Page 61 of Fractured Heart

“Or Chez Caviar.”

“It has to be burgers. If you two are going to crash our date, the least you can do is agree to go for burgers.”

So he was asking me out on a date?

“We could get mini burgers at Chez Caviar,” Charles argues, making me wonder if he ever eats anywhere else. Aside from the gourmet dinners which JJ cooked for us, it’s the only place where I’ve seen him eat so far.

“Or we could go to Unity. For actual burgers,” JJ throws back.

“I think I agree with JJ,” Tate says and then he and JJ burst out laughing.

Charles scowls at the two of them, while my eyes dart back and forth, trying to figure out what’s going on. Tate finally explains. “Can you picture Charles eating burgers, Roonie? He’ll ask for a knife and fork.”

JJ snorts. “He’ll probably bring his own knife and fork.”

“He would,” Tate tells me.

“There’s nothing wrong with having good table manners,” Charles grumbles.

“One time, we went for hot dogs, and Charles wouldn’t eat any because they didn’t have cutlery.” Tate grins.

“You’re lucky you didn’t get food poisoning.” Charles glares at him. Then, he turns to me. “Roonie, we can get whatever food you want after rehearsal, okay? Even if…” he shudders, “you want hot dogs or burgers.”

“I don’t,” I say quickly, though I wouldn’t mind some fast food. “I’m okay with whatever you guys pick.”

“Burgers,” JJ and Tate chorus.

“We can figure that out after rehearsal.” Charles scowls at them. “Ready to go in?”

All my worries come flooding back but I nod anyway. I can do this. The guys already like my song. And they’re amazing singers. As JJ said, we probably won’t be here long.

I follow him into the rehearsal room, my confidence growing until I spot Silas. He’s leaning casually against the wall, a vision of threatening power. His arms are folded. His clothes, which are once again all black and decorated with chains, add to his air of coldness and aloofness. He does not look happy to see me. His lips are turned downward, and I find myself staring at his pierced lower lip.

When I look up, and our eyes meet, Silas full-out scowls. With the entire rehearsal room separating us—and with three princes surrounding me in a protective cloud—I feel brave. Well, braver. I straighten my spine and maintain eye contact with the Dark Prince. I can’t let him know he’s getting to me. I can’t be the first to look away.

Silas almost caves. Almost. I see the surprise register on his face at my sudden boldness. I’m so close to winning our silent battle I can almost taste it. Then, the guys leave my side.

They head to their usual places in front of the piano, leaving me standing alone in the doorway. I know I should follow, but that would bring me closer to Silas. Panic fills me and the Dark Prince sees it. Like a predator, he pounces on his prey.

“How’s our director doing today?” he challenges me with a triumphant glint in his eye that quickly morphs into a sneer.

I can’t even muster the courage to nod. I duck my head and fight the urge to take a step back. Or several steps. Enough to get me out of this room and away from his obvious hatred. My heart feels like a rock-solid ball of ice. My throat locks, like it had the last time I was around Silas, and I can no longer speak. Tate and Charles and JJ are counting on me, I remind myself. They told me they believe in me. I don’t see why.

I'm going to screw this up. I’m going to disappoint them and remind them why they never should have trusted me in the first place. It's bad enough I flooded their apartment and broke Tate's guitar. When they fail their audition because of me, they’ll never forgive me. If this audition is a complete train wreck, they might not even let me back into the suite.

I should have packed a bag, just in case. Except that nothing in that apartment is actually mine. Not even the clothes on my back. Just the fractured necklace I’ve transferred into my dress pants pocket when I changed for rehearsal.

With a shuddery sigh, I look up at the guys. I try to maintain a confident exterior—or at least a semi-normal one—but I feel like I might break down at any moment. I should never have agreed to this. If I hadn’t, they would have had time to come up with something better. Now, I’m their only chance.

I can’t screw this up. They don’t deserve that, not even Silas. They're counting on me to get them through tomorrow's audition. They put unwavering trust in me and they're about to pay for it.

“So, Madame Director?” Silas croons, disdain weaving in and out of his tone. “Shall we begin?”

The guys move into position. Well, three of them do. Silas takes a long time slinking over, his movements like those of a predator on the hunt. I choke.

“You got this, Roonie,” my Prince Charming smiles at me.

I nod and force myself to cross the room. My hands start to shake, and I stuff them in my pockets. The cold, jagged pieces of my pendant dig into the fingers of my right hand and I take comfort in the pain. I even summon enough courage to face the guys. “T-thank you for coming.”