Chapter Thirteen
Caleb
After spending most of the night shagging Lisa, girl number two on my speed dial, I’m completely wrecked by the time I drive up to the manor the next morning.
I really wish Colt and Dee lived closer to London, but I get why they bought this place. The manor is fucking gorgeous. Big, dramatic, expensive-looking… very rock star. Honestly, I’d love to live here myself one day.
As I pull up near the gates, I spot Aston walking toward them. He only lives about five minutes away, so he usually walks over for rehearsals. He waves at me with a grin so bright it’s almost blinding.
Well… someone’s in a good mood.
I wave back, then drive through the gates and park. Climbing out of the car, I wait for Aston to catch up, which doesn’t take long.
“Morning,” he says casually while trying, and failing, to wipe the stupid smile off his face.
“Oh no.” I laugh. “Hang on a fucking second. What’s with the schoolboy grin, Mr. Soulding?”
He tries to suppress the smile again, but completely fails. “Well… Annie and me…”
“Yeah?” I prompt impatiently. “Spit it out.”
“We kinda kissed.”
My eyes widen before I grin and smack him on the back. “It’s about fucking time!”
“Tell me about it,” he groans happily. “She’s been so hot and cold lately. I never knew what she wanted from me. Then last night she left the music room upset and went upstairs, so I followed her to make sure she was okay.”
I clutch my chest dramatically. “Aren’t you just a soft little teddy bear?” I tease in a fake baby voice.
“Shut up, dickhead.” He laughs, punching me lightly in the arm. “If you’d seen her face, you would’ve checked on her too.”
I narrow my eyes at him. “There’s more to this story, isn’t there?”
He instantly looks uncomfortable. “Maybe.”
“Oh my God,” I say. “Did she reject you after the kiss?”
“No! Nothing like that.” He shakes his head quickly. “The kiss was incredible, but then things went downhill afterward.”
Now he’s got my full attention. “What happened?”
Aston rubs the back of his neck awkwardly. “I was kinda… on top of Annie, making out with her when Colt walked in.”
I completely lose it.
A full belly laugh bursts out of me while Aston rolls his eyes like he’s personally offended by my amusement.
“Stop fucking laughing,” he mutters. “It’s not funny.”
I try to calm myself down enough to breathe properly while wiping at my eyes. “Mate… that is fucking hilarious.”
“It was traumatizing.”
I chuckle again and grip his shoulder sympathetically. “Jesus Christ, I bet that exploded fast. How do you not have a black eye?”
Aston blinks at me. “You think Colt would actually hit me?”
“No,” I admit with another laugh. “He wouldn’t ruin his friendship with your parents like that, but I guarantee he wanted to.”
Aston groans quietly while hanging his head.
“So what did Annie do?” I ask curiously.
“I’m not really sure,” he admits. “There was a lot of yelling after I left, and I’m pretty sure Annie was crying. I didn’t wanna leave her there, but Colt is fucking terrifying when he’s angry.”
That’s true.
“I’m just worried she’s gonna freak out and call everything off again,” he says quietly. “I finally got somewhere with her after waiting all these years for her to want me back, and then Colt walks in at the worst possible moment.”
I nod slowly because… yeah, I get it.
“You know Hux walked in on me making out with someone once,” I tell him. “He was way calmer than Colt, though, probably because he was my dad, not Indi’s. Still embarrassing as hell.”
Aston winces. “Exactly.”
“Still…” I add with a grin, “… the whole thing is fucking hilarious from my point of view.”
He rolls his eyes before punching my arm again, this time much harder.
“Ow, fuck!” I rub my bicep dramatically. “Jesus Christ, kid. You hit almost as hard as I do.”
“That’s what happens when you work out.”
I laugh and sling an arm around his shoulders as we start heading toward the front door. “So I guess I don’t need to give you the whole ‘hurt my cousin and I’ll kill you’ speech then?”
Aston shakes his head instantly. “I’d never hurt Annie. I love her way too much for that.”
The sincerity in his voice tells me everything. Not because I doubt him, but because hearing someone talk about loving a girl like that instantly drags my thoughts back to Indi. To the kind of love that settles into your bones and never really leaves, no matter how many years pass.
And yeah… I think that’s exactly what Aston feels for Annie.
We reach the front door, and Aston rings the bell while I pull my arm back from around his shoulders.
“So you really love her?” I ask more quietly this time.
“With everything I’ve got.”
I shake my head with a smile just as the front door swings open.
Colt stands there staring directly at Aston, and the second Aston notices the look on Colt’s face, his whole body visibly stiffens.
I nearly laugh again.
This is fucking gold.
The two of them stand there in awkward silence, staring each other down while I look between them, trying not to lose my shit.
“So,” I say casually. “I heard you walked in on Aston and Annie last night, hey, Colt?”
Aston shoots me a death glare while Colt physically recoils like he’s trying to erase the image from his brain forever.
This is way too entertaining.
“Under absolutely no circumstances…” Colt says coldly to Aston, “… are you to have any contact with Annie today. You are not to be alone with her, near her, beside her, or breathing in her general direction. If I catch you anywhere near my daughter, I will personally castrate you and make sure you never see her again. Are. We. Clear?”
I glance sideways at Aston.
The poor bastard looks genuinely terrified.
“Aston?” Colt prompts sharply.
“Yes, sir,” Aston blurts out, nodding hard enough to nearly snap his neck.
I shake my head.
Jesus Christ, Colt. The kid already looks traumatized.
Then Colt smirks and slaps Aston lightly on the arm. Aston flinches like he’s expecting a beating.
“Good lad,” Colt says casually. “Now get inside. We’ve got work to do.”
Aston practically sprints past him into the house while I stay behind, shaking my head at Colt.
“You could go a little easier on him,” I mutter quietly.
Colt snorts. “Fuck no. If you saw what I saw last night, you’d understand. Keep those two apart for me today, will you?”
I laugh under my breath. “I’ll try, mate. I’ll try.”
We head inside together and make our way toward the music room with Colt following behind me. When we walk in, Annie immediately looks over at Aston and lights up with a huge smile. Aston drops his gaze straight to the floor and avoids looking at her entirely.
Nice one, Colt. Way to make things awkward as fuck.
Aston completely ignores Annie, clearly shit-scared after Colt’s warning, and Annie looks so hurt it almost makes me feel bad for her.
Almost.
This whole situation is a fucking mess.
Chad arrives not long afterward, and Colt announces we’ll be rehearsing all day before heading to our first live gig tonight alongside two other bands.
The second the words leave his mouth, excitement tears through me so hard I feel like I could jump out of my own skin.
A real stage.
A real crowd.
People actually paying to hear us play.
Holy fuck.
Every bit of adrenaline inside me surges to life, and there’s only one person I want to tell.
Indi.
I want to share every part of this music journey with her because she’s the reason I fell in love with performing in the first place. She should be there tonight. She belongs there.
I’ve been trying to convince myself over the last couple of days to back off and give her space, but there’s no way I can keep this news from her. I need to call her and at least try to convince her to come tonight. Even if deep down I already know she probably won’t answer.
She never does.
Still, I have to try.
I slip out of the music room and head down the hallway. Technically, the first person I should be calling is Dad to tell him the news, but he can wait. Calling Indi will probably just end the same way it always does anyway… with me listening to endless ringing before hanging up, disappointed.
Pulling my cell from my pocket, I scroll to her number and press call.
For once, I’m so excited that I barely even feel nervous. I just desperately want her to answer.
The phone rings.
And rings.
And rings some more.
Despite the excitement buzzing through me, disappointment slowly starts creeping in. I pull the cell away from my ear, ready to hang up when her voice flows through the speaker.
I freeze.
Quickly lifting the cell back to my ear, I blink in shock. “Indi?”
There’s a small pause before she answers softly, “Hi, Caleb.”
Relief crashes through me so violently, I swear I could cry.
She answered.
She actually fucking answered.
“Hey,” I say quickly, trying not to sound completely shaken. “I didn’t think you’d pick up. I’ve been thinking about you since the other night.”
“I’ve been thinking about you too—”
“Really?” The word flies out of my mouth before I can stop it.
She gives a soft laugh. “Yeah. Running into someone from your past after six years is kind of hard not to think about.”
“I miss you,” I admit before I can stop myself.
I hear her exhale softly. “Caleb—”
“Sorry,” I cut in quickly. “It just slipped out.”
“It’s okay,” she says quietly. “You haven’t called for a couple of days, and I started thinking maybe you weren’t going to anymore.”
My heart skips. “You wanted me to call?”
“I didn’t,” she says. “But when you stopped, it kind of felt like I’d left you all over again.”
Fuck.
“Is that why you answered?”
“Yeah,” she murmurs. “Moment of weakness, I guess.”
The words sting more than they probably should.
So she already regrets answering?
I swallow hard and force myself to focus on the reason I called. “I, um… had some good news today.”
“Oh yeah?”
“Dad’s agent, Rob, signed the band. Staked got signed today, and tonight’s our first proper live performance in front of a real crowd.”
“Oh my God, Caleb!” she gasps excitedly. “That’s amazing!”
A huge smile spreads across my face, hearing how genuinely happy she sounds for me.
“It really is. And honestly… I had to tell you because you’re the reason any of this is happening in the first place.”
“What do you mean?”
I lean back against the wall and smile to myself. “You’re the one who made me fall in love with performing. I used to sing for you, remember? And you always told me I was good enough to make something of myself. Now it’s happening. My dreams are finally coming true because you believed in me.”
“Caleb…” she says softly, “… this was always your dream. Not mine. I just helped you see your own potential.”
“No,” I argue quietly. “This is because of you, which is also why I called. I was wondering…” I hesitate briefly. “If you’re not working tonight, would you maybe want to come to the show? You always said you wanted to see me on stage. I can finally sing to you the way I always promised.”
Silence.
Complete fucking silence.
My heart pounds so hard I think it might crack my ribs open if she says no.
“Indi?” I ask quietly.
I hear another soft exhale before she finally speaks, “Okay.”
The word is so quiet I almost think I imagined it.
“Wait… did you just say okay?” I push off the wall and start pacing excitedly down the hallway.
She giggles softly, and the sound hits me like pure sunlight after years stuck in darkness. “Yes, Caleb…” She laughs. “I’ll come to your show.”
I pump my fist into the air like a complete fucking idiot.
“Okay, great,” I reply, trying desperately to sound calm while excitement explodes inside my chest.
This day seriously cannot get any better.
I get signed, and Indi’s coming to see me perform!
Holy shit.
“What time is it?” she asks.
This is actually happening.
“We’re on last, but the first band starts at seven.” I pause. “Indi, you okay?”
“Yeah,” she says softly. “This just feels weird.”
“Good weird?”
“More like… memory lane weird.”
I smile slightly. “The good kind or the bad kind?”
“The good kind, Caleb,” she admits quietly. “I miss hearing you sing. It’ll be nice seeing you perform for a real audience.”
“It’s gonna be amazing,” I tell her, and she giggles again, making my chest flutter stupidly.
God, I’ve missed that sound.
“I know you’ll be incredible,” she says. “You always were. Where’s the show?”
“At the concert hall in London. You know the one Mum used to take us past when we’d go into the city?”
“Yeah,” she says softly. “I remember. We really did have some good times together.”
“Yeah,” I murmur. “We did. Maybe we can make some new memories too.” She goes quiet instantly. “Sorry,” I say quickly. “I didn’t mean anything by it. I just meant… I’d like having you around again. Even just as a friend.”
Lie.
“We’ll see,” she replies carefully. “I should go, but I’ll see you tonight, okay?”
I practically bounce on my toes. “Okay, great. And Indi?”
“Yeah?”
“Thanks for answering.”
She laughs softly again. “Thanks for thinking of me and inviting me to your concert tonight, Caleb. I’m genuinely honored.”
I scoff quietly. “Indi, you’re the reason this is even happening for me. I’m the one who should feel honored.”
Silence falls again.
“Indi?”
“Yeah?”
“Thanks… for always making me feel better.”
“I’m glad I could help,” she says softly. “I really do have to go now, but thanks for calling. I’ll see you tonight.”
“Okay. I’ll come find you.”
“No worries. I’ll stay near the back, though. I don’t really like crowds anymore.”
The sadness in her voice twists something painfully inside my chest.
“Right,” I murmur. “I’ll see you in a few hours then.”
“Bye, Caleb.”
I hesitate because I really don’t want to hang up.
“Bye, sweet Indi.”
And I stay listening to the line until she disconnects first.