Chapter 27 Lily
TWENTY-SEVEN
LILY
Feeling nothing but alone, watching Times Three perform onstage in a sold-out arena, I take a video of their latest hit and send it to Thea.
Putting my phone in my back pocket, I sway to the music, keeping my eyes on Elijah. His attention is solely on his black guitar as he strums a deep melody to Leonidas’s somber, raspy voice.
Once his eyes slowly open, it’s as if he can feel only my eyes in this venue because he finds me instantly in the crowd, and his mouth lifts in a smirk.
His eyes sparkle under the lights; his hair is messy, like he ran his fingers through it; and he’s in all black.
I’m hit with jealousy. Jealousy that I’m not the only woman witnessing him do what he does best. Goodness gracious does he look handsome.
A scarlet blush definitely coats my cheeks as I break my gaze from his. While I look anywhere but in his direction, avoiding the intense desire to, a squeal sounds before someone pulls at my wavy hair that I took some time styling. A girl no more than seventeen is gazing up at me with shock.
“You’re that girl everyone’s talking about!” she screams, hitting her friend’s shoulder to gain her attention.
“Oh my gosh, it’s you, the groupie for both bands!” Her hands reach for me as the original girl who pulled my hair puts her phone in my face.
“Say hi! I’m on live!” she yells before turning the camera to face her. “Do any of you know her name? If you do, comment down below!”
“Why are you so private?”
“Do you hook up with them all? Even the ones in relationships?”
“Don’t be a fucking slut.”
What in the world is happening?
Instead of watching their “favorite” band … they’re attacking me. How are they even considered fans?
Just as panic builds in my chest, the music stops playing, and Elijah speaks into the mic. “Hey, can I get some security in the front, please?” His voice radiates with anger.
He points to where I stand frozen in place, as his frustrated eyes don’t stray away from this forced interaction that I’m not sure how to get away from.
“No, no, no.” I throw a hand up at a security guard as he motions for the girls to climb over the barricade.
Elijah wants them out?
That will only fuel their hate for me more.
“I’m going to leave. They can stay,” I spit out quickly.
The guard gives me a hard look but steps back when he sees the seriousness on my face.
“Thank you, girl!” one of them yells at me, wiping tears off her face.
Biting my tongue, I turn and make my way backstage because all I want to do is tell them all the fuck off.
But that wouldn’t be appropriate for me to say, would it?
Yet they could say anything to my face, and it’s fine.
When Fay saw the tears rushing down my cheeks, she ushered me onto the tour bus since we’re making our way to Belgium tonight. She stayed with me until she had to take an important call.
“Love, that live stream has gone viral, and you look like a stone-cold bitch in it.” Thea smiles, looking half awake.
“Thea, you’re supposed to be on my side!” I stammer, staring at my best friend on FaceTime even though it’s early morning back home.
“Do you want me to lie to you?” She yawns, rubbing her eyes, lying on her side in bed.
“Well, no, but—”
She interrupts, “That’s why I’m telling the truth, even if it’s harsh.” She laughs at my pout. “Girl, your glare could have shattered glass.”
“I wasn’t even glaring! Internally, I was yelling at myself to move, but I was shocked in place.” I slump in my bunk, letting out a dramatic cry.
“Then you have the biggest resting bitch face.”
“All it takes is pressing that red button, and your face is gone.” I flash her a mischievous smile.
“You wouldn’t dare, bitch!” she yells, holding the phone so close to her face that I can see up her nostrils.
My curtain is roughly pulled back with no warning, and I let out a scream that could break concrete.
“She won’t, but I will,” Elijah barks before reaching across my bed and hanging up the phone.
My breath hitches, and my stomach is now on the floor from his sudden proximity. My hands form into fists without me even realizing it.
“What the hell, Elijah?! You just scared the shit out of me,” I yell, standing from my bed and coming face-to-face with the angry rock star.
“Good, because you scared me shitless too.”
I scoff, “Care to enlighten me how I scared you?”
“Care to explain why you think it’s a good idea to stand that close to the barricade, and when I signal for the guards to remove the girls from the building, you don’t listen to my orders, and you let them stay?! Not you, the people who were harassing you.”
My eyes bulge. “And make the world hate me more? Is that what you want?” Looking down at myself, I notice how indecently dressed I am. I cross my arms over my chest to hide my nipples.
Eyes turning a shade darker, he follows my movements.
Swallowing tightly, he bites out, “I’ve told you so many times to try and not give a flying fuck what people think about you.
” He points a finger to my heart. “You know why? Because they don’t know you.
” He closes the remaining distance between us.
If he comes any closer, our lips will finally touch.
“They don’t know this.” His pointer pokes my chest. “And that’s what makes you, you. ”
“It would be easier for the both of us if you stopped caring. You didn’t ten years ago, so why now?”
“That’s a lie, and you know it. I’ve respected your wishes by not telling you the truth. But I’ve been dying to tell you the reason I left and didn’t say goodbye, but you don’t want to hear it.” His voice is low, yet the sentence carries finality. “Am I supposed to force you to listen?”
“No …” I whisper, my eyes stuck on his like sticky glue. “We should keep our distance from each other. This is getting too messy. I’m here to work. How am I supposed to focus when you’ve grown into an alpha male?”
Huffing and puffing, he looks like he can’t catch his breath when he glances down at my lips.
Reaching out, he caresses my cheek with his thumb.
“I don’t think you understand. When you’re sad, I’m sad.
When you’re happy, I’m happy. When you’re stressed, I am too.
You signed up for that when we promised each other infinity. Don’t tell me you forgot?”
“You broke that promise the day you left,” I choke out, hating how I care that his shoulders slump in defeat.
His deep voice breaks as he whispers, “You have to believe me … I had no choice but to leave.”
Yes, he’s hurting. I’m not sure what he’s gone through these past few years, but it’s been rough. However, scars don’t fade, and the ones he carved into my soul are still bloody wounds.
His arm drops to his side when I create distance between us.
“This conversation is ten years too late.” Crawling back into my bunk and leaving him to hover speechless, I close my curtain to hide my tears.
The internet is right; I may be a bitch, but the world made me this way.