Chapter 5 #2
It was a sad reality that struck her hard.
It didn’t matter that she’d never see Sid and Zach again, but she realized she would miss Dillon.
She thought she was leaving this band with no regrets.
She wasn’t expecting feelings to surface.
She didn’t need this kind of turmoil and returned to her spot at the right of the stage and concentrated on the music .
Sid was screaming the lyrics at the crowd, and they screamed back at him with a frenzied roar.
Zach stepped forward for his guitar solo and started wailing notes that bounced off the walls.
The sound of his electric guitar filled the stadium with a piercing cry while his fingers ran over the neck of the guitar with the speed of light.
His phrasing was fast and intense, and you could feel the emotion when he hung on a note.
Sid brought the mic to his lips and picked up with the lyrics, cutting off Zach’s solo. The crowd didn’t notice but everyone on stage did. Zach missed a series of notes in order to catch up, and glared daggers in Sid’s direction. But he handled it and continued with the song.
The ninety-minute sets always flew by, but tonight’s went unbelievably fast, and Lizzy couldn’t believe they were on the last song already.
Her gaze went to Dillon first, then to Zach.
They didn’t make eye contact, clearly getting ready to say whatever they had planned for their final goodbye, Lizzy included.
She didn’t bother to look in Sid’s direction.
Dillon kept a steady beat on his toms while Sid ambled to the front of the stage to introduce the band. Normally, he started the introductions with Zach, but tonight he surprised Lizzy by introducing her first.
“Give it up for Lizzy Stone!” Sid shouted into the mic, extending his arm in her direction. “This chick’s got a huge set of lady balls! She never took an ounce of shit from anyone! Including me!”
Stunned, she paused for a moment. It was the nicest thing he ever said about her.
She nodded at him to show her appreciation, and he nodded back.
That tiny bit of acknowledgment meant the world to Lizzy.
Not because she needed Sid’s approval, because she gave zero fucks about his opinion, but because it was the first time he showed her an ounce of respect.
Filled with validation, she leaned back and plucked her bass like a madwoman.
The deep notes boomed through the air and rumbled into the audience.
When she was done, she stepped up to the microphone and pointed toward the audience.
“This has been an amazing journey, all because of each and every one of you! Words can’t express how much I love you!
” Overcome with emotion, she felt water sting her eyes and a lump in her throat.
“Thank you for all your support through the years!” Her voice cracked on the last few words, and she couldn’t continue with the rest of what she planned on saying.
It didn’t matter, because the crowd was going crazy, screaming louder than ever, whistling and shouting her name.
Humbled, she fanned her eyes, blew them kisses, and gave them a cursory bow.
Sid introduced Dillon next. “And you all know the master of percussion, Dillon Rivers, on the drums! The man whose beats shake the stage!”
Lizzy looked over her shoulder just in time to catch Dillon’s eyes, and he gave her a small, warm smile before he banged the hell out of his drums. Overcome, she almost let out a small sob but caught herself.
She never expected her heart to be so heavy or filled with woe.
She thought her feelings toward Blind Fury were ice cold and she wanted to move on.
In a way she did, but she mourned for what they could have been.
Professionally, they soared, but personally, they could have been a family.
There were so many things she wished were different, but it was a hell of a ride, and it changed her life.
Dillon pounded out a short solo that literally knocked the gloomy expression right off her face.
Her body vibrated with the sound pulsing through her chest, and it lit up her senses with electricity.
A half dozen crashes of the cymbals shattered sound through the stadium and then Dillon silenced them.
A stagehand brought a mic to him, and he addressed the crowd.
“It’s been a fucking blast! Thank you for always being there!
I don’t know what the future will bring, but whatever it is, I hope you guys will be there on the next ride of my life! ”
Fans screamed, and a woman shrieked a devastated cry.
Dillon stood up, kissed his sticks, then threw them into the crowd. Fans jumped in the air and rallied to catch them. Lizzy struggled to see who the lucky recipient was, but they were lost in a forest of hands and arms.
There was a moment of silence on stage while everyone waited for Sid to acknowledge Zach.
Zach picked at his E-string and dead-stared Sid while he waited for his introduction.
Sid’s narrowed eyes challenged him, and for a moment Lizzy thought Sid was going to gloss over Zach without any recognition—which was fucking bullshit.
After an awkward pause, Sid pointed toward Zach and announced, “Zach Raines” without any fanfare or mention of his contribution to the band.
It was rude and uncalled for. Zach was the best in his field.
The rivalry between them was escalating out of control, but Zach handled the insult with dignity and restraint.
He didn’t need anything to incite the crowd into an inferno of cheers.
The mere mention of his name and a quick riff was all it took for them to shout so loud Lizzy’s ears vibrated.
She turned to Zach and bowed with respect, which he acknowledged with the nod of his head.
As Lizzy turned back to face the audience, she noticed that Dillon was clacking his sticks together in Zach’s direction.
Sid had to wait for the crowd to quiet before he introduced himself, and there was no missing the smirk of annoyance on his face—the self-centered ass.
“You all know who I am!” Sid shouted into his mic, stretching his arms wide.
He waited while the fans erupted into a crazy chant of, “Sid! Sid! Sid!” No matter what the rest of them thought, the fans loved him.
“I’ve been giving you my all for the last 12 and a half years!
I’ve been in your face, under your skin, and running through your veins!
What are you going to do without me?” He smiled and winked at the audience.
“The truth is, I don’t know what I’m going to do without you either!
But you haven’t seen the last of Sid Steele!
Until next time, my loves!” He threw a series of kisses into the audience while they went ballistic.
With the introductions out of the way, they picked up with the rest of the song.
When it ended, they waved, and ran off stage.
The fans erupted into a chant of, “ONE MORE!” and shouted song titles.
They knew Blind Fury wasn’t leaving the stadium without a sendoff befitting their illustrious career.
There was an elaborate 40-minute encore planned, as well as a pyrotechnic show with fire throwers, theatrical dancers, confetti, and a balloon drop.
They regrouped in a small area backstage that was set up with refreshments.
Lizzy grabbed a bottle of water, but before she had a chance to bring it to her lips, Dillon was at her side.
She waited, but he didn’t say anything, so she took a big gulp of water.
When he still didn’t say anything, she turned to look at him, but he remained quiet and unsure.
He’d been forthright and forward all day, so she didn’t understand his hesitancy.
As they stared at one another, something passed between them that she couldn’t describe.
It was as if suddenly they were in tune with one another and able to communicate without words, and the air between them became dense with unspoken feelings.
Unable to deal with the fire burning behind his eyes, she turned away.
Her resolve was weakening with each minute that ticked by, and she slowly began to admit to herself that she was starting to care about him.
“Lizzy.”
She kept her gaze focused on the table filled with beverages. “What?”
“Look at me.” He touched her, and she faced him.
His hair was slick with perspiration, and his muscles were taut and defined from the exertion of his performance. The tattoos across his shirtless chest rippled as he still struggled to catch his breath after beating the drums for the last hour and a half.
“Let’s get together for a drink after the show and talk,” he said .
She couldn’t trust herself to be alone with him. Not after last night. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. Let’s just go our separate ways. Aren’t you tired of the fighting and aggravation?”
“It was Sid that pitted all of us against one another. It was always a war out there. It’s over now.
It can be just us. We have a chance.” He brushed her hair off her cheek and looked deep into her eyes.
“I know you care about me. I know that last night meant something to you. Why are you afraid? What’s there to lose? ”
She lowered her eyes and took a deep breath. “Just my heart.” She was slowly opening up to him, letting him see the softer side of her that she rarely exposed to anyone.
A loud commotion interrupted their conversation and made them turn toward Sid and Zach who were yelling at one another.
“Don’t fucking step on my lyrics! That was fucking rude!” Sid yelled.
Zach stepped closer, so they were chest to chest. “You’re the one who cut off my guitar solo! I was still fucking playing!”
“It was too long.”
“Too long? You don’t get to determine that. And what kind of fucking introduction was that? You weren’t even going to say my name. Were you?”