Brooklyn & Beale (12 page)

Reid side-eyed Greer before shaking his head. “Round her up and get out there. And remember to loop the intro until I jump in with the lyrics.”

With a nod, the guys took off toward Chloe, the three of them disappearing to the stage moments later. The chant of the crowd erupted into screams and whistles. A nervous smile broke across Reid’s face and his body shook with adrenaline and nerves. He wasn’t sure why, but something felt different. The anticipation causing his heart to spike was a feeling he thought was long gone. Swept away with bad decisions and their consequences. As he moved toward the stage, he pulled in a deep breath and tucked his hair behind his ears. When the opening chords of “Have You Ever Seen the Rain” flooded the venue, Reid felt like he could fly.

Relaxed and full of swagger, Reid took slow, lazy strides to center stage. Soft and easy, Drew, Greer, and Chloe played the melody on a loop as Reid adjusted his guitar.

“So tonight, I’m going to close the show a little different.” When the screams intensified, Reid dropped his chin and smiled shyly. It only caused the roar to grow. Shaking his head, he peeked at the crowd. “I’ve played in a lot of cities. I’ve finished shows with a lot of different songs, but never one that wasn’t mine. Until tonight, that is. You see,” he said, taking a step back and turning toward Chloe. “A beautiful, talented violinist . . . we’ll call her Starburst,” he chuckled. “She hijacked my rehearsals earlier today with an amazing remake of one of my all-time favorite songs. It completely blew me away. So I figured, maybe I should play it tonight. See what the fans have to say.”

Reid grinned at the dirty look Chloe gave him. “I think she might be upset with me for putting her on the spot.” He moved to her side and leaned into her so that when she spoke her voice would carry through the mic on his headset. “Are you upset with me, Chloe?”

“I thought we were talking about someone named Starburst,” she snarked with an eye-roll, causing laughter to erupt from the audience.

“Right. Of course.” Reid winked and turned toward the sea of people. “What do you say, guys? When you get home later tonight, will you send your tweets and Facebook comments about how fucking awesome this song was?”

With the crowd’s roar of agreement, Reid jumped into the opening verse. With each word, each note, the feeling of euphoria took him higher and higher until he felt like he was floating above the stage. It was a high he’d only experienced with drugs. It was both exhilarating and terrifying. It was that feeling of fear that caused something to shift. Another layer of potential additions to Chloe’s rewrite began to trickle in, slowly at first, then all at once. In his mind, newly formed chords and rhythms burned behind his eyes.

He wanted to scream. He wanted to tell the past year to go fuck itself. But most of all, he wanted to put pen to paper so he didn’t forget a single note. The pull was almost unbearable. It wasn’t until the sweet smell of lavender invaded his senses that he realized he had moved directly beside Chloe. For a brief moment, he wondered if the pull had more to do with her than his desire to put his thoughts down. When their eyes locked, she smiled. The silver of her lip and nose rings glinted from the bright, flashing lights. He couldn’t take his eyes away. He wasn’t sure how she did it, but somehow she’d found a way to chip away at the wall standing between him and his music.

When the final notes of the song faded and the lights dimmed, Reid didn’t hesitate when he wrapped his arms around her and lifted her from the floor. He spun her around, happiness making his skin feel as though it were on fire.

“Thank you,” he whispered, his nose pressed against her hair. “Thank you so fucking much.”

Chloe dropped her cheek to his chest and returned his embrace, the pair smiling and giddy from the manic applause. “You’re welcome.”

The din of excited voices filled the small room backstage. Reid smiled for pictures and signed autographs. It was a familiar scene, normal; it was the same as always. For Reid, however, everything was different. He was different. The sheet of paper in his front pocket covered in messy notes was proof of that. Proof of the spark Chloe had ignited. His fingers itched to pull it out and look at it, add to it, see that it was real. He’d only had minutes to grab the paper from his dressing room and scribble down his notes before he was due for the meet-and-greet with fans.

Reid fidgeted with the Sharpie he held as he waited for the next fan in line. Uncomfortable with the girl’s desperate attempts to make eye contact, he kept his gaze down, focusing instead on the lines of his jeans.

“You were great tonight! Even better than the last time you were here!”

Reid jumped in surprise and turned his attention to the girl in front of him. “Thanks. Do you have something for me to sign?”

The girl giggled and leaned forward, her eyes glassy and her smile too wide. “I do, but I was hoping you could do it later. In private.”

Reid chuckled in an attempt to hide his discomfort. “I’m afraid that won’t be possible tonight, sweetheart.”

“Are you sure? We had an amazing time at an after party last time you were here. I even got my cousin to score some killer snow just for you.”

Reid stiffened and his stomach dropped. The room was suddenly unbearably hot. Using his shirtsleeve, he wiped the perspiration from his forehead before scanning the room for the closest exit. No one had moved, but he felt like everyone was closer, their sweat-covered bodies reeking of alcohol. He felt caged. Cornered.

Trying to regain his composure, he took a moment to study her face, to remember her name. It was pointless. To him, she was a stranger. It was clear, however, that she remembered him quite well, or at least the guy he used to be. With a small shake of his head, he forced a smile.

“Thanks for the offer, but I’m afraid I’ll have to pass.”

A look of disappointment crossed her face. “You must not remember much about last time, then. I can’t decide if I should be offended or feel sorry for you. That was a night I’ll never forget.”

Reid looked away and shrugged. There were a lot of things he didn’t remember about the last tour, and for the most part, he was grateful.

“Time’s up,” a bouncer announced, moving to Reid’s side. “You need to move along, miss.”

The girl scowled at the bouncer before turning her attention to Reid once more. “If you change your mind . . .” She trailed off, dropping a folded piece of paper on the stool next to him before reluctantly walking away.

“Thanks,” Reid exhaled.

“No problem. Blondie over there thought you might need a hand. I’ll stay close until you’re finished unless you tell me otherwise.”

Reid turned to where the bouncer pointed, his shoulders relaxing when he locked eyes with Chloe. “Thanks,” he mouthed.

She smirked and lifted her hand to her mouth before blowing her nails and brushing them against her shoulder. Reid huffed out a laugh and rolled his eyes, but it was exactly the distraction he needed. All he had to do was make it through the next hour, then he could escape to his room and the music flowing through his mind.

Time dragged. Reid became more and more anxious with each passing second. The girl from earlier seemed to be everywhere he looked. When Tom finally stepped beside him and announced it was time to go, Reid’s entire body sagged with relief.

“I didn’t think tonight would ever end,” Reid said, standing from the stool and stretching his arms overhead.

“You okay, man? You seemed okay earlier, but when I looked over here a little bit ago, you looked like you’d seen a ghost.”

Reid pushed his hands into his hair and gripped it tightly. “I’m just tired.” A small smile crossed his face and his hands fell to his sides as he thought about his breakthrough. “Something really amazing happened earlier. When we were playing the last song—” His words ended abruptly when loud laughter caught his attention. Across the room, Greer, Drew, and a few other guys stood against the wall, smiling and laughing with a petite blonde. Reid didn’t need to see her face to know it was the same girl who approached him earlier. Greer smiled at the girl and pushed off the wall before throwing his arm over her shoulders and walking toward the door. Transfixed, Reid couldn’t look away. His mouth became dry and his body rigid. He knew exactly what his bandmates were about to do, and for a fleeting moment, he felt nothing but white-hot jealousy. When Greer looked over his shoulder and caught Reid’s stare, he threw his hand in the air and waved before disappearing down the darkened hall.

“What was that?” Tom asked, looking from Reid to the empty doorway.

Reid clenched his jaw. “Nothing. Not a fucking thing.” Not wanting to deal with more questions, Reid grabbed his stuff. “I’m taking the car service back to the hotel. I’ll see you in the morning.” Without waiting for a response, Reid disappeared down the hall and to the back door where a pair of bouncers stood waiting.

“Is there a car out back?”

“Yes, sir,” a bouncer responded while turning to open the door. The area was blocked off from the public, but fans still lined the barricades, their voices rising when Reid stepped into the cool night air. They begged for autographs, for pictures, but Reid could only focus on putting one foot in front of the other. He didn’t even lift his head as he darted from the venue into the back of the waiting car.

The anger he felt was irrational—on some level he knew that. For the past month, Drew and Greer had kept a low profile. Instead of going out partying after the shows and then stumbling into rehearsals hungover, they’d returned to the hotel with the rest of the crew. Reid knew it was only a matter of time before they let loose. And with no show the following day, he had no reason to be angry. But he was. Angry and, if he was being honest, a little bit jealous. A lot jealous.

Once inside his hotel room, he tried to calm the feeling brewing in the pit of his stomach. He paced the length of the room and gripped his hair. Beads of sweat dotted his forehead as the feelings intensified into a hollow ache in his abdomen. Reid didn’t question the cause of the pain. He knew the symptoms all too well. It was want, need; it was a craving for something that nearly destroyed his life. He grabbed the back of his shirt and yanked it off, exposing the colorful ink covering most of his body. Angry figures towered over broken hearts, each image conveying an emotion, a memory, a puzzle piece of his journey. Of all that he’d had and all that he’d lost. He swept his thumb over his forearm, his eyes drawn to the tattoo of a heart being strangled by a noose made from a horse’s mane. It reminded him that not all things stayed lost forever.

He pulled his phone from his pocket, completely disregarding the sheet of paper that fell to the floor. Each ring felt like an eternity as he waited for Jess to answer. When her voice came across the line, he let the full weight of his emotions push him to the floor.

“Reid.”

“God, Jess,” he choked. “It’s so fucking good to hear your voice.”

“Reid? What’s wrong? Did something happen? You don’t sound right.” The panic in her voice was clear, but unlike the times before, it didn’t calm the storm building inside him.

He leaned against the foot of the bed and propped his elbows on his knees. His legs bounced and his skin crawled with anxiety. “I’m having a really hard time tonight, Jess. Drew and Greer went out and I know what they’re doing and I—” He couldn’t finish the sentence. He couldn’t admit that, more than anything, he wanted to feel the bitter rush of invincibility burn his nose and numb his mind. Guilt ate at him for not telling her about the last time. When he’d tasted the poison for the first time since the night everything changed. A part of him was angry that he’d flushed it down the toilet. That was the part of him he worried about the most.

“Reid, are you there?”

He started at the sound of Jess’s voice. “Yeah.” He cleared his throat and shifted his weight. “Yeah, I’m here.”

“You shouldn’t be alone right now. Where are you?”

“I’m at the hotel. In my room.”

“Where’s Tom? Can you call him?”

Reid dropped his eyes to the floor. “I can’t call him. He’ll know.”

“So what if he does?” she snapped. “This isn’t about your pride, this is about your life. He’s your friend. You know he won’t judge you.”

“I . . . I think I’m okay now. I just needed to hear your voice.” The sentiment was nice, untrue as it was.

“You really don’t expect me to believe that, do you?” she asked softly, her voice chastising but caring.

“I wish you were here.”

“So do I, but you know that’s not possible right now. If you want, I’ll stay on the phone with you all night, but I don’t think that’s what you need.”

“You’re all I need,” he breathed, hating himself for knowing it wasn’t true.

“Liar,” she retorted with a small laugh. “It’s too easy for you to get lost in your head just talking on the phone. You need someone who can see when you’re not paying attention.”

Reid knew she was right. Already he’d wondered how long it would take to find the guys the moment he hung up. He extended his leg, the folded sheet of paper that had fallen from his pocket catching his eye. “I wrote music tonight,” he mumbled, mostly to himself.

“You did what?” Jess gasped.

“Not anything new. Well, it’s new, but not mine.” Reid groaned and leaned forward to grab the paper. “We did a cover tonight. A song that Chloe added layers to. While we were playing, I had all these ideas hit me. It was a feeling I never thought I’d experience again.”

Jess pulled in a deep breath then exhaled heavily. “If you don’t want to go to Tom, why don’t you find Chloe? Maybe you two can work on the song together.”

He shook his head. “I don’t know if I can now. I don’t know if my head’s in it.”

“Well, there’s only one way to find out. Did Chloe go with Greer?”

“No,” Reid answered, his voice biting. He wasn’t sure why, but the idea of Chloe out with Greer caused Reid’s anger to surge.

Jess was silent for a moment before she sighed. “It doesn’t sound like things between them are moving in the direction you thought. I guess, in this case, that’s a good thing. If you won’t go to Tom, go find Chloe. Tell her you want to work on the song. I’ll worry about you every second if you don’t. Please, do it for me.”

Reid exhaled, and when he spoke, his voice was soft, apologetic. “You’ve always known how to get me to do what you want.”

“Not always,” Jess murmured. “But I’m getting better at it.” The smile in her voice was evident. “I have about an hour left of work then I’m heading to my parents’ for dinner. If you need to talk, please call me.”

“Okay.”

“I love you.”

“You too,” he whispered.

Chloe sighed as she flipped through the channels. She wasn’t in the mood to watch television, but she wasn’t tired either. When Inky had invited her out for drinks, she’d said no, but for the life of her she couldn’t remember why. Well, that wasn’t entirely true; she had a pretty good idea why her automatic response had been no.

Reid.

Unease gnawed at Chloe when she thought about his reaction to the girl backstage. His entire demeanor shifted, the tension radiating from him intensifying as the night wore on. When Greer and Drew left with her, Reid looked ready to snap. The guys had invited her to tag along, but after Reid’s initial reaction to the girl, Chloe thought it would be best to stay clear of that situation. The way he stormed out of the room once everyone was gone told her she’d made the right decision.

Now, however, sitting alone in her room, she felt nothing but restless. With a groan, she flipped off the television and swung her legs off the bed. If nothing else, she could work on the cover song they closed the show with tonight. Her thoughts drifted to how he’d reacted when the song ended. How he’d wrapped her in his arms and swung her in the air like she was light as a feather. The memory caused a flutter in her abdomen. She could almost feel the warmth of his body when he’d wrapped himself around her and whispered into her ear. Her eyes fell shut and goose bumps covered her arms. He’d smelled so good, like cedar and leather. Musk and man.