Chapter 4
Chloe findsherself alone in an empty office just outside the backstage area. The room is deafeningly quiet, the door heavy enough to muffle any outside noise. She buries her face in her hands. Her ears are still ringing, and all she can hear are the echoes of her own declaration. I’m pregnant, I’m pregnant, I’m pregnant.
Just after she shouted it out for everyone to hear, she was practically dragged down the hall by the band’s manager, a fierce woman who introduced herself as Regina Worthington. She asked, or more accurately, demanded, Chloe to stay put while the band finished up the meet and greet.
Chloe sits on a metal folding chair a stagehand brought for her, and waits.
And waits.
And waits.
Her phone gets absolutely no service this deep in the venue, and the public WiFi is so weak that she can’t even load an app, much less message either of her friends. It doesn’t stop her from trying—the repetitive motion of closing and reopening the app helps soothe her anxiety some.
It would be better if she could talk to Elena. Elena would at least comfort her, or else know what she should do right now. Chloe feels so wholly out of her depth right now.
She can’t believe she shouted it in front of everyone like that. She was just so flustered! Luke looked like he wanted to be anywhere else than in front of her, like she was absolutely crazy to show up like that.
She curses Devin under her breath—this is all her fault. It was her idea, anyway. If Chloe’s crazy for chasing Luke down like this, then Devin’s ten times crazier for coming up with the idea. It feels like Devin’s always pulling Chloe into crazy stunts like this—dragging her along when Chloe would rather stay put in her own little bubble.
It happened the night she met Luke for the first time and now it’s happened again.
Chloe’s leg bounces furiously, her nerves vibrating beneath her skin.
She hears the band before they even make it to the door. A woman—Quinn? Or maybe Regina?—is shouting at someone else, her voice sharp and scathing.
‘I can’t believe you,’ Quinn gripes, storming into the room. Chloe jumps to her feet, clutching her phone to her chest as if it were a shield.
Quinn Seong is a breathtaking woman, and from what Chloe can see she’s got more fire in her than anyone Chloe’s ever met before. She’s small in stature, but she more than makes up for it with her attitude. And now, she’s glaring at Luke like he’s a stain on the bottom of her shoe.
‘It’s not like I meant for this to happen!’ Luke argues, a storm in his own right.
‘Oh, you’re always getting into shit like this,’ Quinn snaps, getting right up in Luke’s face. ‘You’re irresponsible and you never think things through. And then you drag us into your problems and expect us to clean up after you!’
‘Aw, c’mon, Q,’ Maverick says, coming up behind Luke. He places both hands on Luke’s shoulders. ‘Cut him some slack.’
‘Oh, don’t you get me started—’ Quinn reels in on Maverick, but Regina cuts in-between the three of them.
‘That is enough,’ Regina says, her tone final. All three of them fall silent, properly chastened. Regina nods to Chloe. ‘You have an audience, remember?’
All four of them look to Chloe, who shrinks in on herself.
‘Uh, hi,’ she says meekly.
‘So, this is real?’ Maverick asks, his eyes jumping from Luke, to Regina, and then to Chloe. ‘You’re pregnant with Luke’s kid?’
Chloe nods. ‘Pretty much, yeah.’
God she wishes she wasn’t alone right now.
‘And you’re a hundred percent sure it’s Luke’s?’ Quinn asks, crossing her arms.
‘Sure you’re not just making it up?’ Maverick mutters, shooting Luke a look—one of those “isn’t this chick nuts?” looks that make Chloe skin crawl.
‘Excuse me?’ Chloe bristles. She crosses her arms over her chest. ‘I’m not making this up! And yes, it’s Luke’s. I wouldn’t be here if there was any doubt about that.’
Maverick Carter is known as a celebrity heartthrob—his perfectly styled blond hair, his piercing blue eyes and his pretty face. He’s pretty much everyone’s celebrity crush.Hell, R3’s biggest haters love to claim that the band’s success is solely a result of Maverick’s good looks.
And yet, right now, Chloe wants nothing more than to punch him right in his pretty face.
‘Don’t be such an ass,’ Quinn snaps.
‘Oh, you believe her?’ Maverick demands. ‘Who is she? Some random girl who stalked Luke across the country, and you’re just gonna take her word that?—’
‘Enough!’ Luke shouts, throwing his hands in the air. Quinn and Maverick stare at him, eyes wide. ‘I’m freaking out here and you guys fighting isn’t helping.’
‘Sorry,’ Quinn mutters. Maverick mumbles his own apology.
Regina rubs her temple, dialing on her phone. ‘This is a mess. You three need to go get on stage—don’t argue! And you,’ she turns to Chloe, ‘need to stay in here for now, okay? I’ve got a lawyer on the way to meet with us.’
Chloe pales. ‘Is that really necessary?’
Regina raises her eyebrows. ‘Obviously it is. Just…please wait here. You three, move it.’
Quinn and Maverick exit quickly. Luke lingers a moment, running his hand through his dark curls. He tugs harshly on the ends. It’s a familiar gesture, something Chloe’s pretty sure she saw him do it that night in Nashville.
‘I’m not lying,’ Chloe tells him quietly. He glances at her, his face tight.
‘I know,’ he says. ‘That’s why I’m freaking out.’
And then she’s left alone once more.
Chloe leans against the wall, bored out of her mind. She’s alone in the empty office and her phone is all but useless without any signal. The floor vibrates as Reckless 3 perform onstage and she can just barely hear the song they’re playing in the distance. She’s not familiar enough with their music to recognize it or even to try to figure out the lyrics.
Still, it’s better than the deafening silence from earlier.
She taps her foot, seriously contemplating just leaving. She’s done what she came to do, right? Luke knows about the baby. Regina Worthington isn’t the boss of Chloe, so there’s no real reason she needs to stay. She’s already wasted over an hour of her time.
It takes her a moment to gather the courage, but she grabs her bag and stands. She can go find Devin and Elena or else go wait at the car until the show is over. Either option sounds better than staying in here another moment.
Just as she grabs the doorknob, the door opens inward roughly. Chloe stumbles back, her ankle rolling and she falls right back on her butt. She groans in pain.
‘Oh, excuse me,’ the man at the door says. He’s well put together in a nice black suit and perfectly styled light brown hair. He sets his briefcase on the floor and holds a hand out. ‘Are you alright?’
‘Fine,’ Chloe replies, accepting the help to her feet. She pats her belly softly, as if to comfort the small fetus inside. She takes a step back to allow the man to enter the room fully. ‘Just needed the bathroom,’ she lies.
‘Oh well, if you don’t mind waiting,’ he says mildly, placing his briefcase on the folding table in the middle of the room. It opens with a soft click. ‘We need to get started. You’re Ms. Cameron, I assume?’
‘That’s right.’
‘I’m Warren Brothers, Reckless 3’s attorney,’ Mr. Brothers says. He gestures to one of the folding chairs. Chloe sits, hating her own obedience. She clutches her purse in her lap, hiding her fidgeting fingers from his view.
Mr. Brothers is an imposing man, old enough to be her father and just as intimidating. He rifles through the contents of his briefcase for a long, silent moment. Finally, he pulls out a stack of papers, a pen and a brown paper bag.
‘Now, for starters, you can take this pregnancy test for me,’ Mr. Brothers says without even looking up at Chloe. He pushes the paper bag towards her. Her eyebrows rise.
‘Um, what?’
He meets her gaze, and she’s surprised to see contempt on his face. As if he thinks being here—dealing with her—is a waste of his time. ‘The pregnancy test. You need to take it,’ he says slowly, as if she didn’t understand him before.
‘Why?’
He huffs impatiently. ‘You’re claiming to be pregnant with Luke Waters’s baby, correct? Yet we have no proof at all you’re even pregnant, much less by Luke himself. What, you expect us to take your word for it?’
Chloe’s mouth drops open. She splutters, ‘Excuse me?’
‘You can’t expect to just come in here and have everyone believe you.’
‘I—I don’t care if you believe me,’ Chloe says. Her voice shakes under Mr. Brothers’ judgmental stare. ‘I just thought Luke deserved to know.’
‘And you think he believes you?’
Chloe hesitates. ‘It doesn’t matter. I told him. That—that’s all that matters.’
‘Just take the test,’ Mr. Brothers presses further. ‘If it comes back positive, we can arrange for a paternity test. If you can prove your supposed baby does, in fact, belong to Luke, then we’ll talk. I have paperwork you’ll need to sign either way. Luke never should have let you leave the hotel without signing an NDA.’
‘Supposed baby…?’ Chloe repeats faintly. Her head spins as she stands, throwing her purses over her shoulder. She’s dizzy with anger and for the first time today the tremors in her hands aren’t from nerves. She stares Mr. Brothers down, furious. ‘You have no right to say that kind of crap to me.’
Mr. Brothers raises his hand in mock surrender. ‘I’m just trying to cover our bases, Ms. Cameron. We just need to ensure you’re not one of those gold diggers trying to trap a celebrity and get their money and fame. It happens more often than you’d think.’
He’s so blasé about it, speaking like it was perfectly reasonable to act like she was a lying lunatic who would make up a baby to get close to a rockstar. It pisses Chloe off even more.
‘How dare you,’ she says lowly. ‘You have no right to speak to me like this. I don’t want anything from you or from Luke for that matter. You can take your NDA and your pregnancy test and shove it.’
Chloe storms out. She makes it about halfway down the hall when Luke rounds the corner, still sweaty and panting from the show. Chloe stops in front of him, balling her hands into fists.
‘I don’t want anything from you,’ she tells him harshly. He stops short, surprised at her outburst. ‘Okay? I’m not here to trap you or get money from you or-or whatever other shitty thing you think I’m here to do. I don’t even expect you to be in the baby’s life! I just thought you deserved to know you’re gonna have a baby out in the world, but I guess coming here was a mistake. So, goodbye.’
She pushes past Luke, leaving him stunned in silence behind her.
Chloe doesn’t need him. She never needed him! What he thinks of her doesn’t matter. She walks through the halls, opening doors at random in search of a way out.
She wipes at her eyes, angry at herself for crying.
By the time Chloe makes it outside, the parking lot is full of people. At least half of the audience has filtered out of the building, all of them making their way to their cars. Chloe bumps into a woman and apologizes softly, ducking her head to hide her tear streaks.
People who have already reached their cars are blasting different R3 songs through open windows for everyone to hear. The songs clash and contradict each other, but everyone she passes screams along happily to the lyrics. There’s a happy vibe in the air and it completely contradicts how horrible Chloe feels.
This might be the lowest she’s ever felt in her entire life. And that’s counting her father yelling at her for getting pregnant, the first time she failed a test and when her high school girlfriend broke her heart two weeks before senior prom. She would take any and all of those again over this.
Her phone erupts with noise, vibrating and ringing off the hook from her back pocket. Chloe slows to a stop, ignoring the annoyed grumbles of the people who walk around her, and pulls her phone out.
Groupchat: Road Trip!!
7:57 PM
Elena
Chloe, is the meet and greet still going on?
Devin
cj??? the opening act is coming on
where are you
8:31 PM
Devin
cj i’m serious where are you??
r3 is onstage so we know you’re not w luke
10:41 PM
Elena
Chloe, I’m freaking out now.
Call one of us ASAP.
‘Shit,’ Chloe mutters, watching as missed call after missed call shows up in her notifications. Now that she finally has signal, everything is hitting her phone all at once.
And with each text from her friends, Chloe feels more and more like dirt. She hates worrying people, especially Elena and Devin.
She opens Elena’s contact information, tapping her number to call her.
‘CHLOE!’ Chloe whirls around at the sound of her name. It takes her a moment but she finally spots Devin’s bright red hair in the crowd. She and Elena push past a group of teenagers, relief clear on both their faces.
Chloe hangs up her phone, moving to meet them. Elena immediately grabs her in a tight hug.
‘Hey,’ Chloe says, her voice muffled against Elena’s shoulder. She hugs Elena back, then gasps. ‘Can’t breathe!’
‘You had us worried sick,’ Elena chides, releasing Chloe from her death grip.
‘Where the hell have you been?’ Devin demands, hugging Chloe as well. ‘You disappeared and didn’t answer any of our messages.’
‘I thought something bad happened,’ Elena says. Chloe grimaces.
‘Sorry, sorry,’ she mumbles. Tears begin to well up in her eyes, and the next thing she knows Elena is holding her close as she cries. She buries her face in the crook of Elena”s neck while Elena hushes her softly.
‘Who do I have to kill?’ Devin asks seriously, patting Chloe’s hair. ‘Luke? It’ll make me public enemy number one, but I’ll do it.’ Devin’s joke doesn’t help; Chloe just shakes her head against Elena’s shoulder.
‘What happened?’ Elena asks. ‘You were nervous before, but it wasn’t this bad.’
‘Can we just please go to the hotel?’ Chloe asks thickly. She pulls back from Elena, avoiding the gazes of passersby as they watch her cry. She rubs her eyes, but no matter what she does the tears just won’t stop. ‘Please, I just want to lay down.’
Elena and Devin share a look.
‘Of course, CJ,’ Elena answers carefully. She keeps her arm around Chloe’s shoulders and leads the way to the car. Devin jingles her keys but thankfully doesn’t say anything more.
The ride back to the hotel is quiet, leaving Chloe alone in her thoughts.
Is she just the stupidest person alive? It certainly feels that way. It feels like everyone around her has something to say about her life and her choices, and none of it is good. Everyone looks at her and judges her for being or not being what they expect.
She never should have come here. Hell, she never should have gone back to Luke’s hotel with him in the first place.
She just wants to go home, but now, that won’t even make things better. Home still means problems, means dealing with the baby and figuring her future out.
Chloe cries harder, and then feels bad about it because she can tell it’s just worrying her friends even more. The crease between Elena’s eyebrows might never disappear after today.
The hotel room Devin booked for them is small and fairly dingy, but at the moment it looks like heaven. There’s a bed to lie on and a door separating Chloe from the rest of the world. Right now, that’s all she can ask for.
‘I’m gonna just…’ Chloe mutters before ducking into the bathroom. The door shuts with a soft click and Chloe takes a shaky breath. She pushes off the door, turning on the sink and splashing some water on her face.
She takes one look at her reflection and crumples to the floor.
‘That’s it, I’m coming in!’ Devin calls. She bursts into the room, stopping short and clicking her tongue at the sight in front of her: Chloe, sobbing on the floor, face buried in her hands. ‘Oh, honey. You gotta tell us what happened. This isn’t like you.’
It feels like it is. Lately, it feels like all Chloe does is cry.
‘Yeah, we can’t help if you don’t tell us,’ Elena adds. Devin plops down on the floor next to the toilet, holding her arms open for Chloe to cuddle in close. Elena joins them, squishing her way into the small space. Through her sobs, Chloe relays the utter mess she’s just lived through.
Elena hums in the right places. Devin curses when Chloe tells them about the lawyer.
‘Those assholes,’ Devin says when Chloe finishes. ‘All of them! You don’t need them.’
‘I thought—I just wanted to do the right thing,’ Chloe hiccups. She shakes her head. ‘But we shouldn’t have come.’
‘I’m sorry,’ Devin says, tucking a strand of Chloe’s hair behind her ear. She rests her chin on the top of Chloe’s head. ‘We should have just told him over DM and been done with it.’
Chloe doesn’t say anything because right now she agrees. And suddenly, she feels suffocated, like she can’t breathe.
‘I’m kind of hungry,’ she says, even though the mere thought of food makes her want to puke. Is that a morning sickness thing or is it too early for that?
Now that she thinks of it, she should probably pick up a couple books on pregnancy.
‘What do you want?’ Elena asks. ‘I’ll go pick it up.’
‘Um, what about Taco Bell?’ Chloe suggests. She gets on her feet, then helps Devin up. ‘You both should go. I’m sure neither of you got food at the concert.’
The guilty look on their faces tells her that she’s right. She shakes her head. ‘Worrying about me doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take care of yourselves. Go, and eat there! Just bring me something back when you’re done.’
It takes some convincing but Chloe manages to wave them out of the room after a minute. Once the door shuts behind them, she sighs. The hotel room has one full-sized bed and a pull-out couch in the corner. Chloe curls up on the couch, idly scrolling through her phone as she tries to calm down.
Exhaustion seeps into her bones, and her eyes begin to droop. She curls around the stiff throw pillow, ready to sleep away her problems. Her phone, resting on the arm of the couch, rings shrilly. Chloe jumps, and grabs it. Her eyebrows furrow. She doesn’t recognize the number.
In the past few days, she started putting out job applications. She still doesn’t know what she wants to do with her life, but she’s accepted that her bookseller salary is not going to be enough to support her child. So, maybe she’s managed to get an interview already? She swipes to accept the call without thinking about how it’s ten o’clock at night in Nashville—no one would be calling this late.
‘Hello?’ she asks, slipping into her peppy customer service voice.
‘Uh, hello? Chloe? It’s Luke,’ comes the reply. ‘Luke Waters.’