Chapter 33
Chapter Thirty-Three
CALLUM/CASH
One & A Half Weeks From Now
Love & Lyrics
The lights blind, the crowd shakes, but it’s her hidden gaze that sizzles beneath my skin.
“You ready for this, guys?” Bren slaps my back as we huddle on the platform.
The roar from one hundred thousand voices vibrates through the metal beneath our boots.
“Born ready.” I adjust my mic pack and in-ears, adrenaline already flooding my system.
But it’s not the crowd that has my pulse racing. It’s knowing she’s out there watching from the sidelines.
Cooper flexes his fingers around his bass. “One of the biggest crowds we’ve ever played for.”
Hawke twirls his sticks. “Let’s fucking destroy it.”
The platform starts its mechanical rise, carrying us toward the blinding lights. The crowd explodes as we emerge from the darkness, but I immediately find her.
She’s standing stage left in the shadows with her arms wrapped around herself.
I can’t believe it. She came. She’s really fucking here.
Bren’s opening riff cuts through the desert air like a machete. The crowd surges forward, a sea of raised hands and screaming voices. But all I see is her.
We start the show with the first song that won us a Grammy, “Ghost on the Line.”
“Ah, yeah!” I scream into the mic, singing with every ounce of my soul as I work the stage from side to side.
Your name lit up,
A pulse I can’t ignore.
The crowd explodes, joining in at the top of their lungs.
A bittersweet reminder
Of what I’m bleeding for.
I glance at her and continue on a softer note.
Heard your voice through your brother’s line today.
Your laughter, cruel, cuz you’re miles away.
I strut closer to her, sweat already beading on my lip.
I held my breath.
Pretended I didn’t care.
Bren joins in as backup vocals. We sing in unison while I break in with a few screams as he remains level.
Through static and silence,
Your ghost slipped through the wire.
A bridge back to heartbreak,
Lit in a fading fire.
Memories crash like waves I can’t outrun,
A haunting song that’s never truly done.
The guitar and bass set the pace for the chorus as Hawke keeps the beat. Hawke sings with Bren and me.
I’m caught in the echo,
Of everything we were.
Each word, a shadow.
Each breath, a blur.
I’m lost in the wreckage,
Where your heart used to lie.
Just a ghost on the line,
And I can’t say goodbye.
I work my way back to Bren as the band’s instruments carry the song. We begin the second verse just as before. Bren on backup vocals and me trying to make Livianna hear the emotion behind my words.
Your smile cuts deep,
A blade wrapped in charm.
You’re a flicker in the dark,
Still setting off alarms.
There’s a slight pause.
I’m tracing lines of heartache,
In the smoke of our past.
Your perfume still lingers,
And fuck this pain won’t pass.
They play for a minute while I ramp up the people in the front.
I sing alone.
I’m stuck in the ruins,
Of everything we knew.
Fragments of our story,
In this heart made of blue.
Bren and Hawke join in again.
Behind my hell is blackness,
That just won’t set me free.
I’m broken and bleeding,
Where your love used to be.
Just a ghost on the line,
Laughing like it’s all fine.
Bren and Cooper shred as Hawke lets loose on the drums. It’s an instrumental breakout, so I can catch my breath. I face Livianna.
She’s gently bouncing to the beat without letting on to anything she’s feeling, but her eyes shine like they used to, like they did when she would come to our shows and everything was perfect.
It gives me hope, and I realize my cue is about to hit. I jump in right on time.
Tell me…do you feel it, too?
This static between us like truth?
Or am I just noise,
In a song you outgrew?
The three of us sing to close.
Still caught in the echo,
Of a love left behind.
Each mile a dagger,
Each memory, unkind.
I’m fading in the distance,
Still calling your name.
A ghost on the line,
And nothing is the same.
They play to the last note as I make my way over to her. I step behind the curtain where she’s hidden from the crowd and plant a kiss on her cheek like I used to do when we were young and unbreakable.
I’m half expecting her to flinch, but she doesn’t. She flashes me that smile, the one that gets me every fucking time.
The next set starts, and before I know it, we’re three hits in. Something inside me snaps.
Every lyric feels wrong, every beat feels like wasted time. This isn’t what I need to sing right now.
I step back from the mic, signaling to the guys. We’ve talked about this moment…what I’d do if she ever came to one of our shows again. This one in particular.
“Hold up.” The music fades to silence. One hundred thousand people hold their breath.
My gaze cuts across the darkness to find hers. Even from here, I can see her eyes widen.
“You know what? I’m gonna change things up tonight.” My hand drags through my hair, shaking under the weight of every camera pointed at this stage. “There’s someone here who changed my life. Someone I lost because I was too fucked up to deserve her.”
The audience noise hushes. They sense something profound is happening.
“Lily.” Her name cracks from my throat like I’m about to die. “Get out here.”
She shakes her head, backing toward the stairs. But Quinn appears behind her and places her hands on Livianna’s shoulders, grinning like she’s witnessing the greatest love story unfold.
“Come on, vixen.” I lean into the mic. “The whole world already knows how I feel about you.”
The crowd catches on, chanting her name.
“Lily! Lily! Lily!” One hundred thousand voices demanding she step into the light.
She takes one tentative step forward, and the roar is deafening. Phones flash like lightning as she moves toward me in cutoff shorts and a Rolling Stones shirt, hair wild from the desert wind.
Fucking hell, she’s beautiful.
“That’s it.” I hold out my hand as she reaches me. “Come here.”
Her fingers find mine, and electricity shoots up my arm. She’s here. This isn’t a dream, and she’s letting me touch her.
The crew brings out two stools without me asking. They know I planned this routine.
I guide her to one, settling onto the other. Our knees almost touch. One of the stagehands sets up my mic on the stand as another one gives me my guitar.
I adjust it so it sits comfortably in my lap. I gaze out to the crowd, flash them a rockstar smile, and put my mouth to the mic.
“This next one’s for the woman I never stopped loving.” My voice carries across the silent concertgoers, but I’m only talking to her. I face her and let my heart do the rest. “This one’s called ‘Perfect Lilies.’”
The audience goes insane with cheers. Everyone here knows this is the first song I wrote specifically for her. That night may have ended poorly after Sebastian ruined it, but tonight no one’s here to fuck this up.
The lights lower, and the warm spotlight casts down on us. I start my solo act by strumming my guitar, soft and haunting. I lean close to my mic, but I’m singing to an audience of one.
The lyrics pour out, and with them every regret, every sleepless night, and every moment I’ve spent missing her, bleed into the words. Her breath catches as the memories wash over us both.
I stare across the space between our stools. My loving gaze finds hers, and she doesn’t glance away.
In my dark, quiet nights, shadows of you dance in soft light.
Our hearts entwined, forever young.
Lily, this is our love song.
The crowd explodes into cheers.
“We love you, Lily and Cash,” a voice screams over my gentle notes.
Her cheeks turn bright red, but the sparkle in her gaze beams my way. It’s brighter than any light on stage. I fly high and continue singing my soul to her.
Through any storms or any thorns that arise, trust me, you’re perfect in my eyes.
My wish is that you always smile, but if ever a tear or a fear, I’ll hold you until they disappear.
Her shoulders relax, and she rocks through the rest of the song.
You’re always mine, no matter what.
Through the highs and the lows, I won’t give up.
In this world, where time can fly, together we’ll soar, you and I.
You’re always mine, forever true.
With every heartbeat, I’ll always choose you.
The song builds around us, but we’re in our own world. Just her and me, and five years of unfinished business.
When the black night creeps along, you, my love, inspire my songs.
In the silence of the dawn, your arms are where I belong.
In dreams I keep, our beautiful future those don’t believe in transpires.
So when the sun peeks out, Lily, choose relief and forget those terrible liars.
Through the scary whispers of the night, you’re my star, my guiding light.
You, the comfort in the black. Me, your strength, I have your back.
With every step, hand in hand, together let’s forever make castles in the sand.
You’re always mine, no matter what.
Through the highs and the lows, I won’t give up.
In this world, where time can fly, together we’ll soar, you and I.
You’re always mine, forever true.
With every heartbeat, I’ll always choose you.
Lily, for you, this is our love song.
With every heartbeat, in every breath,
Never doubt I’ll love you ’til death.
When the final chord rings out, she’s crying. Mascara streaked, lips parted, and staring at me like she used to.
Then she smiles. It’s soft and broken, but genuine.
I lean close to the mic one last time and cut through the noise. “Lily, will you have dinner with me tomorrow night?”
She laughs through her tears, shaking her head at my audacity.
But then she nods as she dabs her eye with the back of her finger.
The audience fucking loses it. The sound is deafening.
The lights blaze. Cameras flash.
Her past just collided with her present in front of the whole damn universe.
If this ruins me, so be it. She’s worth it. Let’s just pray nothing takes her away.