Chapter Forty
Caleb
Electric energy courses through my veins. The adrenaline from stepping out onto the Wembley stage and performing in front of that crowd is unlike anything I’ve ever experienced in my entire life.
The music flows through me as the lyrics and rhythm fuse with every part of my body, igniting something deep in my chest that makes me feel more alive than ever. If this is what people mean when they talk about being high on life, then I never want to come down from it.
Everything feels right.
My band is playing flawlessly, the crowd is insane, and we’re kicking off our first world tour surrounded by our family. For the first time all day, after leaving Indi behind this morning, I finally feel settled. Like maybe this tour is actually going to work out okay after all.
We come offstage buzzing and immediately get swarmed by proud parents.
“Great job, son,” Dad says while pulling me into a hug. “You were incredible.”
“Thanks, Dad.” I grin. “Now you’ve gotta get out there and show everyone how it’s really done.”
The crowd roars so loudly behind us that I can barely hear myself speak. Dad laughs while Colt walks over and slaps me hard on the shoulder.
“Your stage presence is seriously good, Caleb,” Colt says. “You worked that crowd perfectly.” I blink at him, slightly surprised by the praise. “Seriously,” he continues. “You’d never know this was your first stadium show of this size. You should be proud of yourself.”
“Thanks, Colt. That means a lot.”
He winks before heading over toward Dee while Dad joins Johnny near the side-stage entrance, getting ready for 12GAUGE-Slayed’s set.
I immediately pull my cell out.
I know Indi’s still working and probably won’t answer, but I need to tell her how insane that felt. I head toward the Staked green room, typing as I walk.
Me: OMG Indi. That was the most amazing thing I’ve ever done. I can’t believe the rush I just felt. I hope, six months from now, on the final show, it still feels this good. Hope work’s behaving itself. xo
I hit send while walking into the green room and immediately collapse onto the ridiculously expensive white sofa. Chad’s talking to Ella in the corner, making her laugh while Aston and Annie are nowhere to be seen. Probably off somewhere making out like horny teenagers.
My cell vibrates almost immediately.
Indi: I’m so happy you had a good time. I wish I could’ve seen it.
I bet you were amazing. And trust me, you’ll never get sick of music.
It’s literally in your bloodstream. Work is boring, thankfully.
No one’s dying tonight, so I can sneak off more.
Are you all going to some crazy rockstar after-party now?
I laugh out loud while typing back.
Me: Honestly? Doesn’t look like it. Dad just went onstage, and everyone’s weirdly tame. I’m currently in the green room, drinking tea and mentally preparing to knit a nana blanket. Hardcore rockstar stuff. lol
I send it and shake my head, laughing to myself.
Most tours are apparently filled with drugs, groupies, scandals, and hotel destruction. Meanwhile, this one will probably have us all tucked into bed by midnight with warm milk.
My cell buzzes again.
Indi: You guys are giving rock and roll a terrible reputation, you know that? ;)
I grin and quickly type back.
Me: We absolutely are.
A second later, another message arrives.
Indi: Emergency incoming. Gotta go. I’ll call before bed if you’re still awake. xoxo
I don’t bother replying because I know she’ll already be gone helping somebody.
Typical Indi.
I shove my cell phone back into my pocket and notice Ella leaving the room while Chad follows after her like an excited puppy. I smirk to myself and decide I should probably support Dad and the others.
After all, I learned almost everything I know from them.
The side-stage area is packed. All the mums are gathered nearby, watching 12GAUGE-Slayed perform, while Recoil stand around, vibing to the music too. The Wembley crowd is absolutely losing their minds.
I move over beside the Recoil guys while Dad commands the stage effortlessly, like he was born there. Honestly, watching him perform is still surreal sometimes.
Danger notices me beside him and grins. The guy genuinely looks like he belongs onstage with that confident arrogance. He is completely at home in the chaos, and he steps closer until our shoulders brush.
“So Ella, huh?” he yells over the music.
I glance sideways at him. “Yeah? What about her?”
“Is she single?” he asks bluntly. “Or am I wasting my time?”
I instantly get a weird feeling in my stomach.
“She’s single,” I admit cautiously. “But she’s young.”
Danger shrugs casually. “How young?”
“She’s seventeen.”
That finally makes him pause slightly.
“Right,” he says slowly before licking his lips. “Still think she’s cute though.”
I force a laugh even though something about the conversation feels fucking off.
“So put in a good word for me, yeah?” he says.
“Sure,” I reply vaguely.
Across the stage, Chad is already glaring at us both like he’s seconds away from homicide.
I walk over to him.
“What the hell was that about?” Chad asks irritably.
“Honestly?” I mutter. “I think the guy’s a creep.”
Chad snorts. “Told you he was a dickhead.”
We both look back toward the stage where Johnny launches his drumsticks into the air before catching them perfectly and smashing them onto the cymbals while the crowd erupts.
Chad instantly forgets his anger and cheers loudly for his dad while I laugh quietly to myself.
After a while, I decide I’ve had enough of the side-stage chaos and head back toward the green room, wanting five minutes of peace away from all the weird people.
I’m halfway through mindlessly playing a game on my cell phone when the door suddenly bursts open and Ella races in looking panicked.
“Caleb, come quickly,” she blurts out, grabbing my hand. “Annie freaked out and fainted.”
Immediately, I stand up. “What?”
Ella drags me out of the room so quickly that I almost trip trying to keep up with her.
“What do you mean she fainted?” I ask sharply. “What happened?”
Ella shakes her head. “I shouldn’t tell you.”
I stop walking and gently pull her back toward me. “Ella.”
She groans dramatically. “Fine. But she’s gonna kill me for telling you.”
“Tell me.”
“She slept with Aston,” Ella blurts out. “Then afterward, he told her he loves her, and she completely freaked out.”
I blink at her. “What?”
“She started spiraling about how her birth parents didn’t love her, so how could anybody else love her either.” Ella shakes her head, looking confused. “I don’t understand what happened.”
“Okay,” I say quietly. “Take me to her.”
We rush down the hallway toward one of the backstage kitchen areas, and the second I walk in, my stomach drops. Annie’s lying unconscious on the floor, looking pale as hell, while Dee kneels beside her, dabbing her forehead with a damp cloth.
“Oh shit,” I mutter while immediately crouching beside her.
She looks awful. Sweaty, pale, and completely exhausted.
“Geez, Annie,” I murmur.
Dee glances up at me anxiously. “Can you carry her to the green room? The couch will be more comfortable than the floor.”
“Yeah, of course.” I carefully scoop Annie into my arms, and honestly, the dead weight instantly reminds me of carrying her home drunk not that long ago.
Aston appears seconds later, looking completely wrecked. “What happened?” he asks frantically. “Is she okay?”
“She’ll wake up soon,” I assure him while carrying her toward the green room.
“I caused this, didn’t I?” Aston asks quietly.
His eyes are already filling with tears, and I feel bad for him because he genuinely looks devastated.
I lower Annie carefully onto the couch while Aston hovers nearby, panicking.
“She’s gonna be okay,” I say firmly. “I think this has been building for a while.”
Ella nods sadly beside him. “She’s been carrying this stuff around forever.”
A medic arrives quickly and starts checking Annie over while Dee stays beside her, holding her hand.
Eventually, Annie stirs weakly and gasps softly.
“Annie?” Ella says immediately.
“My chest hurts,” Annie whispers weakly without opening her eyes properly.
I immediately realize she means emotionally, not physically.
“I know, cuz,” I murmur while brushing damp hair from her forehead. “I know.”
The medic eventually straightens up, looking concerned.
“I think this was likely a panic attack triggered by extreme stress and exhaustion,” he explains.
“But her blood pressure’s low enough that I’d prefer to take her in for observation.
” He hesitates briefly. “And I think she’d benefit from speaking to somebody professionally. ”
Annie passes out again before anyone can respond.
“Okay,” the medic says firmly. “We’re taking her now.”
“I’ll carry her,” I say immediately.
Dee nods while wiping tears from her cheeks.
The next hour is chaos.
We follow the ambulance to the hospital while Aston quietly spirals beside me, convinced he’s destroyed Annie emotionally forever. I keep trying to explain that this clearly runs deeper than just him, but he won’t listen.
By the time we finally get Annie settled into a hospital room, everyone looks emotionally exhausted.
The second I realize we’re in Indi’s hospital, there’s absolutely no way I’m leaving without seeing her. So I head straight toward the nurses’ station.
“Hi,” I say politely. “My cousin was brought in tonight, and she really likes one of your nurses, Indi Malone. Any chance somebody could page her for me?”
The nurse behind the desk instantly smiles a little too brightly. “Sure thing.”
Yep. Still got it.
A couple of minutes later, I spot Indi walking down the corridor toward me, and my chest feels lighter. The second she sees me standing there, her eyes widen in shock.
“What are you doing here?” she asks suspiciously. “Shouldn’t you be somewhere knitting your nana blanket?”
I laugh and immediately lean down, kissing her quickly. “I missed you.”
She swats at me despite smiling. “I’m working, Caleb.”
“Tragic.”
She laughs softly before noticing my expression shift to serious again.
“No, really. Why are you here?”
“Annie.” Instant concern fills her face. “She had a panic attack and collapsed backstage,” I explain. “They brought her here for observation.”
Indi frowns. “Already?” she murmurs. “It’s only the first show.”
“I think it’s more emotional stuff than tour stress.” I quickly explain everything Ella told me about Aston and Annie spiraling afterward.
“That’s heartbreaking,” Indi says quietly. “She genuinely believes she isn’t lovable because she was adopted.”
I nod heavily. “That’s why I wanted to find you.”
She shakes her head. “Caleb, I’m not qualified for trauma counseling—”
“No, not like that,” I interrupt quickly. “I just thought maybe because she trusts you, hearing from you that she should see someone professionally might help.”
Understanding, she softens her expression. “Oh.” She nods slowly. “Yeah, okay. I can definitely help with that.”
Relief floods through me instantly.
“I actually know exactly who she should talk to, too,” Indi adds thoughtfully. “He’s really good with trauma and anxiety.”
Before she can say anything else, I wrap my arms around her waist and pull her tightly against me.
“Caleb!” she whisper-hisses while trying not to laugh. “I’m literally at work.”
“I don’t care.” I hold her tighter. “I’m not gonna get to hold you properly for six months, so I’m taking every chance I can get.” Then I kiss her hard before she can protest again. She resists for about two seconds before melting completely against me while her hands slide into my hair.
God, I’m going to miss this woman so much it physically hurts.
I already miss her, and I only left this morning.
Eventually, I force myself to pull back slowly, and her eyes are already glossy again while she looks up at me.
“I hate this,” I admit quietly.
She smiles sadly. “Me too.” Then she gently takes my hand and starts leading me toward Annie’s room. As she walks ahead of me, my eyes immediately drift downward and—
Jesus Christ.
I physically have to drag my attention away from her ass before my body starts reacting in a very inappropriate hospital-approved manner.
Down boy.
We walk into Annie’s room as Colt storms in, looking furious and terrified all at once.
Fantastic.
This should go well.