Chapter Twenty-Five #2
I look at her, biting my lip as my composure finally cracks and I shake my head.
The tears come anyway.
She leans in without another word, wrapping her arms around me and pulling me close. I press my face into her shoulder, crying quietly as the jet lifts into the sky…
Anna, Aston’s mum, heads down to the office.
I saw her look at me as she walked past, but she didn’t say anything.
I wonder how much Aston has told her about us?
She was always Team Astonie, as she would refer to us.
But I guess she will hate me now too. I just hope this doesn’t affect her and Mum’s relationship.
I know they’re best friends, so hopefully I won’t cause a rift between them.
Another ten minutes later, she walks out with Aston following her.
She looks at me briefly as she passes—a look of complete and utter disappointment.
Aston, on the other hand, looks terrible, and even though he knew he was walking past me, he didn’t acknowledge me at all.
From then on, I knew he’d given up.
We arrived in Ireland, and I was so tired I just wanted to sleep, but I knew that wasn’t possible. I needed to go to the hotel, settle in, then head to the Odyssey Arena and get ready for my first concert without Aston by my side.
The show ended up being great. We sounded amazing, and the crowd loved us, but it was weird standing next to Caleb instead of Aston.
I watched him throughout the show, and he wasn’t smiling or getting into the music like he normally does.
Ella tried to make him smile, but it only worked for a second, then he went back to scowling.
The pep talk before the show was short, and I think everyone felt the tension.
Aston didn’t stand next to me. He’s obviously giving me the space I need, which I didn’t expect.
To be honest, I don’t know what I was expecting.
I guess I thought that he would still want to be near me.
Seems that’s the furthest from the truth.
Once the show finishes, Mum is there to greet me as soon as I get off the stage. I still feel the buzz from being on stage and performing, but it isn’t the same.
“How’d we sound?” I ask as I pull my guitar off over my head.
“Perfect, sweetheart, flawless actually,” she says and then looks over at Aston, who’s talking to his dad, Johnny.
I follow her line of sight. Aston looks up at me, Johnny looks over, then pats his back and leads him away from the backstage area. I swallow hard and take a deep breath.
“You were great, honey. It didn’t show at all.”
I nod and smile, even though I feel like a complete pile of steaming shit. “Can I go back to Dad’s green room, instead of Staked’s? I ask, and Mum slumps her shoulders and looks at me, tilting her head.
“Sweetheart, you can’t avoid him forever.”
“Okay, I just thought I would ask.”
“I know it’s hard, but if you feel so badly about it, then maybe—”
“Mum, don’t!” I interrupt, and she gestures to zip her mouth shut as Dad walks over to us.
“Great show, Annie. You did good, considering,” he says and pulls me into a hug.
“You’re stronger than you know. Not many people could handle a breakup and then go on stage and perform with their ex.
I’m proud of you, honey, and I know that with time, you’ll get your excitement back.
I know it feels terrible right now, but it will get easier.
If not, we’ll kick Aston out of the band—”
“Colt, stop it!” Mum berates, and I smile slightly at my Dad’s overprotective behavior once again.
“He doesn’t have to leave the band, Dad. I can work through it. Plus, we’re starting to get a fan base. People love Staked the way we are. We can’t go changing just because I broke up with the bassist.”
“I knew I shouldn’t have let it get this far. I’m still not sure what Aston did, but if I find out and I don’t like it, I won’t hold back, Annie.”
“Colt, enough! She doesn’t need your overprotective bullshit right now. And you need to get in the zone, so stop getting worked up and start getting fired up,” Mum says, and Dad smiles.
“I like that, they would be good lyrics,” he says and then starts singing. “Stop getting worked up and start getting fired up,” to a new tune I haven’t heard before. I smile at him and rush forward, hugging him tightly. “What’s this for?” he says, leaning down and kissing my head.
“For always taking care of me, even if sometimes it’s over the top.”
“Colt, you ready to go?” Dingo asks, and Dad lets me go, then leans down and kisses my forehead.
“Be strong, Annie,” Dad says, and I nod. He smiles, leans in, kisses Mum quickly, then walks over to strap on his guitar.
“I’m gonna head back to the room now,” I say to Mum, and she raises an eyebrow.
“You don’t want to watch your dad?”
“Just kinda want to sit down and relax,” I reply, and she looks back toward Dad, then back at me like she’s conflicted.
“Okay, well, I’ll just wait here until your father goes on stage and then I’ll come and find you?”
“You can stay and watch Dad if you want. I’ll be fine.”
“Sweetheart, I think you need me more than your father does. Plus, I have seen so many of his shows, I’m sure he won’t mind if I miss one.”
I nod. “I’ll be in the green room,” I say, and she smiles as I walk off.
I wrap my arms around myself for comfort, feeling alone right now, even though I’m in a stadium packed with thousands of people.
I walk past some backstage workers, and they all smile at me.
I smile back to be nice, but I don’t mean it.
I walk into the green room to see Ella and Caleb talking in the corner, but other than them, the room is empty.
I step over to the sofa and sit down at the back.
I’m kind of out of the way and hidden behind a partition, so people walking in won’t be able to see me.
And to be honest, I really like that idea.
It lets me be alone longer to think about things.
Ella and Caleb start laughing, and it pulls me out of my daze to look over at them. They are watching some YouTube video on his phone. I wish I had the energy to laugh. I hear some more laughing, and I look toward the door to see Aston walk in with Amber from Red Velvet hanging off his arm.
What the fuck?
I sit up straighter so I can see better, and I watch as they walk in and sit on the sofa next to each other.
“Hey Amber, what are you doing here?” Caleb asks, and I bite my bottom lip, wondering the exact same thing.
“Red Velvet are taking a little break right now, so I thought I would follow you guys on tour. You and 12GAUGE-Slayed that is,” she says, and I raise my eyebrow, wondering why she would do that.
She’s still wearing those trashy leopard-print pants, and her hair is still dyed that flaming red color.
I look at her pale face, and I cringe slightly at how flawless and beautiful she really is.
She rests her hand on Aston’s knee, and I tense up immediately.
He doesn’t react. He doesn’t even seem to notice. It’s like he’s in his own world.
“Well, it will be nice to have another girl around. There’s not a lot of us on tour, especially as 12GAUGE-Slayed and Recoil are all males,” Ella says, and I huff.
Traitor!
They all start talking and seem to be having a good time, completely oblivious to the fact that I’m even here in the shadows.
Aston eventually joins the conversation, and I sit, cradling myself into a ball, wondering how I let this happen.
Why did I give in to Aston in the first place?
If I didn’t do that, I wouldn’t be in this mess right now.
Mum walks in and looks around the room. “Where’s Annie?” she asks, and Ella shrugs.
I stand up and step out from behind the partition and look over at her.
“Oh, there she is,” Mum says, and everyone follows her line of sight toward me. Aston’s eyes flare open, and he stands up abruptly, letting Amber’s hand fall from his leg. He swallows hard and looks right at me.
“Didn’t even know you were in here, Annie,” Caleb says, and I shrug.
“Wasn’t being very conspicuous,” I say. Aston shakes his head and turns to walk out of the room. Amber gets up and follows him, and I shudder, watching her chase after him like a lost groupie.
“You okay, Annie? You look pale?” Mum says, walking across to me.
“I’m fine, just want to go back to the hotel.”
“Okay, sweetheart, let’s go.”
“But what about Dad?” I ask, and then she looks over at Caleb.
“I’ll let him know,” he says, and Mum smiles at him.
“Thanks, Caleb.” Mum walks with me wrapped in her arms toward the door.
“Can I stay, Mum?” Ella asks.
“Sure, honey, just come back to the hotel with your father, okay?”
We walk out of the room and down the hallway.
“Talk to me, Annie. Are you really okay?” she asks, and I cuddle into her side tightly.
“I will be. It will take some time, is all. Doesn’t help when Amber Leopard Print Pants is all over Aston,” I say, and Mum chuckles.
“Sweetheart, I don’t think she was all over him, but it’s okay to be jealous. Just try not to let it upset you,” she says.
I nod even though I know that this is only the beginning of Aston and Amber Leopard Print Pants.