The Loneliest Tour (26 page)

Remember what you have.

Jett knew what he had and what he
had to lose.

“
Thoughts?
”
Colby asked.

“
Doesn
’
t matter,
”
Jett said.
“
What
’
s done is done. Portis calls the
shots and we go along for the ride.
”

“
We
could tell him to screw off,
”
Ryker said.

“
Would
that work?
”
Van asked.

“
Christ,
I think he
’
s right,
”
Brantley said.
“
I mean, getting us off the road
sucks. But to get rid of Crutch Fail is good. Those guys aren
’
t what we are. I think it would
only piss our fans off to keep them up on stage.
”

“
What
about Masie?
”
Colby asked.

“
What
about?
”
Jett asked.

“
I
mean, she was just on the bus, Jett. You two
…
we all see it, man. How close you are. It
’
s
not a fling. It
’
s real. How
is she going to handle it? And you?
”

“
Don
’
t worry about my personal life,
”
Jett said.

“
We
have to, brother,
”
Ryker
said.
“
You know that.
”

“
You
want to check my fucking pockets?
”
Jett asked.
“
Go for it. You
want to dig through my bags and guitar cases? Do it. But don
’
t question my heart and
intentions.
”

Jett walked toward the front of the
bus. He looked out the large windows and realized he didn
’
t even know what the hell city
he was in right now. All he knew was that Masie was in the hotel, in a room, by
herself. Doubting herself and in some ways, maybe doubting Jett.

He was beyond the rockstar stuff
now. He wanted Masie
’
s
heart. And everything that came with it. Which meant telling her exactly where
everything stood. No matter if it ended up hurting him in the end.

(18)

Masie was ready for the show. The
crowd was getting rowdy, ready for some music. The entire aura of the night and
show seemed off though. Everyone seemed to move a little slower and it was like
nobody gave a damn. The only time Masie saw Crutch Fail, they were going into a
room with Lenny and Portis. Portis was the only one to leave the room a short
while later. Portis gave Masie a head nod and a wave, leaving her surprised.
Maybe he remembered her. Maybe he just nodded to everyone, always assuming
people were looking at him.

Her mind traveled to a conversation
she had with Ann Marie. The dance studio was closed for a couple days and Ann Marie
was in the crowd tonight. That made Masie even more nervous, but excited too.
The only thing that bothered Masie about Ann Marie being there was that the
woman never closed the dance studio. Not for any reason at all. So either
something big was going on or Ann Marie was going to surprise Masie by bringing
others with her. Not kids though, they wouldn
’
t
be allowed at this kind of show.

When Crutch Fail finally did emerge
from their dressing room and walked toward the stage, they did so like they
were on a boat in a hurricane. Swaying left to right, kicking at each other
’
s feet, they were drunk. Just
plain dead drunk. Lenny stood a few feet back, shaking his head.

It was going to be a shit show.

Colin stumbled by Masie and pointed
at her.
“
Our last night
together. Better make it fucking count. I know what I
’
m doing to get out of this.
”

Masie had no idea what that meant.

Her mind and heart had been
battling for the last few hours, thinking about everything with Jett. She
walked from the hotel to the arena to meet up with the other dancers. She
forced herself to hang out with them, only to receive a text from Jett telling
her that the band had to deal with some personal stuff and that he
’
d talk to her tomorrow. Tomorrow
meaning today. But today was jam packed for Willow Son. She did talk to Jett on
the phone - for about a minute - as he scrambled to tell her that they had been
booked for some extra promo stuff. He told her he had to talk to her about
something important and that
’
s
where the conversation ended.

Until Masie saw Jett barreling down
the hall toward the stage. He bumped into people, waving his hands.

On stage, there was music playing.

Masie had about ten seconds until
she had to make her move to get up there and get into position.

Portis then appeared and put a hand
to Jett
’
s chest, stopping
him dead in his tracks.

“
Masie!
”
Jett yelled.

She kept staring at him, mentally
counting down.

…
six
…
five
…

She pointed to the stage and bit
her lip.

…
three
…
two
…

“
I
love you,
”
Jett managed to
yell.
“
No matter what
happens. Know that!
”

The words echoed around everyone
who heard it. The words shot deep into Masie
’
s
heart. She was completely taken off guard by it.

She heard Colin scream,
“
Are you fucking ready?
”

It snapped her into reality.

She turned and ran to the stage.
She made it on time just as the show started.

The curtain dropped and the arena
was actually decently full. Maybe the most people of in their seats for Crutch
Fail so far on the tour. Masie took that as a good sign. Maybe that meant the
tour was doing better than expected.

With Jett
’
s words running through her mind, she worked along
the stage. Somewhere in the back of her mind she told herself to give it more
than her all. Pretend she was on that stage in New York City, like she always
wanted. Somewhere near the stage Portis was lingering around. He could see
something in her and help her.

Even if he didn
’
t, this could be for the people
in the crowd.

Colin started to walk with the mic
in his hand, not playing guitar. It wasn
’
t
part of the set, but Masie saw it and went with it. Josie, Ana, and Gabby were
all near the drums, dancing like fools. They were there with half their hearts.
Just going with the flow of the music and the show.

Masie tried her best to stay with
Colin. He walked to the front of the stage. Trying to stay the part, Masie was
next to him. That
’
s when
Colin looked at her and gritted his teeth like a rabid animal. He then threw an
elbow that came way too close to hitting Masie. She was able to jump back and
save her moves.

“
I
’
m fucking talking!
”
Colin yelled into the mic.

The song continued, sounding sloppy
with Colin
’
s guitar echoing
with feedback. The rest of the band carried the song as Colin made a complete
ass of himself. He preached about music and sales. About how people had the
responsibility to support musicians.

It was really dumb and took the
life out of the music, not that Crutch Fail had much of life to begin with.

Masie went to the other three
dancers and stayed there.

Colin finally went to the mic stand,
put the mic on it, and then started to sing. It was pretty obvious he was
drunk.

Three songs later, Colin was
drinking a beer, letting his guitar screech.

“
Thanks
for who was there,
”
he
said.
“
You won
’
t be next time. Only the true
know what it
’
s like. Fuck.
”

Masie had no idea what the hell
Colin was talking about.

She took her spot next to him.

Ana was on the other side.

He started to play the next song.

The way it was designed was this:
Colin would play the intro and go into the first verse. While that was
happening, Masie and Ana would stay close to him, moving with the rhythm of the
song. When it came time for the pre chorus they would step away and give Colin
room to swing and jump into the chorus.

That
’
s
not how it happened though.

Colin played the intro and then
turned, hitting Masie with his guitar. She flew back and stumbled, trying to
catch her balance as her hands went to her face. Colin kept spinning as though he
completely forgot about the routine that he demanded and designed to have
happen.

As Masie kept moving, the lights on
the stage were flashing. It was almost hypnotic, the music pounding, and Colin
racing at her like he was hellbent on hurting her. The way the lights moved
reminded Masie of a horror movie right when the killer was going to make a
strike.

The strike, however, didn
’
t come from Masie.

It came from the side of the stage.
Her foot had ground and then suddenly didn
’
t.
Masie reached, missing the railing, and fell off the side of the stage. She
tumbled, her sore ankle twisting, this time with a shooting pain that told her
it was definitely broken.

When she hit the ground, she sat
there, almost in shock.

Colin strutted to the mic and
started to sing.

Masie wasn
’
t sure if anyone even saw what the hell had
happened.

Finally, there was help and lots of
it. Three, four, then five guys, all with flashlights, coming to her aid. They
yelled at her and Masie yelled back. It was so loud. Just so damn loud. And the
pain in her ankle was so intense.

Her hands started to shake as a
wave of panic ran through her body. It was a terrible feeling. She felt so
helpless.

One of the guys touched her ankle as
Masie kicked with her other foot. She hit the guy in the mouth. His head
snapped back and he dropped his flashlight and fell to his ass.

“
Fuck!
”
the guy screamed.

“
My
ankle is broken!
”
Masie
shouted.
“
Help!
”

She shut her eyes and wished for it
all to be done. The entire thing. Taking the chance on this tour was a risk and
it was a bad risk. A really bad and dumb risk.

Masie opened her eyes and Jett was
right there. Inches from her face. He touched her face, his eyes wide.

“
My
ankle!
”
she yelled.

Jett hurried to lift her, scooping
her up. He turned and walked. With each step, her ankle throbbed with more and
more pain.

Once they were in the hallway Jett
put his lips to Masie
’
s
ear.

“
It
’
s going to be okay, sweetheart.
I promise. I love you, Masie. I love you.
”

**

Jett paced like a hungry lion.
Crutch Fail was done but Jett wasn
’
t.
His hands were balled into fists and he planned on unleashing on Colin. He
’
d make it so Colin couldn
’
t fucking play another show ever
again.

It took way too long for the band
to appear.

That was because they had security
surrounding them.

Portis was in the front, a hand
out, looking right at Jett.

Colby grabbed Jett
’
s arm. Ryker grabbed the other.

“
What
the hell?
”
he bellowed.

“
Don
’
t,
”
Van said.
“
Let them get out
of here.
”
Then he yelled
louder,
“
We
’
re done with them! They fucking
suck!
”

“
Fuck
you!
”
one of the band
members yelled back.

The second Jett saw Colin, he lost
it. He kicked at the wall and lunged forward, taking Colby and Ryker with him.
They were able to keep him from getting free though. The security guards pushed
back and Harry was quick to dive in the middle of things. He had two handfuls
of one the guards shirts and pushed.

Harry had some serious unexpected
strength.
“
Do you know who
they are? Don
’
t you ever
touch them!
”
Then Harry
yelled,
“
Portis! Get them
out there!
”

Portis started shouting for Crutch
Fail to move quicker.

The band had their heads down,
except Colin. His head bobbed and he had a cocky grin on his face.

“
Come
on,
”
Jett yelled.
“
Come over here and push me. Too
tough to fight a man, right?
”

Colin looked back.
“
Nah, man. She
’
s probably not even that good in
bed. Fuck her.
”

Jett started to pull but stopped
when he felt Ryker push him.

Ryker then jumped over a security
guard and landed a right fist to Colin
’
s
nose. All Jett saw was blood and then Colin was gone. The security guard threw
Ryker back.