Chapter Eighteen
NATE
It’s been an hour, and I’m worried about Ria. I know this phone call is an important one and could take some time, but I also don’t want to leave her on her own after she collapsed. So when I look back and see no movement, I decide to check on her to make sure she’s okay.
Walking quickly, I notice our bed curtain is closed, and the sounds of someone upset are coming from behind it.
I tense up and slowly bend to pull back the curtain.
Ria’s off the phone and curled in a ball, crying into her pillow.
Sighing, I climb in over her, yanking the curtain closed behind me, and pull her gently against my chest. She cuddles into me immediately and continues to cry into me.
“Hey, hey, it’s okay. Let it all out. Whatever it is, we’ll get through it together.”
She wipes her face and shakes her head. “I didn’t s-see this c-coming.
Patrick’s always b-been this strong p-pillar in the community,” she stutters out and continues, “I-I never thought I’d s-see him fail, or my mom b-be the type of person to q-question standing by him…
” Ria takes in a deep breath, “… when h-he needs her the most. I m-mean, who does that? Bails when it g-gets tough? She should stand by h-him, right?”
“Shh, baby, it’ll be okay. But yeah, I agree, it is strange that she’d leave just because times got hard. That’s a cop-out.”
“Exactly. God, I don’t even know who she is right now.”
“Once everything settles down, maybe she’ll remember why she loves him and that sticking by him is important?”
“Maybe. I just hope it’s not too late, and he won’t forgive her.”
“I’m sorry, babe. This is all happening, and you’re miles from home. Do you want me to get Tillie to take us to an airport so we can go see Patrick?”
She shakes her head. “No. I signed a contract. My obligations are to Recoil.”
“Ria, family is more important than a fucking press junket.”
“No, really, it’s fine. I’m better distracted.”
“Well, if you change your mind, just tell me, and we’ll get on the first plane out of here.”
“You’re so good to me.”
“I try. Now wipe those tears and kiss me, woman,” I say lightheartedly.
She chuckles, wipes her face, and leans up on her elbows, pressing her lips on mine.
I kiss her back passionately, running my hand through her hair.
In any other circumstance, I would’ve rolled her over and made her feel all kinds of good to help her forget, but I don’t want to push her no sex on the bus ban, especially after her fainting.
She needs to rest, so I ease the kiss, and she pulls back, leaning her head on my chest. I wrap my arm around her for comfort as she traces lines up and down my shirt, covering my chest.
“Nate…”
“Mmm…”
“Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For coming to find me. For being here for me. For looking after me. For everything.”
Lightly, I run my fingers up and down her arm, feeling the silkiness of her skin caressing my fingertips. “Babe, I’m always going to look after you. You’re stuck with me now.”
Two Weeks Later
Over the last two weeks, Ria has been stressed to the limit.
Things within her stepdad’s production company went as we all thought.
It completely collapsed, leaving hundreds jobless, billions of dollars in transactions lost, and one marriage in tatters.
And Ria had to deal with it all from the road.
Every interview segment we appeared in was banned from talking about it, which helped, but it didn’t stop the paparazzi from screaming about it at every stop we made.
The problem is, she’s becoming so stressed that she’s passed out twice more.
She barely eats and isn’t herself. The stress is becoming a problem, but to be honest, I have no idea how to help.
Ria’s been talking to Danger a lot in their downtime before interviews, and their closeness is disturbing.
It just doesn’t sit right in the pit of my stomach.
Jealousy is not a good color on me, I know that, but I get such little time with Ria as it is, and knowing that she confides in him does my fucking head in.
My keep cool, calm, collected mantra is slowly fading and no longer has the same effect on me as it used to. Whisper’s Fung Shui obviously doesn’t work the further I am from him, or maybe he’s just a hack, and it’s all bullshit like I thought.
What the hell am I thinking? Of course it is!
Lunar seems to be having trouble with it all, like I am, because she snaps at Ria constantly, but Ria’s either too busy or too sick to take it in.
We’re on our way to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and the bus is pretty quiet when suddenly, Ria’s cell phone rings, startling us all.
She winces as if in apology and answers, “Hi, Mom,” she says in a monotone, but then her face changes.
“Wait! What? Slow down,” she says, making me look up at her.
“He what?” Her face turns pale as she stands from her seat and starts pacing. “Oh my God… how bad?”
My ears pick up. I know the signs—she’s becoming too agitated. Tears well in her eyes as she continues to pace the floor. “Is he gonna be okay?” There’s a small pause where she exhales and slumps her body in a sign of relief. “Thank God.”
I step up and wrap my arm around her waist to hold her up, just in case. She’s turning a slight shade of green instead of her usual white. I have to say, I’m pretty concerned about her.
“I can’t leave, Mom. I’m under contract. But if he’s gonna be okay, that’s all that matters. Mom, I have to go. Love you…” She ends the call and then bolts toward the bathroom.
I chase after her, getting there in time to see her throw up in the bowl. Leaning down, I pull her hair back as she heaves.
Rubbing her back, I try to comfort her as best I can. “Hey, you’re okay. Let it out. I’m right here.”
She coughs and splutters until there’s nothing left.
My chest is heaving, watching her, and how upset she is. I wish I could help her. “Babe, you feel like you can tell me what’s happening?” I ask, handing her some tissues to wipe her mouth.
She nods, sitting back as I hold onto her. “Patrick had a heart attack.”
“Oh, fuck.”
“He’s okay, they caught it, and he’s having bypass surgery and should make a full recovery.”
“Right, we’ll get on a plane at the next stop and go to see him.”
She takes a deep breath, shaking her head. “No, Mom said he’s going to be completely fine. Nothing to worry about. We only have two more weeks on the road anyway. I can wait.”
“Ria, you’re so stressed. This isn’t healthy for you. You’re fainting all the time. Now you’re puking as well. Babe, you need to be with your family.”
“Honestly, Nate, I’d rather be here. Like I said, this is a distraction from the chaos, and being around a sick dad with Mom in crisis mode won’t be my idea of less stress.”
I pull my brows together. “Okay, whatever you think is best. But I’m here for you every step of the way.”
“That means so much.” She closes and opens her eyes. “Hey, I’ve been thinking… when we get back, you should look into getting your gallery up and running,” she says, changing the subject abruptly.
I raise my eyebrow at the one-eighty change in topic—like she hasn’t just been told things at home are not great. To be honest, it’s weird. “Ah… yeah, I hadn’t really thought about it much.”
She stands, then flushes, facing me. “I really think it’s something you should do, Nate. Seize the day. If today has shown me anything, it’s that you have to act now because there may be no tomorrow.”
I sort of half-nod because I don’t know what else to do. “Okay, I’ll look into it. I’ll need to find a manager to run it while I’m away, I guess.”
“Exactly. Someone to sell your paintings and run the gallery while you’re not there. Someone to sell you to the world. You could even be one of those exclusive artists who sell the paintings, but no one knows who the actual artist is. You can be… artist anonymous.”
I chuckle, pulling her to me. “I like the sound of that. Having a gallery but being an anonymous artist. I think I’ll go with that.”
“I can help you find a curator slash manager, and they can help you run everything. It will be amazing, Nate!”
Smiling, I nod. “It really will. But right now, let’s get you to bed, yeah?”
“Okay… sorry you had to see me like that.”
“I’m in this with you, babe, puke and all.” I move some hair behind her ear, and she cuddles into me as we head toward our bunk, all while I am thinking how very strange she’s acting.
Two Weeks Later
We pull up at the office a little over two months after we left.
It’s great to be back in LA after traveling all over the states, and Ria, even though her parents are sticking together for now and her stepdad’s recovery is going well, is still stressed.
There have been moments when she feels nauseous and weak, which is more than a little concerning.
She’s become slightly more distant, too, which worries me as she spends more and more time with Danger between interviews.
As we get off the bus, I stretch my arms out, taking in the sights of my surroundings—home.
“God, it’s good to be back,” Danger says.
“I can’t wait to be back in our own bed,” Lunar says.
“Yeah, me too.” Danger winks at her, and I look to Ria, who’s watching me with a sly smile.
I’m not sure what she’s thinking, but suddenly all I can think about is that for the last two months, I haven’t been inside her, and right now my cock is begging for her.
She seems to read my mind and giggles to herself as she turns to Tillie and starts talking to her.
I shake my head and grin, knowing tonight’s going to be a damn good night.
Oliver steps off the bus and is talking on his cell. “Okay, we’ll have a look now and let you know what we think. This is just the pick-me-up we needed at the end of the tour, thanks, Grant,” he says while we all look at him.
“Was that Grant from the video production company?” Ryan asks.