From My Heart (12 page)

“Better tell him that one,” I heard Bryn say in a fit of laughter.

I raised an eyebrow.

Tyler slung an arm around me and whispered, “You need to be my wing-man tonight, bud.”

“What? Is Tyler Donahue finally going to look for some action?” I acted surprised.

“Oh please. I’m a damn guy, Pelton. I’m not going to go through this whole tour without some kind of action.” Tyler groaned. “I mean even fucking Raptor and Luke are getting some…”

Bryn cackled from behind him, slinging her arms around our shoulders. “Tyler, you sound like a whiny girl. You won’t get any action like that. You’ll need my help, not this guy.” She looked over at me and winked, kissing me on the cheek. “Sorry, babe but it’s true. If they see me on his arm, the girls will get jealous and make a beeline for him. Only makes sense.”

The idea of another girlfriend of mine
pretending
to be with Tyler makes my stomach turn. I didn’t give a shit if Bryn was only suggesting the idea to help a friend out, but from experience, that’s what lead to something more.

“Oh thanks, Bryn. What about me?” Vince chimed in, overhearing our conversation.

“What about you?” I teased, speaking for Bryn. “You don’t need help getting girls, dude.”

Vince shrugged. “Coming from the guy who can get laid any chance he wants since you essentially live with her the next few months. That’s cool though, I can get a halfway decent looking girl on my own. Don’t you worry…?” Vince grinned and I mumbled under my breath, “Whatever you say, brother.”

On stage that night, we were on fire. I tried to stretch myself out or figure out some way to get rid of the chest pain before we went on, but it was no use. So through most of our songs when I had to scream or hit the higher notes to match Bryn’s harmony, I had to pat my chest. It looked like I had fucking paranoia.  Don’t ask me why that worked though, I wish I knew. I had the tendency while performing our songs to run around like a wild tiger, but the people loved it.

I only stopped moving when I went behind the keyboard to play “Time,” and even then I was just itching to get back out, stand on speakers, and crowd surf while I sang. I had fond memories of when we first started out in small halls around town where I would fall backwards and the crowd would lift me up and pass me around until I landed in the middle of a mosh pit. This was my calling though, seeing all of those faces stare up at me as I sang, fists pumping the air, shouting the lyrics back to us, I was living the dream right here. I was just lucky enough to have my brothers along for the crazy ride. And Bryn.

She looked so beautiful to me when she was holding that purple seven string guitar. Every show, I watched Bryn come out of her shell a little more, and everyone loved it. I heard guys shouting random things in her direction, and she would just smile and wave to the crowd while I clenched my hand around the microphone and sang with an extra ounce of ‘passion,’ or as I called it, wanting to kick someone’s ass if they came near my girl.

“Thanks so much, Virginia! It’s always a pleasure to see your rocking faces!” I said through the mic as Bryn and Luke went off stage to swap out guitars. “It’s so surreal sometimes to see so many faces and bodies coming together to enjoy one thing: their love of music. I was in the crowds not that long ago watching my favorite bands rocking it out on stage with all the confidence in the world. And now here we are. I can never thank all of you enough for supporting us and the other bands on this tour. Now we’re going to finish out the set tonight with a few new songs off the brand new album ‘New Beginnings,’ which is out now so go pick it up, my friends!” End rant.

I was sweating my ass off by the time we finished “Live Free.” I wanted to go back out and do an encore for these people since this was one of the best crowds Everlasting had played for in a long time, but I was more eager about going out and partying. More so spending some ‘quality’ time with my Bryn. We started packing everything up as soon as we got off stage, not even bothering to stay for Angels from Hell. With the whole Kallie situation, it was better if I stayed as far away as I could from her.

I was still in the dressing room trying to rest for a few minutes when Bryn popped her head in. “I’m going out to the bus. We’re leaving soon.”

“Hey, before you go…” I stopped Bryn. She came into the room and paused. “Could you go look in my carry-on bag that’s underneath my bunk for my phone? I think I left it there by mistake, I wanted to text the girls.” I meant my sisters, who had been blowing up my phone about me flying them out to a show when Alexandria had a school break.

“Yeah, I’ll be right back.” Bryn smiled, kneeling down so she could give me a soft kiss on the lips and pat my knee before leaving.

“Ooooo someone’s getting some action in the sack tonight…” Raptor taunted as he walked in with Gina’s arm linked in his. “If I hear you two tonight I’ll be calling the front desk and complaining about it. I’d like to get some sleep.”

I looked from Raptor over to Gina, who was hanging onto every word Raptor was saying, beaming up at him. I wanted to tell him I thought this girl had it
bad
for him, but it was only a matter of time before he saw it for himself. Guy needed a frickin’ girlfriend. “I think Gina might object to this sleeping idea of yours huh, Gina?”

She flickered her eyes over in my direction and waved off my response. “We’re just
friends,
Cale. I don’t intend on doing anything besides maybe dancing on a table or two and having some clean fun with my friends minus the drinking.”

I snorted at her mentioning the table dancing. “That is
definitely
clean fun alright.” 

“If we’re not drinking it is!” Gina ruffled up my hair and took off. Raptor shrugged behind her back and followed after her. I waited for Bryn to come back and the guys had already gone to the bus, so I was wondering what was taking her so long. After fifteen minutes, I decided to find her. I could hear Angels from Hell far into their set so the hallway was free and clear of anyone else.

Everyone was outside by the buses talking with members of The Brittle Souls when I stepped out and headed towards the bus.

“Bryn!” I called from the bottom of the steps going into the bus. “Are you alright?”

Nothing.

I shut the door behind me, calling out again, “Bryn are you in here?”

I could hear something being thrown against the wall in the back of the bus as I walked towards the noise. As I got closer I heard the ever so familiar sound of….

Shit. She found them.

Bryn rushed out before I could get to her, and she held up the bottle of pills in her hands, a scowl on her face. I stopped dead in my tracks, trying to think of something to say, but I knew she’d think the worst unless I thought of something to say and quickly.

“What the hell is this for?” she asked.

***

“Are you going to answer me?” I narrowed my eyes at Cale, who stood in front of me looking dumbfounded. I was being a good girlfriend and trying to find his cell phone in the spot where he claimed it was, but no luck. I was putting his bag back on top of his bunk and something fell out of it: a bottle of pills. My first thought was maybe he might have still needed to take them because of the pain in his chest—which had been happening—but I’d never seen Cale pop pills, minus a week or two after the accident.

I gripped the pill bottle tighter, feeling my blood boil. “I…it was from the doctor,” Cale said. “He refilled my prescription in case I had any substantial pain on tour and I couldn’t make it in to see him,” Cale whispered, his hands reaching out for me. I stepped back for each of his steps forward. “Please, Bryn, I swear I forgot I packed those until you found them.”

I threw the bottle at him and it landed on the floor.

“You’re not abusing them, are you?” I looked him square in the eye. He leaned against the bunks and ran his hands furiously through his hair.

“Why would you think that, Bryn?” he asked. “I just told you why I have them! The pain has been coming back off and on and it makes it pretty fucking difficult to perform or do anything for that matter!”

“Should I believe you?” I didn’t care if I was overreacting. Seeing some of the most powerful pain pills in his bag gave me a sick feeling. I mean, go to the damn drug store and get Tylenols or something, not something that would knock you out immediately after just one!

Cale put his hands on each of my shoulders, his amber eyes burning holes through mine. “Yes, Bryn. I swear, I do not abuse these and I only take them when I can’t stand the pain. I sound like a girl pleading with you like this so just believe me please so we can get a move on?”

I studied his facial expression for some sort of slip up. But one more second of him looking at me the way he was, and I was done for. I’d let the whole thing go at least for tonight. I didn’t want to be a party pooper and put a damper on his plans.

I decided to believe him for now.

“Alright. I believe you,” I said, kissing him on the cheek. “Now let’s get everyone on the bus so we can have some fun.”

***

After Cale picked up the bottle of pills I threw by him, he made sure they were at the very bottom of the bag so he would ‘forget’ about them, or at least that’s what he said. Everyone piled back onto the bus a couple of minutes later and the atmosphere was crazy. We were all restless and this was the first time we were going ‘out’ anywhere besides the bus and hotel rooms so being antsy is was understatement.

“I still can’t believe how different he looks.” Gina sat on top of her bunk with her chin resting on her knees. “I thought the whole colored Mohawk look was kind of hot…”

“Oh Gina,” I groaned, sitting below her on Bethany’s bunk as she kept sighing. “He’s still the same person. I think his natural color suits him now.”

“Well, yeah. Now that he isn’t playing anymore, obviously.” She paused, her lips forming a smile. “I think I might let him kiss me tonight.” Now she sounded like she was back in private school when she had her first kiss in 6
th
grade.

“About time.” Bethany threw her pillow at Gina and she narrowly missed it. “You’re both looking at each other with fucking ‘screw me’ eyes so just get it over with and be a happy couple or something.”

I laughed at Bethany and she joined in as we watched Gina’s cheeks flush red.

“That’s so not funny, guys! Be nice.” Gina covered up her face. “Jeez, now I have to redo my make up before we get to the hotel.”

“Why? You look fine, hun,” I told her.

“You two had me laughing and whenever my cheeks get flushed I have to reapply my foundation.” Gina hadn’t changed a bit. I wasn’t as much into makeup as my best friends were—minus the times my parents made me put on the works whenever we had a dinner party.

Damn, there I went again thinking about my parents. And when I thought of them, I thought of Brayden. How he was gone. I didn’t understand why he did what he did. It didn’t make sense how my parents reconciled with him so quickly and manipulated him to bring me home at any cost. It had cost him his life and a part of me would always feel guilty for being a part of his death, even though I was completely blacked out at the time.

Secretly I was glad I didn’t run into my parents during the private cremation ceremony. I tried to avoid them like the plague, despite their rich friends approaching me and congratulating me on my success.

“Hey, are you listening?” Bethany nudged me, taking me out of my thoughts. “Should we share a suite or do you want your own, B? Luke’s calling the hotel right now since we’re not too far.”

“I think we should share one.” I said excitedly. “Have one huge-ass king size bed we can all fit on and watch movies until the sunrise.”

Bethany tipped her head back and giggled. “You’re reading my thoughts, Bryn.”

Seconds later the bus came to a halt at a red light and Gina scooted off her bunk, landing on the floor. “I still want to dance on a table.”

“What’s the point in that? People are just going to think you’re a stripper or something…” I scolded Gina and she frowned, placing her hands on her hips. “Not that I’m calling you that, best friend.”

“You know what, miss goody two shoes? I think you’re still afraid of letting go and just having fun,” Gina replied. “That’s the whole point of times like these…to find yourself.”

“I know who I am,” I said sharply. “I’m following my dream, aren’t I?” I didn’t see the point in the whole let’s call Bryn out and tell her to ‘find’ herself crap.

“Obviously you are,” Gina said. “And I love you and admire you more than you’ll ever know. I just feel like sometimes you hold back, especially since we’ve spent the last couple of days nonstop with you.”

“Why do I get the feeling like I’m being lectured?” I asked. “I haven’t been holding back on anything. Maybe it’s the fact that I was still pissed about my boyfriend kissing Kallie on stage? I don’t need to discover who I am or anything. This band is who I am now and who I will be for a long time. Does that answer your question?”

Gina pulled me up from Bethany’s bunk and gave me a hug. “I’m sorry, Bryn. I’m not trying to lecture you. I just get thoughts in my head and I have to spill them. You don’t hate me, right?”

I shook my head and smiled. A real one this time. “Of course I love you, Gina. I can’t believe I get to share this experience with you and Bethany, it’s so unreal.”

Bethany stood up after me and joined in on our group hug.

“Aww can I join in on the love fest?” I heard Luke’s voice from a few feet away as he approached us. Bethany started grinning like a school girl as we separated, her fingers playing with her black mini skirt.

“Nope. Sorry, red, that hug was just meant for us girls,” I teased.

He crossed his tattooed arms over his chest. “Shucks. Next time I want in on that three girl action…” Bethany slapped him on the arm and he put his hands up in defense. “I take that back, I swear! I didn’t even mean it in a bad way!”

“I know.” I grinned. “It’s fun to see my friend beat on you like that.” Luke grabbed me, pulling me into a tight squeeze. “Thanks,” I muffled as he tightened his grip and let go.

“Anytime, sis. Come on, girls!” Luke called. “Let’s go check out the suites!” He ran off the bus and we followed him into the hotel.

We were lead to the top floor of the hotel where the suites were located.

“Are you serious?” The three of us squealed at the same time as soon as we opened the door to our suite. I was surrounded in shades of brown and red as we took a tour of the whole place. There was a huge king sized bed in the far right of the room, with dark red embroidered bedding on top and at least a dozen various sized pillows. In another section across from the bed there was a large dark brown leather sectional and a sixty inch television against the wall. Plus there was a cherry oak counter top in the kitchen area that looked close enough to a mini bar for me. This was definitely luxury and my favorite hotel room I’d stayed in so far.

“I could live here.” I sighed, flopping back first onto the bed, a few pillows falling onto my face.

“Tell me about it. This is way nicer than even the places we went to in L.A,” Bethany said, opening the curtain by the bed so she could get a view of the skyline. I didn’t know how many floors this place had, but I felt like I was on top of the world. Below us were tall office buildings with lights still shining in them; street lights were faint little specks. The sun was just setting and we could see the moon so there was still a hint of blue in the sky before it succumbed to the dark.

“I’m a little scared to sit out on that porch.” Gina pointed to the sliding door that lead to a decent sized porch with wicker seats and a small table. “The wind might knock us off our seats and we’ll fall to our deaths.”

I could tell from Gina’s smile she was only kidding about that last comment.

“I’m too scared of heights. You sure as heck won’t catch me out there!” Bethany turned away, looking in her suitcase for some clothes to wear later. “Hey, Bryn, do you mind if I borrow that dress you packed with the tears in the sides?”

“Oh the black one with the skull symbol?” I asked and she nodded. “Yeah, I’ll grab it. It would look better on you anyway. You’ve got a better body than I do.”

“Stop right there, missy.” Bethany held her hand out to shut me up. “I don’t ever want to hear you say anything bad about your body. I would kill for your curves, Bryn. I’m stuck with the size 2 body that no matter how much food I eat, I never gain anything.”

“And even then, it was never good enough for the assholes out west,” Gina interjected, tying her hair into a high ponytail as she studied herself in the mirror. They never gave me the real reason both of them came back from California. I didn’t believe for one second that they were plain homesick. I didn’t know much about the modeling world, but I imagined it was cutthroat and people constantly nagged you about your weight and proportions. But regardless, I was still glad my besties were back with me.

“Don’t let whatever those people said to you get you guys down. I think you are
gorgeous
, darling.” I used my best imitation of a British accent and Gina and Bethany started rolling on the floor laughing. 

After I gave Bethany her dress for the night, I decided to go with a blue rhinestone halter top and black jeggings, along with my black flats with rhinestones at the toe line. I pinned my hair to one side with a bunch of pins and sprayed it down. Gina stayed in her same top and skirt, changing into flats since she wore heeled boots at the show and she kept complaining that her feet were killing her.

Soon we heard a few knocks at our door. “Come on, girls let’s get a move on!” I heard Cale’s voice as he pounded on the door again. I opened it and he whistled at my appearance.

“How’d I get so lucky to be your boyfriend?” Cale murmured into my hair as his hands skimmed down my sides. “You are absolutely stunning.”

I almost instantly blushed, that tingly feeling between my legs crept over me. Only Cale could make me feel that way. He looked handsome himself, dressed in a red polo shirt and designer jeans that reminded me of the first time we had lunch together. His typical unruly brown hair was slicked back with gel, showing off those unmistakable amber eyes.

Tyler and Vince stood behind Cale, waving at us eagerly.

“Luke and Raptor are trying to find the guys from The Brittle Souls and Angels from Hell,” Tyler told us. “I guess we’ve got a chunk of the club downstairs reserved for us.”

Gina rubbed her hands together in excitement. “This is going to be even better than I pictured!” She smiled, grabbing my and Bethany’s hands and dragging us out of the room. “Now it’s your turn to follow us, boys! Come on!”

I heard them chuckle behind us and Tyler whispered, “She’s a feisty one.”

***

The nightclub built into the hotel was down a long hallway past the lobby towards a line of gigantic conference rooms that were used for parties and various business meetings. I could hear the bass pounding through the walls as we neared the entrance.

Luke and Raptor were dressed similar to Cale, and gave us girls hugs when they saw us from inside.

“I have a private table waiting for you.” Raptor winked at Gina as she flashed her ID to the bouncer and he led her through. She locked hands with him as they maneuvered through the crowd.

“You girls look beautiful tonight.” Luke looked from Bethany over to me and back to Bethany. She started tapping her foot, which I had learned meant she was a mix of nervous and anxious. She had it bad for Luke and I thought it was cute to watch her twirl pieces of her hair with her fingers and tap her foot impatiently as if she was waiting for him to make a move. “Everyone’s already back there so let’s grab the last of the spots,” he told us. We followed suit, flashing our ID to the bouncer and he let us through after trying to say I didn’t look a day over 18.

“Just promise me you won’t fight
her,
okay?” Cale yelled over the loud music as we made our way past the dance floor into a private table area in the back for all of the bands.

I squeezed his hand for reassurance. “We’re out in public. Of course I totally won’t try and kick Kallie Cooper’s ass. I don’t want any broken bones either, so I’m going to play it safe.” Cale laughed.