by K E Osborn
“What the hell was that about?” Chad asks and I shake my head.
“Honestly, I have no idea. The guy’s a creep,” I reply and Chad nods.
“Sure is,” he says and then looks back to the stage to see his dad throwing his drumsticks into the air and catching them just in time to smash the crash cymbal. Chad cheers and I smile and decide I’ve had enough of this. I walk back down to the green room and make my way back to the comfy lounge to sit down and relax, away from the weird people. I’m playing games on my phone when Ella comes racing in.
“Caleb, come quickly. Annie’s freaked out and fainted,” Ella says grabbing my hand and pulling me up and out of the green room and along the hallway.
I struggle to keep up with her as she drags me along. “What do you mean? What did she freak out about?” I ask and Ella shakes her head.
“I shouldn’t tell you,” she says and I stop and pull her to face me.
“Ella,” I say sternly. She furrows her brows and slumps her body.
“Okay, fine, but she’s going to hate me for telling you. She slept with Aston and he told her that he loves her and she freaked out thinking he’s lying to her about loving her or some shit. It’s so weird, cuz, I’ve no idea what’s wrong with her,” she says and I nod even though I’m a little confused.
“Okay, take me to her.” I’m a little surprised that Aston finally got his way with her. Shame he made her freak out about it though. I walk into the kitchen area and Lia is crying and wiping Annie’s pale face with a wet cloth.
“Oh crap,” I say as I kneel down next to her. She’s so pale and is sweating.
“Geez Annie,” I murmur and look at Lia.
“Can you take her to the green room? The sofa would be more comfortable than the floor,” Lia says and I nod.
“Of course. Are you okay, Lia?” I ask while leaning down and picking Annie up. She’s a dead weight and it reminds me of the time I had to carry her when she was wasted.
“Yes, I'm all right, sweetheart. I just want Annie to wake up,” she says rushing alongside me as I walk her to the green room. As I walk in Aston spots us and rushes over.
“What the hell? What happened? Annie, are you okay?” Aston asks starting to panic himself.
“It’s okay, mate. She’ll wake up soon,” I say and move over to the lounge suite to place her down gently.
“I did this, didn’t I?” Aston asks and I feel sorry for him. His eyes are welling up and Lia walks over to him and wraps her arm around his shoulders for comfort. I hope to God that she’s okay because even though if what Ella is saying is true and Annie is overreacting, I never want to see my cousin like this.
“What’s wrong with her, Caleb?” Ella asks.
“I think she’s had a bit of a panic attack and fainted. Don’t worry, Ella, she’ll come back to us soon,” I say hoping that’s all this is and Annie starts to gasp.
“Annie?” Ella asks desperately.
She groans and moves her hand to her chest like she’s in pain.
“C’mon Annie, open your eyes,” I say as she opens and closes her eyes a couple of times. “Good girl, Annie, come back to us.” I wipe the cloth over her forehead slowly.
“It hurts,” Annie whispers.
“What hurts, Annie?” I ask.
“My chest,” she says and I nod and frown because I think she’s in emotional pain because she’s upset with Aston.
“I know, cuz. I know it hurts, but it’ll get better. I promise,” I say and lean in kissing her cheek.
“Is she okay?” Aston asks.
“She’ll be fine, mate. I think she needs to talk some things through with some professionals and then she’ll feel a whole lot better.” I know Annie has issues, and I really think they’re coming to the surface.
“This is completely my fault,” Aston berates himself and Annie starts to cry even though her eyes are closed.
“I think this has been coming for a while, and somehow you’ve helped trigger it. We all just have to be here for her now, even though she will push us away,” Ella says as Lia comes back in.
“Is she awake yet?” Lia asks.
“She’s awake, just not fully alert,” I reply and Lia kneels down beside Annie and takes her hand.
“Are you with me, sweetheart?” she whispers tucking some of her hair behind her ear.
Annie nods.
“This nice medic is going to take a look at you, okay Annie?” Lia asks while the medic takes Annie’s blood pressure. She is zoning in and out and to be honest I’ve never seen her like this and it’s worrying the hell out of me. Not only for her health and well-being but because this is day one of our tour and how’s she going to cope with the rest of it?
“I think it was just a panic attack, but she’s exhausted. Her stress and anxiety levels peaked and it caused her to black out. She has very low blood pressure, and to be honest I think she should go to the hospital just for observation. We can maybe get a psych evaluation while she’s there,” the medic tells us and Annie passes out again. “Okay, I think we need to take her now,” the medic states and I nod.
“I’ll carry her to the ambulance,” I say.
Lia nods as she starts to cry again.
I carry her to the ambulance and Lia hops in with her. Ella, Aston, and I follow in a chauffeured car behind to the hospital. Poor Aston is a mess and he’s blaming himself. I tried to tell him that this is Annie’s issue and it stems from a deep-seated problem with her birth parents and not from him, but he wouldn’t believe me. He’s beyond consoling. Ella is panic stricken and no one has told Colt because he’s still performing on stage, so God only knows how that’s going to go down.
We arrive at the hospital and Annie has been moved to a room and is set up for observation. She’s exhausted and she’s pretty much just staying asleep. So now that everyone is settled in, I’m going to go and find Indi. I walk up to the nurses’ station.
“Hi excuse me, my cousin is in here and she really likes the nurse called Indi. I was wondering if you could page her to see if she is available for me?” I ask and she smiles and bats her eyelids and I know I’ve got this one in the bag.
“Sure thing, I’ll call her down now,” she says and then lifts up the phone and announces it over the speakers for Indi to come down to reception.
I wait patiently, and even though I saw her this morning and we said our goodbyes, I feel like I need a fix and I can’t come here and not see her. That just wouldn’t be right.
I wait for about five minutes and then I see her walking toward me. She spots me and her eyes open wide and she stops in her tracks. She looks around like she’s being ‘Punked’ or something and I smile. She shakes her head and walks up to me frowning.
“What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be knitting a nana rug or something?”
“I missed you,” I say and lean in kissing her quickly.
She swats at my face as she chuckles along with me.
“I’m working, Caleb. I can’t go around kissing gorgeous men,” she says and I race my hand over my heart and feign shock.
“You kiss other people? Indi, I never would have thought that of you—”
“Shut up. No really, why are you here?” she asks and I decide it’s time to get serious.
“Annie, she had a panic attack and is so exhausted she passed out. The medic brought her in here,” I say and she shakes her head.
“Really? It’s only the first concert of your tour and she’s panicking and passing out after one show? That’s not healthy, Caleb. Are you sure she should be doing this tour?” she asks and I think it’s sweet the way Indi cares for my cousin.
“I think she’s more stressed about her love life than from playing the concert. Apparently her and Aston made whoopee and then he told her that he loves her and she freaked out thinking her birth parents didn’t love her so how could anyone else.”
Indi frowns and shakes her head slightly. “That’s so sad,” she says and I nod. “Well, she needs to
know that being adopted doesn’t mean you aren’t worthy of love though, right?”
We all know that Annie’s insecurities are unfounded.
“That’s why I wanted to find you. She likes you and I think maybe she needs someone to talk to—”
“I’m not qualified like that Caleb—”
“No, I didn’t mean you specifically. I thought that she trusts you, maybe hearing from you that she needs to see a psych or something…well, maybe she might be more open to it.”
“Oh, yeah, of course. I think it’s a good idea for her to talk to someone. She obviously has issues, so I think I know the exact right guy for her to speak with. I’ll set it up.”
I lean in and wrap my arms around her waist pulling her to me. “Caleb, I’m at work!” she says trying to break free of my hold, but I’m too strong for her.
“I don’t care, after I leave here I’m not going to be able to hold you for six months and so I want every reminder of you I can get.” I lean down kissing her soft lips hard. She resists for a second and then relaxes as my tongue enters her mouth. She moves in against me and runs her hands up my arms and into my hair.
I love it when she does that!
We kiss slowly and passionately and I’m already mourning the loss of her lips before it happens. Not being able to kiss her for six months is going to drive me crazy. I need her, she is the beat of my heart. Without that beat, my blood can’t pump and my limbs starve of oxygen. I need her to breathe and letting her go is going to be a pain I don’t want to experience until I have to. But I do have to, for the sake of the band.
I slowly pull away and she looks up into my eyes, hers are sparkling and misting up like she’s feeling the pain and loss just like I am. We stare at each other and I’m lost in her beauty. It astounds me how one person can simply be the most beautiful woman in the world and she’s all mine.
“I love you, Indi,” I whisper and she smiles brightly.
“I know, I love you too. Now let’s go check out your cousin hey?” she says breaking my trance and smirking at me. She knows she has me completely under her spell, the naughty witch. But she can put a spell on me any day, as long as she is mine.
She moves away and we start to walk toward the bay where Annie is. I take a deep breath and shake my head as I watch her fine arse sway from side to side with that sauntering swagger she does so well. Fuck! My cock twitches in my pants and I take my eyes from her delectable arse and look straight ahead trying to will my best friend to keep himself calm. I can’t take her here, so I have to rein him in.
Down boy!
We walk into the bay to see Annie is now fully awake and Colt is here too.
Great this should be fun!
“Hey Annie, you’re awake. How are you feeling?” Indi asks and I can’t help but look at her arse as she bends over to take Annie’s blood pressure.
“I’m okay, feeling a bit groggy and exhausted.”
“Yeah, that will be from the emotional trauma you went through with the panic attack. Plus, we gave you a mild sedative to help calm your nerves. Hopefully by tomorrow morning you should be feeling much better,” she says and continues her observations.
“So the thing I talked to you about?” I ask and Indi nods and swallows like she’s nervous.
“I have a mental health nurse come up to have a chat with you Annie—”
“But I don’t need—”
“You may not need to talk to anyone, but they might be able to help you control your anxiety levels. It will be a good time to talk to them, alone if you want to—”
“She can’t be alone, I will be here,” Colt says and Indi chuckles surprising me.
“Well, I’m sorry Mr. Slade, but if Annie wants to be on her own with the nurse, then she should be. And in my honest opinion it will be the only way Annie will open up, and then maybe we can go about finding a way to help her with her increased anxiety. Wouldn’t you rather she be happy and healthy than you being in the room and her not being honest, Mr. Slade?” Indi asks making me want to high five her for having the balls to stand up to Colt. And the way she’s calling him Mr. Slade is making me want to laugh because it’s showing respect and defiance at the same time.
Everyone is trying not to laugh as Colt simply grunts and Indi smiles and nods.
“Good, I’m glad that’s settled. He should be down in a little while Annie, so until then is there anything you need? Can I get you something to eat?” she asks nicely.
“No. Thank you, Pixie,” Annie says and Indi smirks.
“Don’t call her that, Annie,” I say and Indi smacks me on the arm.
“Annie, I like my nickname. Call me pixie whenever you want to, okay?” Indi looks back at me and sticks out her tongue. I smirk and screw up my face because I really want to be doing all sorts of things with that tongue right now.
“Careful or I’ll bite that tongue,” I whisper and Indi giggles raising her eyebrow as we walk out of the room. I pinch her arse as she walks in front of me and into the hall.
“Caleb!” she says and smirks at me.
“What? I can’t take my eyes off your fine arse in that skirt,” I lean in toward her ear. “You’re making me hard just looking at you,” I whisper and she shakes her head and slaps my chest.
“You’re a fiend!” she says turning away from me and writing something on a notepad. I move in behind her and grind my semi-hard cock into her side. She smiles but ignores me and bites her bottom lip.
“Caleb—”
“Indi,” I say and lean in biting her ear lobe.
“How many times do I have to say that I am working?” she says and turns to face me.
“You can say it all you want, doesn’t stop me from wanting you.”
“We had our sexy goodbye last night, you can’t have another one,” she says and turns back toward her notepad.
“Really?” I ask and she looks at me sideways.
“Yes really,” she says breaking my heart a little. I want her so bad and just being near her sets my soul on an insatiable fire.
“Okay, but can you just bend over a little for me?”
“So you can ogle my arse a bit more, I don’t think so rock star,” she says and leans in kissing my lips softly.
“Indi, you can go on your break now if you like?” a nurse says breaking us from our kiss. I frown at the nurse and she smirks at me.
“Oh really? I’m not due for another hour?” she says and I smile finally realising that if she has a break I get to spend some more time with her.
“Yeah, go hun. Looks like you have someone to keep you company. Take an hour and I’ll keep an eye on the Slade girl,” she says and I look up and smile.
“Thank you, Ingrid,” Indi says.
“Don’t even think about it!” she says looking at me and smirking.
“And what shouldn’t I be thinking about, Miss Malone?”
“I know you’ve watched Greys Anatomy, the on-call room is not a place for sex, Caleb,” she says and I laugh.
“Wow! I really wasn’t thinking that at all, but now I am. Show me the way, baby,” I say taking her hand.
“No way, I am not having sex with you at work,” she whispers.
I smile and pull her along with me. “Caleb wait! Where are we going?” she asks as I drag her with me.
“Somewhere that isn’t work?”
“No seriously, where are we going?” she asks as I drag her along the hall and toward the exit.
“To the car,” I say and she holts in her tracks making me stop to look at her.
“What car? You didn’t drive here, did you?” she asks furrowing her brows at me like she’s angry.
“What? No, it’s a chauffeured car. I just want to spend some more time with you and we have an hour, so let’s go,” I say and start walking again dragging her with me.
She giggles and hurries her pace to keep up with me as I take her out to the waiting car. The driver is inside and steps out when I approach. He goes to open the back doo
r for me and I stop and turn toward Indi.
“Stay here,” I say and she smirks and stands by the boot of the car.
I walk up to the driver and lean in as he looks at me cautiously.
“Look, mate, I’m leaving on tour tomorrow and this is my girl. I only have an hour with her, can you make yourself scarce for me? I’ll pay you whatever you want?” I whisper and he smiles and nods.
“Sir, have the car for as long as you like. You have my number, call me when you’re ready to go back to the hotel. Just please, don’t make a mess,” he says and I chuckle.
“I won’t, I promise,” I say and he smiles and pats my shoulder and walks off past Indi, who looks at me and raises an eyebrow. I open the back door and wave at her to come down. She slides into the car and I follow her in and close the door behind me. I’m so glad the windows are tinted. I lock the doors so no one can accidentally walk in on us.
“Caleb, what’s your crazy plan right now?” she asks. I shuffle in toward her and then grab her leg and pull her over my leg so she gets the idea to straddle me, which she does. She moves on top of me and shimmies her skirt right up so it’s sitting on her hips. She’s wearing her purple underwear that I love and it’s instantly making me hard. I run my hands up into her hair and I look into her eyes as she looks down at me.
“I missed you,” I say and she giggles.
“You haven’t even left the country yet.”
“I know, but I’m glad I get to have you again before I go,” I say and then pull her head down and kiss her forcefully. She kisses me back passionately as she opens her mouth and our tongues collide with such force knowing this truly will be the last time for us. This is our final goodbye and we’re going to milk it for all it’s worth. Her hands move to hold either side of my head as she kisses me. My cock is growing harder every second that we kiss and having her pussy sitting right over the top of my cock only covered by my jeans is making me anxious to have her. I want her so bad and I know she wants this too as she starts to grind her hips on top of me slowly causing a sweet friction between us.
My hands run down her back and onto her naked thighs. I smooth over her soft, delicate and warm skin and move my fingers down to the seams of her purple panties.