AllFreeNovel
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“I wants a triple scoop of unicorn sparkle ice cream, pwease,” Lyric says with confidence, standing on her tippy toes barely as tall as the counter. Her little eyes watch the redhead with the name tag—Penny—behind the counter, smiling at her.
“Of course. And for you, Sir?” A deep crimson tint takes over Penny’s cheeks as she looks me up and down, biting her lip.
Shit. This is the downfall of being famous. I can’t even have ice cream with my daughter without eyes watching our every move. The heated stare the worker gives me is nothing new. I’m used to women stopping me for autographs. Or soliciting me for a good time. It comes with the rock star territory. They don’t see me as Kieran. They see me as the shirtless guy who walks around on stage doing what he loves. It’s tiring.
My need to protect Lyric ramps up tenfold as I survey the room. It’s nothing but families, friends, and their children, but you never know who is lurking in the background. Case in point, River, and her damn stalker. Nothing pleases me more than that asshole being off the streets and six feet deep. Now, I feel like I can protect both my girls better. A vow I will never break. They’re my number one priority.
“I’ll have the same.” If my baby girl likes it, then I like it, too. Whatever she wants today is hers.
“Okay! Two triple scoops of sparkly unicorn ice cream coming right up. That’ll be… $45.56.” I blink several times, computing the amount she fucking said. Is this ice cream made with real gold flakes? What am I missing here? Fuck.
With a grimace, I dig in my pocket, pull out my card, and hand it to Penny as she swipes it. Even though I’ve got millions in the damn bank from working all these years, spending forty-five bucks on scoops of ice cream makes my stomach drop.
I think it’s from all those years of scrounging for food after my dad left. My mother was never stable. Especially the following months after he was gone. We barely survived. Little to no food. Couldn’t pay our damn heat bill. Luckily, power companies won’t shut off the heat in the winter months due to not paying the bill. But when spring came? Yeah, we were out of luck for a few weeks until the church stepped in and helped us pay. Then came the eviction notice from our rental with thirty days to vacate.
“We’ll be homeless,” I mumble, staring down at the paper my mother threw at me with disgust.
A cigarette hangs from her mouth as she sits on the sofa, not doing a damn thing to fix it.
“Don’t worry; I’ve got an idea.” The smirk that lights up her face when she peels herself off the couch and heads upstairs without another word sends chills down my little body.
I’m way too fucking young to have to understand what’s happening. But I know it all too well. Ever since Dennis—since I refuse to call him father—left us without a fucking goodbye, I’ve had to grow up. I’ve watched my mom continually dress herself up, bring men over, and then have a few bucks for McDonald’s. Then, the process starts over again.
“Make yourself scarce, boy,” Gloria says, fluffing up her brown locks. Makeup covers the tired lines and hides all the truths about our situation. “I’ve got company coming. Then, we’ll go out and have some dinner. After that, we’ll stop by and talk to the Aid Office. They’ll have some sort of housing for us. Especially with this,” she says, holding up the eviction notice. I blink several times when she lights up another cigarette and smirks like she’s got it all figured out.
Somehow, my mother finagled her way into the government housing apartments after showing them her eviction notice and bank account. After that, we lived there for a few short years. But those short years were the most stable—and I use that loosely—we had ever been. With a roof over our heads and help with food and power, we never lived without the necessities again. Not to mention, moving into those apartments brought me to my best friend. The love of my damn life. Producing this cute little creature watching Penny behind the counter, furrowing her brows.
“I’m so sorry, Mr. Knight,” she croaks, turning beet red again. “It says it’s declined.” Well. That’s a first. My heart fucking stops. Declined? How the fuck does a bank account with that much money get rejected? Fuck. Just as it’s declined, my phone pings in my pocket as I dig for my wallet again with a sense of dread pulling at my senses.
“Uh, sorry about that. Old card. Just use this one instead.” Thankfully, my financial advisor turned me on to having multiple bank accounts as a just in case, spreading my wealth among the five of them.
Penny loses the tint as my second card goes through, and she smiles, handing it back. “If you’d like to pick out a table, we can bring it right out to you,” she says, gesturing to the sea of small red and white tables lining the shop.
I nod in thanks, taking Lyric’s hand as she searches for the perfect spot to sit.
“Over here, Daddy,” she says, yanking my arm toward the corner of the shop where a little red, sparkly tabletop with two matching chairs sitting across from each other rests.
“Perfect spot, Little Blue.” I grin when she climbs into her seat, swinging her legs with a pleased grin.
“I love this place, Daddy. Can we come here again? They’ve gots my favorite ice cream. I love Unicorn Ice Cream.” She grins bigger when Penny sets our bowls in front of us with a shy grin, turning her entire face red again.
“I…um… Could I get your autograph?” she asks with a nervous breath. Her eyes dart all around as she scratches the back of her neck. “Whispered Words is my favorite band of all time. And—”
“Sure,” I say with a tight smile, trying to remain friendly.
Nothing grinds my gears more than fans interrupting personal time. I get it. They want to meet me. Get my signature. But it’s irritating when Lyric sits across from me, watching our every move. I hate taking time away from my daughter. But I also appreciate my fans. I wouldn’t be here if they didn’t like our music so much. I wouldn’t be able to afford the fifty-dollar ice cream my daughter loves so damn much.
“Kieran, thank you so much!” she squeals, pulling a notepad and a black marker out of her pocket. “This means so much to me. You guys are so friggin good!” She’s breathless by the time all the words spew from her mouth.
“Thanks! Have you been coming to see us play at The KC Club? We’ll be there in two weeks.” As she hovers above me, I quickly sign my name, trying to get a move on so others don’t catch on that I’m handing out autographs.
River let us off the hook this weekend and next, letting us adjust from our trip back home. Next Saturday, we celebrate Lyric in the best way with tons of sparkly ice cream, her friends from school, and rollercoasters galore. Rad’s really gone off the damn deep end with these crazy plans for her. Secretly, I love his enthusiasm. He’s prepared to spend an arm and a leg just to get this crazy birthday party off the ground. He had a point, though. We’ve missed so much; it’s time to make up for our absence.
“Yes-yes!” she stammers, taking the notebook back with trembling fingers. “We saw you guys a few weeks ago. You were amazing. Any plans to go back out on tour?”
I swear to fuck. My heart stops beating, ceasing to pump blood through my body. Tour. If we go on tour, we’ll have to leave Lyric behind for months at a time. There’s no fucking way we could take her and River with us. There wouldn’t be time. It’s nothing but eating, sleeping, and playing music twenty-four-seven.
Fuck.
