Chapter 43 Elijah
FORTY-THREE
ELIJAH
“You guys look so cute that I could just eat you,” Amelia gushes behind her phone, taking a group picture of Leonidas, Trinity, Lily, and me.
We have a week-and-a-half break, so everyone decided to fly back to London and spend some time there as tourists.
When the two bands get together, something happens to all our brain chemistry.
We suddenly forget to hide from the public or that fame follows us everywhere.
Like chickens with their heads cut off or children that just ate Red 40, Lily climbs on my back and poses for the photo, Leonidas and Trinity get in the classic telephone booth and make out for a picture, and Amelia forces Levi to skip down the streets with her.
And like sad little puppies, Axel and Rowan follow—before Axel ditches all of us for a girl he meets.
“I could never live here,” Lily states, still hanging on to my back.
When I tickle her ankles, she lets out a squeal, making random pedestrians give us a quick glance.
“I think I know what you’re about to say.”
“It’s so damn cloudy!” she exclaims right in my ear. “Just one day out of the month of rain is enough for me. The sun always needs to be beaming down for my happiness.”
“Trust me, I know.” I wail through the pinch her fingers make in my neck. “Tears would come to your eyes when clouds blocked the sun.”
“Because how dare they!”
She’s getting so riled up; she hasn’t noticed the person following us from afar, who is now taking pictures of us. Reaching up, I make sure the ball cap she’s wearing is covering her eyes. Fixing my own, I hike her further up my hips and quicken my pace.
I’m not sure if London being really rainy is just a stereotype, but mist coats our faces with each step we take. The fog today is no joke.
“Remember what I would always say to you?”
She groans but repeats my words anyway. “The sun always shines after a storm.”
“With that positivity, you could be the human sun for London.”
“I think that’s you,” she mumbles, resting her chin on my shoulder. “I’m more like the moon.”
I smile before even speaking because her patience for me is going to waver after my next comment. “Yeah, but a full moon because you drive some people crazy.”
Her fingers grip my face, almost making me trip on the sidewalk. She pulls my mouth to hers, taking my bottom lip hungrily between both hers. I feel her revenge when she very lightly bites down on my bottom lip.
Little tease.
“Was that supposed to make me mad? Because I’m just turned the fuck on,” I mumble against her plump mouth and smile when she sighs deeply.
“My revenge is leaving you hard all day and night.” She sounds delighted, breaking the most awful news.
“You wouldn’t dare,” I challenge, running through the streets, leaving the other two couples in our dust. “Joke’s on you, Sweet Cheeks. My torture would become you’re own.”
“I’ll sneak into Rowan’s room and be his new roommate.” She tightens her legs around my waist. “I wonder if he snores as loud as you do.”
Anger flares in my chest at just the thought of another man having Lily the way I’ve longed to for years. “Do that, but just know after even one hour, the poor guy would go missing.”
She scoffs. “The other day, when the fruit fly we had been trying to catch for days landed in your lap, you refused to kill it because you felt bad.”
She bites my earlobe, and a shiver racks my bones at the feel of her tongue poking out between her pearly whites.
“A small life is still a life, Lily,” I scold her like she’s a cold-blooded killer when, in reality, she’s the most harmless person I know.
“Lovebirds!” Trinity screams.
Spinning us both around, I find the group huddling around a bunch of bikes you could rent for a few hours.
“What do you say, want to feel some wind on our faces?”
And that’s why, now, all of us are trying to stay upright, being a nuisance to the public while biking through the busy streets of London.
“You know what our band name should be?” Trinity screams, dodging Leonidas when he slows down with no warning, almost sending her flying.
“We already have band names,” I reply, winking at a little girl who stops mid-stride with her mouth agape when she spots us.
From where I am, I can see her shake her head.
“No, all seven of us!”
“What should it be, girlie?” Lily plays along, riding alongside me.
Like a bird, Trinity’s arms extend out. Biking like a drunk driver, she screams, “The Storm!”
A car honks at her weaving, and Leonidas sticks up his middle finger at its retrieving wheels.
“Trinity, you are an absolute genius!” Amelia speeds up and sends water from puddles on my legs.
Levi follows suit right behind her, but way more aggressive than my sister.
“Should we make merch?” I yell over the traffic, trying to keep pace with everyone when my body is heavy and drained of all energy.
“I know a guy who makes the sickest stuff.” With a wink, Rowan brakes behind the white line, waiting for the red light to pass. “I’m sure he’d jump on the opportunity.”
I crack up, just thinking about all eight of us wearing personalized merch for our friendship.
Throughout the ride, I discreetly wave back to several younger fans of ours. I try to reach out to Lily’s hand, but I almost topple over and get soaked.
But we don’t get many days like this, so it’s worth it.
I know something is wrong when our peaceful manager calls me alone into her makeshift office.
“I swear I didn’t do anything.” I throw my hands up in surrender when the door clicks shut.
Standing still in the middle of the room, I watch her pull out a phone and take a picture of me.
“You should see your face right now.” She giggles, looking down at the device. “You look so scared of me. I love it.”
“Can you blame me?!” I exclaim, dropping down in the seat across from her. “I don’t think it’s ever a good thing when a boss pulls one person into their office for a talk.”
“Elijah, I don’t think you’re even capable of doing any harm.”
Reaching over, she pinches my cheek. If it were anyone else, I would have slapped their hand away, but I want to keep my job.
“I called you in here not to chat about anything you have done personally, but about the media.”
Yay … my favorite topic.
“Fay, I have voiced how I don’t like talking about this—”
“I know; I know,” she tries to reassure me with a smile. “But this is something we shouldn’t ignore, in my opinion.”
Fuck, they can just never leave me alone. What else have they come up with to start speculations about my life? That the color of my underwear determines how well I perform?
“What are they saying now, Fay?”
“It’s not only about you …”
I hate the look on her face; it’s telling me all I need to know.
“Your newfound relationship with Lily has been trending all over the internet. Everyone and their mother is talking about the two of you.”
“Don’t they always? If I walk a certain way, people start fixating about what could have caused that in my life. They’re like roaches.” I shrug, extending my legs and crossing my ankles.
I don’t mean our fans; they care so deeply about us. The paparazzi and people who don’t listen to our music and only like us for our fame are the problem.
“It’s more complicated than that.” Scooting forward, she leans on her elbows. “Lily is new to this world. From what I’ve seen and heard, she has a hard time even seeing her name briefly mentioned in anything. Am I correct?”
Where is this going? If she thinks she’s about to take the shots and make me call off things with Lily, then she is sadly mistaken. I will give up every dollar I have—and will ever make—for that girl.
She became the entire world when she walked back into my life.
“You are correct.” The saliva goes down thick in my throat. “Shouldn’t Lily be present for this conversation?”
Lily has her own voice. I don’t want to take that away from her.
“We’ll have a group discussion soon, but I would like for us to talk about this alone before she gets wind of it. We need a plan of action if she freaks out.”
She’s not a fucking animal that we need to control. What in the world is Fay getting at?
Straightening my back and squaring my shoulders, I mentally prepare myself for the words that are about to come out of her mouth.
“I’m sorry for what I’m about to say. None of it is coming from my mind.
” Her eyes fill with sorrow. “But the internet hates her. Usually, it’s a fifty-fifty between love and hate for a celebrity’s public relationship.
However, I see people running that poor girl’s name through the dirt, and it could potentially harm her life after getting off the tour.
And knowing how much she’s gone through, it isn’t fair. ”
It’s like thousands of little mosquitoes are biting my skin, and the itch is instant. “Fay, you’re making me crazy. What are they saying?”
“That she’s a groupie.”
Awkward silence fills the room.
“That’s the big news?” I stare, dumbfounded, at her. “They’ve been saying that about her for a long time.”
“But it’s your old record label that’s backing up these speculations, totally making everything go out of control. You have to understand that when a very popular record label starts stating these rumors are true, it makes people start to wonder what to believe in.”
“We can’t alter the way people’s brains work …” I trail off, seeing where she’s coming from and becoming extremely frustrated at my old record label.
But my hands are tied. What comes out of people’s mouths is something I can’t control.
I rest my elbows on my knees, and my hands fist my hair.
“I’m only pointing this out because as a boss myself, negative attention like this would alarm me. Especially considering that she’s becoming an elementary teacher, being a groupie isn’t reassuring to most parents.”
“What are we going to do?” I breathe out, desperate for some guidance. “Lily can’t lose this job, Fay.”
“I wish I could give you this big, elaborate plan, but my mind is blank. I have no idea, Elijah.”
Lily might lose everything she’s worked toward for months. Her strength and perseverance led her to this job opportunity.
I’m her boyfriend. I should be helping her excel, not bringing her down. What kind of man am I?
My chest tightens, like it’s about to cave in on itself. Moments like this make my fingers itch to reach the orange bottle I became very well acquainted with. The toxic side of my career is pulling her down. Trying to bury her under the sand.
I can’t think. I can’t breathe. I feel stuck in place. I can’t lose her, not because of me.
“I need some time to think about how I want to proceed with this, Fay. Please excuse me.”
Walking out of that office like it’s on fire, I run to find my phone, wanting to talk to the only person who might know what to do.
Mama Drakos.
“Elijah Drakos, you’d better listen to me,” my mother’s raspy voice says over the line, making me wonder why it’s hoarse to begin with. “Are you a bad man?”
“No.” I falter, thinking back to every action and word I’ve ever spoken, but that only makes my head hurt.
“So, stop acting like you have already failed her.”
I pace back and forth, and the sight of my own feet makes me dizzy. “But I have! Look at what my world has done to her already. Damn it, we just started dating, and it’s all going up in flames.”
“You have learned that some things aren’t—and will never be—in your control.
Sometimes, we need to let go of the wheel and let God take control.
He will lead you to the right places, but his pace isn’t always what we want.
He goes the speed limit,” her comforting voice scolds me, cutting through me in a way no other person will ever be able to.
One thing about my mom is that she’s a powerful woman. Wonder Woman is real—because she is my mother.
After all the emotional and physical damage my father inflicted on her, she found the bravery to leave, move away to Greece and start fresh, and still keep us as her number one priority. She has a strength that I wish to carry in myself.
To be honest, I might have been buried six feet under if it wasn’t for my mother.
“If you were in my position, what would your next steps be?” When I slide down to the floor, the back of my head bangs against the closed door.
She coughs over the line before responding, “I would be honest with Lily. You want to help, then act fast. By the time most people get over their hesitation, it’s often too late.
Release a statement defending her honor, call out your idiotic old record label publicly—better yet, sue them for everything they’ve done over the years.
If you love her, be louder than the lies. ”
“What if my voice is not loud enough?” I whisper, imagining her wanting to claw off my skin and walking away from me.
I hear her shaky breath, the kind you take when your heart is too full. “I’ll scream with you, but love is always louder than hate.”
“I wish I could give you a hug right now.”
When was the last time I saw her? It was months ago, but feels like years.
Our last show is in Athens, Greece. It’s going to be the most special show we have done yet.
We wanted to give them something different, seeing how being Greek is a big part of our identities.
Knowing my mom is going to be in the crowd makes it that more special.
She whispers, “Soon, agapi mou.”
“How are you doing, Mom? Is everything okay on your end?” I’m stalling on hanging up because I don’t want to face the real world.
She sighs. “I just feel a bit under the weather; I’m probably coming down with a cold.”
“You can still get those in paradise?”
“It gets cold here too!” she scolds. “Listen, I’m meeting up with some friends. I’ll talk to you soon.”
I frown at the sudden change of tone. “Okay, bye. Have fun, and I love you.”
“Love you, honey.”
The phone disconnects. Unease pools in my stomach. Holding the phone up to my ear, I swallow hard because life is about to turn upside down—I know it.