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Nick stands completely stunned, and then he charges toward me and holds his hands against my chest. “Have you lost your mind?” he seethes between tightly gritted teeth. “What the hell are you doing?”
“He’s got a big mouth that he doesn’t know when to shut.”
“I’m taking care of things,” Nick wheezes.
“Yeah, it looks like you’ve got it all under control.”
“You could have broken his fucking jaw, Reed. We hit the road in two weeks. What are we supposed to do if his jaw’s broken?”
“Maybe he should have thought about that before he went out drinking again.”
Nick grabs Kael’s shoulder and drags him back to his feet. “Get in the car, Kael,” he says, stabbing his finger hard into his shoulder. “We’ll deal with the consequences of all this in the morning.”
Kael doesn’t even look at me as he clambers into Nick’s car. He keeps his head down and his shoulders are slumped forward and for a split second, I actually feel a little sorry for him.
But then I remember what he said about Brinley, and I don’t feel sorry for him anymore. I want to hit him again. I want to hit him really hard.
And I don’t give a shit about the consequences.
Brinley
Two days later…
“Good luck, sweetheart. Dad and I are so proud of you.”
“Thanks, Mom.”
“We’ll watch the clips as they come up on the innerweb thingy. Cold Neptune is a big deal. I read about them in the newspaper. Did you know they were such a big deal?”
My parents are kind of old-school, but I love that about them. “Yes, I know they’re a big deal, Mom. Hence the butterflies in my stomach.”
“You’ll be wonderful, baby girl.”
“I hope so.”
“You’re still leaving to come home tomorrow afternoon?”
“That’s the plan.”
“If you get tired, promise me you’ll pull over and sleep.”
“I promise,” I tell her, checking my watch for the umpteenth time since I’ve been on the phone. I’ve still got some last-minute packing to do, and I really want to wash my hair before I head to the theater.
“I can’t wait to see you, sweetheart. I love you.”
“I love you too. Say hi to Dad for me.”
“Will do,” she says, and I can clearly hear the affection in her voice. “I can’t wait to hear all about the show when you get here. I want every last detail. And maybe get that drummer’s autograph for me.”
I laugh and tell my mother I’ll see what I can do about getting her Jaxon’s autograph. And then I hang up, because I really do still have a lot to do.
“Ten minutes to show time,” a voice booms through the door and I don’t even get to see the face of the person the voice belongs to before they’re gone again. The door closes over with a dull thud and then the room is completely silent.
I glance back at my reflection in the mirror.Holy shit.
I barely recognize myself.
My hair has been pinned back away from my face with loose curls artfully framing my neck. My makeup is much heavier than I’d normally wear–smoky eyes and long dark lashes coated in mascara, with pale pink blush that’s so perfectly placed I look like a totally different person.
