Chapter 6
WYNTER
I’d spent the afternoon reading in my room and I looked up when I heard my phone buzz, indicating I had a text. I reached for it, surprised to see a text from my sister.
HARLEY: Heading for the venue for soundcheck in thirty. If you want to ride over on the bus with us, meet us in the lobby. We won’t come back to the hotel before the show, so be prepared to hang out at the arena until after.
I quickly responded.
ME: Getting dressed! See you downstairs.
I was surprised they were still going to do the show because Kingston’s throat had looked like it would really hurt to sing, but what did I know? I was only a nurse. Kingston had the money to get the best medication and medical advice available. This couldn’t be the first time he’d gotten sick in a twelve-year career.
No matter how strongly I wanted to tell him not to risk damaging his vocal cords, I had to learn to keep my opinions to myself. That kind of thing got me into trouble at work sometimes too. It was like I cared too much.
And in my experience, people rarely appreciated it.
That was a big part of the reason why I’d been considering going into travel nursing. I wouldn’t be in one place long enough for my mouth to get me into trouble, and the money was so good I’d be able to save up the down payment for a house quickly.
At least, that was the loose plan I’d come up with.
I was thirty-three and still living with my sister. I’d initially moved in to help her with River, and then I never left. I’d assumed I would wait until I met the right guy to think about something more permanent, like buying real estate. But now she was back with Tommy, and I felt like a third wheel.
It was time to grow up.
I didn’t need a man to be the best version of myself.
Or even a more stable version.
I shook off my maudlin thoughts and focused on what to wear.
I’d brought black jeans, a lace-up corset that showed plenty of cleavage, and black boots to wear for the show, so I quickly pulled them on. Since I hadn’t known whether or not I would be going anywhere tonight, I’d done my hair earlier but hadn’t bothered with makeup. Now I wasn’t sure whether to go all out with my heavily layered rock and roll face, complete with false eyelashes and black lipstick, or to just keep it simple.
Ross was mad at me, so he wouldn’t pay attention to my makeup, and since I didn’t have a lot of time, I opted for the basics: foundation, bronzer, a little eyeliner, and a couple of coats of mascara. Mauve lipstick rounded out my look and I stuffed my room key, ID, some cash, and the lipstick into my crossbody purse. It was my favorite, small and comfortable for a rock concert, and I draped it over my shoulder as I walked out of my room.
To my surprise, Ross was just coming out of his room across the hall.
He looked like he was in a hurry, so I smiled as I caught his gaze and our eyes met.
“Hey.”
“You riding over to the arena with us?” he asked.
“Yeah.”
“Cool.”
He didn’t say anything else as we walked to the elevator and rode it down to the lobby.
Ugh.
He was almost definitely mad about earlier.
“You look nice,”
he said as we stepped out of the elevator.
Okay, maybe not mad-mad.
“Thank you.”
I bit my lip shyly.
“Ready to go?”
Tommy waved and we moved toward the exit, where the bus was waiting and we appeared to be the last two to arrive.
Ross and I followed him outside and up the steps.
“How are you feeling?”
I asked Kingston as I sat down.
“He has laryngitis,”
Devyn replied, holding up a hand to stop him when he opened his mouth. “He called his doctor back in LA, who told him not to talk at all until the show. I’ve had him drinking tea with lemon and honey all afternoon, and this other concoction the doctor suggested. He hasn’t spoken a word since this morning and he’s hoping his voice will last long enough to get through most of the show.”
Kingston typed something on his phone and showed it to Devyn, who read it aloud. “You all need to plan for extended solos so I can sing less, and I’ve switched up the set to songs where I either sing less or are easier on my voice. And I’m not doing soundcheck either.”
Everyone nodded.
“I can sing ‘Not Going Away’,”
Z said. He’d written the power ballad for his wife, so he sometimes sang it live anyway.
“And I’m down to sing ‘Shiny Pieces’,”
Tommy added. “It’s from the first album—no one will notice if I screw up the lyrics.”
“I beg to differ,”
I said, laughing. “It’s one of my favorites.”
They all grinned at me, and I sat back, listening to them discussing the set and their plans to compensate for Kingston’s limited singing ability. It reminded me of other days, when Tommy and Harley had first gotten together, and we’d spent almost every night of the week listening to them rehearse or play live around Hollywood.
We’d all known they were going to be big, but we’d never imagined how big. Or how fast it would happen.
I’d loved being able to watch it happen, even though it had slowly destroyed my sister.
“You look melancholy all of a sudden,”
Ross said quietly as we walked down the long hallway toward the underground backstage area of the arena.
“I was just thinking about the early days, when we used to hang out and party on the bus during their first tour. Before things took off.”
“I wasn’t around yet,”
he replied thoughtfully. “I came on for their second album and tour. And they were already big by then.”
“It was a crazy time. I was in college, but Harley and Tommy were together, so I spent almost every free night watching and listening. There were so many good times. It was enchanting. I had to stop coming around as much after they got divorced, and I’ve missed the magic that surrounds them. As someone on the outside looking in, I can’t imagine what it’s like to see something you wrote suddenly become a household name. Like writing some random words and then seeing millions of people sing them.”
“It’s pretty magical,”
he agreed, looking away.
The faraway look in his eyes made me long to touch him.
Comfort him.
Say or do something to make that pain go away.
But he didn’t want that comfort, at least not from me, and I’d already pushed it enough.
If I wanted to be his friend, and I really did, I had to keep my mouth shut and mind my own business.
That was all there was to it.