Page 17 of Ravaged By Lust

“What?”

I narrow my eyes.

“You’ll be a shoo-in too, you know,” Bishop reasons. “Axel’s talented sister. You’ll both be great in a band together. Isn’t that what you said you wanted to do?”

“I’m too shy to ever even think about auditioning, Bishop. You know me.”

“Come on, I’ve heard you sing and play.”

“Yeah, only in the safety and security of this bedroom,” I retort with a sigh. “I’m insecure, okay? I can’t perform in front of other people.”

“You do know it’s a requisite of being a rockstar to play in front of an audience, right? You can’t really tour the world not being able to go on a stage, Chloe.”

I take in a long breath. “I’m scared.”

“Yeah, and you push through it. That’s what being a performer means. Have you not watched a single documentary about bands? Everyone’s scared of going in front of others when they start out.”

“My… scaredness is more than other people’s, Bishop. It’s ingrained in me. I’m worried that people will laugh. Axel is the extroverted one of the two of us. He’s the one people gravitate to. I’m just the younger sister who fades into the background.”

“Audition, Chloe,” Bishops says seriously. No hint of his jokiness at all. “Trust me, you’re good.”

“You’re telling me to really audition for Drake’s band?”

Bishop nods.

“Yeah, I can help you if you’re feeling under-confident. I do know how to play the guitar, you know.”

I scoff. “I’m better than you, though.”

Bishop sits up, forcing me to sit up as well. He stares me deep in the eyes. “Be serious. You should audition. I know it’s the right thing for you.”

I shrug. “Maybe you should audition instead of me. You would be good at it.”

“I won’t. I don’t care much for music. But you should, you should be in a band, Chloe. You should be a rockstar, not me.”

I fall back against the softness of my bed with a long sigh. “I’ll think about it.”

Bishop leans down and wraps an arm around me. He holds me tight.

My finger absentmindedly traces around the long faint scar on his chest.

“How did you get this?” I ask him quietly. “This scar? I’ve always seen it and always wondered how it happened.”

“I got it when I was a kid. Before I met you.”

“How?”

“I was being an idiot. I was chasing some bully from school and we ran into a farm. I got myself caught up in barbed wire. This is the proof that you really shouldn’t do that.”

“Ouch.”

“But I still managed to get that bully in the end, even though I was profusely bleeding. He deserved that beating.”

“You’re pretty relentless, Bishop.”

“One thing you must know about me, Chloe, is that I’m competitive. When I get my mind fixated on something, I don’t stop until I’ve got it. I’ll move hell or high water for what I want.”

“Well, you’ve got me.”