Strings (37 page)

             
Dale asked Ray, Tom and Toby to his room so they could talk properly, now that Luke was finally resting.

An hour later
, everyone felt much better that they’d got things off their chests and had been told about everything that had happened. They all agreed to support Luke in whatever way they could.

             
The first change was keeping drugs of any kind away from him. Drugs had never been a problem for the rest of the band, just an occasional pastime, so nobody had any objections to knocking it on the head for good.

             
‘It’ll have to be tequila shots instead then,’ Toby laughed. ‘I’m down with that.’

             
‘What does Luke want to do about this Kelsey chick?’ Ray asked Melissa. ‘We should get the police involved, especially since Amber was behind it.’

             
Melissa shrugged, and told Ray she would prefer to worry about that once Luke was on the mend properly.

She realised she was still shaking, and
it all hit her over again. She broke down

‘I’m so sorry for ignoring you all when you asked me to talk to him, to help him.
I’m such an idiot.’

Toby was there like a shot
with one of his comforting hugs.

‘
I’ve ruined this for you, just like Milan,’ she cried, feeling as though all she did was cause trouble for everyone. ‘You must hate me.’              

             
‘Don’t be stupid,’ Toby said as she let it all out. ‘We couldn’t be happier to see you and Luke back together. You were tricked, and it’s terrible what’s happened to you both. But none of it is your fault’ Toby felt her skinny frame in his embrace. She’d lost weight too, and it was sad to see.

‘
That girl can’t be allowed to get away with it, Melissa,’ he whispered.

             
‘Don’t bother with the police. I’ll rip the little bitch apart.’ Beth was on the warpath and wanted nothing more than to confront Kelsey. ‘I’ll teach her a lesson, along with nut-job Amber.’

             
Melissa smiled at her best friend, wishing she could do just that. Ray, along with everyone else, was pleased that Melissa was back and there seemed to be a sense of calm now.

‘I promise he’ll be back
, better than ever, he just needs some time,’ Melissa said before heading back to check on Luke.

She was relieved to find him still asleep. He
was smiling as he slept, and he looked so peaceful, almost angelic. Melissa quietly tidied up the mess in his room, packing his stuff ready to fly home next day, and feeling like it was just a tiny start towards moving on together. She suddenly realised that she was one of those girls she’d read about in magazines, who years later told their stories of how they coped with the crazy, surreal life of a rock star boyfriend. She’d never understood why they would put up with it.

‘I get it now,’ she thought.

*****

‘Are you ready?’ Melissa asked Luke. They were about
to get out of the car as it pulled up outside the airport, and the local paparazzi were already there waiting, relentless in their quest for an exclusive.

             
Luke nodded. He still wasn't fully recovered, but he wanted to go home.

‘Let’s just get the fuck on that plane,’ he said. His hood was up, sunglasses on and he looked down at the ground.

              Melissa was feeling a renewed strength and confidence, and took control, standing up for them both. Luke still felt slightly embarrassed that a girl like Kelsey had been able to do that to him, and he was still thinking about what to do about it. Melissa had given him the note, which he read then screwed up and threw in the bin. She couldn't blame him but she had quietly retrieved it later, in case Luke decided to talk to her. Melissa knew he would, once he had calmed down. She also realised that the police would want it as evidence.

             
Dale leaned forward, ready to get out first with Beth, looking fierce as ever, beside him. Toby and Tom would get out last, to help surround them. Ray would cover one side of Luke, and Melissa the other. Stan, the band’s publicist had gone in all guns blazing in order to clear up the lies about Luke. His fans were outraged and Kelsey Gibbs was now in hiding. Darren was furious that it was bringing unwanted attention his way. Kelsey had been very profitable for him since the story broke – all of his ‘friends’ wanted to spend time with the girl who slept with Luke Black. But all of that had changed now that she had been exposed as a liar.

             
‘Keep your head down. Don’t listen, just stay calm,’ Melissa whispered as he stepped out, his face completely hidden.

             
‘It’s OK, son, we’re here.’ Ray patted him on the back and his bandmates encircled him as he was guided through the swarm.

             
‘Go fuck yourselves,’ Luke heard his drummer shout into the crowd, as the clicking of cameras and the sound of frantic footsteps echoed in his ears. He was front page news for all the wrong reasons, again. But at least some of his reputation had been restored.

The fact that the small
, delicate hand he gripped was Melissa’s was the only thing keeping him calm. He ducked into the terminal through the security door, where airport staff and security waited to guide them to the specially-chartered plane that was ready to take off as soon as they were on board.

             
Melissa had one last thing to do. She knew it was childish and would only create more drama, but she did it anyway. She turned to the swarm and looking right into the sea of lenses with a smug but triumphant smile filling her face, she shouted.

‘Amber, I know everything – I win.’

              It caused a flurry of questions because Amber had never been mentioned before. Who was she and what connection did she have to Luke?

             
Ray grabbed her arm and dragged her inside. ‘Melissa, shut up.’

*****

It had been tough getting back on track with Melissa after the initial euphoria of being reunited. But she’d now settled into their new home and they had both kept themselves busy, making it their own. They were moving on, and they couldn’t have been happier. Kelsey had admitted everything during her court case and had been given twelve months for assault. No sexual offence could be proven. But going to prison was actually a blessing for her, because it gave her a chance to be free from her old life. Darren’s little empire, including several girls all under sixteen, had been discovered and brought down. He was going to prison for a very long time. By the time Kelsey was released, the world would have forgotten about her.

*****

‘There wasn't any need for that, Jay.’ Toby snapped after a very awkward moment during their meeting to discuss the next steps in their career. Luke was feeling much better – happier, stable, drug-free and ready to get back to work.

‘
No more fucking around then, we can finally get back to business!’ Jay-Den had said, rubbing his hands together. He didn’t seem to realise how disrespectful he was being to his best employee, making light of everything that had happened.

Jay-Den sat arrogantly back in his chair
, talking about getting back in the studio and getting to work on their next single. He rattled on about needing to divert attention away from all the attention on their private lives of late, and prepare for a second album in due course. They listened dutifully, nodding in the right places – or at least Luke did. He hadn’t forgiven Jay-Den over the incident with Melissa, and at times it was hard to be civil with him. But he had other, more positive things to concentrate on now, so he decided to leave it in the past along with everything else.

However,
Jay-Den’s little performance with Megan during the meeting hadn’t helped Luke’s opinion of him. There were times he wished he wasn’t locked into a contract with the man. He’d seen a side to him that he didn’t like, but he just had to grit his teeth and bear it.

Toby watched as Megan rushed from the room, and had to resist the impulse to run after her when he saw her distressed expression.

              ‘Toby, my PA is none of your concern.’

             
Toby glared at him but decided to drop it. Megan had accidentally spilt a glass of water all over Toby’s jeans as she passed it to him. She’d frantically and nervously tried to clean up the mess.

‘S-s-sorry,’
she’d stuttered, feeling her boss’ glare aimed at her, not to mention feeling doubly embarrassed for spilling something for the second time in front of Toby.

‘
He really must think I’m a complete moron’, she thought to herself.

             
‘No harm done. Don’t worry,’ Toby said kindly, before Jay-Den began his humiliation of her.

             
Jay-Den was in his macho, showing off mood, and he gave her a thorough and public dressing-down for neglecting her work, and for arguing with him (when she’d dared to remind him that the work he was talking about was the same work he’d told her to leave in order to concentrate on The Black Eagles).

Toby saw how upset she was,
and it enraged him. Luke had noticed his drummer’s expression and prayed that Toby would keep cool, even though he felt like smashing Jay-Den’s head on the desk.

             
They continued with the meeting until all the details of their plan were ironed out and agreed upon, then, free from the clutches of their boss, they went on their way.

*****

Toby had gone looking for Megan, but after almost giving up and heading home, he smiled when he saw her getting out of her car.

             
‘I’m so sorry about that,’ Megan mumbled, hoping to clear the air.

             
Toby shrugged and laughed. ‘It was just water – I’ll live.’ He took her hand and led her to a bench just to the side of the building, where they sat down. He noticed her blush again, and she was trembling slightly.

             
‘I only have a few minutes.’ Megan felt on edge, scared even. It reminded her of a recent event which had turned into a bad experience, and she told herself to run from him to avoid more heartache. If recent events had proved anything to her, it was that men like him weren’t interested in girls like her, not for the right reasons anyway. She shouldn’t kid herself otherwise.

             
He reached over and pulled the clip from her hair. It fell like flames around her shoulders and he smiled. Megan froze momentarily before her hands flew up in panic to put it back in place.

             
‘Leave it down, it looks pretty like that,’ Toby said softly, slightly amused at her panic. He found her cute, and the shyness seemed to make her more appealing.

             
‘I hate my hair.’

             
Toby didn’t hate it at all, quite the opposite, but he handed the silver clip back and let her put it up again. She thanked and apologised again. Toby noticed that she wouldn’t look directly at him and it bothered him. He could see her hands shaking, although she tried to cover it by fiddling with a bag of grapes. She was the one person he didn’t want to feel afraid around him. Without taking his eyes off her, he watched as she put her hair back in place. He searched his mind for the right words to say. She wasn’t like other girls, and getting her to go out with him wouldn’t be easy. It was a challenge, but then he loved a challenge.

             
‘Do you have a boyfriend?’

             
The question was so unexpected that Megan almost choked on the grape she was eating. She shook her head.

             
‘Good. You can join me for Luke’s birthday party this weekend then.’

             
Luke would be twenty-three, and Melissa was pulling out all the stops for a big celebration, with help from Beth and Ray. There would be a lavish party the night before in a top London club, with everyone important to him invited. Her plan for his birthday itself was to have Luke all to herself. Nobody blamed her for wanting that, after all they’d been through. Despite their outward smiles, they were still recovering and rebuilding their relationship, and they needed the space and quality time together to do that.

             
‘I’m sorry, I can’t.’ Megan hurried back inside, leaving Toby sat on the bench alone. He didn’t follow, and instead headed back to his bike, feeling dejected. He could usually walk into any room and take his pick of women, but the one he actually wanted would hardly even look at him.

             
Luke had been waiting in his car, watching them. He wanted to help in some way, but he thought it was more Melissa’s sort of thing. He opened his window and shouted to Toby to follow him back to his place. It was Monday and as they had nothing else planned for the day, they were going to have some beers and a jamming session.