Night Shifts Black (22 page)

“Kevin
Ramerson?”

“Cartwright’s
embarrassingly inferior version of Luke Craven. We toured with them four years
ago. Never again.”

“Not
on good terms I guess?”

“Yeah
right. Know what that bastard posted for Luke after Elena? ‘Karma, Bitch.’”

“What???
No!!”

“Yeah…exactly.
Total dick.”

“Wow.
Well, I’m sorry. I wasn’t trying to make you cry. My point was that I love All
Hands.”

“ha
I know. Luke and I actually wrote All Hands in a single afternoon. We’d just
gotten back from our Desperate Times tour and swore we weren’t going to pick up
a guitar for a week and then bam, we had our next hit. It’s one of my faves
too. You know it almost didn’t make the album.”

“Really??
How’s that possible!”

“The
Label thought it was too much of a departure from the other tracks. Didn’t fit.”

“You
mean, it sounded too much like a Cartwright song.”

“Shut
up. I hate you.”

And I miss him so much
right then I start counting the hours until morning.

Day
Twenty (Monday).

I keep my promise to Casey and grab some
bagels on my way in the next day. I’m in such a good mood I even wave to Mara
on my journey through the lobby. She’s not sure what to do with that and
returns some kind of strange hand swipe. Aidan is more accommodating and mirrors
my grin.

“Morning, miss,” he
says.

“Morning, Aidan. And
it’s Callie.”

“Miss Callie.”

“No, just Callie.”

He smiles. “Fourth
floor?”

I nod. “Yes, please.”

“Those for Mr. Craven
and Mr. Barrett?”

I glance at my box and
nod. “Promised I’d bring breakfast this morning. You want one?”

He seems surprised by
the offer and shakes his head. “Thank you, but I can’t eat on duty. Only on my
breaks.”

“Got it. Well, have a
great day. Thanks!” I hand him his tip and take off down the hall. I’d whistle
as I walk if it wasn’t nine in the morning and I actually was a decent whistler,
which I’m not.

Instead, I stop before
the door, suddenly shy. After my interaction with Casey, I’m not sure what to
expect, how to act when we see each other again. We’d flirted before, but not
like that.

He probably does it
all the time, I tell myself, and decide not to take it too seriously. I let
myself in and breathe a sigh of relief when Casey glances over at my entrance,
a huge smile lighting up his face.

“You came back.”

“And brought food as
commanded.”

“Good, I’m starving.”

He joins me at the
island, and I lay out my offerings. “I got a few kinds of cream cheese. I
wasn’t sure what you liked.”

“Plain.”

“Got that.”

I hand him the tub,
along with a plastic knife they gave me at the bakery.

“How’s Luke?” I ask, as
he sets to work on his bagel.

His smile fades, and I
sigh.

“Uh-oh,” I say, and he
nods.

“Yeah. It wasn’t a
good night. I didn’t want you to worry so I didn’t say anything, but remember
that thing you told me about with the chair?”

I nod, my stomach
dropping.

“Well, it hit last night.
Freakin’ blew up. I’ve been on the phone since six this morning with TJ, the
lawyers, the Label PR people. What a mess.”

I shake my head. “I
was afraid of this. What are they saying?”

He grunts. “All
bullshit. You know how it goes. No one actually knows anything so they all put
their own ‘hypothetical’ spin on it, which then becomes fact. You should hear
some of the stuff they’re saying. Totally crazy.”

I’m not hungry now,
and poke my own bagel as my mind wanders. “What kinds of things?”

Casey shrugs, and I
can see the righteous anger seeping into his face. “Stupid stuff. That he was
high. That he got in a dispute over a bill. Oh, and you’ll love this. You’re in
the story now, too.”

My heart stops. “I
am?”

He nods. “Yeah, pretty
much the main story, actually.” He studies me, and I can see the concern in his
face. “Just a heads up. Anyone you’ve ever known, like, ever, is going to be
trying to contact you within the week. Better turn your phone off and plan to
stay hidden.”

I suck in my breath.
“Contact me? Why?”

He shrugs. “Hey, just
a warning. Trust me, when people think you’re worth something to them, you will
suddenly be their top priority.”

“Worth something?” I
shake my head. “What are you talking about? What are people saying?”

He studies me for a
moment, and I can’t breathe. It’s bad. I can tell.

“Honestly, Callie, the
main story coming out of it all is that you’re Luke’s new mystery girl.”

I let out my breath in
almost a snort. “What? That’s crazy!”

He shrugs. “The
restaurant witnesses all say you were seen together eating breakfast almost
every day. No one seems to know you, and Luke doesn’t talk to anyone anymore,
so there’s no one to counter the story. Not to mention, if they do any
investigating, and they will, they’ll learn you practically live with him now.”

“So do you!” I cry.

He grins. “Maybe the
three of us have something going. Lucky girl.”

I shake my head in
disbelief. “That’s insane.”

He shrugs. “That’s the
media. It doesn’t exist if there are no stories, so they have to make them
exist.”

“But it’s not even
true! It’s all just speculation!”

“Yep. Welcome to
celebrity life.”

I grunt. “Well, I
guess it could be worse for me than people mistakenly thinking I’m the
girlfriend of Luke Craven.”

“True. For now.”

My eyes narrow. “What
do you mean?”

He softens, and I can
see that he truly wants to help me. He’s genuinely worried about us.

“They’re going to
figure out who you are Callie and then it all comes out. Everything, believe
me. There are no secrets in our world. We know they’re going to talk, so our
best bet is to master the art of steering the conversation.”

My eyes widen. “Is
that why you freaked out about the chair and wanted more information? You
wanted to try to initiate damage control before word got out?”

He looks away. “Don’t
blame yourself. There’s no guarantee there’s anything I could have done. I
might have done more damage to Luke by badgering him at that moment than a few
stupid rumors like this will do. This chair thing isn’t a huge story. It’ll
probably blow over.”

He quiets, and I
suspect there’s more.

“Ok, but?” I press,
eyeing him from across the counter.

He sighs and studies
me. “You’re the much bigger story, Callie. Believe me, the people are going to
be much more interested in Luke’s rebound girl after his wife’s highly
publicized suicide than some stupid diner chair.”

I almost choke. “But
I’m not his girlfriend!”

Casey shrugs. “Ok. So
prove it. Who are you? How are you going to explain your relationship then?”

“I don’t know, but
this isn’t fair! I don’t care about myself, but he shouldn’t have to deal with
this.”

Casey nods and is
silent for a moment. I know I’ve just hit on something significant. Finally, he
looks up at me, his eyes searching mine. “This is our lives, Callie. This is
the risk we take every day. Every place we go, person we talk to, thing we do,
could come back and bite us in the ass. Everything. We never know what or when.
Things you do every second of every day without thinking could destroy us if
the right people say the wrong things. A receipt falls out of your pocket walking
to your car, and next thing you know you’re a litterer who hates the
environment and wants to murder all the baby seals.”

I take a deep breath
and drop to the stool beside him. “So what do I do? How can I help?”

“We’re working on
that. I explained the whole situation, everything, to our people, and they’re
going to put together a response,” Casey says. He takes my hand. “Hey, it’s
going to be ok. I promise.” He squeezes, and I lean into him. He wraps his arms
around me and kisses my hair.

“It would so much
better if they just thought I was your girlfriend instead,” I mutter before
thinking better of it. I immediately gasp and pull back. “I’m sorry! I didn’t…I
meant…for Luke’s sake.”

He’s not smiling this
time, just studying me again, and I can’t breathe. I’m such an idiot! I cover
my face, completely mortified.

“I’m sorry. I…I should
go check on Luke,” I manage, attempting my breakaway.

He grabs my arm to
stop my retreat and forces me to face him. His face is inches away from mine,
his eyes searching, so deep. So beautiful.

“You don’t actually
want that, do you? I mean, do you have any idea how hard it would be to date someone
like me?”

Actually, yes, I do have
an idea. I also know how hard it would be not to date him after everything I’ve
come to learn and love about him. But I don’t say any of that. In fact, no
words seem to come out at all.

He looks away. “I’m
sorry, Callie. I know you didn’t mean it like that. I just wanted to make sure…I
mean, even if I really liked you, and I do…I wouldn’t be able to live with
myself if I hurt you and I’m afraid I would.”

I nod. Numb. Then,
completely heartbroken.

“Yeah, of course,” I
reply as casually as possible. But there are tears close to the words. I’m
afraid he can hear them as the weak syllables come out. “Um…Yeah, I should go.
I…”

I pull away, and he
lets me go this time. As I head toward Luke’s room, I’m almost sure I can hear
him curse.

∞∞∞

I find Luke in his room. I had checked the
office first and was relieved that at least he wasn’t with the chair. I try my
best to brush off my fiasco with Casey, determining to sort through that later,
and focus on being strong for Luke. He’s the one who needs me. Casey’s proven
I’m nothing more to him than a temporary distraction. I grimace. I know that’s
not remotely fair, but I’m hurt and irrational at the moment.

“Hey,” I say, moving
into the room.

He’s propped up in his
bed watching some spy thriller. His eyes are red, his hair’s a mess, and I
wonder when he last slept.

“Hey. Casey said you
went home last night.”

I nod. “Just to get
some stuff and take care of errands. Still have rent and laundry,” I explain
with a forced smile.

He returns a fake,
polite one of his own, and I sigh. I can’t do this. Not now. Not after what
just happened with Casey.

“Move over,” I command,
pushing him to his left so I can settle in beside him.

“You hear what
happened? What they’re saying?” he asks. He seems concerned, certainly
apologetic, and I find it funny that we’re both more worried about each other
than we are about ourselves.

“I did. Girlfriend of
the great chair thief, Luke Craven. I’ve been called worse.”

He smiles over at me,
and I hate how exhausted he looks. He’s tired of life. I can see it in his
expression, his manner, every pore of his existence, and it terrifies me.

“Yeah. I’m sorry about
that. They’ll fix it, though. They always do. Casey’s working on it.”

I nearly flinch.
Strange how I counted the seconds until I could see him this morning, and now I
can’t even stand to hear his name.

“I’m not worried. More
concerned about you. You ok?” I ask.

He shrugs. “I’ve been
called worse,” he repeats with a smile.

I laugh and take his
arm, leaning against his shoulder. “We’re gonna be ok, Luke. You know that,
right?” I say.

He nods, but I’m
pretty sure it’s for my benefit, not his. He stopped believing that a long time
ago.

“Watch some TV with
me?” he asks, and I smile, squeezing his arm.

“Of course.”

He lifts the remote
and resumes the movie.

∞∞∞

It’s a good two hours before I finally venture
back to the main room. Casey is gone, and I’m strangely relieved and
disappointed at the same time. I grab a bagel for Luke and am about to return
to his room when the main door clatters. Casey turns the corner, dressed in
workout clothes, a towel slung over his shoulder.

“Hit the gym?” I ask
as nonchalantly as possible.

“Had to work off some
steam,” he replies with a weak smile.

I nod. “Ok. Well,
we’re watching spy movies in the back.” I start walking again.

“Callie, wait!
Please.”

I stop and turn to
him, my heart racing, but doing everything I can not to let it show.

“I’m sorry about
earlier. I just need you to understand that it’s not you. Please know that.”

“Yeah. It’s not you,
it’s me. Got it,” I reply, turning again.

“Stop! Will you just
stop?” he pleads, grabbing my arm. He pulls me toward him, and I’m almost angry
that he looks like he’s about to kiss me again. I yank my arm away and take a
step back.

“What is your problem,
Casey? What do you want from me? You want to fool around for a bit before you
head back on tour with your real model girlfriends? I’m not interested in that,
ok? I was pretty sure you were smart enough to pick up on that.”

His face falls. I can
see I’m hurting him but I don’t understand how. It was his choice, not mine.
It’s his life keeping us apart.

“It’s not like that,
Callie. I…I don’t know how to explain it. I just don’t want to hurt you. I’m
afraid I’m not what you think. I’m afraid I can’t live up to your expectations.
I mean, I’m not…At the end of the day, I’m just a guy.”

I almost laugh. “My
expectations? I didn’t even have any! I wasn’t interested in Casey Barrett, the
rock star. I don’t know him! I was interested in Casey Barrett, the seventh son
of Mr. and Mrs. Barrett of Houston, Texas. The guy who would stand beside his
friend when no one else saw any reason why he should. The guy who didn’t shy
away from someone else’s puke, or late nights, or fights with a powerful Label
because they were hurting someone he loved. The guy whose smile literally got
me through the last few days of emotional hell, and who’s been nothing but a
rock for all of us.” I stop, the tears brimming now, and I swat at my eyes. “I
was interested in the guy who was finally starting to make me believe in
myself. So if you’re not actually that guy, then I guess you’re right. We can just
end this, whatever it is, now with a clean break.”