For Now (Forever Book 1) (7 page)

Camden

              “Segways?” she asks me uncertainly.

              “Yes, have you ever been on one?” I ask her.

              “No.”

              “Well neither have I. So we will both be able to experience this together. We are going to take a little tour around DC.” I smile at her worried look.

              “Well, that is what I requested. So let’s go,” she says a little apprehensively.

              Once we learn how to use the Segways, we’re off. She actually gets the hang of it very fast, while I on the other hand take a little longer. The guide takes us by the major sights. I love watching the look on her face every time we see something new. I’ve traveled my whole life with my family and now the band; I don’t ever have that feeling anymore when I travel. She is in awe of it all. She catches me watching her when we stop to take a break and she blushes.

              “What?” she asks me.

              “Nothing, it’s just fun to watch you. You are looking around like you’ve never seen anything like this before.”

              “We never really traveled. I’d never been to a big city until I moved to Chicago,” she admits with a shrug.

              “You do live in a major city now. This can’t be much different.”

              “I guess, but when I first moved to Chicago, I didn’t want to be there, so stayed home a lot, so I could pretend that I was back in Iowa. I didn’t have to think about it. When I eventually went out, it just became home and the sights weren’t new to me anymore.  It isn’t like I go around sightseeing. This is different.”

              I frown, wondering the reason she had to move there in the first place. “I’m glad that you are enjoying it.”
              She smiles at me and I smile back. We get back on the Segways to finish the tour. After the tour, we grab lunch from a deli and find a park to eat. We spend the rest of the afternoon talking and people watching.

              “I forgot to tell you, I got some tickets to a Broadway show tomorrow night. I can’t wait to see the look on Ryder’s face when I tell him. I’m coming too, just in case things get crazy outside the theater.” Plus, there’s no way I’m going to leave Elaina alone with Ryder. I love the guy, but I don’t trust him to be a gentleman.

              “Thank you so much Cam! I can’t wait. With school and work, it has been a long time since I’ve seen a play.” She wraps her arms around me in a tight hug and I can’t help but to think that I would buy her tickets to 100 shows to get that kind of reaction out of her again. She pulls away and looks a little embarrassed.

              I smile down at her. “I’m happy that you are so excited. I’ll let you be there with me when I tell Ryder.”

              “Um… no thanks,” she laughs.

Elaina

              It’s so quiet. All the boys left for the concert about five minutes ago and I’m lying on the couch with my e-reader. I can’t wait to get some more books on here.

              I think Ryder was actually a little disappointed that I wasn’t going to watch the show tonight, so promised I’d be at the next show. I was exhausted after the long day and just wanted to relax tonight. Cam told me that it would be okay to take one night off since we would be at the play tomorrow night and we were sure the media would have a field day at the sight of Ryder seeing a musical.

              I laugh a little thinking back to Cam telling Ryder about the play.

              “There is no concert tomorrow night, so I thought that it would be a good opportunity for the paps to see you two together,” Cam tells Ryder.

              “Oh good, date night with my girl. So tell me, do good girls make it to second base on the first date?” Ryder asks, looking at me. I roll my eyes and can’t help notice the way Cam stiffens a bit. Ryder takes a drink of his beer looking smug.

              “Stop being an
asshole.
Actually, you get to see a musical on Broadway tomorrow night,” Cam says with a smirk.

              Ryder spits his beer out. “A musical? Why don’t you just kill me now and get it over with?”

              “Think about it, what a better way to show that you’ve changed than getting dressed up and taking a woman on a nice date that she would love. The media will go crazy over it.”

              “You two owe me for this one,” Ryder grumbles.

              “You are the one that brought this on yourself,” Cam reminds him.

              I can’t believe that Cam got tickets to a show that I’ve been dying to see. He’s the best. I’m still embarrassed about my reaction though. I know we are friends, but I don’t make a habit out of hugging my guy friends. I also don’t make a habit out of making them sleep with me because I had a nightmare.

              After reading for about an hour, I’m having trouble keeping my eyes open. I must have dozed off, because I’m suddenly back in Iowa, in our SUV hanging upside down watching my blood drip down onto the ceiling. I see the farmer peeking in at me and suddenly, I’m being lifted. He needs to save my family this time. This time it can be different. I’m screaming, “Please you need to save them. Please! We can’t just leave them there, they need help! Momma! Braden! Daddy!”

              “Elaina!” the farmer says, but the voice doesn’t belong to him. It is Cam’s voice. “Elaina, wake up, it’s just a bad dream.”

              I open my eyes to Cam’s concerned, bright blue eyes looking down at me with concern. “Hey, it was just a bad dream. Do you want to talk about it?”

              I swallow hard and try to catch my breath. I guess if I’m going to keep freaking out like this, I owe him some type of explanation. I won’t be able to admit my guilt though. I slowly nod my head yes.

Camden

              I left the guys to their drinking. I still had some work that I needed to do and I trust Caleb to act like a grown-up and keep the guys in check. I get back to the bus and see Elaina sleeping on the couch with her e-reader still in her hand. After watching her for a few minutes, I decide to carry her to bed. As soon as I pick her up, she starts screaming. “Please you need to save them. Please! We can’t just leave them there, they need help! Momma! Braden! Daddy!”

              “Elaina!” I yell over her, trying to wake her, then more gently, I say, “Elaina, wake up, it’s just a bad dream.”

              Her eyes flutter open and the tears start falling. “Hey, it was just a bad dream. Do you want to talk about it?”

              She looks up at me and nods her head. I sit down on the couch, still holding her, settling her on my lap.

              “I moved to Chicago with Karen when I was thirteen, because I lost my family in a car accident. I was in the car that night,” she admits in a whisper.
Shit.
I knew something bad happened to her, but I didn’t know exactly what it was. She continues,
“A yellow sedan passed an old farm truck in a no passing zone. My dad did everything he could, but the car was just coming too fast. He really did try,” she says with a sob and my heart hurts for her.

              “I know,” I tell her, rubbing my hand down her arm to offer any sort of comfort I can.

              “The sedan hit the front of our vehicle and our SUV rolled and landed upside down. One minute, Braden and I were arguing in the back seat and the next, we were all hanging upside down in a ditch. The man in the old farm truck stopped to help. He told someone outside the SUV that my dad didn’t make it. He heard me whimper while I was trying to free myself from the seat belt. I needed to get to my mom and Braden to help them. The farmer told me that he was going to get me out and save me. I kept trying to tell him to save them first, but my voice wouldn’t work.”             

              She is sobbing now and I’m having a hard time understanding her. I have no clue how she handled seeing her whole family die, I now understand the nightmares.

              “When I woke up three days later, Aunt Karen was there. She smiled when she saw my eyes open. She told me that I had swelling on the brain, I was in a coma for three days and my right arm was broken in two places. When I asked about my family, she looked down and started to cry. They were all gone. Karen took me in and gave me a home when I didn’t have anyone. I owe her everything. The last year has been hard on her, but she is always there for Jackson and me.”

              “I’m so sorry,” I tell her, “I can’t imagine going through all that. You are so strong.” I pull my fingers through her hair like my mom used to do for my sister and me when we were sad or sick when we were kids.

              “I’m not strong,” she yells. “You see how I still let it affect me. I’ve had nightmares every night since the accident. Though, I thought the waking up screaming stopped a few years ago. I guess not.”

              “You are strong.” I push her chin up so she will look at me. “You fought to live, you fight every day to get up and still find happiness. I saw the way that you were looking around the city today in amazement. You can still find beauty in the world after witnessing something so ugly.”

              She looks away again and whispers, “I wish I could believe that.”

              “I will see to it that you do,” I tell her raising us from the couch and putting her feet back on the ground. “Would it help if I stayed with you tonight? I’ll be on my best behavior.”

              “You wouldn’t mind?” I shake my head. “What did I do to deserve such a good friend?” she asks.

              Her words stung a little and I didn’t know why, but if I had to guess, it was because, I was starting to feel like we were a little closer than just friends. I ignored the feeling and replied, “I don’t mind. Why don’t you go get into bed? I’m going to close the curtain on my cubby. I’m guessing that you don’t want anyone knowing about this.”

              “Good idea. No, I just don’t want to have to explain why you’re there and about the nightmares.”

              Once we are settled in bed, she reaches over, hugs me, and says, “Thanks for today.” A few minutes later, I can hear her deep even breaths.

             
Does she really just consider me a friend? Is there going to be something between her and Ryder? He is a rock star and even though, she doesn’t seem so shallow, I’ve seen enough girls throwing themselves at him, to know that lots of girls would love to be in her shoes.

              These are the thoughts running through my head during the hour that it takes to fall asleep.

Elaina

              We are now on our way to New York City. Everyone except Cam and I are still sleeping. Cam is working, so I decided to get up and make breakfast for everyone. I get to work, making eggs, pancakes, bacon, hash browns and sausage. These boys can sure eat. Soon after I make a pot of coffee, the boys start to trickle out.

              “Why did you have to make breakfast so early?” Alex asks yawning, “You know I wouldn’t be able to sleep, thinking about this delicious food out here.”

              “It’s 9:00.”

              “Exactly. It’s too early.”

              “Well, if you want, I can throw it out and you can go back to bed.” I walk the plate I made for him towards the garbage.

              “No,” he yells and grabs the plate from me, “I can manage. It isn’t like I’ll be the one sitting at a boring ass musical tonight.” He laughs.

              “Fuck you,” Ryder groans as he steps into the kitchen. “See? Totally lame, I’m never going to hear the end of it with these guys.”

              I just smile at him and finish serving up the food. Eric and Caleb soon joins us. I take coffee up to Mike. He has been driving since 4:30 this morning, so I’m sure he is in need of some energy. Though, he got to sleep at a hotel last night, so I’m sure he slept well.

              “Thanks,” he says.             

              “No problem. I also left you some food for you, if you want it when we stop.”

              “Man, having you around is the best decision these guys have ever made. They should hire you as their cook for the next tour.”

              I laugh as I so go sit down to eat. “So, what is everyone doing today?” I ask.

              “Well, I think we are going back to bed after breakfast and sleeping.” Ryder yawns. The rest of the band, nods in agreement.

              “We are in New York City and you guys want to sleep?”

              “I’ll take you to see some sights,” Cam offers.

              “Are you sure?” I ask.

              “Yes, just let me go get ready and we’ll head out as soon as we get there.”

              When we pull into the parking lot, Cam emerges from the bathroom. “Are you ready to go?” he asks me. The rest of the guys have already retreated back to bed.

              I nod enthusiastically. The last time we went sightseeing, it was fun, so I’m sure today will be just as great. Who couldn’t have a great time in New York City?

              “Where to?” he asks as we step out of the bus.

              “Well, anywhere would be great, but I’ve always wanted to see the Statue of Liberty, Time Square and Central Park.”

              Cam hails a cab and we get in. “Statue of Liberty.”

              I’m watching out the window as we drive, taking it all in. “Thanks for doing this with me.”

              “Stop, you don’t have to keep thanking me. I enjoy doing it with you.”

              When the cab stops, we get out and board the ferry to Ellis Island. We spend a few hours exploring before we decide to head to Time Square.

              Time Square is huge and amazing, none of the pictures that I’ve seen can compare. I take several pictures to send back to Karen, Jackson and Amy. Cam snaps a few pictures of the two of us.

              “Hungry?” he asks.

              “Yes, I’m starving. Can we do a hot dog in Central Park, please?”

              “You are incredibly easy to please. If you’re good, I might even buy you two.” Cam jokes.

              We head to the park and find a hot dog vendor before finding a nice shady place to sit and people watch. The park is pretty busy today, there are people running, moms pushing strollers, kids playing and people just sitting and people watching like us.

              “Do you ever wonder about their stories?” I ask Cam.

              “What do you mean?”

              “Well, everyone has a story, things going on in their life that you might not ever expect. I see all these people and can’t help but wonder about their stories.”

              “I guess, I never thought about it. You could always go ask them.”

              I laugh, “No, I prefer to make up my own stories for them.”             

              “Give me an example,” Cam chuckles.

              I look around. “Okay, you see that lady over there, the one lying down reading a book? She is a mother of five and once a month her husband tells her to sends her to the park for an afternoon all to herself. She reads books, drinks coffee and doesn’t have to worry about anything.”

              “Okay, pretty good. What about that young couple over there?”

              “The teenagers making out on the bench?”

              “Yeah, they’re international spies.”

              “What?” I laugh. “They are like sixteen.”

              “That is all part of their disguise.”

              “There’s no way that she could do any secret spy stuff in those shoes.”

              “She’s obviously had a lot of practice.”

              “You’re so bad at this,” I laugh.

              We spend the next few hours people watching and making up stories for people. Cam is the funniest person, I think I’ve ever met. He isn’t like that all the time, but when it is just the two of us, he seems to let down a guard that he has up.

              Cam looks at his watch. “Oh, wow, we need to head back to get ready for the play. I didn’t realize how late it was getting.” He stands and reaches for my hand to help me up.

              “Thanks for today, it has been incredible,” I tell him.

**********

              “Are you ready yet?” Ryder shouts through the bathroom door. “I really just want to get this over with,” he groans.

              “I’ll be out in two minutes,” I tell him.  I took extra time getting ready because I’m super nervous about tonight, but I wouldn’t miss this show for anything.

              I walk out into the living area of the bus, Ryder and Cam both stop their conversation and look at me.

              “Maybe tonight won’t suck so much, since I get to sit next to you in that dress,” Ryder says with a wink. I’m wearing a dress that the personal shopper picked out for me. It is a black, knee length dress and a pair of heels that might cause me to fall down and break my neck tonight. I’m sure each cost more than my monthly salary.

              I roll my eyes. “Are you ready to go?” Cam asks with a smile, completely ignoring Ryder. “The car is here.”

              When we arrive at the theater and get out of the car, there are a few paparazzi there snapping pictures. Cam opens our door and Ryder gets out first and reaches in to help me out. Ryder is a good actor; by the way he is acting now, no one would know that he is really a womanizing flirt.

              Cam rushes us through the crowd and into the theater and an usher shows us to our seats. I end up between Ryder and Cam. When the music starts and the curtains open, I hear Ryder groan, but I try to tune him out. I won’t let him ruin this for me. I lean closer to Cam to escape the comments I can hear Ryder making now. I forgot just how great this is, I’m completely enthralled in the play when, I feel Cam’s eyes on me. I look at him and mouth
“What?”
He just shakes his head and gives me a huge smile that shows off his dimples. Those dimples make me feel like I have giant butterflies doing a conga line in my stomach. I am eventually able to look away a turn back to the stage. But I can feel his arm against mine on the armrest and it sends a shiver down my spine. I’m too busy wondering if the touch is doing anything to Cam that it startles me when he takes my hand and moves it down between us to hide the connection. My heart is pounding so loud, I’m sure the entire theater can hear it.

              When the lights come back on during intermission Cam quickly pulls his hand away. I’m sure it wouldn’t look good if Ryder’s new girl was seen holding another man’s hand. I glace over at Ryder to see if he noticed. He looks like he is just waking up, so he didn’t see anything. Not that he is my actual boyfriend, but I’m sure he wouldn’t like the press to see his “girlfriend” with another guy. Now, him stepping out on his girlfriend probably wouldn’t be a big deal to him.

              I feel weird holding Cam’s hand while I’m supposed to be with Ryder. I use the intermission as a chance to escape for a few minutes and reassemble my now jumbled thoughts.