by K. R. Grace
“I’m sure she’ll survive. Now, are you getting on or not?”
“I’m coming. I’m coming,” I muttered as I climbed on behind him.
“She said between panting breaths,” he called back.
I shoved him hard. “You’re such a perv!”
He tilted his head back and laughed before revving the engine and launching us off and down the road. His little Vespa wasn’t exactly a babe magnet. Especially when pitted against Cam’s Indian. However, it was still a fun ride to Mooreland. Once we got to the fairgrounds, he hopped off the bike and tugged me with him.
“Hold on a second,” I growled as I struggled to get the offensive helmet off and toss it down onto the seat.
“No time. We’re already late.”
I allowed him to drag me along by the wrist as I used my free hand to try to tame the damage the helmet had done to my hair. Once we reached the backstage entrance, a big, bald, burly dude wearing a black “SECURITY” t-shirt ushered us through.
“Finally!” Cam’s bass guitarist, Niko Rivera, sighed when we walked up to him. He had bright blue hair styled in a four-inch-high mohawk and piercings on every available surface of his body including his cheeks. He’d dropped out of high school last year to pursue a music career, but overall, he was a decent guy. Not that I ever had the opportunity to get to know him. All of this came from Cam’s mouth, and I had a feeling he’d omitted some facts.
“Cam’s having…” Niko didn’t have an opportunity to finish what he was saying because the man of the hour came barreling around a big stack of black boxes and flung his arms around me. I could smell the alcohol on his breath before our bodies collided. It was so bad, I had to hold my breath to escape it.
“Macey! How’s it going?” He slurred as he released me.
“You’re drunk.”
He squinted as he took me in. “And you’re wearing a neon green yogurt shirt. That’s not hot.”
“I didn’t know I had to dress like a groupie to be allowed backstage,” I said dryly as I crossed my arms over my chest.
“How did this happen?” I demanded to Niko.
He shrugged. “We decided to do some pre-show shots, and the next thing I know he’s downed a fourth of the bottle.”
Cam and I had different views on underage drinking. He was all for it, and I thought drinking from a funnel whilst standing on one’s head was a fast pass to being a lifelong member of Alcoholics Anonymous…or the morgue. Still, we’d made a pact as freshmen that we would be each other’s accountability partner when it looked like things were going south at a party.
Well, things had gone south into Hades already, and there was no time to sober him up.
“It’s a complete nightmare,” Morgan muttered. She had her red hair twisted up into twin buns—one on each side of her head to make it look like she had mouse ears—a black tank with a giant red mouth on it, and a red mesh skirt over red leggings.
“Do you think he can sing?” I asked her since Niko was dead to me.
“I’ve never seen him like this.”
“Damn it!” I stomped for good measure as Cam turned into a giant octopus and became a mass of arms and legs attached to me. “Knock it off, Cam.” I shoved him off and grabbed ahold of his shoulders so I could look into his eyes. They were bloodshot and watery, as if he’d been crying at some point. What the hell?
“Yup. Never felt better.” He hiccupped and extricated himself from me. “Let’s rock.”
I cringed as he flooded out onto the stage and grabbed the microphone to scream what I could only assume was, “Hello, Mooreland! How’re y’all doin’ tonight?”
The crowd went wild, directing my attention to the mass of bodies. I spotted Teagan standing right in front of the stage and gave him a small wave. Teagan pointed at Cam and then flashed a thumbs up just before the music started.
Holding my breath seemed like a good idea as Cam opened his mouth to sing. To the untrained ear, Cam sounded normal, but I watched as he dragged his feet across the stage, almost stumbling over wires and cords from time to time. If he made it through his set without falling, it would be a miracle.
It was hard to enjoy myself when he would walk precariously close to the edge of the stage and then stumble back. At one point, I was pretty sure he was making love to his mic stand.
The numbers when he played his guitar as well as sang were also interesting. Playing was akin to breathing for Cam, so his fingers knew exactly what to do even when he had little control of his body. However, whatever he’d drunk must’ve made him horny as hell, because his eyes had that hooded look he got when he saw a girl he wanted to do. He fell onto his back and started doing hip thrusts as he played.
Women and girls of all ages went wild, but my heart broke a little inside. Yes, he looked like the typical rockstar out on the stage, but the talented artist was gone. He was nothing more than a sex symbol out there, thrusting and gyrating as he made inappropriate eye contact with some of the girls in the front row. Evidence to that was the bra that was tossed onto the stage.
Everything in me said to flee and have nothing to do with him after the concert, but I knew something was wrong, and I wasn’t leaving him until I got answers.
“He’s so wasted,” a familiar voice said to my right. I turned to see Evan James from my freshman world history class standing beside me. He was in chorus, played the lead in all the school plays, and was destined to go into acting once he graduated high school. He had caramel brown hair that he currently wore short on the sides but swishy and thick on top. His skin was tanned, and he had one of those smiles that made you smile back.
“Evan, what are you doing here?”
“I’m tonight’s MC. I’d ask what you’re doing here, but everyone knows you’re wherever Cam is.”
Because Cam wasn’t on my favorite list at the moment, I glared at Evan. “What the hell does that mean?”
He shrugged casually, oblivious to the danger he was in.
“It just means that you and Cam are joined at the hip.”
“We are not joined at the hip!” Even to my ears the objection sounded weak. “We’re just best friends.”
“Well, could’ve fooled me. Everyone in school knows you’re off limits. No one touches Cam’s girl.”
“I’m not nor will I ever be his girl.” As if to prove my point, Cam reached out and tugged an almost topless girl onto the stage. He draped his arm around her hips and tugged her forward so that they danced pelvis to pelvis. “See!”
Evan took in the scene and then looked at me. “He won’t remember that in the morning, but he will remember that you were here. That you cared.”
“You sound awful sure of yourself.”
“I am, because you’re the unforgettable type.”
My jaw dropped, but before I could say anything, Cam stumbled between us with his groupie under his arm. Their lips and tongues were locked together as they stumbled to the nearest corner.
“Disgusting,” I muttered.
“Ditto,” Evan agreed.
Bruce, Niko, and Morgan stormed past us with fire in their eyes, gunning for Cam.
“I better defuse the situation before it gets out of hand,” I said apologetically to Evan.
“I get it. No need to explain.” He raised his hands in the universal “surrender” sign before grabbing his mic and running out onto the stage with a big smile on his face.
I put my back to him and stalked over to the mass of bodies that were currently yelling and shoving at each other.
“You ruined the show, dickhead!” Niko shouted.
“You’re the asswipe that gave him the liquor in the first place!” Bruce shoved at Niko.
“Hey! Hey!” I cried as I pressed my way into the center of the huddle. Everyone fell back a few steps, their chests heaving.
“You. Go screw some other performer.” I pointed at the blonde whose top was askew and her red lipstick smudged. She quickly darted off like she was afraid of me. Good. “And You.
I should tell your dad you got into his liquor cabinet, but I won’t.” I pointed at Niko. “You. Why did you leave these two alone in the first place?” I pointed at Bruce. And then I spun around on Cam. “And you. If you ever pull a stunt like that again, I will string you up by your balls and let all the girls I’ve dumped for you get their revenge. Are we clear?”
Niko and Bruce mumbled apologies while Cam bent over behind a speaker and threw up all the liquor he’d consumed earlier.
My heart weighted down at the sight of him, hunched over and hurling with all his might. The guys and Morgan left us alone as I hopped up onto a giant amp and crossed my legs at my ankles.
“Do you think you’re ready to tell me what’s been bothering you?”
He shook his head as he rose and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “Nah, it’s nothing. Just having a bad night.”
“Cam.”
“Drop it, Mace. I had a problem. You weren’t here. I turned to my friend Jack for advice. Big mistake. Lesson learned.”
I watched his retreating form and wondered if this was the beginning of the end of our friendship.
Cam and I had a Sunday routine. If we both finished our homework by early evening, we’d text each other to check to see if the coast was clear and then veg out on the couch watching Netflix or hang out by Mom and Dad’s pool if the weather was nice. We were wild like that.
It was already six o’clock, and I hadn’t heard anything from him. If this was finals season, I would’ve let it slide, but I knew he wasn’t bogged down with homework. He was avoiding me.
I stared at my blank phone screen, willing it to light up. As if it heard my prayers, the little, sleek square brightened, alerting me of a new text. I grabbed the phone and saw that it was from a local number, but someone I didn’t have already in my contacts.
UNKNOWN: Hey, it’s Evan. How’s it going?
A guy other than Cam was texting me. I did a little happy butt-wiggle dance in my chair.
ME: Hey, Evan. What’s up?
I sounded like a dork, didn’t I? A geeky, awkward, pathetic dork.
Be cool, Macey, I scolded myself.
My phone buzzed again.
EVAN: Everything okay?
ME: Yeah, y?
EVAN: Word at the concert was that things got crazy while I was on stage
ME: It’s ok
EVAN: I shouldn’t have left you alone
ME: I’m good. Thanx for caring, tho
It was sweet that Evan cared enough to reach out and make sure I was okay, but there was a part of me that felt weird talking to another guy about Cam. Normally, when Cam and I had a problem with each other, we just went straight to the source and duked it out. My conversation with Evan almost felt like a betrayal of Cam’s trust.
EVAN: Ur welcome. See u in school tmrw?
ME: Yeah
Thankfully, that was the extent of the conversation, and I went back to staring at my phone, waiting for Cam to call, text, or send up a smoke signal. Anything.
I’d just given up hope of hearing from Cam when my phone buzzed to life with his name flashing on the screen.
“It’s about dang time,” I muttered as I answered the phone on the second buzz.
After a pregnant pause that made me wonder if he’d accidentally butt-dialed me, he answered, “Yeah, sorry about that. We still on for lazy Sunday?”
Just like that? No apology? No explanation? No gratitude for sobering up his drunken ass before I took him home?
“Um, sure?” The plan was to let him think I was okay with everything and then pounce on him once he was in my territory. A tried and true method that had yet to fail me.
“I’ll be there in five.”
The line went dead.
I wanted to chuck the phone through the window and let it shatter into a million pieces, but the only person who would suffer from that action would be me. So, I tossed it on my bed instead. It wasn’t as satisfactory, but it would have to do.
Five minutes later and after having evicted Clay to his room, I sat on the couch watching movie trailers when the doorbell rang. I frowned. How odd. Cam usually walked on in without seeking admittance first.
I glanced down at my Dad’s old Rolling Stones final tour t-shirt I confiscated from him a few years ago and Cam’s basketball shorts I’d failed to return to him since last summer. The perfect attire for a lazy Sunday watching cheesy sitcoms and talking smack about the actors and actresses.
I rose to my feet and made my way over to the front door and flung it open; however, Cam wasn’t standing on the other side.
“Evan? What are you doing here?”
He scanned me over from top to bottom before a slight smile etched across his face. I’m sure I was the total definition of sex appeal at the moment.
“I was in the neighborhood and thought I’d stop by and see if you were up for a walk.”
I crossed my arms and tried to look anywhere but at him. That’s when I saw him. Jogging across the street with a bag of sour gummy worms, my absolute favorite, in each hand was Cam. He skidded to a halt when he spotted Evan and me and his face fell.
There came a point in every girl’s life when she had to choose between spending time with her friends and a boy. Unfortunately for Evan, friends always came first for me. “Um, now’s not really a good time,” I said nervously. I really liked Evan and didn’t want to run him off after he came all this way to see me, but Cam had asked first. First in line, first in right, as Dad always said.
“Hey, Cam!” I waved him over.
Evan turned and his face darkened. Then he looked back at me. “I understand. Maybe some other time.”
I smiled brightly. Relief coursing through my veins. “Good. Thank you for understanding.”
He mumbled something probably having to do with brushing off my gratitude and gave a quick wave before walking down the sidewalk. As the two guys passed, I could’ve sworn they both growled. What the heck?
Cam made his way up the steps and into the house. I checked to make sure Evan was gone before closing the door behind me.
“So, you and Evan, huh? I never pegged you for the theatrical type.” Cam gave me a quick hug before depositing the bags of gummy worms on the coffee table.
“It’s not like that. We just bonded over a drunken imbecile who made an absolute fool of himself at the concert last night.”
Cam winced as he plopped down on the couch and patted the empty cushion to his right. “I deserved that.”
I stood my ground, waiting for his explanation. We stared at each other for almost a minute before he finally let out a loud sigh and ran his fingers through his hair as he looked up at the ceiling.
“I’m sorry I put you through that, Mace. There’s just been a lot going on, and I guess I needed an outlet. It’s a lame ass excuse, I know, but it’s the truth.”
I could never stay mad at Cam for longer than a few hours. My arms fell to my sides as I moved to take the seat beside him.
“What’s going on, Cam?”
“Just a bunch of shit you don’t need to worry about.” He brushed me off! After all these years of being each other’s secret keepers, he had the nerve to give me the tight lip over something that was big enough to cause him to turn into a drunken idiot? Oh no, not in this lifetime.
I reached over and latched onto his nipple and twisted. I am not proud that I resorted to a twelve-year-old’s tactic, but desperate times called for desperate measures.
“Ahh, ahh! Release! Release!” He yelped as he wiggled in a failed attempt to free himself.
“Not until you tell me what’s really bothering you.”
He tried again to free himself, but I tugged harder and he went limp.
“Okay.” He raised his hands in surrender. “I’ll tell you. Just, please, release the nipple.”
I set him free and leaned back against the couch, my arms crossed over my chest.
“I’m failing English. If I don’t make As in all my assignments from
now until the final exam, I won’t be graduating this year.”
I was shocked. While Cam loved to come across as the rockstar who never cracked open a book or cared about making good grades, he was actually extremely smart. Everyone who attended Worthington Academy had to be smart. It was where the future Who’s Who of America went to school, or so we liked to think. Before high school and his band gave him an elevated status, he and I were both scholastic nerds. He was destined to be an engineer like his dad, and I was going to be the first ever surgeon/psychiatrist.
“How?”
He let out another puff of air. “Life happened. School, the band…everything.”
There it was. The staggered pause followed by the generic term “everything.” Something was bothering Cam, but for some reason he didn’t want me to know about it. I wanted to press forward and force him to spill everything, but the guarded look on his face told me all that would get me was an empty living room.
“Well, I’d be happy to help you out if you need it.”
“Thanks. I’ll probably be hitting you up in a week or so to edit my research paper on Animal Farm.”
“Good. So, what are you in the mood to watch?”
Cam was the talk of the school when Monday morning came. Apparently, several videos of him practically having sex with a random chick on stage were circulating in the halls before teachers stepped in and started confiscating phones.
While I would’ve found the nearest locker to hide in until I graduated or died, whichever came first, Cam took it in stride. He even garnered a few fist bumps from the football team. If anything, his performance Saturday night solidified his status as a legend in the school.
At lunch, several girls came over to our table with invitations exclusively for Cam. They would whisper something in his ear, putting their cleavage on display, and he’d chuckle like he did when someone made a dirty joke.
“It’s nauseating.” Reese rolled her eyes as Cam sent away the latest bimbo.
“Tell me about it. It’s like they lack all self-respect,” Morgan agreed as she speared a clump of red Jello with her fork. Why she never used a spoon was beyond me. I guess she liked a challenge?