Chapter 5
The next week droned on without much fanfare.
I didn’t have any more interviews promoting the album until next week, so I was having a little bit of down time.
Which was good, because since the security interviews, I still hadn’t had a chance to figure out exactly how I was going to officially announce tour.
Just the whispered mental reminder of the interviews brought Van’s handsome form to the forefront of my brain.
God, he was handsome. I’d definitely relieved some excitement by pairing my hand with my dick and going the fuck to town.
I just needed one time to fantasize about him and then I was done.
Okay, maybe it was less of a one time fantasy and more like a three or four time fantasy.
But whatever. There was no guarantee that Van was even going to get the job as my security guard.
Except, I’d be shocked if he didn’t. The last two interviews had been pretty good, at least as legitimate as Van’s had been.
And while they had some decent credentials and experience, they paled in comparison to Van.
We were just waiting on the background checks to make sure everything was in order before Priyanka and I had the decision to make.
Part of me hoped that Van’s background check would screw up his chances.
Not because he wasn’t qualified, he was.
Not because he wasn’t capable, he definitely was.
I was the problem. I had such a visceral reaction to him that I was a bit concerned that I’d be unable to keep my feelings to myself.
But over the course of the past few days, I’d been weening myself away from thinking about it.
If Van was going to be my security, I couldn’t be lusting after him like that.
The last thing that I wanted to do was to create a hostile work environment that made Van feel completely uncomfortable.
The sound of my phone chiming, indicating that I had a text message, brought me out of my thoughts.
I was just wrapping up on my breakfast for the day, both my cats curled around my feet after their own breakfast had been administered.
Sitting at the marble countertop of my kitchen island, I shifted in my barstool and scooted my plate away from me, the remnants of my breakfast sandwich littering the plate, and grabbed my phone from its discarded placement on the counter.
Hey, can you call me when you get a chance? Nothing’s wrong, just need to update you on something back home
Kit’s text put my hackles on alert instantly. I loved hearing from my oldest friend, but being reminded about home wasn’t always a comforting memory.
Kit McKendrick had been my best friend since I was a little kid, having met him when we were in elementary school.
Growing up in Phoebe, North Carolina, we’d fallen victim to the atmosphere of the town and had bonded over our mutual love of all things scary and anything to do with the horror genre.
It was pretty uncommon to live in Phoebe and not be obsessed with Halloween and things of that nature.
The town had an affliction for spooky shit for as long as anyone could remember.
Only for me, the true horrors had always been behind the closed doors of my childhood home.
A ripple of unease tickled my spine, causing me to put my phone down. I wanted to hear from Kit, but I wasn’t in the right headspace to hear anything about home. Not until I’d finished my breakfast at least.
I pulled my plate back to me, picking up the final corner of my ciabatta breakfast sandwich, barely a piece of the hashbrown patty and a sliver of egg whites still visible, and tossed it back.
Butter filled my mouth, mixing with the egg whites and potato.
I’d been having this same breakfast for years and it always hit the spot just right.
Ringing filled the kitchen, and I scoffed as my phone lit up with a phone call. It was Priyanka. Man, my phone sure was popular this morning. Wiping my hands on the paper towel sitting next to my plate, I wiped my mouth before grabbing the phone and answering.
“Hello?” I said, pressing the phone against my ear.
“Morning!” Priyanka’s perpetual giddiness was loud and clear, a tiny smirk lifting my lips at her greeting. I aimed to be as cheerful as she was every damn morning. “I got the background checks back on our security hopefuls.”
“Oh, awesome. And?”
Don’t say Van, don’t say Van.
“It’s got to be Van.”
Fuck.
“Really?” I kept my tone even, I didn’t want disappointment or elation to bleed into my voice.
“Yeah, the other two didn’t have spotless backgrounds checks. Nothing serious, but they’d definitely violated their NDAs. Van Argent is squeaky clean.”
“Well, that’s good.” I cleared my throat. Okay, so Van was going to be my security, if he accepted the job, of course. I needed to start filing him away in my brain as off-limits. “So, what’s the next step with that?”
“I’ll give Van a call. I’ll take care of everything as far as that’s concerned and just text or call you with any updates.”
“Okay, cool. That would be great, thanks, Pri.”
“Of course! Have you thought about the tour announcement at all?”
I sighed. I should have thought more about it, but I was always better with on the fly pressure.
Taking a second to think, I blurted out the first thing that breached my brain.
“What if I shot a little something to insert into the end of the Birthstone Baby music video? Just like me walking by the flyer for tour that I’ll be posting on socials?
Then we can insert that into the edit for the video, drop the video, and I’ll post the flyer on socials to announce tour all in one go. ”
“Great idea! Do you want me to reach out to Rodrigo to shoot you walking by the flyer?”
“That’s okay, I’ll text him after we get off the phone.”
“Alright, I’ll let you know the update on Van later. Don’t forget you have the Hot Ones shoot next week.”
An incredulous smile stuck to my face as I shook my head. “I haven’t forgotten. I’m looking forward to it.”
“Alright, Alistair. I’ll talk to you later. Enjoy your day!”
“Thanks, Pri. Talk to you later. Bye.”
The call ended, and as I pulled the phone away from my ear, that text from Kit was staring back at me.
I sighed. I really didn’t want to deal with it, but I also wanted to get whatever the hell it was over with.
I wanted to head to the studio today to mess around with Blue, having some lyrics I’d been mulling over, and I was only going to be able to clear my head to make that happen after I dealt with whatever was going on back home in Phoebe.
I tapped on Kit’s name and initiated the call, hoping he answered so I didn’t have to delay this any longer than I already had.
“Alistair! Hi.” His deep voice was raised by the excitement of the call, causing me to smile.
“How’s it going, Kit?”
“Better now that superstar celebrity Alistair Finn is calling me.”
I rolled my eyes. “Please. I’m still the same Alistair.”
“Well, yeah, but with a better bank account.”
His statement ripped the chortle right out of me effortlessly. “That’s definitely true.” After ending our laughter tied itself up and carried itself away, I prompted him by adding, “So, what was your text about?”
The fact that Kit sighed into the receiver made my pulse quicken.
If he was steeling himself, the chances of it having to do with my family back home were significantly raised.
I glanced down at my cats, both curled into round shapes by my feet, feeling more calm just by skimming over their forms. Fawcett and Thiessen were my family.
Kit was my family. The people who’s blood I shared had lost the right to that title a long time ago, so why was I stressing?
I fortified my mind. I could handle this, whatever it was that Kit was about to unleash on me. I could handle it. I had to.
“I know it sucks to hear about anything to do with your mom, but I figured you’d want to know.”
And there it was. It was about her. I could feel my body tensing up, but I was actively fighting against it. I didn’t want to give her the satisfaction of having a reaction, no matter if she was available to witness my reaction or not.
“What’s happened?”
“She’s moved.” Kit chuckled lightly. “She’s not in Phoebe anymore.”
My eyes flared. That hadn’t been what I was expecting. My family had lived in Phoebe for generations, and my mother had always sworn that she would never leave. There had to be a reason behind her departure and though I hadn’t prepared myself for it, I wanted to know why.
“Since when?” I’d start with something simpler to answer before I prodded into more details.
“Apparently, a few months. I hadn’t heard a single thing about it until I was showing a house to a friend of her neighbor. Apparently, she just up and left one day, leaving the trailer abandoned and empty.”
Abandoned and empty. Now my childhood home and I had one more thing in common, aside from having to share the trauma of living with Wanda Finneson.
“It’s just…sitting there?”
“Yeah.” Kit said with a scoff. “I thought you’d want to know that she’s not here anymore, and no one seems to know what prompted her leave from Phoebe.”
“Weird. That she left, not that you thought to tell me. Thanks for letting me know, Kit. I’m not sure what to do with this information.”
“I get it. I know it brings up a lot, but I thought you deserved to know. Especially since you have even less of a chance of running into her when you come down for Thanksgiving.” I could hear Kit’s smile at the mention of the holiday.
“You are still planning on coming down for Thanksgiving with my family, right?”
“Of course.” Spending Thanksgiving with the McKendrick family had been a long running tradition for me, one I wasn’t keen on breaking.
Even though things were different now that I was more instantly recognizable, I wasn’t going to alter my life just because of it.
I loved Kit’s family. Mainly because they weren’t my family, yet treated me like I was one of their own.
They always had. “You know I wouldn’t miss a very McKendrick Thanksgiving for anything. ”
“Glad to hear it.” Kit chuckled. “Mom’s making your damn cranberry sauce from scratch, and you’re the only one who eats it.”
“Hey, just because the rest of you don’t have taste.”
“It’s rancid!” Kit said with a boisterous ruffle of laughter.
“It’s awesome!” I shook my head, catching a look from Thiessen at my raised voice. She wasn’t enthused by my joy even a little bit, turning away from me. I could have sworn she rolled her eyes. “Don’t do Mama McKendrick like that.”
“Yeah, yeah.” I could hear the sound of gravel or something in the background as Kit moved. “Listen, I just got to a house I’m about to show, so I gotta go. I just wanted to let you know about your mom.”
“I appreciate the call, Kit.”
And I did. But that didn’t solve the mystery of where the hell Wanda had fucked off to.
It made me uneasy, not knowing where she was.
That was the great thing about her being stuck in Phoebe.
I never had to worry about her showing up in my life randomly if I always knew her location.
I didn’t have that luxury anymore, and that set my nerves on edge.
“Alright, Alistair. I’ll talk to you soon. Love you.”
“Love you too. Bye.”
Ending my second call of the day, I set my phone down. The joy of Van being my almost-official security guard was lost on the news of my mother’s suddenly unknown whereabouts.
I stood up, grabbing my phone and turning away from the bar.
Both Thiessen and Fawcett meowed protest at my sudden disruption of their spots on the floor by my feet.
I apologized to my cats and clutched the keys to my car on the corner of the kitchen island.
I needed the studio now more than ever, feeling like I needed to pour out some lyrics with Blue over this newly appointed account on where the fuck Wanda Finneson was.
Burying the thought of my mother, I replaced it with the idea that Van was about to become a much more permanent fixture in my life. Shit, he’d probably have to come with me back to Phoebe for Thanksgiving. I hadn’t been back home since my sudden stardom, so I’d probably need him there.
That thought kept me company as I locked up the house and made my way to my sleek pink Kia Soul. I had to distract myself before I let my mother, once again, ruin any of the good in my life.