Chapter 30
Camryn
T hree weeks later...
Everything seemed like a fairytale—too good to be true. Even though I hadn't seen Trystan face to face, we'd spent every free moment we had on the phone, FaceTiming or texting and sending pictures. I really couldn't have asked for more, given our situation.
He was doing the best he could to prove he was all in.
Tonight was Trystan's last concert, and I was flying across the country to surprise him. Or that had been the plan, but my connecting flight was delayed by over six hours, and I'd completely missed the entire concert.
"Where to, miss?" the cab driver inquired, his eyes meeting mine in the rearview mirror.
I had intended to stay with Trystan in his hotel room, but last night, Trystan told me they were probably just going to crash on their bus since it was the last night and head to the airport first thing in the morning. So, I booked a hotel room for us that was only a five-minute walk from the arena where they were playing.
If plans had gone right, I would have made it to Trystan's concert, that I had pit tickets for, and he said I was on his list of people to let back to see him. I was going to surprise him, but now it looked like I was going to have to call him.
I desperately needed to check into my room and shower. My hair was a tangled mess, my clothes rumpled, and I chose comfort over cute, throwing on a pair of sweats because I had an early morning flight, plus the smell of the airport and over twelve hours of travel were strong.
"The Peabody Resort on the coast," I replied, fumbling with my phone. "Do you need the address?"
"No." He chuckled, a hint of local pride in his voice as he eased the car into traffic. "Everyone knows the Peabody. It's a local landmark."
I smiled politely, but I wasn't in the mood for a history lesson. Pulling out my phone, I searched through my messages, clicking on Kaia's name and pulling the phone to my ear.
"Did you make it?" Kaia's voice crackled through the phone, brimming with barely contained excitement.
"I just got here." I sighed, frustration seeping into my voice. "I missed the whole concert because my connecting flight was delayed."
"It's okay," she reassured, her tone softening. "I'm sure he's going to be so excited to see you."
"Yeah," I muttered, slumping against the car seat. "Except it ruins the whole surprise."
"You could still surprise him."
I shook my head. "I have no idea where they are parked, and even if I did, I doubt I could get close to their tour bus."
"You still share locations with all of us, don't you?"
My face dropped with realization. "Unless he removed me, then yes, I do. I'm headed to the hotel now, and I'm going to shower and go find him."
"Have fun," she teased, a mischievous tone in her voice. "And don't do anything I wouldn't do."
We disconnected, and I shoved my phone into my pocket as the driver pulled into the round driveway in front of the hotel. The driver shoved open his door and strolled around to the back as I slid out. He pulled out my suitcase and rolled it around to me.
"Thanks," I murmured, pressing a twenty into his palm with a weak smile before turning away, my mind already racing ahead to my next move.
Pulling my suitcase behind me, I pulled my hoodie over my messy hair as I stepped into the lobby. My breath caught as I immediately realized why the resort was a local landmark. Gilded chandeliers dripped with crystals, casting a warm glow across marble floors so polished I could almost see my reflection. My gaze drifted upward, following ornate columns that stretched toward a ceiling. For a moment, I forgot I was in a hotel and not a palace.
I strolled through the lobby, taking in just how beautiful it was, and stopped behind the third person in line.
My fingers twitched at my sides as the line inched forward. The thought of hot water washing away the grime of my travels made my skin itch even more. I shifted my weight from one foot to the other, my eyes darting between the front desk and the line. I was so ready to find Trystan and surprise him.
Reaching into the pocket of my black sweatpants, I pulled out my phone, clicked on 'find my iPhone,' and waited for everyone's location to update. One after one, everyone's location popped up. I zoomed in on the phone closest to mine and narrowed my eyes.
"Man," a familiar voice caught my attention. "I'm so ready to go home and sleep in my bed."
My body stiffened as I slowly shifted to flick a look over my shoulder. It was Saylor and Creed.
"Yeah," Saylor said, walking to the elevator and hitting the button. "But hopefully, it's temporary, and we'll be headed back to L.A. to start recording our new album.
My gaze flashed back to Trystan's location on my phone. He was in this hotel. The elevator chimed, and I twisted back to watch as Creed and Saylor disappeared onto the elevator. I bolted toward them and watched the numbers over the elevator rise until they reached the top floor and stopped.
"They must have decided to stay here instead of the bus," I muttered, glancing back at the line that now had three additional people in it. Rolling my eyes, I hit the button, calling the elevator back to the first floor. I would check in after I found Trystan.
After a minute, the elevator chimed open, and I stepped in and hit number 24, but the doors didn't close. I hit it again and again. Still nothing. I scanned over the wall and stopped at a sign.
Please scan your room key to reach floor 24.
"Shit," I mumbled.
I stepped off the elevator and groaned as I got back in line.
The line crawled forward at a glacial pace. I watched the clock on the wall, its golden hands moving with excruciating slowness. One minute bled into five, then ten. By the time I reached the front desk, I'd counted every crystal on the nearest chandelier twice and memorized the pattern on the carpet. Twenty-eight minutes had never felt so long.
Stepping up to the counter, I pulled out my credit card and I.D. from my wallet. "Hello, I'm checking in. Camryn Young."
"Welcome to the Peabody, Ms. Young," the young man greeted, his fingers flying over the keyboard as he flashed a practiced smile.
"I was wondering if I could get a room on the twenty-fourth floor."
He smiled politely. "That floor houses our penthouse suites."
"Would it be possible to upgrade?"
"I'm just getting here, but I believe I heard that floor is off-limits tonight." His gaze dropped to his computer. "Let me check."
His eyes widened for a moment. "Well, it is showing one room available." He paused and flicked a glance around like he was looking for someone to double-check, but everyone was busy.
"So, can I upgrade?" I asked, trying to distract him.
"I'm not seeing any reason you can't." He shrugged, leaning forward. "They usually only block it off if we have someone famous staying, but honestly, I worked yesterday and didn't hear anything about it." He leaned back and started clicking on his keyboard. "We have one two-bedroom penthouse suite that is still available for $4568.00."
The price hit me like a physical blow. My eyes widened, and I felt the blood drain from my face. A strangled sound escaped my throat before I could stop it. I swallowed hard, forcing my features into what I hoped was a neutral expression. My fingers, suddenly clammy, fumbled with my credit card.
I knew that my credit card had an available balance of over $15,000 thanks to my aunt and uncle, but I didn't usually spend more than normal monthly expenses. However, this was an emergency. "I'll take it."
It took him a few minutes to get me checked in. "Here you go, Ms. Young. The elevator is behind you. You'll need to scan your card and then hit number 24. Let us know if you need anything."
"Thank you," my gaze dropped to his name tag, "Michael."
I hurried to the elevator and quickly mimicked my earlier actions. The elevator's gentle hum seemed to grow louder with each passing floor, the enclosed space suddenly feeling claustrophobic.
By the time I reached the 24th floor, my heart was pounding in sync with the rhythmic 'ding' of passing levels. The doors chimed open, and blaring music filled the halls.
This was definitely where the bands were. They were probably unwinding and celebrating their final concert.
This wasn't how I wanted any of this to happen, but it looked like it was going to work out. I would find where the music was coming from, knock, and surprise him. Then we'd go back to my room.
I glanced at the card-sized envelope with my room number written in black Sharpie.
"Suite 2401," I mumbled, my gaze flashing up to the gold sign indicating my room's direction. "To the left." But the music was coming from the right. "Go get changed, Cam. You do not want to smell like a dirty airport when he sees you again for the first time in weeks."
Loud laughing trickled down from around the corner to the right, and I couldn't help myself. I moved in the opposite direction of my own room.
There were six rooms to the right down a long hallway and six rooms to the left, and my guess was the band occupied all rooms except the one I was occupying.
There was a chance Trystan was locked away in his room getting ready to call me, but I'd at least find Saylor and Creed, who could point me in the right direction.
The first two double-door rooms had the doors closed, but the further I moved down the hall, the louder the music got because the doors were open.
My heart raced as I inched closer and closer to the rooms. The fear that he might not be excited to see me cut through my thoughts, and I pushed it away. He asked me every time we talked if I could make it to his next show.
Two blondes stumbled out of one of the rooms topless, and I froze. One was tall and thin, wearing see-through pink bikini panties, and the other was shorter and thick with a yellow thong. "Groupies," I muttered, shaking my head.
"Oh hey," the pink panty girl slurred. "We ordered towels an hour ago; what is taking so long?"
I narrowed my eyes, my face twisting with confusion. "Excuse me?"
"Towels," she said slower this time like it would make more sense, and then it dawned on me. They thought I was housekeeping.
I shook my head. "I'm not housekeeping," I forced a smile. "Just trying to get to my room." I nodded forward.
"Oh." The yellow panty girl scowled, her gaze sweeping over me. "Our bad." They both laughed and crossed the hall into the room on the opposite side.
I took a step forward and stopped again, thinking maybe I should just call him, but quickly shook it off, knowing I had nothing to worry about. Trystan had not only made it clear I was his and he was mine, but he'd shown it.
I strolled forward, glancing to the left as I passed the first room. It was full of women and a few members of Wicked Sinners. I turned, looking right, and saw more naked women and a few men. I kept walking until I came to the last two rooms. The room to the left was empty.
"Can we just get this over with?" Saylor snapped. "I'm trashed and ready for bed."
I smiled at the sound of Saylor's voice. Leaving my suitcase at the door, I stepped up to the open doorway.
I paused at the threshold, my hand trembling slightly as I reached for the doorframe.
"It's the last night," Creed said. "We should be partying with Aero and the guys."
"Aero's locked up with his girl," Trystan said. "Which is where I want to be. So, let's get this done. So I can go to my room." My chest swelled, hearing his words. He wanted to be in his room with me instead of partying.
"How many photos for social media do we need?" Saylor complained.
"Honestly," a deep male voice said. "We really only need a few of Trystan and his girlfriend tonight." My brows slammed together.
Does he know I’m here?
"Yeah," a female voice said. "You snap a few pics of me and Trystan here and on the bed, and I'll post them with some pics from earlier tonight. Then we can call it a night."
I stepped into the room without thinking. Trystan was sitting with his back to me, with a tiny blonde sitting on the arm of the couch next to him.
I knew I should have left. I should have left before I made a fool of myself, but I couldn't.
"So, we can leave?" Saylor asked, pointing to the door where I was standing.
The tall, dark-haired man holding a camera nodded. "Let's do this."
The blonde slid onto Trystan's lap, wrapping her arms around him, and my heart shattered into a million tiny pieces. I wasn't the girlfriend the photographer was talking about.
"Oh, hey Cam," Saylor said really loud.
Trystan shot up from the couch, dropping the girl on the floor and twisting around with wide eyes to see me. "Cam?"
"She's your girlfriend?" I tried to fight the tears burning the back of my eyes. "So weird because I thought I was."
"Camryn..." He pleaded.
"Fuck you, Trystan."
I bolted out the door down the hall, eventually rounding the corner and pounding on the down arrow button. I hit the button over and over frantically until the doors slid open, and I jumped on, turning to hit the 'close door' button.
"Cam," Trystan shouted, stepping into view. "Please."
"I don't ever want to see you again, Trystan." As the elevator doors closed, separating me from Trystan, the pain in my chest crystallized into something hard and sharp. Beneath the anger and betrayal, a profound sense of loss bloomed - not just for what I thought we had, but for the person I'd been just moments ago. Naive. Hopeful. In love.
I was done with Trystan West.