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I trembled, my whole body shook as though the anger in me was too much to contain.
He got to the chorus and the way he sang that line was exactly the same as Jake had sung it. Did he even have a thread of creativity in him or did he just steal everything from others?
The blood pounding through my body cut through even the bass beat from the speaker stack. There was no stage, no crowd, nothing but Alex standing in front of me, stomping all over the brother he’d killed.
My hands balled into tight fists. I couldn’t pull the sound; I couldn’t demand he stop. I couldn’t use my parent’s wealth to buy my own way. But the anger grew inside me.
Some force took over my body, like an evil spirit born from my anger.
I rushed the stage.
Flying.
Sanity fled, leaving me alone with my desire to stop him.
With a massive lunge, I tackled Alex to the ground. All the noise stopped. Only a rush filled my ears, like the ocean swelling.
The thud jarred me as I hit the hard floor but Alex’s body partly cushioned my fall.
The two of us became a mess of limbs and cords on the stage floor. My arm hurt but my heart hurt more. I’d done something.
Awareness of Alex’s body hit me. He grappled with me, trying to get me off him. I struggled and flayed, not sure what to do now that I’d done it.
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” he yelled.
What the fuck was I doing?
Hell, the music stopped, the crowd screamed.
Powerful arms grabbed me, dragging me away.
Fuck.
I got dragged backstage but, with the adrenaline rush over, I went quietly. In the empty room, the realisation of what I’d done flooded me. I’d tackled Alex, mid-song. I’d stopped him playing.
Holden would be livid. I’d ruined his gig. Alex would be livid too. He’d probably kill me for it. This thing I’d done was huge. Not just huge but done in front of a crowd of thousands. I’d be remembered for this. Remembered as the crazy bitch who’d taken the guitarist down mid-song. I’d be hated, reviled.
My jacket hung on the back of a chair. I put it on, but still shivered. I wanted to run but I had no way of leaving. Maybe I could get a cab, rather than face the consequences.
Well, that was my music career over in flash. Alex would never, ever look at me again. Even though I hated him and even though he’d betrayed me, that made me incredibly sad.
Alex
I’d lost her. I’d completely lost her.
No matter what lies I told myself, at the back of my mind I’d always clung to the thought that, at some point, Dee would forgive me. That we could have something. Not the frenzied sex she’d offered me but something real. She bought a lightness into my life that I’d never even known was missing. I wanted to redeem myself in her eyes but, instead, I’d sunk even deeper into the pits of her hatred. Sunk so low that I couldn’t see a way out.
From the start, I’d known it was wrong to include that song but I’d ignored all the sense in my head because I’d wanted other things more. The glittering gold temptation had lured me. I’d just had to reach out my hand to get the things I wanted but, in the process, I’d lost an important part of my soul.
For just a few minutes, as I played that song, I’d forgotten all else. The set had gone so great until then. Perfect. And “Fifteen Minutes” had been the closer. I’d leave this gig with a swag of new fans, all talking about how mind-blowing we’d been. I’d walk off stage a hero.
Instead, I walked off stage with my head down and a pang in my back. I’d fallen hard. For a moment, I’d been stunned. I’d been playing the chorus, basking in my own awesomeness, as waves of admiration came from the crowd. I was a God and they were in the palm of my hand.
The lights glared in my eyes like the glow of a future not so far out of my reach.
Then bam, I was flat on my back. Nothing registered except that mane of hair covering my face. The lights dimmed. The music stopped. A feedback screech cut through the air. The world had stopped to judge me, striking me down. Like a big lump of karma hit me smack on the back of the head.
Slowly, it came to me. It was Dee on top of me.
She’d knocked me to the ground. I scrambled to fix this. I’d thought I could grab my guitar and finish the song. I could save that much. But our set was over.
