Tyler had just made a mistake—we all do that. He’d get back on his feet, and after we cooled things off between us, we’d resume our usual relationship.
But that one sinister word makes everyone’s future—mine, Tyler’s and Cath’s—suddenly a hell of a lot less certain.
I take a breath and then another as Ben watches me, his eyes wide with alarm. Then I nod. “I know,” I admit quietly.
He slumps against the wall. “I’m so?—”
“Please don’t say you’re sorry, Ben. You have nothing to apologise for. I’m going to sort this.”
“How?”
I snort a humourless laugh. “I have no fucking idea, but I’ll do it. Can you do me a favour, though?”
“Anything. You know that.”
“Can you tell me when he contacts you? He’s not picking up his phone anymore, so he’s obviously feeling guilty, and?—”
“I can’t.” He slowly shakes his head, his expression miserable.
“Why?” I whisper.
His eyes glisten. “Because he stole all my savings, Wes.”
I take a stumbling step back. “No, hecan’thave done.” Ben is Tyler’s oldest friend. They’ve been as close as peas in a pod since primary school. “No, he wouldn’t.”
“He did.” The quiet certainty stops the story I’m trying to tell myself. “He hacked into my laptop at home and guessed my password. The next time I checked, all my money was gone. All my savings—the house money.”
“Oh, Ben.” He’s been saving with his fiancé to get a house for a few years. “How much?”
“Thirty grand. There’s no mistake,” he says quickly, his expression earnest. “They showed me the transfers into his account.”
