Pretty Words: An Enemies To Lovers Rock Star Romance (River Valley Rebels)

by Gabrielle Sands

  “Listen to me, you sad excuse of a human being,” I said, my voice vibrating with fury. He slowly lifted his gaze to my face.

  “This bullshit you pulled on me, you’ve been pulling it on good people—people like Oliver—for years. No one deserves having to deal with your crap. Check yourself into rehab, start eating, and try to rid yourself of whatever venereal diseases you must have picked up over the years.”

  He had the gall to shake his head, his eyelids drooping until he was looking at me through narrow slits. “I might be a mess,” he slurred, “but with me, it’s ‘what you see, is what you get’. I don’t get off on pretending to be an angel so that seventeen-year-old girls fall in love with me and let me into their flower-patterned cotton panties.”

  “He’s not pretending,” I grit out. “He—Jamie!”

  The singer’s eyes fell completely shut, and he slid down the wall, landing on the ground with a thud.

  Fear rushed through me as I kneeled beside him. “Wake up.” The singer moaned. “Jamie, wake the fuck up.” I slapped his cheeks lightly, then with more force.

  His eyelids cracked open. “Ivy…”

  “What do I do?” I was starting to panic. I’d never had to deal with a medical emergency on my own before, and it didn’t escape me that Jamie was someone a lot of people didn’t want to see hurt. “Jamie, what do I do?”

  “Hospital,” the singer moaned, his head lolling from side to side. “Take me to a hospital.”

  “Shit, shit, shit,” I chanted as I tried to get his arm over my shoulders. “Get up, please get up, I can’t carry you down.”

  He nodded, or maybe it was just his head dropping again, but he got his arm around me, and I managed to get him to stand.

  We teetered down two flights of stairs, while I prayed he wouldn’t pass out and take me down with him. “I’ll find Oliver as soon as we get to the lobby.”

  “No, no, no,” he slurred but there was force behind it. “Just the hospital. Please, Ivy.”

  “He’ll go with you.”

  “No. Just the hospital.” He stopped when we were a few steps from the door that led to the lobby and refused to move farther.

  “Jamie—”

  He craned his neck, bringing his face close to mine so that he could look me directly in the eyes. “Promise. Me.”

  I let out a breath. I’d already broken one promise today, so what was one more?

  “Okay, chill,” I said, keeping my voice level. “I’ll call 911. Please just don’t die on me.”

  He mumbled something unintelligible and started moving his feet again.

  The front lobby was abandoned at this hour save for an overnight attendant who seemed wholly unprepared to deal with the situation I’d delivered.

  “Oh my God, is he okay?” the young attendant asked, running over to us to help place Jamie on one of the benches.

  “No. Call an ambulance right away,” I told him, surprised at the steadiness in my voice. Now that I knew what I had to do, my mind was focused on the task. The attendant nodded and rushed back to use the phone at the front desk.

  I kneeled beside Jamie. “Jamie, stay with me. Don’t pass out.”

  The singer moaned. I tried to think of things to ask that would be helpful for the paramedics to know when they arrived. “What did you take?”

  “The usual. And a Xanie,” he said so lightly that I had to put my ear closer to his lips.

  “What is the usual?”

  “Coke.” He swallowed. “Vodka.” His head fell to the side and when I tried to rouse him, my slapping and pinching had no effect.

  Shit!

  The panic returned, ready to pounce from the edges of my consciousness, but I forced myself to breathe deeply and hold it at bay. “Where are they?” I called to the attendant.

  He hung up the phone. “They said they’re a few minutes away. Let me grab him some water.”

  I held Jamie’s chin with one hand while I grabbed my phone out of my back pocket. He looked so pale, so…vulnerable. I tore my gaze away and typed a message in the group chat with Bleeding Moonlight.

  “Emergency. Somebody come to hotel lobby RIGHT NOW.”

  We tried to get Jamie to drink the water, but he was out cold. I went as far as pouring the entire glass on his head, which earned me a weak grimace from the singer.

  “Ivy!”

  I looked up to see Abel and Ezra running toward me.

  “What happened?” Ezra asked, his face alarmed. “We came as soon as we saw the message. The others are sleeping.”

  “I found him in the stairwell in this state.” I waved at Jamie. “Ambulance should be here any minute. He told me he mixed cocaine, vodka, and something called a Xanie?”

  “Xanax. Does Oliver know?” Abel checked the singer’s pulse.

  “No, but Jamie said he just wanted to be taken to the hospital. He didn’t want to get Oliver involved. Maybe he’s worried he’ll be angry with him.” I said the words even though they didn’t add up. Based on what Oliver had told me about Jamie, I didn’t think this episode would shock him all that much. Was it really possible that Jamie had never been in a situation like this?

  “I think we should tell him anyway,” I added. “I can go find him now that you’re here.”

  Abel shared a look with Ezra. “There’s no time. I’ll go with him,” Abel said. “Help take care of everything at the hospital.”

  Ezra nodded, “Okay. I’ll get Ivy back to her room.” He raised a brow at me. “Unless you want to go with them.”

  I shook my head, remembering the things I’d said to Jamie right before he… No. I didn’t need to go with him. We weren’t friends, and some selfish part of me didn’t want to get any more involved in this ordeal than I already was.

  The hotel doors slid open as the paramedics rushed in. Ezra helped me off the ground, and we backed away to make room for the stretcher. Abel was talking to one of the paramedics, probably telling him what Jamie had taken. A hiccup escaped my throat, and Ezra’s hands tightened around my shoulders. “He’ll be fine. He’s lucky you found him and sent for help. Do you want to go back up?”

  I chewed on my nail. The paramedics had strapped Jamie onto the stretcher and were carrying him out. Abel shot us a look and waved goodbye as he followed them.

  “Yeah,” I responded to Ezra. “Let’s go.”

  We called the elevator and the drummer fixed me with a worried look. “I’m sorry you had to see that, Ivy.

  I didn’t answer. I was numb. The past twenty four hours had felt as long as a month. It was hard to believe that less than twelve hours ago, Oliver and I had been in that storage closet, and I’d been trying to figure out what would happen after I left.

  What’s changed?

  The elevator doors slid open, and Ezra gripped me even harder.

  “What—” I started to ask before seeing who was inside.

  Oliver stepped out, his expression tense. He wore the black suit from before, but his tie was missing. He flicked his gaze between Ezra and I. “Have you seen Jamie?”

  “There was an incident,” I told him. Oh God, Oliver was going to be devastated when he found out what happened. This must be one of his worst nightmares coming true. He’d been trying to help Jamie for so long, and to no avail.

  “What incident?” Oliver asked in a flat tone. “What happened?”

  “Jamie passed out in a stairwell. He may have…ODed. We’re not sure,” Ezra explained.

  “Where is he now?” Oliver asked. His face was as cold as granite. “Where is Jamie?”

  “I got them to call an ambulance,” I said. “He’s on the way to the hospital now.”

  A long, taut silence stretched. Oliver’s lips quivered. “You did what? Why would you do that?”

  I frowned. “What…do you mean?”

  Oliver’s cheek fluttered, and he shot a narrow look at Ezra before focusing back on me. His eyes flickered with anger.

  “We have our own medics you…you stupid girl.”
<
br />   I began to tremble. I’d expected him to be upset, but not at me. “What—”

  “Why didn’t you find me first? You know I know how to handle him. You know what’s been going on with him. Why would you—”

  “Hey,” Ezra interrupted. “He asked her to get him to a hospital, so she did. There wasn’t enough time to find you. I know you’re upset, but check yourself. Ivy didn’t do anything wrong.”

  Oliver ignored him. “Where was Mike? His bodyguard?”

  “I don’t know. He was alone when I found him,” I admitted. Something told me Mike was about to be out of a job.

  “He needs his personal doctor,” Oliver seethed. “Someone who’s familiar with his medical history. He’s not just some fucking junkie you can shove into a random hospital. He’s got a goddamn show to play tomorrow.”

  My eyes widened. “A show? He’s not going to be able to…” This wasn’t making any sense. How could Oliver be thinking about their next show when we’d just told him Jamie might have ODed? Maybe he didn’t understand how bad Jamie had looked. “You said you’d cancel the tour if he didn’t stop using. I think it might be time to do that.”

  Oliver ran both of his hands through his hair, clutching at the strands. “You have no idea what you’re talking about. Fuck! I could have handled this. I have to go see him.”

  “You do that,” Ezra bit out. “Ivy, let’s go.”

  “Oliver, I’m sorry,” I whispered. I kept waiting for something to break in Oliver’s face, something that would show me that his immediate reaction was just him in shock, but the cold fury remained. He didn’t acknowledge the apology, didn’t say anything to me before he turned and left.

  “You don’t have anything to apologize for,” Ezra muttered, jabbing the elevator button. It dinged open, and Ezra pulled me inside.

  “Why did he say you know what’s been going on with Jamie?” the drummer asked me in a quiet voice.

  Tears were spilling down my cheeks. I was so tired, so goddamn tired, and so lost. “I don’t. Not really. I don’t know why he said that.”

  “Is something going on between you two?” Ezra asked. “You and Oliver?”

  I shook my head, biting on my lips.

  “You can tell me. I won’t tell Cole if you don’t want me to.”

  We stepped out of the elevator, and I turned to face Ezra, my face streaked with tears. The drummer was looking at me with a pained expression, as if he couldn’t stand to see me broken up like this.

  I rubbed the wetness away with my fingers. “There’s nothing to tell.” I didn’t understand why Oliver was mad at me, but I wasn’t about to break another promise I made to him and tell Ezra about our relationship. “I just want to go to sleep. Can you please handle Cole, so that he doesn’t come barging in first thing in the morning?”

  Ezra nodded. “I will. Ivy, I hope you’re okay.”

  “I am.” The lie came naturally.

  I woke up past noon, panicked, dehydrated, and still exhausted. My phone glowed with messages from Cole.

  “Tonight’s show is cancelled. We’re going to hang around the restaurant until they figure out what to do. Text me when you’re up.”

  When was the last time I’d eaten? My stomach churned, but it wasn’t only from hunger. I remembered how angry Oliver had been, and a groan escaped out of my throat. How had everything gotten so messed up so quickly?

  It was all Jamie’s fault. If it wasn’t for the destructive singer, I would have never gotten into that stupid fight with Oliver, or gotten mixed up in Jamie’s OD, and I sure as hell wouldn’t be alone in a hotel room on my birthday.

  I clawed my fingers into the bedspread. No. Today was a new day, and this time I wouldn’t blindly give into my anger. I needed to be calm and rational if I wanted to fix things with Oliver before I left in…

  Oh God. Twenty hours.

  There was no point in crying, no matter how fruitless it all felt. The possibility that I’d screwed everything up for good between Oliver and I was impossible to ignore, but I had to stay optimistic.

  He was just upset last night about Jamie, and rightly so.

  I showered and went downstairs to find the guys. The restaurant was half full, mostly filled with roadies for the two bands. Cole saw me and waved as I made my way to their table.

  “Happy birthday, Ives,” he said and gave me a smile, but it didn’t erase the concern in his eyes. The others added their own greetings and birthday wishes.

  “Thanks,” I said weakly as I squeezed in beside Charlie.

  “Ezra told me what happened with Jamie,” Cole said. “You’re a hero.”

  I shook my head. “Whatever.”

  “Seriously. Way to take control of the situation. I’m proud of you for not losing your shit.”

  If only he knew how close I’d been to doing exactly that.

  “So give us the firsthand account of the story.” Charlie nudged me with his elbow, and I shot him a death glare. The last thing I wanted to do was relive last night with all of them.

  “Hey, let her eat. She’s probably starving.” Ezra butted in, giving me a worried look. “I already told you everything anyway.”

  “You weren’t the one who found him—” They started to bicker, and I did my best to tune them out. I waved down a waitress, ordered some eggs, and stole a piece of Silas’s toast.

  “Where’s Abel?” I asked the bearded guitarist.

  “He hasn’t come back from the hospital,” Silas said, pulling out his phone. “Texted us a few hours ago that he wouldn’t be back for a while.”

  “Why? Isn’t Oliver already there with Jamie?”

  Silas shrugged. “I don’t know.” He looked over my shoulder. “Apparently not.”

  I frowned and turned to look behind me.

  Oliver and Ritual Disruption’s tour manager had walked into the restaurant. They were engaged in what looked like an intense conversation, with the manager waving his hands to make some point to Oliver.

  I swallowed down the toast in my mouth and jumped up.

  “Ivy?” Cole asked, but I was already moving.

  Oliver saw me coming and silenced the manager with a jerk of his hand. Their attention was on me when I stopped in front of them.

  “Can we talk?” I asked Oliver, my eyes pleading.

  Oliver studied me with an impassive expression before giving a subtle nod. “I’ll find you later,” he said to the tour manager and motioned for me to follow him.

  “How’s Jamie?” I asked as soon as we made it a few steps outside of the restaurant. “Tell me,” I urged him when he remained silent. “What happened?”

  “You didn’t listen to me.”

  His words were like a slap in the face. I could feel my pulse in my throat as his eyes narrowed. “I told you to stay away from him, and you didn’t listen.”

  I swallowed. “I wanted to fix things. I didn’t mean to cause any trouble.”

  “Oh, Ivy…” He shook his head. “Things between us could have worked out so differently. I really liked you, you know?” There was an edge to his voice, and it terrified me.

  “Liked me? What do you mean?”

  He brought his hand up to stroke my cheek. “I was looking forward to today.”

  A cold sensation was spreading through my veins. “It’s my birthday…”

  “I know, beautiful. It was supposed to be our special day.”

  “It still can be,” I insisted. “Please—”

  “No, it can’t.” His smile was bitter.

  “I don’t understand.” My throat was dry even as I blinked tears away. “Why?”

  “Because you didn’t listen to me. You listened to him,” Oliver whispered harshly. His hand snaked around the back of my neck, his fingers digging into my skin. “And now you’ve ruined everything.”

  I gasped. In that moment, as he sneered down at me, I knew that I had failed him. I had failed us.

  “Let go of her.” Cole’s voice rang out from behind me.

 
Oliver kept his emerald eyes on me, and all I could see inside of them was dark, simmering fury. Then his fingers were gone, and someone was pulling me away from him.

  “What the hell is this?” Cole demanded, holding me in place against his chest. “Why was your hand on my sister?”

  Oliver’s sneer stayed on his face. “Fuck off. And lay off the big-brother act. You bring your seventeen-year-old sister on tour and expect no one to touch her while she prances around backstage every night?”

  “Excuse me?” Cole bit out. “What the fuck does that mean?”

  “Why don’t you ask her yourself,” Oliver bit out. He stuffed his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “Goodbye, Ivy.”

  I was mute as Cole held me, asking me questions that I couldn’t understand, let alone begin to answer. It felt as if the sky were collapsing onto me, and all I could do was scream inside my head for it to stop.

  “Please, Ran,” I begged the tour manager as we waited for my taxi to arrive outside the hotel early the next morning. Minutes prior, Cole had left us standing on the curb at my request for a Starbucks from across the street. It was the first time I had spoken to him since the previous morning, and he’d seemed relieved I was starting to acknowledge his existence.

  He’d given up on asking me what was going on with Oliver after I’d refused to answer any of his questions yesterday. I had no desire to discuss what had happened with anyone, but I forced myself to confess certain parts to Ran. It was the only way to make him understand the importance of what I was asking him to do.

  “No, Ivy. You’ve already put me in a very awkward position. What am I supposed to tell Cole if he asks me if I knew what was going on with you and Oliver?”

  Easy. I fell in love. Then I messed everything up.

  I could see the sequence of events that had led me here, but no matter how many times I went over them, I couldn’t make sense of how they’d added up to this conclusion. It all had to be a misunderstanding. Sure, I’d broken my promise to Oliver, but I’d done it out of good intentions. And he couldn’t have possibly blamed me for what happened with Jamie. I’d done the only thing that had made sense at the time. I’d had to think quickly to help a guy who’d literally passed out on top of me. I hadn’t thought rationally, and in the aftermath, neither had Oliver. I was sure of that. I had to be.