The words wash over me until her final note is lost in the cacophony of applause and screaming of adoring fans. Her smile is wobbly, and she wipes a tear that threatens to fall down her perfectly made face.
“Thank you, everyone, for loving my music so fiercely. I adore each and every one of you, you mean the world to me.” She waves with both hands as she moves to walk off the stage, the emotions of the song taking more out of her than she probably expected. I know for certain she wasn’t planning on singing it tonight.
It took her off guard. Probably in a good way, but still.
I feel my moment slipping out of my hands and dash for the stage. So many people are standing out of their seats, crowding into the walkway as they sang along, that I have to elbow my way through, my ribs screaming at me with every jostle. I should’ve sat closer, but I didn’t want to draw the attention of the seat attendants.
“Excuse me. Coming through. Please move.” Each person I have to get by scowls at me, some recognize me and gladly move, the others shift a few inches reluctantly. It’s the people who recognize me that start talking to their friends, the news of me being here rippling through the crowd.
Chants of her name have already started before she’s even crossed halfway to the exit, and I know even if I shouted her name, she’d never be able to hear me. I get closer to the railings keeping people from reaching the stage, but she crosses into the darkness of the edges.
Despair grips me, and tears prickle behind my eyes. Desperately, I search the stage for my friends, hoping I can catch one of them, but their backs are already to me as they follow my girl.
Gripping the railing, I do my best to jump over it, but my injuries are too great. Agony rips through me as the movement shifts my ribs in the wrong fucking way, making me nearly crumple to the ground.
I desperately try to catch my breath that was somehow stolen when I hear my name. It’s a slow transition from the fans screaming Raina’s name until they’re using mine.
Her fans are trying to get her back on stagefor me. They want her to know I’m here.
Fucking #TeamTristan for the win.
My gaze fixates on the spot where I saw everyone disappear and hope to every rock god dead or alive that they come back.
If I’ve ever experienced a more emotional performance of a song, I can’t fucking remember it. Even all the times I sang about my teenage love for Tristan after he disappeared on me doesn’t come close.
I was planning on singing another song, but to be honest, I can’t handle it. Not right now. My heart pounds frantically in my chest, and there’s a weird churning of emotions in my stomach. It’s a mix of happiness and sadness, of fear and excitement, to name a few. It might actually be quicker to name the emotions that aren’t filtering through me right now.
All I know is I’m about to burst into tears. It’s too much, too confusing.
I flee from the backstage area and rush through the greenroom, wanting to make it through the maze of the venue to find my way onto the bus as quickly as possible.
The guys trail behind me, always supporting me no matter what, even if they don’t have an explanation yet for why I’m acting so fucking weird. I’m getting looks from the crew as wepass. They know my set included one more song, but I don’t owe them a reason for changing my plans.
My eyes prickle with the tears that want to come pouring out of me. I was trying to be strong, to not let the devastation get to me; I didn’t want to give them the satisfaction of hurting me so much that they got any tears from me. I didn’t want to give them a piece of myself.
They don’t deserve anything from me.
But my fans… They can have it all.
Sharp pain suddenly digs into my arm and rips a line down my skin as I continue moving. Whipping my head around, I find Carmen scowling.
“What the fuck is this?” she asks, holding a piece of paper into the air next to her head.
“Get your hand off me,” I growl, reaching to pry her skeletal fingers from my arm. Before I can even reach her, Keaton is already there, gripping her wrist and squeezing tightly as he gently removes her claws.
“No touching,” he hisses in her face.
The pure menacing anger rolling off him has her eyes growing wide and her foot sliding back to put some space between us. I love how powerful his words are when he chooses to use them around others.
“What’s your deal?” I snap, running my fingertips over the crescent moon marks left in my arm.
“My deal?” she screeches, gaining the attention of more and more people. “What’s your deal? Why are you sending me a cease-and-desist order? How dare you try to claim my song as your own!”
I’m not sure anything could take me more off guard right now than her trying to claim my song as her own—this is more surprising than if she had simply smacked me across the face. My jaw drops, and I stand frozen in place, trying to franticallyprocess what the fuck is happening. Yay for my lawyer having taken such quick action. Boo to the little cunt who thinks she can attack me when she’s in the wrong.
Thankfully, I have backup with me.
Blake doesn’t even let her finish her fake sob story before he’s already letting out a low, guttural laugh. “Your song? Right.” He shakes his head with a mocking twist of his lips. “We all know Raina doesn’t need to steal any damned songs, especially not from the likes of you.”
