Fallen for Rock (17 page)

Chapter Twenty-Eight

‘Hey, Mike, look here!’

‘Mike Loud carries his lady over the threshold in reverse… Care to comment?’

‘Mike, Mike! Who’s the girl, and why are you carrying her?’

A barrage of questions greeted us the minute Mike stepped out of the stage door, holding me scooped up in his arms because I was too shaky to walk.

‘Why’s she in pyjamas? That’s a bit unusual, even for you, right?’ A voice that seemed to be right by us flung this bombshell of a question. Another voice caught it and hurled it further.

‘
Especially
for him, I should think. Any comment, Mike?’

Flashlights went off at this last utterance, and Mike lowered his head.

‘Damn it,’ he muttered under his breath. ‘When did they turn up? They weren’t here a couple of minutes ago.’

‘Somebody must have tipped them off,’ Adam suggested. He swiftly stepped next to Mike and put his sturdy bodily frame between Mike and me and the reporters.

‘Nothing to see here, gentlemen. And you know you’re not allowed back here anyway. I suggest you scrap the snaps you’ve taken and buzz off.’

Adam’s voice rang out loud and clear above the excited chatter of the journalists, but the flashlights kept going off regardless.

‘Put your head down and against my chest,’ Mike whispered to me urgently. ‘They’re getting their photos whatever Adam says, but at least you can keep anonymous. Hide your face.’

Obediently, I snuggled my face into his chest and closed my eyes. The noise receded and the flashlights became invisible. I felt ridiculously safe in Mike’s arms, almost like a little girl.

It had seemed a good idea to change into my night gear before tucking up in bed. After all, the plan was for me to rest and possibly sleep, staying where I was through the night while the band performed and joined me aboard the bus to travel onwards. Now, right there, outside and in front of all those media sharks, it seemed stupid. What
would
the press make of this? Part of me quaked, and part of me couldn’t care less.

Taking a few giant strides, Mike reached the tour bus and clambered up the stairs. He had to turn slightly and step up sideways so that we would both fit through the door. Adam followed us and beckoned the driver to close the door as soon as we had boarded.

‘Phew.’ Mike stood still to catch his breath while he set me down as gently as he could. ‘Can you stand up? It’s only a little hop to your bed, look.’

I balanced unsteadily on my feet and stumbled down the narrow aisle toward my customary bunk. Mike had straightened the sheets and plumped the pillows. He had also added additional blankets, ‘for comfort’ as he said, and a washing up bowl sat on the floor level with the pillows.

‘My sick bowl, huh?’ I tried to joke. Mike grimaced.

‘Just in case. At least you only have to hang your head over the side if you need to.’

I sat down on the side of my bunk and made to lift my feet up.

‘Hold it, hold it, let me take your shoes off.’ Mike knelt down and tugged my clogs off my feet.

‘You think of everything. You’ve done this before.’

‘Maybe. Once or twice. Not with concussed fans, though, mostly with drunk musicians.’ He gave a little smile.

‘I’m not concussed. The man said.’

‘I’m no expert, but I beg to differ. Either way, you’re not well. So lie down and be good.’

Adam snorted from behind us but hastily disguised his amusement as a coughing fit. Mike got his meaning anyway.

‘You’ve a dirty mind, Adam,’ he threw over his shoulder.

‘Sorry. But it was funny, coming out of your mouth like that.’

‘Hm. I bet.’ Mike wasn’t placated, but he let it go and turned to me instead. ‘Have you everything you need?’

‘Uh huh,’ I muttered, sounding more feeble than I liked. Mike’s eyes were filled with doubt but before he could argue with me, Adam piped up again.

‘Mike, you need to get a move on.’

‘Okay, okay. Gimme a minute.’ Mike pulled the duvet up to my chin and tucked it gently around me. ‘Try to rest,’ he instructed me. ‘Sleep if you can’t help it. I’m going to ask someone to check on you every hour, all right? And the driver’s going to stay around to make sure the bus is safe. Stupid paparazzi hanging out… You never know what they’ll try next.’ He smiled, but he didn’t fool me. That driver wasn’t staying around to make sure the bus was safe. Still, I didn’t object. It was nice knowing I wasn’t completely alone.

Mike and Adam hurried away, and from the din of voices that rose immediately as they stepped off the bus, I gathered that the reporters were still very much in situ. Well, never mind. I had no intention of showing myself again. I turned on my side and closed my eyes.

‘Emily?’

‘Hm.’

‘You awake?’

The unfamiliar voice persisted, and I grunted.

‘Emily, look at me.’

‘Hm.’ I grunted some more, but turned to look at whoever was speaking to me. It wasn’t a face I recognised.

‘Do you need anything? Water? Anything to eat?’

‘Nh-huh.’

‘Okay. I’ll check back on you later.’

The man straightened up, and I watched his legs walk down the aisle. It was dark in the bus now, I noted, and I wondered what the time was. I longed to check, but my watch didn’t have a luminous display, and my mobile was in my handbag, which was with Mike’s stuff in the green room. I hoped he would remember to bring it. I tried to make a mental note to remind him, but I fell asleep mid-thought.

‘Emily?’

That same voice was back. I groaned. ‘Hi.’

‘You okay? Need anything?’

‘Nh-nhh. Didn’t you just ask me that?’ My voice sounded scratchy and drowsy, and I swallowed hard.

‘Hm.’ The voice chuckled. ‘That depends on your perspective. Last time I checked on you was three hours ago.’

Three hours?

‘The band is doing the encore. I’d say it’s about an hour until we leave. You sure you don’t want anything? Water? Cup of tea? Painkillers?’

‘Um.’ I cleared my throat and licked my lips. ‘Actually, water would be good. And I think I was supposed to take some more painkillers.’

‘Okay, good. I got them right here. And some water too.’ He proffered a cup with one hand, and two white pills with the other. I took the pills and popped them in my mouth, taking a careful sip of water.

‘Great. That’s good,’ he encouraged me.

I laughed weakly. ‘You’ve missed your vocation. You should be a nurse.’

‘Not really my calling, but I do have two little girls at home. I can be quite good at the whole nursing patients thing.’ He smiled. ‘I’ll tell Mike you had your medicine. You feeling any better?’

‘I…I don’t know. ‘Bout the same, I think.’

‘That’s good. At least you’re not feeling worse.’ A pager went off, and he shut it up impatiently. ‘I’ve got to go, okay?’

‘Okay.’

Next time I woke, it was because my bunk started vibrating. I lay quietly for a moment, wondering what was going on. After a moment, I realised that the driver had started the engine. The bus was still deserted, but I guessed departure was imminent. I should have been excited, but I was too sleepy to care. It was as though I was catching up on a lifetime of sleep. The steady humming faded in and out of my consciousness as I let myself drop off again.

‘Shhh. She’s asleep.’

‘Do you need to wake her?’

‘Dunno. Do you think I should?’

‘Marv said she was fine last time he checked on her.’

‘Maybe best let her sleep.’

Mike’s and Adam’s hushed voices seemed to come from a long way away. I debated saying something but on balance, it didn’t seem worth the effort. I was feeling nicely mellow and relaxed, the pain had receded, the nausea was gone, and I simply wanted to sleep some more.

After a moment’s silence, the two men walked away from my bunk right as the bus started moving.

A cool hand rested briefly against my forehead, stroked the side of my face, and lightly touched my nose.

‘Night, Emily.’

‘Night, Mike,’ I mumbled back softly. Too softly, probably, because he didn’t say anything further but clambered up the steps to his bunk instead. I could hear muffled talking and laughing at the back of the bus and wondered who was still up. The bunk above me creaked softly as Mike lay down and shifted his weight. I felt content in my dark and rocking bunk, knowing we were on the road and that Mike was safe above me. At last sleep wrapped me in his quiet arms once again.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

‘How are you feeling?’ Mike looked at me over his steaming mug of tea with big, anxious eyes, and I smiled.

‘Fine. I’m fine. Really.’

It was true. Whilst I had slept fitfully to begin with, once Mike had settled into his bunk, I had fallen into a deep and dreamless sleep without further interruptions, and I had woken that morning feeling absolutely fine. No headache, no nausea, and only a small bump to show for yesterday’s mishap.

Mike seemed to be reading my mind. He reached out a hand and touched my forehead lightly. ‘You have a big bruise,’ he declared.

‘Is that so?’ I shrugged. ‘Well, it doesn’t hurt anymore.’ I buttered another slice of toast and ate ravenously. We were having breakfast in a coffee shop round the corner from The Hall in Bristol. It was eleven a.m., and the bus had rolled into the venue car park only twenty minutes ago, having left Liverpool at two in the morning. Apparently, I had slept right through a layover stop at a service station somewhere near Worcester.

‘The rock star lifestyle is crazy,’ I mused out loud, changing the subject. ‘Wouldn’t it have been more restful for you all to stay overnight in Liverpool and drive down in the morning? It’s only a few hours after all, especially if you cut out the layover.’

‘That may be, but…’ Mike shrugged. ‘We have an appearance at the commercial radio station at noon, and another one at the Beeb at one-thirty, and after that, Adam has arranged for us to show up at a flourishing indie record shop for a signing event.’ He grinned. ‘We haven’t done many of those, what with record shops shutting down everywhere, so this should be fun. If anyone turns up, that is.’

I laughed out loud. ‘Of course they will. You’re seriously hot.’

‘Hmmm. Let’s hope so. Nothing more embarrassing than turning up somewhere to no audience. At least you’ll be there, right?’

‘Actually…’ I folded a napkin in half, unfolded it, and crumpled it up. I swallowed hard. ‘Actually, no. I’m going to be heading home.’

There. I had said it. Mike looked up as though I had slapped him.

‘But you were going to stick around until after Sheffield, at least.’

‘I was. I…um…’ I lifted my shoulders helplessly. ‘I shouldn’t be here. Things are difficult enough for you as it is.’

‘Emily.’ Mike reached out and took my hand. ‘Please don’t go. I’ll feel lost without you.’ He shifted awkwardly in his seat while he uttered those unexpected words. My heart constricted with sympathy. I really, really liked Mike. I was touched that he should like me back. I didn’t like the feeling of leaving a new friend in the lurch one tiny bit, yet I knew I had to go.

‘Mike.’ I squeezed his hand and summoned my cheeriest voice. ‘You don’t need me here. You need me about as much as a rash on the back of your hand or a bad bout of laryngitis. I’m in the way.’

‘You’re not.’

‘But I am. Can’t you see? Things are already tricky for you. The band is divided. And me being here, it makes the divide bigger, it—’

‘Does not!’ Mike objected vehemently. ‘You have nothing to do with any of our fights.’

‘Probably not,’ I concurred. ‘And yet you’re here with me, while the rest of the band is somewhere else. That’s not right. And it’s not helping. You need to go and mend some bridges.’

‘I don’t wanna. Why should it be me making amends?’ Mike grimaced and looked hurt.

‘I wasn’t implying that it was your fault.’ I squeezed his hands a little harder. ‘But if MonX is supposed to keep going, someone is going to have to take the first step at sorting out that mess you’re in. And whoever it is, whether you or someone else, they can’t do it if you’re not there. At the moment, you’re making yourself really vulnerable by being away from everyone. Can’t you see?’

I forced away some unexpected tears. ‘Being with me sets you apart. I’m being divisive whether I want it or not, whether
you
want it or not. You’ve got to go and fix what you have there. It would be a crime if you didn’t.’

Mike cocked his head and raised his eyebrows. ‘My, that’s quite a speech from someone who didn’t even really know us a few days ago.’

I grinned. ‘I know. You could say I’ve properly fallen for rock, and it’s all MonX’s fault. You’ve opened my ears and my eyes. Now don’t take all of that away from me again just when I’m getting in the groove.’

Mike’s mouth lifted into a lopsided smile. God, how I loved the cute little dimple on his right cheek. I resisted the urge to touch it.

‘So what are you saying?’

‘I’m saying nothing. I’m saying, I’m going to go home, and you’re going to keep making music.’

‘And?’

‘And what?’

‘I dunno. You tell me. There’s an “and” there, I can feel it.’

Damn him and his perceptive nature. It simply wasn’t natural for a man.

‘And maybe, one day, we can do this again. You know, the tour thing. The…um…’

‘Sex.’

‘Shh.’ I ducked instinctively as though trying to hide but actually, the coffee shop was deserted, and there was nobody there to hear us. I straightened up again.

‘Yes. That too.’

‘It was good, wasn’t it?’

I rolled my eyes in a comical gesture. ‘You know it was.’

‘I know. But I wanted to hear you say it.’

‘Oh, go on then. Yes, the sex was good. Great. The best. There, is that better?’

‘Much.’ He grinned broadly for a short moment, but quickly his eyes dulled again. ‘So you’re really going?’

I chewed my lower lip. ‘Uh-huh. I think it’s better that way. But thank you. You know, for everything.’ I patted my hair and tugged at my lacy vest top. ‘I’m not quite the same Emily that came to the gig on Saturday night, and I think I like the new Emily a lot.’

‘A brand new rock chick.’ Mike sipped at his tea again, but I could see his smile anyway.

‘Well, maybe. Not quite. I’m not in the same league as Laura.’ Mike looked at me blankly, so I felt compelled to elaborate. ‘You remember, Jake’s lady. After London.’

‘Oh, right. Yes.’ His eyes sparked with recognition. ‘No, not quite in her league, I agree. But then you wouldn’t be you anymore.’

‘No, I suppose I wouldn’t. But anyway. There it is.’ My eyes caught on the large clock hanging above the coffee shop counter, and I gasped. ‘It’s twenty to twelve. You’ve got to be someplace, don’t you? I think you’d better get a move on.’

Mike half turned to confirm the time. His face fell as he stood up. ‘I guess this is it.’

‘Good luck, Mike.’ I stood, too, and Mike wrapped me in a brief hug. ‘Take care of you.’

‘And you too.’

‘I’ll be following you, you know. MonX, I mean. On Twitter. And Facebook.’

‘That’ll be nice,’ Mike replied. ‘You won’t miss out on any news.’

‘No, I won’t. Um. Okay. Bye, then.’ I grabbed my carrier bags from under the table and chuckled. ‘I’ve turned into a bag lady. Gosh, if my workmates could see me now, they’d fall over laughing.’

Mike regarded my luggage and burst out laughing too. ‘You’ll have to bring a little suitcase next time. Or a dinky lady’s rucksack, at least.’

‘I’ll do that.’

We faced each other awkwardly for a moment. It was strange, saying goodbye like this. Even though I didn’t really know this man, our time together had been eventful and intense, and I was as choked up as I would be saying farewell to my closest friend.

‘Bye, Emily.’

‘Bye, Mike.’

I lifted my carriers and squared my shoulders. With a fixed smile, I left the coffee shop and walked along the busy main road. After a few moments, I turned to walk backwards, not to catch a last glimpse of Mike, but to face the oncoming traffic in hopes of flagging down a taxi. However, I got a glimpse of him anyway. He was watching me walk away and turned right when I looked back. He hurried up Colston Street towards The Hall, and that was the last I saw of him.

At that moment, a taxi pulled up by my side in response to my raised arm, and I snapped to.

‘Temple Meads train station, please,’ I instructed the driver while I hurled myself into the back seat. Momentarily, my vision blurred, and I wondered whether I had concussed myself the previous day after all. I sat quietly, waiting for the sensation to pass, but it wasn’t until tears dripped from my face onto my hands that I noticed I was, in fact, crying.