Chapter 44 Lily
FORTY-FOUR
LILY
“Don’t pay attention to anyone, just dance!” Twirling in the VIP section, Stella sways back and forth like no one is watching, even though thousands of people are probably taking pictures of us right now.
Crouching so I’m at her level, I grab her hand and start spinning her like a ballerina. The laugh I’m rewarded with is just like the music playing from the giant stage in front of us.
“That’s what Daddy tells me,” her scratchy voice yells right into my eardrum, almost making me fall back.
Blinking back stars, I hug her from around the waist, gazing up at Times Three. Leonidas catches our eyes and winks at the edge of the stage.
No one has it in their heart to correct Stella. However, I don’t blame her. Levi might just be her big brother, but he raised her at a time in his life when he didn’t know how to take care of himself.
When the twentieth song of the night slowly dies down, a bright light shines down on Elijah. Stepping forward, he keeps strumming his long fingers on the guitar, sending a somber tune across the arena.
“For us, The Revenge Tour has been a long time coming.”
Looking up, he gestures to Leonidas and Amelia, who stand back and let him have this moment.
“We have had so much fun putting on our shows. Just like our newest album, we wanted to make it real to us—from the set list, to the venue, to the aesthetic. Our goal for this concert was for you to feel like you were diving into our minds.”
Stella winds her arms around my neck. Pulling her closer to me, I stand, holding my breath for the nervous energy I feel radiating off my boyfriend.
“All our lives, we only knew what it felt like to be controlled. It’s an emotion I have yet to find the proper words to explain because I feel like there is none.
How can I begin to describe being stuck in a locked birdcage, placed in the middle of this large stage, with thousands of people watching it, but no one actually seeing that we’re locked inside unwillingly? ”
“What is he saying, Lily?” Stella whispers, sensing my stress due to my locked body.
I’m not able to answer because he keeps going.
“After all we’ve been through as a band, all we want is kindness. None of that negative shit we dealt with for years. But I’m disappointed with what I’ve heard is going around.”
The most serious look crosses his face. And, damn, does he look so edible.
A light layer of sweat covers his forehead, making the front pieces of his hair damp.
His biceps glow in the light from hours of performing.
His rock-star aura with his black guitar is screaming at me.
I have to hold myself back from jumping onstage and claiming him.
“Some of you may know what I’m getting on about.
We not only have a new member on our team, but she has always been a very important person in my life.
She is the anchor in the ocean that keeps me grounded, the iron chains on a swing that keeps me safe when I feel high and low, someone I love bigger than the entire sky. ”
My mouth drops, along with my heart.
Big, chunky tears cloud my eyes before rolling down my face; the thunder in the erratic organ in my chest is trying to beat its way out and into his hands.
I should have known Elijah would profess his love during a concert. From a young age, he has never known how to not spoil me.
“By hurting her through your words, you are gutting me.” His firm voice sends goose bumps along my skin. Finding me below, he doesn’t break our gaze as he continues, “Stop hurting the people we love, and let’s start spreading kindness. This fucked-up world needs a bit more of that.”
He gives a nod to Leonidas, and Amelia pounds the opening beat of the last song on the set list. Which happens to be my personal favorite—“Vices Written in Sand.”
Eagerly looking for the one person that occupies my mind, I bounce on the tips of my toes, and energy that I have never felt tingles my fingertips.
A bunch of staff sends me smiles as they scurry away. I’m not used to all this attention, brought on by Elijah’s declaration, and I hold back from folding into myself. This is a life I have to live if I want to be with him forever. And I do. Thinking about living without him is unbearable.
“Please don’t be mad at me. I—” Elijah strides to me out of nowhere, but before he can go on, when he comes within arm’s reach, my fingers grab the back of his neck, and I yank his lips hard onto mine.
Shocked by the sudden confidence and my strength, he stumbles back with our lips still attached.
Pulling me into his hard body, he balances us both with his arms around my waist. He reciprocates my furious kiss but lets me take the lead, and our tongues dance together.
The air between us pulses, heavy and electric.
“What did I do to deserve this greeting?” he asks, voice low and husky.
“Can’t two people who love each other have a good make-out session?” I chirp back like it’s no big deal when, in reality, my world feels like it’s exploding.
He loves me! I love him!
We are in love.
Heat pools in his orbs. “Two people who love each other?” He repeats my words slowly and carefully, like he can’t believe they came out of my mouth. “Meaning I’m not the only one in love?”
My fingers tangle in the hair at the nape of his neck, dragging him closer, like any remaining space is intolerable. His hand cradles my jaw, warm and trembling. His thumb brushes my cheek like he’s memorizing my skin.
I shake my head. “Nope. I’m so in love with you that it hurts.”
“You love me?” he says, barely a whisper, like everything may shatter if he says it any louder.
“I think I’ve been in love with you since the first moment I saw you standing at the edge of your driveway. But what solidified my love for you is when you made me laugh so hard that the juice I was drinking came out of my nose.”
He exhales a shaky laugh, forehead resting on mine. Everyone around us fades.
“I have a confession to make before my brother and sister tell you it. When we were really young, Amelia would pretend she was you, and we would get married every day.”
I don’t hesitate to laugh. “That is the cutest thing I have ever heard!” I exclaim when I see how flustered he is. “I bet if you had come across the street and actually gotten down on one knee, I would have said yes.”
“And all this bullshit from all these years of not confessing our feelings would have never happened.”
“But then this moment wouldn’t have felt this magical.” With each of my words, my lips brush against his.
“Say it again,” he pleads, a tangled mess of need.
Something twists in the center of my chest. “I love you, Elijah Drakos.”
He crashes into me like a wave that’s been starved of the shore. His lips capture mine, void of any hesitation or gentleness. I feel a need so raw and deep for him that my bones rattle together.
The road getting here was unpaved, confusing, and the bumps along the way hurt like hell. But this is where I was meant to be this entire time.
Early this morning, Fay called everyone into this emergency group meeting. When Elijah woke up, startled by Leonidas’s shouts from the first level of the bus, I thought I could send Elijah off and get more sleep time. Turned out, Fay wanted me there as well.
“Fay, what could possibly be this urgent to call a meeting at”—Elijah pauses to check the time on his phone—“twelve o’clock?”
Deadpan, she raises a brow. “As you just stated, it is, in fact, not the morning, but the afternoon.”
He twirls his finger in the air, gesturing to both bands in the room. “Rock stars, if you didn’t notice.”
“And what does that have to do with anything?”
“We’re known to stay up late!” Axel exclaims, all grumpy, from the corner of the room.
A chorus of tired yeses fills the room.
“Business never rests, beautiful boys and girls. I have something important to discuss with all of you.”
“Something good, I hope.” Trinity picks away at her nails, which I’ve learned is a nervous tic.
Wanting to show her support, I grab her arm and squeeze. Sending me a small smile, she grips my hand and faces forward.
“It all depends on how you view this. It’s good and bad in a sense.” Fay looks right at me, and panic alarms each cell in my body.
Why is she looking at me?
This time, Amelia takes the open seat beside me and grabs my other hand.
“Lily, you’re getting a lot of online attention.” Her voice is too chirpy—definitely a tactic she’s using before she drops a bomb on me.
“I’ve heard it’s gotten intense.” My laugh doesn’t sound happy, but full of anxiety.
Every pair of eyes in this room is trained on me. That’s an introvert’s worst nightmare. I find the one person who grounds me, seeing he’s just as worried as I am. He moves across the room and stands behind me with his hands on my shoulders.
“Rumors just seem to be getting out of hand—potentially harming both your personal life away from the tour and Times Three. Elijah and I have been in talks about the next steps due to the fact that the old record label is feeding into these lies, and we think it’s best if we pursue a lawsuit.”
“Because of everything that’s going on with me?” I blurt out, my eyes bugging out.
I’m shocked that it’s gotten to this point. I haven’t been online lately. I’ve only heard little things that Elijah tells me, so I have no idea what people are truly saying about me now. It must be very bad for Fay to be considering a lawsuit.
“It’s not specifically you. It’s the fact that Times Three’s old label is lying and feeding into these rumors,” she says with a frown.
“However, these guys need justice for all they’ve done to them for years.
” She points to Elijah and his siblings, who have quickly become family.
“I have talked about this with everyone in this room individually and have gotten the green light. That just leaves you. Are you okay with us proceeding with this legally?”
I bite the inside of my cheek. Elijah’s long fingers press against the built-up pressure in my neck.
“Do it … I hope they cry.”