CHAPTER 22 #2
She hadn’t heard from Reese since they left Las Vegas.
It hurt knowing Jette had laid her cards on the table and waited for Reese to say something back.
To agree that this thing they had surpassed the realm of platonic friendship.
Instead Reese defended her boyfriend and let Jette leave the room in a heavy silence.
It fucking hurt. There was no getting around that part.
Jette left Vegas with her heart aching as she watched the skyline fade into the horizon.
Jette had never felt as rattled as she had in the days that followed.
Even the faint smell of Reese’s perfume on her clothes still made her head spin.
A simultaneous jolt of adrenaline combined with the sluggish sullen feeling that crept up her spine, leaving her feeling dazed.
She eventually told Emery all the details after she took the time to process.
It was as if she thought by sharing what happened, she would feel some kind of relief.
But it escaped her. It hid from her at the bottom of each glass of wine at the end of the day, and in every half-assed attempt at flirting with random girls in random bars.
She didn’t want any of it. She just felt numb.
The doors to the venue creaked open as she shuffled through the entryway, cumbersome paper bags weighing down her arms. A friendly stage technician swooped in and helped, carrying half of the bags down the hallway to the dressing rooms. Finley’s face lit up as they came around the corner.
Jette flashed a smile and set the bags down on the green room table with a loud thump.
Her phone buzzed in her pocket and Jette immediately squashed the tiny spark of excitement that fluttered in her chest. Enough was enough.
Sav sidled up to the table and put an appreciative arm around Jette’s shoulders.
Her hair was messily tossed into a dripping wet updo and her signature tie dye sweatshirt was pushed past her elbows.
Jette leaned into her fondly. Bright and clean notes of fruit wafted from her now healthy looking bronze skin.
All traces of her previously pallid complexion had vanished.
“Well you’re looking,” Jette paused for effect, “Better.” Paulie came through the doorway next, her short reddish-brown curls slick with water that left tiny dark spots on the collar of her shirt. Sav chuckled sheepishly as Jette’s eyes darted suspiciously between the two of them.
“I’m feeling better,” Sav avoided eye contact, rather focusing on her own hands digging through the bags of food. But Jette didn’t miss the blush of pink that swept over her cheeks. “I think Nat might’ve actually killed me if I didn’t recover in time.”
“Nat would’ve killed all of us,” Finley chimed in with a laugh. “And she would’ve started with me since I was the one who kept buying shots last night.” Finley’s eyes flashed to Jette as the other two groaned.
“Can we please not mention shots or last night,” Paulie grumbled.
“My girl’s holding on for dear life right now.
” She nudged Sav in the ribs playfully. Sav let out a yelp and wrapped her arms around her own torso.
Paulie giggled as Sav pretended to dump the sandwich in the trash before frantically reaching around her to save the wrapped parcel.
Jette smiled to herself as she watched the two of them pretend to bicker back and forth.
As she sat down with her own meal, Jette caught Finley’s eyes trailing over Paulie’s hand resting on the small of Sav’s back.
Finley made a pleasantly exasperated face when she met Jette’s gaze.
Their grins widened as they exchanged silent glances as if to say ‘Oh boy’.
They’d only been given about twenty minutes to eat before Nat swept through the room barking out timelines and reminders for the show.
Her usually sleek hair looked ruffled as though she’d spent the last few hours running her hands through it anxiously.
Finley hadn’t been kidding when she said Natalie would be on edge leading up to the New York City shows.
But Jette hadn’t been prepared for the entire team of people backstage to follow suit.
Sav changed her outfit three times before settling on her final look and Paulie had spent at least forty-five minutes anxiously tuning her guitar.
Finley was barely seen in the dressing room for the few hours leading up to the show.
She was too busy flitting around the venue, schmoozing with everybody from the record label who breezed through the building.
Jette did her part and shook hands or made small talk when the opportunity called.
Her cheeks were starting to hurt from smiling and letting out forced laughs at the same jokes that everyone seemed to cycle through. It was nothing she hadn’t heard before.
Backstage, Finley and Jette were perched on the railing watching the openers finish out their last song.
Finley anxiously picked at her cuticles and fidgeted with the cuff of her jacket.
Jette noticed the slight movements out of the corner of her eye and reached over to place her hand over Finley’s.
She shot her an understanding look and Finley nuzzled her head into Jette’s neck.
Jette ran a soothing hand over Finley’s back and simultaneously wished she had someone to do the same.
Jette wasn’t normally the nervous type, but after the non-stop draining energy radiating through the halls today, her stomach was tense.
The feeling only amplified when the stage lights cut off and the crowd erupted into applause and rowdy cheers.
Stage technicians bustled around them as a flurry of activity was set into motion.
Jette stood by her drums protectively, ensuring every piece was arranged just how she liked.
She double-checked every microphone stand and cable as she anxiously ran her fingers over the kit.
Jette moved out of the way of the stage hands as they surrounded her drum riser, letting them roll it onto the stage and out of reach.
Natalie quietly shuffled around, manically whispering orders into a headset as she directed with her hands.
“I need all of Fincher on stage left and I need to see everyone’s cell phones powered off,” she snapped.
Paulie elbowed Jette with an exasperated grin and held out her phone to Natalie.
Jette hadn’t even bothered to check her phone in the midst of the chaos unfolding all day.
She reached into her pocket and froze as the screen lit up.
An unread text had been sitting in her inbox.
Jette blinked in confusion as she stared at the name on the screen.
She shook her head as her eyebrows drew together.
Surely, she was misreading it. Adrenaline coursed through her veins as she began drafting a response.
Natalie hovered over her shoulder and Jette turned to hide the screen unsuccessfully.
She cleared her throat pointedly, her glasses glinting from the blue light of Jette’s screen.
Jette opened her mouth to protest and immediately reconsidered when she saw the flash in Nat’s eyes.
Before she could finish her reply, Jette bit her lip and pressed the power button on the side.
Her stomach somersaulted as the screen in her hand faded to black.