Fame

by Meghan Quinn

  “Told me what?” Landon asked, wanting to sit down, needing to sit down.

  “Quinn, we lost her. We lost Quinn!” Myrna cried, stopping Landon’s world completely.

  The world around him turned black from those three little words running ramped through his mind. They lost Quinn.

  Quinn’s voice rang through Landon’s mind from this morning about her complaining about a headache and not feeling her best but she was still in a bright mood because she was going shopping. Landon even thought about cancelling the engagement tonight but Quinn said she would be fine.

  Throughout the day he sent her text messages, asking how she was doing and she never once complained about not feeling well, so what the hell happened?

  Instantly, Landon felt the arms of Kaid and Grey wrap around him, as they sat him down on a chair and tried to get the information from the nurses, but nothing processed. All he could hear was the screeching sound of Quinn’s mom saying the love of his life, the one and only girl ever made for him, was dead. She was gone. There had to be a mistake; that couldn’t be correct. There was no way she was dead.

  “Aneurism?” Grey questioned.

  Words like stress from her bulimia and worn down arteries were thrown around, letting Landon know that it was a combination of things, but he still chose not to believe it. How could he believe it?

  “This is not happening,” he said, while looking up at a doctor who was now hovering over them. “Please, tell me this isn’t happening.”

  A sorrowful look crossed the doctor’s face as he kneeled down and spoke softly to Landon. “I’m sorry, son, but we weren’t able to help her. Unfortunately, she has passed.”

  A feral cry escaped his throat, as he crumpled to the ground with Quinn’s mom, both sobbing into each other’s arms, one growing louder than the other.

  This wasn’t how things were supposed to shake out for him. He wasn’t supposed to lose Quinn. He was supposed to marry her, grow old with her, start a family with her. Life was never this cruel.

  His world was crumbling around him as he sat on the floor with Quinn’s mom, never letting go, hoping that if he held on tight enough, for just a little bit longer the doctor would come back and let them know it was a mistake, Quinn wasn’t the one who passed.

  But the doctor never came back.

  Instead, in the faint distance, Landon could hear a doctor talking to his bandmates and Twisted Perfection about Willow being in an induced coma, but while the doctor spoke, Grey never left his side. Grey was wrapped around Landon tightly, holding on to him, making sure he knew that no matter what, he was there for him. But what reality really was saying was Landon didn’t think there was any hope left for him. Without Quinn, there was nothing left in life to live for.

  **Rook**

  Journal Entry #210

  The house is quiet, somber, sad. We lost one of our own, and no one knows how to react. We don’t talk to each other, we don’t look at each other most of the time; we just walk around, going through the motions, occasionally going to check in on Landon, who has been in his room, in the dark, ever since.

  Grey and Landon’s parents have come to stay in the house with us. They would have taken Landon home, but he refused to move from the bed that he shared with Quinn, so we acquired some new roommates, not that I really care. I just want the boy to be watched over.

  I feel helpless when it comes to things like this, especially trying to feel empathetic for other people. I try to put myself in their shoes. If it was Maisy who was the one being rolled by with the drape over her body, I don’t think I would have made it out of the hospital. I can’t imagine the pain Landon is going through. I thought not being able to have Maisy in my life on in imitate level was life or death; I can’t imagine what it would be like not having her at all. My gut twists with dread to just think about it.

  Maisy.

  She’s been cold and distant, but then again, so has everyone, but I’m worried about her. She took Willow’s hospitalization badly, and now with Quinn gone, she’s just glazed over; nothing affects her, and I feel like I’m losing a piece of her every damn day, and I have no clue how to stop it.

  Fuck, I’m a selfish prick. I shouldn’t be concerned about my life right now. I should be in Landon’s room, helping him tie his tie and putting his shoes on him, but he wants nothing to do with anyone besides his parents. He even pushes Grey away, but Grey doesn’t care. He presses on and makes sure Landon doesn’t push him away too much.

  Grey is hurting too. I can see it in his body posture, in the way he looks at me when he talks. He’s lost his spirit that once drove him, and I’m not sure if it’s from almost losing Willow or from the loss of Quinn. I think it’s from…

  “Hey…”

  Rook looked up from his journal and saw Maisy standing in his doorway, wearing a black dress, with her hair up in a tight bun, and no makeup on her face.

  “Hey, Boo,” Rook said, while he stood and shut his journal. He tossed it on his bed and walked over to Maisy, who, for the first time in a couple of days, actually looked him in the eyes.

  “Um, are you ready to go?” she asked.

  “Yeah, just need to grab my tie,” Rook said nervously, while he turned to grab the black tie to go with his black on black suit.

  He went to turn around when Maisy’s small arms wrapped around his waist. Surprised, but instantly feeling warm, he turned in her arms and tilted her chin up so she had to look him in the eyes.

  “Are you okay, Boo?”

  She shook her head no. “I’m not. I need you today, Rook. I need a friend.”

  “You know I will always be there for you, Boo. Anything for you, Maisy. How can I help you?”

  Her pleading big brown eyes tore into his soul as she pulled away and held out her hand.

  “Just hold my hand and don’t let go.”

  Welcoming the chance to be there for her, he nodded his head and gripped her hand in his. The fit was perfect, and he relished the feel of her soft skin. He knew, with her at his side, he could get through anything. Even if it was just a simple gesture like holding her hand, he would take it.

  “Don’t let go, Rook,” she said, as they headed downstairs to the waiting limo that would take them to Quinn’s funeral.

  “I’ll never let go, Boo, ever.”

  Epilogue

  **Grey**

  Grey paced in front of the sterile door as he ran his hand through his hair. Quinn’s funeral was too much for him emotionally. Not only did he have his own pain at losing someone who was so close to him once, someone he loved, but he harbored the pain of his brother was well.

  Landon had completely shut off to the world, and Grey had no clue how to fix it.

  “Mr. Cross, you can go in now.”

  Grey nodded to the kind nurse, who helped him find his way through the center, and thanked her.

  Taking a deep breath, he pushed through the door and was faced with a very white room and white sheets. The furniture was all white, even the dresser in the corner, holding minimal items, was white. The only pop of color in the room was that of Willow’s pink striped hair that played against the white of her pillow.

  Her eyes were closed, but there were no tubes hooked up to her; she was just sleeping. The past few days, she came out of her coma that was due to lack of oxygen to the brain, and was able to actually speak a little. The doctors spent a great deal of time washing the drugs out of her body and replenishing her body with some much-needed nutrients, while Pete, their manager, worked with the label on getting Willow immediately submitted into a rehab center.

  Because of Quinn’s death and her funeral, Grey hadn’t been able to see Willow since he picked her up in her bathroom, so seeing her, looking almost angelic in her white room, and watching her chest rise and fall with her breathing, was an enormous relief.

  Being cautious, Grey undid his tie and sat down in the chair that was next to Willow’s bed. There were some white flowers in the corner of her room from the label,
wishing her to get well soon, but that was it. The room was stark and so not Willow.

  Taking a leap, Grey placed his hand on top of Willow’s and slowly stroked it with the pad of his thumb. He didn’t feel like he had done a good enough job letting her know he was there for her, but from now on, no matter how much she pushed him away, he was going to be there for her.

  She stirred lightly in her bed at his touch, and he watched intently as her long eyelashes fluttered open, exposing those beautiful blue eyes of hers.

  “Grey?” she choked out, while sitting up and reaching for her water. Grey lent her a hand and helped her grab the water while she sat up.

  “How are you feeling?” he asked, trying not to sound too worried.

  When he told Kaid and Maisy that he was headed over to the rehab center to check on Willow, they advised him to not tell her about Quinn just yet, since she was in recovery. They didn’t think it was the best time.

  “Tired and kind of on edge.”

  Grey nodded his head in understanding, while he watched her perfect lips wrap around the straw that was in her water cup. Once she was done sipping, she set it on her night stand and turned toward him in her bed, so she was laying on her side and her hands were under her face.

  “What are you doing here?”

  “I wanted to check on you,” he said, while trying not to stare too much into her eyes. He was helpless when it came to her.

  “Why?”

  “Because I care about you, Willow.”

  “You shouldn’t,” she said sadly. “I’ve been a complete bitch to you. You should be out celebrating that I almost killed myself.”

  “Willow!” Grey gasped at her words. “No matter what, I will always care about you. You scared me to my core when I found you on the floor of your bathroom. I thought you…” he choked on his words and took a deep breath. “I thought you died.”

  Willow shut her eyes momentarily and said, “Might have been better for everyone.”

  “No, Willow, it wouldn’t have. Even though you want to deny it, I care about you deeply. I can’t imagine what I would do if you didn’t come back to us. I would have been devastated.”

  A small tear trickled down her face as she asked, “Really?”

  “Yes, really,” Grey said in relief. “Willow, you mean something to me, and the fact that I was never able to actually spend more time with you ran through my head every moment you laid lifeless in my arms. It was a regret I wasn’t prepared to live with.”

  Grey didn’t mean for their conversation to get so heavy, but it did, and he wasn’t about to turn back now. He watched her as she studied his face, looking for any tell that he might be lying about his confession, but he wasn’t. He was dead serious when it came to Willow. He was going to make sure he gave their relationship a chance, no matter what he had to do. He was going to make it happen, because there was no place he would rather be then next to Willow, cheering her on.

  Finally, she took a deep breath and placed her hand on his. She lightly squeezed his hand, and he returned the gesture.

  “Don’t leave me here by myself, Grey.”

  “I won’t; I will be here every day,” he promised.

  “I’m scared,” she said in a shaky voice.

  “Don’t be, Willow; we’ll get through this.”

  “You’ll be here every step of the way?” Her voice was so weak, it nearly gutted him.

  “You can count on it, baby. I’m not letting you go.”

  Thank you for reading Fame! I hope you enjoyed it. If you did, please help other readers find this book:

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  Table of Contents

  Copyright

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Epilogue