Chapter 29
Still Noah
I stashed the baggie in the front pocket of my jeans and felt like that guy in The Telltale Heart for the next hour. While we went through our usual preshow toast, I thought about the drugs.
While I laughed with the guys in the wings as we listened to our opening act, I thought about taking just one little snort.
When we took the stage and the fans screamed for us, I thought about how marijuana was legal in Nevada now. No one would think twice if I smoked it. What would it harm?
And when we got to the middle of our show, I was obsessing about the baggie when Chase diverted from his usual banter.
“I don’t know if you’ve all heard the new song from Alien Attraction—” Chase had to pause when a few women screamed. “Wait ‘til you hear what I have to say before you cheer. It’s now my life’s mission to get you all to change your minds.”
Cell phone lights popped up all over the arena. No doubt in a few minutes this next part was going to be all over social media and then the news.
Good.
“Right.” Chase laughed softly and shook his head. “I guess I’m thinking twice about that record-at-will policy we have.” He turned back and looked at the three of us standing behind him.
“Do it!” I shouted.
“Still on board!” Xander folded his arms over his guitar strap.
Jesse nodded. “I’m in. Burn that fucking bridge to the ground.”
The crowd roared their approval. They didn’t have a clue what we were talking about, but they were clearly here for the drama.
“Right.” Chase turned back to the audience. “Alien Attraction stole that song from a friend of ours. Our drum tech Alice Rose wrote ‘ Lost Boys ’ and her band Tattered Monarchs have been playing it all over Vegas the past few months. And you don’t fuck with our friends. Ever .”
Cheers echoed through the arena.
“So we’re going to pause our show for a second and ask our friends, the Tattered Monarchs, to come take the stage and sing for you.”
The audience clapped but didn’t sound as enthused as they had just a minute ago.
“Ah, you’re all going to be fans in a few minutes. I guarantee it.” Chase laughed. “Alice, Lark, and Bailey to the stage please. Alice, Lark, and Bailey to the stage.”
Lark, who’d been standing in the wings waiting to sing the duet part of our next song stepped out onto the stage then paused, lifted a finger, and ran backstage.
“Come on, ladies. We have all these wonderful people waiting to hear your song,” Chase continued to work the crowd.
In seconds, Lark was back, dragging a clearly resistant Alice in her wake.
“We’ve got two!” Chase crowed. “Harper was supposed to grab Bailey from the merch desk. Harper? Do you have our girl?” He craned his neck toward the backstage wing where someone held up a finger.
“She’ll be here in a minute. While we wait for Bailey, let me introduce you all to the first two members of Tattered Monarchs. Lark here is our backup singer. She sings with me on ‘ Can’t Tell Her ’. She’s the best alto I’ve ever heard, and it’ll be impossible to replace her when she leaves us. But it’s almost a certainty since their band is so good. Lark Johnson, everyone!”
“Thanks for that awesome intro, Chase,” Lark said into her mic over the applause.
“It’s all true.” Chase grinned at her. “And standing next to her is the second most phenomenal drummer I’ve ever heard—she gives our own Noah a run for his money. I heard she even turned down a spot at Juilliard to start her own band way back when. She founded Alien Attraction but was ousted after a few male egos got bruised by her amazing talent. Alice Rose, everyone!”
The crowd cheered for her. Alice lifted a hand and waved, but unlike Lark, she didn’t take a mic to say something.
Bailey ran onstage, blonde hair flying behind her, and Chase went into a spiel about her, but I couldn’t pay attention—Alice was walking toward me.
Her eyes were on me and a slight smile curved her lips.
Thump, thump , thump . My heartbeat pulsed in my ears, and the urge to use the drugs in my pocket eased. I had Alice here right in front of me. Smiling. Making eye contact with me. Maybe everything was going to be all right after all.
I smiled back at her. “I…”
Didn’t know what to say.
“Noah! Get up!” Chase barked over the sound system.
I jolted.
“Let the girls play.”
I jumped up from my seat and shook my head. Of course. Right. She wasn’t here for me. She was here to play her music.
I backed up and stood on the edge of the stage with Xander and Jesse.
“She might need those sticks, don’t you think?” Jesse said in my ear.
I shook my head. We had plenty of backups stashed all around my kit. Alice would know exactly where to look.
“All right, ladies. Do your thing.” Chase handed his mic off and joined us on the side of the stage.
“Hello, Las Vegas.” Lark laughed, standing behind the keyboard someone had moved to center stage. Her dress sparkled in the stage lights, sending a cascade of reflected light glittering over the audience. “Well, this is a surprise for us.”
“Yeah, I don’t have my guitar, but I’ll try to make Xander’s work for me.” Bailey grinned. “It’s a little different from mine. Nicer.”
“More expensive. One day you’ll have one that awesome.” Lark grinned at her. “Like Chase said, we’re Tattered Monarchs. And our drummer, Alice Rose is the true composer of ‘ Lost Boys .’ If you’ve never heard the original, it goes a little something like this.”
Then the arena vibrated with the haunting melody of their song.
Lark sang about a charismatic guy who made promises but always flew away. Someone who would never grow up to be a man. A lost boy.
I’d heard the song so many times over the past few weeks. But there was something poignant about hearing it now. Listening to it with a couple thousand others, watching them all fall in love with my girl, made the lyrics hit differently. Harder.
And then I realized why.
I was the man in the song.
Alice had written it about me.