Page 24 of Just Wait

That doesn’t make sense since I can still hear their music reverberating through the walls and floor.

I can’t even think about that right now.

I’m fairly sure I know where the meet and greet is, so I take off in that direction. It doesn’t take more than three minutes of walking, but every security guard I see stresses me out.

It’s irrational.

I still feel like they’re going to stop me and tell me I don’t belong back here—even with the backstage pass.

The door is open, and it’s loud when I peek inside. No one notices me, but there are women everywhere.

A fair number of men too.

The one thing I don’t see?

My boyfriend.

“Have you checked the bus?” Jesse asks, shoving his hands into the front pockets of his jeans as we stand in the hallway just outside the meet and greet. “Maybe he ran out there to check on you.” He shrugs, bouncing on his toes.

My stomach tightens, and my head tilts.

He’s always a little sketchy when he’s coked up, but I’ve never seen him unable to maintain eye contact.

I’ve known Jesse for as long as I’ve known Theo. We’ve partied together more times than I can count. Hell, he lived on our couch for a month when he broke up with his girlfriend.

“You know what probably happened?” Jesse nods exaggeratedly. “He must have gone over to the greenroom to check on you. You just missed him in the hallway. Check there. Sorry, Lu. I gotta get back in there.” He jerks his head toward the open door, taking off as I blink repeatedly.

I’ve got a bad feeling, and I don’t like it.

Backtracking through the halls, I’m so out of it that I don’t even stress about the security guys. It gets louder as I come around the corner, making the left to head to the greenrooms.

By the sounds of it, Liminal is just coming off stage.

God, I don’t even know what I’ll say to them if I have to see them again.

Sorry I ruined your set by getting myself stuck in the beginnings of a mosh pit? A more ridiculous sentence could never be spoken.

Actually, I could think of a few.

I’d just keep them to myself.

The door on the right opens with a loud squeak that signals the hinge needs to be oiled.

My head whips to the side at the sound of a woman’s laughter. It’s not just a laugh, it’s a high-pitched giggle that seems out of place.

My jaw falls as Theo saunters out of the men’s bathroom with a groupie pawing all over him.

“Hang on,” he says, chuckling. “I need to get my pants zipped.”

The door screeches again as the hinge attempts to close, and my world tilts. The hallway fills with noise as Liminal makes their way toward their greenroom, or that’s what I assume is happening.

My shoulder falls against the wall as she stretches up, wraps her hand around his jaw, tilts his face toward hers, and shoves her tongue into my boyfriend’s mouth.

My hands clench at my sides as I wait for him to shove her off.

He doesn’t.

My stomach churns.