Chapter Two #2
“Can we get started, kids?” Caleb asks, smirking like he’s trying to rile me again.
“We’re not kids, Caleb. We’re teenagers. Well, me and Aston are. It’s Ella and Chad who are still the babies of the band,” I tease, trying to lighten the mood.
“Shut up, Annie!” Ella and Chad say in unison, making everyone laugh.
And just like that… the tension breaks.
I hate how fast my temper can get away from me. It’s like something takes over, and I stop thinking straight. Seeing Mum cry and Dad look like that is enough to make me realize I can’t keep doing this. I have to get a handle on it.
Caleb counts us in, and the second I start strumming the first chords of “Don’t Mess With The Best,” a calm washes over me.
Music does that.
It sweeps through me, steadies me, and for a few minutes, there’s nothing but the song and the rush of playing it.
I throw myself into it, determined to give them the best performance I can.
If I’m going to impress anyone, it’s the man who taught me how to play in the first place—my dad, Colter Slade.
I lean back into Aston the way I always do, our backs pressed together, our rhythm slotting into place like it was built there. Ella, Chad, and Caleb hold the rest of it together around us, and for once, everything feels exactly as it should.
Near the end of the song, I open my eyes and look over at Mum and Dad.
Dad is standing behind her, his arms wrapped around her, his chin resting on her shoulder, while they sway to the music with huge smiles on their faces.
That sight does something to me.
It pulls me even deeper into the moment, because this is all I wanted.
Them here.
Watching.
Smiling.
Proud.
The last half hour of anger and hurt fades into the background until it barely matters at all. Right here, with my family and friends around me, I feel steady again like myself. Like nothing can touch me when I’m standing in the middle of my music.
We finish another set, and the room feels completely different now. Everyone’s laughing, smiling, talking over each other. Dad even picks up his guitar and helps me tweak a riff. Naturally, he’s right, and it sounds better after he changes it, but that’s what years of experience get you.
Aston comes over while Caleb starts talking to me about our next rehearsal.
We have to organize rehearsals carefully because most of us are homeschooled. Ella, Aston, and I do our lessons here. Since Aston only lives five minutes away, it makes sense, and having the music room right there means we can practice whenever we have spare time.
Caleb works around us. He tutors kids in music, which is how he makes his own money, even though Uncle Hux would buy him pretty much anything he wants. I think Caleb likes knowing he can stand on his own two feet.
Chad goes to a private school for celebrity kids, some high-security place where paparazzi can’t get near them. Mum and Dad looked into it for us once, but it’s too far away, and I think they’d rather keep us close.
Aston nudges my side, pulling me back to the present, and I smile up at him as he slings an arm around my shoulders.
“So, same time tomorrow?” I ask Caleb.
He nods, then gives Aston a wink that feels a little odd.
I ignore it and turn back to Aston. “Did you see them? They were so into it. And Dad helped with that riff, too. How cool was that?”
“Yeah, it was awesome,” he says. “But I need to put my feet up and watch a movie or something. I’m tired.”
I glance toward the window and realize the sun has gone down. “Okay, hang on. Daaad,” I call.
“Yeah?”
“Can everyone stay for dinner and a movie?”
He rolls his eyes but nods. “Yeah, we’ll order pizza. Who’s staying?”
Everyone looks around, then nods.
“Okay, great. Seventeen pizzas coming up,” he says, and I laugh while Mum rolls her eyes. He walks off with his phone already in his hand.
“Great,” Aston mutters under his breath.
I look at him. “What?”
He glances down at me, then at my lips, before looking away again. “Nothing. Just thought it might’ve been nice to have dinner with you. And pizza? You know I hate fast food.”
I laugh and roll my eyes. “Oh, whatever, Mr. Health Freak. One slice of pizza isn’t going to give you a beer belly.”
He lifts his shirt, showing off his toned stomach for someone so young. “Why would I risk ruining this?”
I smack him lightly across the abs and shake my head. “One slice won’t ruin anything. Besides, it’s not even that impressive. Caleb’s got a better six-pack than you.”
He frowns. “That’s weird. He’s your cousin. You shouldn’t be checking out his abs.”
“I’m not checking him out, idiot. He practically shoves them in everyone’s face every rehearsal when he takes his shirt off. And there is no way I’d look at him like that. He’s my cousin.”
He grins. “You love Caleb.”
“Ugh, stop. That’s revolting. That’d be like me saying you have a crush on Anna.”
His face twists. “What the hell, Lennox? She’s my mum.”
“Exactly. Family is family. So now you know how gross that sounds. Caleb’s my cousin, but he’s more like a brother. Same as you.”
The second the words leave my mouth, his expression changes.
Not a lot.
Just enough.
His smile drops, and something guarded moves into his eyes.
“So, you see me like a brother?” he asks.
I frown at him. “Not literally. You know what I mean. You’re my best friend. Haven’t you always seen me like that?”
He swallows. “Best friend, yeah. Definitely not a brother.”
There’s something in the way he says it that makes me pause, but not for long.
“Well, best friends we are, Aston Soulding, and we always will be. It’s you and me against the world, right?” I take his hand and tug him with me out of the music room.
“Yeah… right,” he says, quieter this time.
He sounds off, but everyone else is already heading into the living room, and I let it go as I follow them in for pizza and a movie.