I’d lost my appetite, but I did sit forward as the screen faded to black. It did that whenever they were changing bands, and the last band, that fucking Fatal Promise, had just been on. That prancing motherfucker had hyped the crowd up for my girl, so I couldn’t hate on him too much, but he really was a prettymotherfucker, and I knew I’d gut his ass if rumors of him and her were true.
I had faith that Ass Hat would be a cock block. It kept me from flying to Boston.
We sat in silence while we waited.
Then, the lights flashed for a moment. I sat forward quickly and stared at the screen, my heart in my throat. Even E sat forward.
“Here she comes,” I murmured, my gaze fixed and unblinking on the screen. I didn’t want to miss a moment of her entrance. I lived and breathed for glimpses of her online. Now, I’d get the next hour with her. Live.
Drums thundered in our surround sound.
Guitars.
Screams from fans.
Then…
There she was.
Dressed in black leather and lace, her skirt short and her red hair wild around her.
“Fuck,” I murmured, placing my hand over my chest as the camera zoomed in on her.
“I wake up tired before the day begins. Coffee tastes like pills. I swallow it in. They say you’re strong, like it’s a compliment…”Her voice played around us, and tears sprang to my eyes as she belted out her song Still Here in perfect pitch.
We didn’t speak as we watched her dance. As we watched her sing. As she reached out to the crowd to hold their hands. She even took someone’s phone and took a selfie with them on the stage.
The crowd loved her.
I loved her.
I knew, as I watched her try to appear unbothered, that I would always love her, and I needed to protect her always.
And so… I would.
An idea was forming.
But then she sang her new song,Tears You Up, and I stared at the screen with my mouth hanging open.
You called me rosebud like I’d never bleed
Like I was soft enough to never leave
Hands like thunder, voice like sin
You carved your name beneath my skin
Back room lights and a locked door grin
You pulled me close like a war to win
Cold tile floor, hearts out of tune
You kissed me hard like you had something to prove
Was she serious? Sure, she’d shit on us through the years in her lyrics, or at least we assumed they were about us, but she was straight up calling me out.
I swallowed hard as she blew a kiss to the cameras and winked.
