More Than Music (30 page)

O
ur special guests arrived just before the show started. Hector embraced his grandmother and his three little sisters, speaking to them in Spanish, while Kyle planted a huge kiss on Alexis. And behind them all stood Julie and Carla, along with my third guest: my mom.

“Mom, you made it!” I said, and ran to her arms. There was nothing like being hugged by your mother. Even if things between us had been weird for a while, it was still the most comforting feeling in the world.

“I can’t wait to see you perform,” she said into my hair. “I’m so proud of you, Madison.”

I’d called her right after I’d rejoined the band, but I hadn’t been sure she would actually come to the show. Getting out of the house was a challenge for her on most days, but she’d flown down to LA to see me, and that was huge for her. Even if she didn’t approve of me playing guitar, she was trying and she was sober, and I was going to do my best to keep things good between us from now on. And maybe, someday, I’d even call my father, too.

Jared stood to the side, the only one who didn’t have any family or friends waiting for him. We’d each been given two tickets for family members, but he’d given his to Hector, while Kyle had given me his spare. Jared’s family—the only people he really cared about anyway—was already here.

Julie gave me a fierce hug and whispered, “I’m glad you decided to fight.”

Carla hugged me next and wished me luck, and then I brought my mom over to meet Jared. “Mom, this is Jared Cross.”

“Ah, yes. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

Jared flashed her his most charming smile. “Only the good things are true, I promise.”

“I’m not sure I believe that,” she said but smiled back. When he went to say hello to Hector’s family, she leaned close and whispered, “He’s very handsome in person.”

I laughed. Yes, yes, he was.

Our guests left to find their seats, and Dan called us over for one last pep talk.

“I know things haven’t been easy these past few weeks, and some of that was my fault. I pressured you too hard to worry about what the producers wanted and about winning votes, and I apologize for that. Your brand and your image are important, but this industry can drag you down and turn you into someone you’re not. Don’t ever lose sight of who you are—both individually and as a band.”

He nodded at each of us in turn, and I knew he was referring to what had happened this week. Dan had never questioned my departure or my return; he’d just accepted it, and I was so grateful to him for that. He’d given us space to work out our issues, and we were stronger because of it.

“You may not be what the producers want, but I know you can win this thing,” he continued. “You’re the most talented, most original band on the show, and the fans love you. And no matter what happens, I’m proud to have been your mentor.”

He hugged each of us and wished us luck and then took his place with the other mentors in front of the stage. Yes, Dan might have given us some bad advice, but he truly cared about us and wanted us to succeed. We’d learned so much from him in the past few weeks, and I was really glad I’d spilled coffee on Angel that day.

The lounge was mostly empty with only three other bands still on the show. While we waited for our turn to go on stage, Jared did his vocal exercises, Hector stretched his neck and shoulders, and Kyle paced back and forth. I flexed my wrists and fingers, trying to loosen myself up a bit. Tonight we’d gone for the full-out rock star look after Dan had pointed out that we were the only true rock band left. Black clothes and boots. Studded belts. Silver jewelry. Leather jackets. And Hector wore his normal Villain Complex hat, of course.

On the screens, we watched Brazen do a Katy Perry cover and Not Too Calm perform their song from the audition, which I barely remembered. Finally, it was our turn with “Behind the Mask.”

When the stage rotated and we were hit with the lights and the roar of the crowd, I didn’t know how I’d ever thought I could give this up. That familiar rush of adrenaline and endorphins swept through me, like a hit of my favorite drug, and I clutched my guitar, ready to begin.

We usually jumped right into our songs when the stage finished turning, since the producers were such crazy sticklers to the schedule, but Hector didn’t start us off. Was there a problem? I turned to look at him and heard Jared speak into his mic.

“Before we start this song, there’s something I need to say.”

I spun around. What was he doing? The producers had a firm no-talking-to-the-audience rule. He was going to get us in trouble. I glanced at Kyle and Hector, but they were both grinning, so I knew they were in on this, too.

“It’s amazing how a single moment can change everything.” Jared smiled at me, a private smile hinting at all the things only the two of us knew. “This next song certainly changed my life.”

The audience cheered, probably thinking of our audition. But from the way he looked at me, I knew he was referring to that moment when he’d caught me playing this song on his guitar, when he’d heard me belt out the lyrics like they were my own. The moment he’d said he’d first started to fall for me.

He pulled the mic from the stand and crossed the stage to face me. “Maddie, all my life, music's been the only thing that’s ever made sense—until I met you. I know I messed up, but I’ll do anything to get you back.” He sank to his knees like he was begging, and the audience screamed, but they hushed when he spoke again. “You’re the only woman in the world for me, and I don’t care who knows it. I want to be with you and only you.” He stopped and took a deep breath, staring up at me. “I love you, Maddie.”

The crowd was silent, waiting for my response, but I was too stunned to speak. I couldn’t believe he’d done this in front of everyone, on live TV. He loved me, and he’d just announced it to the entire world. No more lies. No more secrets. No more sneaking around or acting for the camera. No more watching him flirt with other girls and pretending I didn’t care. Jared had made it possible for us to finally be together, for this thing between us to be real.

“Kiss him!” someone in front of the stage yelled, and I laughed.

I grabbed the collar of his jacket to pull him up to my lips. He wrapped his arms around me, and we kissed under the lights, in front of the crowd and the cameras, in front of the guys and my friends and even my mom.

“I love you, too,” I said while the audience went wild.

Hector snapped his drumsticks, reminding me we were on stage for a reason. Jared moved back to his position, and I scrambled to control my racing heart so I could focus. Jared loved me, and he’d told everyone about us. I couldn’t stop smiling.

We launched into “Behind the Mask,” the same song we’d performed for our audition, but it sounded different now. Jared’s bass playing had gotten much better, thanks to Dan’s help, and I was no longer the terrified, awkward girl on stage. We’d all improved so much in the last few weeks—not just individually, but as a group. We’d learned how to work together as one cohesive unit.

I moved across the stage, letting the song pour out of me and into the guitar, feeling every note and every word deep inside me. And when Jared sang, his face twisting with the emotion behind the words he’d written, the audience sang along, too. I could even see some of the fans, the ones near the stage, swaying and shouting out the lyrics, holding their “Jared + Maddie” signs. The song took on new life, becoming a collaboration between us and the fans, an experience we all shared together. When we hit the bridge and the music went quiet to focus on Jared, the way the fans’ voices echoed through the theater sent shivers down my spine. I joined in again with my guitar, and the rest of the guys rushed back in, and we finished the song even stronger, bolstered by the love from the crowd.

As soon as the stage turned around, Jared grabbed me and lifted me up, kissing me hard, sending flashes of heat throughout my entire body.

He set me back down, and I smiled up at him. “I can’t believe you did that. I thought you would do anything to win, anything to make sure the band succeeds.”

“I changed my mind.” He ran his fingers through my hair, staring into my eyes like he hadn’t seen me in years. “Don’t get me wrong—I still want to win. But after you left, I realized winning the show wasn’t worth losing you. Besides, you were right. I don’t have to be the villain anymore for the band to succeed.”

“You two are disgusting,” Hector said, making gagging noises.

“Seriously, get a room,” Kyle said.

“Oh, I plan on it.” Jared kissed my neck in the spot he knew made me crazy.

Kyle opened his mouth to say something else, but his words died when we heard Fairy Lights start playing. Because they weren’t doing the song they’d been scheduled to perform—they were doing a country version of “Radioactive.”

Lacey had stolen our song.

A
t first, we all stood there and listened, like we weren’t sure what we were hearing. Maybe this was a joke. Maybe they were messing with us, and they would switch to their own song any second now. But when they got to the chorus, we knew this was really happening.

“What’s going on?” I asked. “Is she… Are they….” I couldn’t even finish the sentence. It was too big, too horrible, too unbelievable.

Hector took off his baseball cap and tore at his hair. “Shit, what are we going to do? We can’t do this song now!”

Kyle pulled the crumpled schedule from his pocket. “It says right here they’re supposed to be covering ‘Jesus Take the Wheel’ by Carrie Underwood.”

Jared grabbed the schedule and studied it. “This must be some kind of mistake.”

“How can it be a mistake?” I asked. “They’re doing
our
song! And they’ve clearly been practicing it. Lacey did this on purpose!”

Kyle shook his head. “She couldn’t have done this alone.”

“He’s right,” Jared said. “The producers must be involved with this, too.”

“We need to talk to Dan,” Hector said.

We moved to a spot where we could see the audience while Fairy Lights continued their country version of our cover song. Normally the mentors sat and watched the performances from their chairs, but Dan was standing next to Lissa and arguing with her. We couldn’t hear what he was saying, but judging from his frantic gestures and wild eyes, he was pissed.

The guys left to find one of the producers to ask what was going on, but I waited backstage for Fairy Lights to finish their song. This was the kind of disaster that would have sent the old Maddie running, but no more. I was ready to fight.

When her band finished, I was all ready to go off on Lacey, but before I could, her mother stalked up to her and dragged her off the stage. The woman lightly smacked Lacey on the back of the head, making her wince.

“What was that? That was awful! I’ve trained you better than that!”

“Mama, stop, please,” Lacey said, smoothing her hair. “I did the best I could.”

“The best you could? You were way too pitchy in the chorus. We went over this yesterday. I thought you got it, but clearly we should have rehearsed it more!” When Lacey’s head dropped, the woman grabbed her chin and tilted her head up. “Hey, do you hear me?”

Lacey nodded, and I actually felt bad for her. Dammit.