Strings (38 page)

*****

‘As if...you’ve seen yourself, right?’ Megan whispered to her reflection in the reception window as she watched Toby leave. Her boring, plain image stared back at her as the words and memory of that horrible night hit her again like an arrow through the heart. Putting on her best fake smile, she sighed and went back to work. Back in work mode, she called Francis Colt, the boys’ producer.

*****

‎              ‘Liss, stop worrying,’ Beth told her as she tucked into her chips. Melissa was fretting again about Luke; his health, his birthday and everything in general. ‘Luke’s fine. He’s back with you where he belongs and that’s all he needs.’

             
‘I know, but he isn't completely right. I mean he is better, but he’s quieter. He seems on edge all the time.’ She messed with her pasta, pushing it round the plate.

             
‘It’ll take time. What that girl did was awful. He might be a man, but it must feel horrible having someone take control of you like that.’

             
Melissa hadn't really thought of it in that way and for a man it must be embarrassing too. She shivered at the thought.

Luke was still smoking
, but had cut down on his drinking. He had also stopped the drugs altogether, and although it had been a shock to his system at first, quitting had not been a major problem.

But h
e seemed constantly worried, and Melissa would catch him watching her. He laughed it off and said it was because he liked looking at her, but she felt it was something else, as though he was checking she was still there.

             
‘He’ll be fine. Dale will make sure of that. I take it there’s still no news of Amber?’ Beth pushed her empty plate away. Melissa was bound to worry, and after LA, she couldn't blame her. She would be the same if Dale had been through an ordeal like that.

             
‘Nope, no news,’ Melissa replied. She leaned back in her chair and pushed her Ray-Bans down over her eyes. It wasn’t helping matters that Amber was on the loose and nobody knew when, where or indeed if she would spring up again. They hoped she had been taught a serious lesson by the way her plan had eventually backfired, and had given up on her vendetta against them.

             
A group of girls a few tables away were whispering and tapping away on their phones, and two approached and asked for a photo with them. They both agreed, smiling. Melissa wasn't really in the mood but if she refused, she’d be branded a moody cow, so she played along and engaged in small talk with them for a few minutes. They asked how Luke was, when were they going to be touring again and when the next single would be out. Melissa and Beth answered in their usual way. ‘Soon, hopefully.’ Melissa didn't answer the Luke question. It was none of their business. The girls hovered around for a while then, left them alone.

             
‘I need to think of a present to give him for his birthday, and it needs to be good,’ Melissa said, looking thoughtful. It was difficult, she thought, because he had everything he could possibly need. Beth suggested a few things, but Melissa turned her nose up at each idea. They hit the shops, hoping for inspiration, but after buying two pairs of shoes and a leather jacket for herself, she still hadn't come up with anything exciting. She had some new clothes for him and some trainers, but they were boring. She also had the new guitar he’d asked her to pick up for him, but he’d ordered that himself, so it wasn’t a present.

             
They had a quick drink before heading for home, and as they walked through the busy London streets, Melissa spotted a sticker in a car window that made her stop in her tracks. It was from a bird of prey sanctuary in the New Forest, called Wings of the Sky UK. She quickly tapped it into her phone and checked out the website. They offered sessions with a trainer where you could met, fly and feed a bird of your choice for a few hours, and they were also looking for people to sponsor or adopt the birds to fund their upkeep.

             
‘This is just what I’m looking for. He’ll love this! They have eight eagles…look at that beauty,’ she said to Beth as she looked at the photos. The largest was a female called Black Rose – the perfect name, she thought.

             
‘Liss, it’s perfect, you have to get him a trip there,’ Beth said.

             
Melissa called them straight away and asked how much it would cost to have a full day with the bird and also how the adoption worked. The guy on the phone talked through the prices, having no idea who he was speaking to. He explained that Black Rose cost several thousand pounds a year to feed and look after, and they just asked for small contributions from anyone kind enough to offer their support.

Melissa also asked if they would be
happy for Black Rose to appear in a music video, possibly in a few months’ time.

             
‘Really? Sure, as long as the health & safety side of things was covered properly. As her trainer I’d have to be present of course. Can I ask who for?’ The excitement in his voice was obvious.

             
‘For The Black Eagles. I think Black Rose would be perfect for them.’

Melissa was excited too
, because she was hoping to be in their next video as well. Luke had been sitting in her new dance room while she practiced one day, and said she would look amazing in one of their videos, if she wanted to be involved. She’d said that she would love to, but only if it was a ‘proper’ video which told a story. She wasn’t up for just dancing around like a twat for no apparent reason for three and a half minutes. But maybe Black Rose could be the ideal co-star for her.

             
‘Wow, my son and niece are huge Eagles fans. Wait till I tell them…’ he laughed. Melissa smiled and asked the man to book in a day for a member of the band to meet Black Rose. He said he would need to check with the boss because they normally only did hour-long sessions, not full days.

‘Can I take your name and number and I’ll call you back
? Do you work for the band?’ he asked.

             
Melissa laughed. ‘My name’s Melissa,’ she said then gave him her number.               There was silence at his end for a few seconds, and she thought he’d hung up.

‘Are you Melissa
, as in Melissa Webb?’

             
‘Yes, I am.’ Then he asked her if the session was for Luke.

‘
Um, maybe,’ she answered, although it was fairly obvious by now that it was for Luke. His love of eagles was common knowledge after all.

             
‘OK Miss Webb, thanks for calling. I’ll find out everything you need to know and ring you back,’ he promised.

             
‘It’s just perfect!’ Melissa cheered as the girls did a little jig on the spot, followed by a high five.

             
‘He’s going to love you even more than he already does,’ Beth laughed. Melissa was delighted to have come up with something original, and special.

*****

The sound of hysterical laughter greeted the girls as they left the lift. The boys were back, and were cackling about something.

Dale was playing on his guitar, purposely being awful, and
was managing to produce a truly horrendous noise. They were in Luke's studio, and judging by the empty bottles littered around the room, they had been drinking for quite some time. The girls dropped their shopping bags on the sofa, and they went in to see what the fuss was all about. Melissa told herself not to nag him in front of the guys about the mess or being wasted in the middle of the afternoon - it wasn't cool.

             
‘What’s so funny? Come on, share the joke,’ she said as she walked in to see Luke rolling on the floor laughing hysterically, and the others not far off joining him. Beth told Dale to stop the god awful racket, which only set them off all over again.

             
‘I can't even remember why we’re laughing,’ Luke roared, the tears running down his face. But it really didn't matter. It felt like a long time since Melissa had heard him laugh like that, and it was lovely to hear it again.

             
‘I have her,’ she said holding up the guitar case.

             
Luke stopped laughing instantly and rolled himself to his feet, smiling like a kid at Christmas. He took the case and opened it, flicking his hair out of his eye. He was thrilled with it. The boys spent the next hour discussing where it could be used in their sets, and what they could do with it in new material. Luke spent the rest of the day ‘breaking her in’ – it was definitely female.

             
‘I don't know why you need six guitars. You can only play one at a time,’ Melissa had said. The room went silent as all four boys turned to look at her like she was completely mad. Even Beth was shaking her head with disapproval.

             
‘Liss, darling, you can only wear one pair of shoes, but that doesn't stop you having nearly a hundred pairs,’ Luke replied, leaving her with no comeback whatsoever. All she could think of was to tell him to shut up, which just made everyone laugh hysterically again.

             
‘You walked right into that one,’ Beth chuckled.

             
Melissa stuck her tongue out at Luke, and he blew her a kiss and winked. Things were really starting to get back to normal, and she was finally feeling good.

To
add to the good vibes, Carl from the bird sanctuary had called to confirm that Luke's birthday present was arranged.

             
‘It’s a birthday surprise, Carl. Can you please keep it to yourself until after the weekend? You know how things can be,’ Melissa asked, hoping that someone would be capable of keeping their mouth shut, just for once.

             
‘Of course, you have my word. You’re helping us take care of Rose, so the least we can do is respect your privacy.’ His work and the birds were his priority, not gossiping.

             
‘What are you whispering about?’ Luke asked, and she jumped. She hadn't heard him come into the bedroom and she spun round like a naughty child being caught out.

             
‘I can't tell you. It's a secret,’ she giggled. He shut the door, drowning out the noise from their visitors. He crossed the room to her, and wrapped his arms around her waist. Holding her tightly to him, he kissed her forehead, then her nose, and then her lips.

             
‘I don't like secrets,’ but she assured him he would definitely like this one.

‘OK, I’ll trust you on that.’

Changing the subject, he asked for her help with getting Megan and Toby together.

             
Melissa wrinkled her nose while she thought it through.

‘
Hmm, I’ll see what I can do.’ Luke suggested trying to get her to his birthday bash. Toby had been talking to them about it before the girls had come back, and they all agreed that a group setting was a good idea for a first date, to keep it as casual as possible.

‘He really likes her?’

              ‘Yeah he does big time, but the girl’s so shy and we all know Toby can be a bit overwhelming if you don’t know him.’

             
‘I
will
get Cinderella to the ball,’ she promised.

             
‘Good girl. Thanks for arranging my party, but are you really sure you’re OK with it all?’ It would be the first real outing since they got back together. Stan had said that it was a big deal, and it would prove that their reconciliation was official. ‘Just for one night let the people have their favourite couple,’ he’d told them.

Melissa couldn’t really be bothered
with the whole ‘putting on a front’ thing. But as Luke put it, ‘You want people to know we’re happy, and stop the bullshit going around, right? We are together, and happy, and I’m proud of that.’ So she’d agreed to let the photographers have a few pictures, perhaps even one of the two of them hugging.

The E
cho girls were going to be at the party, and Tom and Jo-Jo were finally getting together after months of flirting. That was another big source of excitement in the media at the moment – Eagle boy and Echo girl hooking up.

Jay-Den and many other record label associates would be there too. Melissa didn't really want him there
, but there wasn’t really much choice. Beth reminded her that she didn't have to talk to him. Tom's older sister and husband were joining them, as were some of Luke and Dale's old school friends. Toby's brother Adam, who had just finished a tour of Afghanistan, was coming, and a few other artists and bands that the boys had befriended over the past few months would also be there. It was going to be a paparazzi’s paradise.

             
‘Let them snap away,’ Melissa said, shrugging. What were another few photos in the sea of thousands that were flooding around the world anyway? And Luke was right – they were happy, so what was wrong with showing that off and having some positive stories about them for a change?