Chapter Twelve #2
“Same,” Chad replies. “We all were.”
I drag a hand through my hair and sigh. “As for Annie, I don’t know what the hell she’s doing… with Aston or with the band. She needs to figure her shit out before she tears us apart, before we’ve even started.”
“Well…” Chad says with a grin, “… all I know is I’m starving. When do you reckon we can eat?”
I snort out a laugh. “Always thinking with your stomach.”
He gasps dramatically. “I’m not a kid anymore. I’m sixteen, dude.”
“Yeah, sorry,” I tease. “Even though all you care about is food and your disgusting socks, you’re still more mature than Annie, and she’s older than you.”
“I was totally about to warn you about fame and obsession, but then… my stomach interfered,” he says seriously.
I blink at him. “Warn me?”
“Yeah. One leads to the other or some shit like that.”
“You have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about, do you?”
He considers it for a second. “Not even a little.”
“So why say it?”
“Because it sounded smarter than telling you to get fucked.”
This kid is unintentionally hilarious.
I slap him on the shoulder while shaking my head. “I think we better get you some food. You’re so hungry you’re making no sense.”
“I’m practically wasting away here, man… feed me!”
I snort at him, considering the kid has put on some muscle over the last few months. He’s clearly been bulking. No wonder he’s so hungry all the damn time.
I glance over toward Ella and notice her still hovering awkwardly near her keyboard setup. “I’ll be back in a sec.”
Crossing the room, I pull her into a quick hug. “You did great, cuz. Seriously. Keeping up after Annie went rogue like that wasn’t easy.”
Ella beams up at me. “I know! I can’t believe I managed to keep going. I’m getting better, Caleb. I really am.”
“Yeah, you are,” I say honestly. “Hey, I saw Annie and Aston having some sort of argument before she left. Think you could go find her before Rob notices she disappeared?”
“Yeah, I saw it too.” Ella nods quickly. “I’ll go get her. Don’t worry, leave it to me. If I survived that solo, I can survive anything.”
I laugh softly as she heads toward the door.
As frustrating as Annie’s stunt was, at least it gave Ella a little confidence boost. Music never came naturally to her the way it did for the rest of us. She’s had to work twice as hard to keep up, and honestly, I’m proud as hell of her for pushing through.
The second Ella disappears from the room, I glance nervously toward Rob and Colt, hoping Rob hasn’t noticed our lead guitarist vanish halfway through the biggest night of our lives.
Colt looks up and scans the room. “Where are the girls?” he asks sharply.
My stomach drops instantly.
I look down at the floor because now Rob knows Annie disappeared… and Ella went after her.
This does not look good.
“I think they left a few minutes ago,” Chad says casually. “I saw them both walk out.”
Colt’s jaw tightens immediately. He presses his lips together while his nostrils flare slightly, clearly annoyed. “Okay, Chad, can you go get them for us?” Colt asks tightly.
Chad twirls his drumsticks in one hand and nods before heading out of the room.
I glance over at Aston and find him leaning against the wall, arms folded tightly across his chest, staring at the floor, and looking completely miserable.
I exhale heavily and shake my head.
This whole thing is turning into a disaster.
And with every passing second, it feels like my dream of becoming the rock star Indi always believed I could be is slowly going up in flames right in front of me.
Chad walks back into the room with the girls following close behind him, and I breathe a quiet sigh of relief, seeing that they returned so quickly.
“Oh, good, girls, you’re back,” Rob says easily, not looking bothered in the slightest. “Come sit down. I want to talk to all of you together.”
The fact that he doesn’t seem pissed fills me with a fresh wave of hope.
We all gather around while Rob looks between us thoughtfully.
“Okay, let’s talk Staked.” He smiles slightly. “I only needed to hear two songs to make my decision.”
My stomach instantly twists into knots.
“Annie…” He continues, “Your guitar solo clearly caught the rest of the band off guard. It was obvious by the way they reacted that you extended it longer than expected.”
I tense immediately, bracing for bad news.
“But…” Rob says, holding up a finger, “… what you did was electric. The standard of that solo? That’s up there with some of the best rock guitarists out there. Your father’s taught you well.”
Annie’s eyes widen while Colt tries, and fails, not to look proud as hell.
“However…” Rob adds, “You need to communicate with your band before changing things up like that. It could’ve completely thrown the others off and stopped them from knowing where to come back in.
Luckily, you all know each other so well that you managed to recover seamlessly, and that’s one of the things that makes Staked special. ”
Annie nods quickly. “Yes, sir.”
“That said…” He glances around at all of us. “The way you work together is what makes this band special. You read each other. You move as one.”
His gaze flicks between Aston and Annie. “Especially you two. The connection you have on stage… it’s rare. You feed off each other in a way you can’t teach.”
Annie glances awkwardly toward Aston while Aston stares at the floor.
“You need to lean into that,” Rob continues. “Because that chemistry? That’s what people connect to…” He pauses, glancing briefly at Colt, who gives him a small nod. And then… “Well,” Rob says, clapping his hands together lightly. “I’ve made my decision.”
My pulse slams hard against my ribs.
“I’m going to sign you.”
Holy.
Fucking.
Shit!
I gasp while my heart practically launches into my throat. Ella and Annie start jumping around, screaming, while Chad rushes over and high-fives me hard enough to sting my palm. Everyone’s laughing and shouting over each other while Aston even cracks a smile.
“We’re going to start with a small promotional campaign,” Rob explains over the chaos.
“We’ll work on refining your demo so we can turn it into a full album for release.
After that, we can start talking about a tour of England…
if your parents agree. Well, except for you, Caleb.
I think you’re past parental permission. ”
“God, I hope so.” I laugh, glancing toward Dad while Rob claps me on the shoulder.
“Leave the logistics to me,” Rob says. “I’ll organize everything with Colt and Hux, and we’ll figure out how to get this moving properly.
This could be the start of something massive for all of you.
You’re young, talented, and you’ve got real chemistry together.
The biggest thing now is making sure you can handle the pressure that comes with this lifestyle.
That’s why we’ll start small and build from there.
” He points at us all. “I’ll be in touch soon. ” Then he holds his hand out to me.
I shake it firmly. “Thank you so much, Rob. We won’t let you down. Right, guys?”
“No fucking way,” Annie blurts out excitedly. “We’re all in. One hundred percent.”
“That’s what I like to hear,” Rob says with a grin. “Right, I’d better head home. Looks like I’ve got a lot more work coming my way now.”
“Thanks again, Rob,” Colt says. “I’ll walk you out.”
The second they leave the room, absolute chaos erupts. We’re cheering, jumping around, hugging each other while all the parents laugh at us from the doorway. I’m seven years older than Annie, but right now you’d never know it because I’m acting just as crazy as she is.
I’m so fucking high on adrenaline and excitement that I didn’t even know it was possible to feel this good. Every bit of sadness and frustration weighing me down over the last few days has been completely washed away.
I’m here with my family.
My band.
And we’re about to make something of ourselves.
I know it.
And for the first time since seeing Indi again, I genuinely feel happy.
Eventually, the parents leave us alone in the music room so we can celebrate properly, but I already know how I’m going to keep celebrating once I get home.
I just need to decide which one of my speed-dial girls is coming over tonight.