On the inside, I’d recounted some of the most memorable times we’d spent together. And in the center of it all I’d put a big, construction paper cutout of a heart.
I recounted our first lazy date night, complete with a construction paper cutout of a TV and two stick people lying in bed. I illustrated our segment on Drama Llama with a llama and a green light over the llama’s head. I depicted our day in Atlanta with a polar bear and two stick figures holding Coke bottles. And I’d remembered me calling him after my knee injury with a cutout of a stick figure in a taxi and another one standing away, on a phone.
I put the card in my backpack, making my way from the tour bus to the backstage area at the arena. The encore was happening on stage, which meant that Skyline would be back in their dressing room soon. Finding Skyline’s dressing room turned out to be a challenge, as I hadn’t been backstage at this arena yet. Applause erupted as the song ended.
I leaned against the wall, taking a moment to catch my breath and rest my aching armpits. I dug into my backpack, pulling the card out as I waited.
Mackenzie was the first one backstage. She gave me a confused look but didn’t question anything else as she disappeared into her dressing room. I could hear her backup dancers chatting before the door closed behind her.
Connor was next, and he stopped to stare at me.
“What are you doing?” he asked, staring at my card and then at me.
“Apologizing.”
He shook his head. “You made a card?”
“I spent a lot of time making a card.”
“Oh boy,” he muttered. “This ought to be interesting.”
And then I heard the boys coming down the hallway behind him.
Connor ducked off into his dressing room as the boys rounded the corner.
“Oh shit,” Aaron said, as he saw me.
Jesse didn’t say anything, disappearing into the dressing room without so much as a second glance. Ross glanced back over his shoulder, where I’m sure Zach was coming, before looking at me again.
“Keep walking,” Aaron said to Ross, practically shoving him into the dressing room.
“Good luck,” Ross whispered. “I’m still rooting for you guys, even though you sort of broke my brother’s heart.”
Ouch.
And then there was Zach. He came to a full stop, staring at me with an unreadable expression.
I lifted up the card, flashing the front at him. “Can we talk?”
“I’m a little busy right now,” he said, in a clipped voice.
I felt like I’d been punched in the gut. Deservedly. But it didn’t hurt any less. “I would really like it if we could talk.”
“I wouldn’t.”
Tears pricked in my eyes. I blinked a few times, willing myself not to cry. “I understand.”
He turned to head into his dressing room.
“I’ll leave the card here,” I said, leaning it up against the wall.
“And if you have some time . . . I’m really sorry.”
“Okay.” He went inside, letting the door close behind him.
As much as I wanted to bang on his dressing room door and beg him to hear me out, I crutched away to Connor’s dressing room. I knocked twice before letting myself in.
“So?” Connor asked. “How’d it go?”
“It didn’t.”
He nodded. “I figured.”
Unable to be as dramatic as I wanted to be, due to my knee, I gingerly sat down on the couch as I wished I could throw myself down.
“Don’t give up,” Connor said, taking a seat next to me. “He’s angry, as he deserves to be. Give him some time, and then try again.”
“I really don’t think that’ll work,” I said. “He doesn’t want to see me.”
“Give him time,” Connor repeated. “Tomorrow is a new day.”
Mom and Dad came into the room. “I watched a breakdown of the interview.”
Connor sucked in through his teeth, a pained expression on his face. “Did she tell all?”
I wrapped my arm through Connor’s for moral support.
“No,” Dad said. “She talked about your fights, she talked about the good and the bad. But she didn’t talk about . . . about anything else.”
Connor’s head fell back, the tension releasing from his shoulders.
I wrapped my arms around him.
“You know what I think we need?” Mom asked, as she sat down in the corner of the room.
I raised an eyebrow in question.
“I think we could all use some good pizza and an old-fashioned family game night.”
I exchanged smiles with Connor.
“I couldn’t agree more,” Dad said.
SAN DIEGO, CA
CHAPTER 32
I hobbled out of the shower, using the counter to support myself as I grabbed a towel to dry off. I hated getting dressed in a steamy bathroom, but I’d quickly learned that crutches on bare armpits were a devil’s curse.
I crutched into my hotel room, my eyes zeroing in on the poster board on my bed. I made my way over, glancing down to see the card I’d made Zach two days ago. I ran my hands over the apology on the front, my heart tight in my chest. So much for that idea. I flipped the card open, a sticky note flying up before landing on the heart.
meet me on the rooftop.
The rooftop? Like of the hotel?
I grabbed my phone, making my way over to the elevator. And indeed, there was a button to go to the roof. I took the elevator up, slowly taking in my surroundings as I hobbled out. There was a railing that surrounded the top, an overgrown garden to the left. And to the right there was a seating area.
Zach was seated in one of the lounge chairs, his gaze following mine as I made my way over to him.
“I got your note,” I said.
“I see that.”
It was impossible to gracefully take a seat with crutches, so I sort of flopped down onto the opposing lounge chair.
“How’s your knee?” Zach asked.
“I’m trying not to think about it too much,” I admitted. “Or I just sort of . . . cry.”
He nodded, silence lapsing between us.
I needed to apologize. Only I wasn’t sure how to start.
“I read your card,” Zach said.
“And?”
He shook his head. “Only you would make a card by hand and deliver it with wet glitter glue.”
“I didn’t know it was still wet.”
He let out a small laugh. “You globbed it on there. I’m not sure it’s dry even now.”
“I wanted to apologize,” I said. “I didn’t know how to start. So I thought the card could break the ice. Clearly that wasn’t the right answer.”
“I liked the card.”
Now that was a surprise. “You did?”
“I especially liked the polar bear drawing. It took me a minute to figure it out, I thought it was a Yeti at first.”
This time I had to laugh. “I’m not gifted in the art department.”
“I can see that.”
Silence passed between us once again, and I found myself staring at Zach, trying to read his facial expression.
“I said some pretty awful things,” I said, quietly.
He didn’t say anything.
“I know that asking for forgiveness is a lot, and I don’t expect us to go back to how things were. I was terrible toward you for no reason. And you deserve much better.”
“I’ve said things I’m not proud of,” Zach said. “What I was trying to tell you, back before you got upset, was that I’ve been in a similar situation. After my epilepsy diagnosis, I was very angry and bitter, and I said a lot of things to a lot of people that I regret.”
“That doesn’t make what I did okay,” I said. “I attacked your band and your work ethic. But even worse, I went in for a personal attack on you. And I can’t forgive myself for that, so I don’t expect you to.”
He shook his head. “You said what you said to get a reacti
on. I know the feeling: I did it last week to Jesse. I’m still angry about my diagnosis sometimes. I still lash out.”
Zach switched so that he was sitting next to me, and my gaze dropped to the floor. “Zach, I—”
“My support system still stays, no matter how hard I’ve tried to push them away,” Zach said. “So you’re going to have to try harder to get rid of me again.”
And then he was kissing me.
The tears spilled over onto my cheeks as I cupped his face in my hands. “I’m so sorry.”
“And I forgive you.”
And then he was kissing me again. I leaned forward as Zach deepened the kiss, my hands wrapping around his neck as his hands traveled down my chest.
“Hello!”
Zach quickly pulled away as my eyes snapped over toward the elevator.
Ross was standing there, a smile dancing on his lips. “Zach, band livestream in thirty.”
“Fuck off, Ross.”
He laughed in response. “Just a thought, but maybe you guys shouldn’t suck each other’s faces off on the roof.”
“Bye, Ross!” Zach called out.
Ross waved over his shoulder as he headed back to the elevator.
“He’s probably right,” I said.
Zach leaned his forehead against mine, his eyes flickering shut.
“When you left the tour, I was stuck spending all my time with my brothers. And these past few days reminded me of how torturous that is.”
“You need to go get ready for your livestream.”
He gave me another quick kiss. “Will you meet me after?”
“I’m not going anywhere.”
After running backstage to get some ibuprofen from my mom, I was headed back to my seat to watch the sound checks. Now that Zach and I were back together, I wanted to be with him as much as I could.
I could hear Connor’s sound check happening, and I knew Skyline would be next. As I made my way down the hallway, a Nerf gun bullet came whizzing past me. I let out a surprised yelp, blocking my face.
Ross came charging down the hallway, Nerf gun in hand.
“Surrender or die. Your choice.”
“I surrender!”
His nose wrinkled in disgust. “That was too easy.”
And then more bullets came from around the corner.
“You’re a liability risk with your knee,” Ross said. “I’m turning you over to the enemy.” And then he took off running.
“Cease fire!” I called out. “I surrender!”
“Damn,” Jesse said, coming out from behind the corner. “I’m out of ammo. I was trying to get Ross.”
I pointed down the hallway. “He took off running and left me as bait.”
“I’m not surprised.”
Jesse pulled out his phone, pulling up a walkie-talkie app. “We need backup.”
“For what?” I asked. “You’re the only ones with Nerf guns and you have me cornered.”
Zach came running around the corner, raising his gun and shooting me directly in the chest.
“Ow?”
Zach immediately dropped his gun. “You called for backup to shoot Katelyn?”
“Ross, actually,” Jesse said. “You’re trigger-happy.”
Zach pulled a pack of ammo off his side, tossing it to Jesse. “I took Aaron out already. Let’s go finish Ross.”
Jesse loaded up his gun, firing off a shot at me.
“Ow again! What was that for?”
Jesse offered up a cheeky smile. “Just making sure it works.” And then he took off running down the hallway.
Zach leaned over, puckering his lips for a kiss.
“Absolutely not!” I said. “You shot me with a Nerf gun.”
He stole a kiss anyway.
“We can go somewhere more private,” Zach suggested. “Let them fight it out.”
“Where did you have in mind?”
In one swift motion, Zach picked me up, letting my crutches clatter to the floor.
“Right this way.”
We stole away into Skyline’s dressing room, Zach laying me down on the couch. I pulled his shirt so that he practically fell on top of me, my lips finding his. My right leg reached up to wrap around his waist, my left leg still pretty useless.
“You seem to have a habit of wrapping your legs around me,”
Zach said.
“If you don’t like it, I can stop,” I teased, with a smile.
“Oh no, please, continue,” Zach said, before crashing his lips onto mine.
Our kiss deepened, and I ran my fingers through his hair, thoroughly enjoying the moment. I let Zach’s hands explore as I pulled him in closer.
And then we were hit with Nerf gun bullets.
I glanced over to see Jesse, Ross, and Aaron standing at the door.
“Oh, shit,” Zach muttered.
“Protect me?”
Zach dove behind the couch. “You’re on your own for this one.”
“Traitor!”
“We’ll go easy on you,” Jesse said, with a teasing smile.
“I don’t believe you.”
He cocked back his Nerf gun. “Good instinct.”
LOS ANGELES, CA
CHAPTER 33
Home again.
I thought I’d be excited to be back home in my own bed, but dread settled in the pit of my stomach as my mom dropped my suitcase in my room. This was it. The Connor Jackson Live Tour was coming to an end. I wasn’t ready to let it go.
“We should get to the arena before the show starts,” Mom said.
The car was waiting outside.
“Richard!” I called out, as he stepped out of the car.
He shook his head. “Injuries are not part of the plan, Ms. Jackson.”
“I missed you, Richard.”
“It hasn’t been the same without you, Ms. Jackson.”
I climbed into the backseat, Richard taking us around the back of the arena. It was close to show time, and the crew was gathering in the halls for one final send-off. I leaned against the wall, waiting for everyone to gather around.
“Before we go on, I have something to say,” Connor said, once everyone was there. “It’s been a privilege working with every single one of you, and I’m sincerely going to miss you guys once the tour ends.”
Mackenzie’s eyes were bright with tears as she absorbed Connor’s words, one of his arms slung around her shoulders.
“It’s been an honor working with you, man,” Jesse said, with a nod. “We’ve learned a lot from you, and we’ve had one hell of a time.”
“You’re a great guy,” Mackenzie added, with a small smile. “I’m lucky to have gotten to know you on a personal level. Even if it did take you nearly half the tour to come out of your shell.”
“I’m really going to miss you guys on my next tour,” Connor said.
“I would’ve loved to experience Europe with you guys.” Connor’s European tour was set to take off early next year. And while I’d actually ended up enjoying the Connor Jackson Live Tour, I wouldn’t be joining him on the next one. My mom was going to stay home with me so that I could continue playing soccer, whether that was with the U.S. Women’s National Team or not.
“Hey, man,” Zach said, “we wouldn’t be on tour without you. So we owe it all to you.” Skyline cheered to that.
“You also wouldn’t be dating my sister without this tour,” Connor added, his eyes sparkling. Jesse, Ross, and Aaron all laughed while Zach and I blushed.
“All in all it’s been a great ride,” Connor finished. “So let’s go out there tonight and finish this thing.”
Everyone cheered to that, and then Mackenzie was called to stage to start the last show of the Connor Jackson Live Tour. It was a bittersweet moment. Skyline and Connor headed back to their dressing rooms and I went out to the audience to watch the show for the very last time from the front row. Jenica was already in her seat and wrapped me up in a tight hug as I joined her.
“Never ghost me again,” she
ordered.
“I’m sorry. I promise.”
Mackenzie’s set went flawlessly, and I knew she’d do great on her solo tour. She hadn’t announced the tour dates yet, but she was bound to sell out. The usual thirty minutes between sets passed, but Skyline didn’t appear on stage. I checked my phone, but there were no delay warnings from anyone backstage. Thirty-five minutes passed, and then I started to worry. What if something had gone wrong? Then a single spotlight hit the stage, illuminating Ross on the drums. The crowd went wild. The next spotlight illuminated Aaron, but the cheers weren’t quite as loud. I cheered a little louder to help even out the volume. The third spotlight hit Jesse, and the volume shook the arena. Jesse smirked. The final spotlight came on, illuminating Zach. The volume was deafening, louder than any of the other cheers, including those for Jesse.
“My name is Zach, and we are Skyline.”
I liked the new introduction, even if it was only for one night.
For the first time on the entire tour, their set went off without a hitch. It felt wrong almost, but the beaming smile on Zach’s face at the end was contagious.
“Thank you for having us,” Aaron said, with a wave. “My name is Aaron, and we are Skyline.”
“You’re one lucky girl, Katelyn Jackson,” Jenica said. “I would die for a boyfriend that cute.” She spent the next half hour, during the transition between Skyline and Connor, gushing about how cute Zach was.
Connor’s set was flawless, and then there came a surprise. After
“Possibilities,” as Connor went to do his usual chat session with the audience, Skyline came out onto the stage. The audience went nuts.
“Hello,” Jesse said.
Connor busted out laughing, as did the rest of the audience.
“Hello,” Connor said, once he regained his composure.
“We have a present for you,” Jesse informed him.
“Is that so?” Connor asked, amused.
Mackenzie came onto the stage, carrying a cake.
“Can we get Katelyn on stage, please?” Zach asked.
A chorus of aw’s came from the crowd, and I felt my face flush red as two of the security guards helped pull me out of the front row and onto the stage, crutches and all.
Along for the Ride Page 25