“Where are the girls? Mads, Tales! Where the fuck are they?”
“Memphis!” I hear Madison screaming. “Oh, God!”
Blackness overtakes me.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
* * *
WHAT’S YOUR EMERGENCY?
Tallia
I grab Madison and pull her to the door, feeling sick to my stomach as I open the door to the awaiting car.
“Get in, Mads.”
“But, but—”
“Get in the fucking car!” I scream, not even covering my mouth after the expletive.
“What the hell did I do to you?” I hear Memphis behind me. “Swearing and—”
“Get in.” I have to hold back the tears when I see he’s awake now.
“Sweet cheeks, only if you don’t mind my head on your lap.” He sounds drunk.
I smile and nod. “Of course.”
In the car, I am seated on the black leather bench that backs against the driver’s seat while Memphis lies with his head on my lap, just like he warned. I rap on the partition, calling out “Hospital!” when the driver opens it.
“Tell him fucking fast. Not feeling all that good,” Memphis moans out.
“Fast!”
“No, say ‘fucking fast’.” He smirks, and then his eyes squint in pain.
“Fucking fast,” I yell, knowing it will make him open his eyes.
“You’re making me hard, sweet cheeks,” he mumbles.
I push his hair out of his eyes and lean down. “Aren’t you always?”
He smirks. “Lately, yeah.” After a minute, he says, “Your father.” He shakes his head.
“What?”
“He made me this way.” His eyes get droopy.
“Give me your shirt.” I hold my hand out to the guys. “One of you, give me your shirt,” I snap. “He’s bleeding more.”
“You can have mine.” Memphis’s full lips curl up in one corner. “Oh, hell, take my boxers, too, Tales.”
“Very funny.”
“If I die, you’ll be so pissed you missed that experience.”
He’s bleeding everywhere. There’s blood on him, on me, on the seats and he’s still being… Memphis.
“Then don’t you dare.” I feel tears in my eyes.
Finn leans over and wraps his shirt around Memphis’s arm.
“Easy, motherfucker.” Memphis cringes. “I really don’t wanna cry like a little bitch in front of Tales,” he pauses and looks at Madison, who is hysterically crying into Billy’s shirt, “or Mads, man.”
I smile as he grins up at me, tears falling freely down my face.
“Aw, man. Don’t cry, sweet cheeks,” he groans while Finn tightens the shirt on his wound.
“How far?” I half yell, half cry to the driver.
“Five minutes,” he snaps back and hits the accelerator.
“How’s our girl?” Memphis asks me, and I know he’s talking about Madison.
“A mess, Memphis.” I push his hair back, then lean down and kiss him. “If you don’t get better, I’m going to die.” He looks at me like I’m nuts, and I don’t even care. I smile through my tears and whisper. “I want you that badly.”
I am shocked that I said that to him, especially now of all times, but you can’t take even a moment for granted and I needed him to know. I needed to give him ...something to look forward to? God, what was I thinking? Well it’s too late now.
His eyes open wide, and then his dark brow creeps up. “What do you want from me?”
I lean down, kiss his nose, and then whisper the truth, “I want you to get better fast, and then I want you to rock me your way.”
“I’m gonna rock you every way. Move back down here.”
I lean back down, and he inhales deeply.
“I’m not the guy you think I am, Tales, and you’re nobody’s groupie.”
I dig deep for courage. “I wanna be your groupie.”
“Fuck, you better not just be saying that ’cause I’m bleeding out, Tales.”
“Memphis, I’ve been your groupie since I was, like, seven.” Even if I become merely one of many, I will not regret admitting that to him, not ever. Not after the way it makes him smile.
“We’re here.” I tell him.
I feel the car speed into the emergency room’s drop off zone.
“We’ll find you a hot nurse, man,” River says jokingly, and Memphis smirks.
I already feel stupid. So, so stupid.
“River, you’re gonna be my bitch, change my bed pan, give me sponge baths,” he groans as he sits up, then slips back. I catch him. “Nice save, sweet cheeks.”
“Anytime,” I say sadly and hang back.
He looks back. “Where you going?”
“What?”
“You were just right fucking here a second ago. Don’t duck out now. I’m gonna hold you to it, Tales.”
It gets really noisy and confusing when we go through the emergency entrance. Finn and River carry Memphis, and Billy is bleeding, too.
“Bar fight?” The ER nurse laughs.
“Excuse me, miss, but it’s really not funny,” Madison cries. “Not fucking funny at all!”
“Get her the hell out of here,” Memphis says as his eyes roll slightly.
“Come on, Madison; let’s go call your folks.”
She wraps her arms around my waist and cries as we walk out the way we came in.
“Want me to call—?”
“No,” she cries. “He has to be okay. He just has to be.”
“I know, and he will be,” I say, hugging her tightly.
I lead her to the bench to the right of the entrance, and we sit.
“No, he won’t be.”
“He will, dammit!” She looks up at me, surprised. “Sorry.”
“I know. I know! Tally, our parents—”
“I’ll call them.” I look for the car since my bag is in it.
“No, that’s just the thing. They aren’t okay. They split up six months ago. Dad came to see me at school during one of his trips. He stayed at a hotel. I … Well, I went to surprise him, and he wasn’t alone.”
“Your mom was …” I stop when I see her lip quiver, and she shakes her head. “Oh! Oh, Madison. Why haven’t you talked to me?”
“I haven’t told anyone,” she cries. “God, what a mess. What a fucking mess.”
Her face is in her hands, and she is trembling from her silent sobs. I place my hands on her leg.
“How did your mom take it?”
She shakes her head. “I couldn’t … I couldn’t tell her.”
My heart breaks for her. “You’ve gone through this alone?”
“I couldn’t tell Memphis. Dad told me I couldn’t, or I would fuck things up for him.”
“He put that on you?” She nods. “What an asshole.”
She smiles and wipes away her tears. “You have a Black mouth.”
“A what?” I wipe my face.
“Like a potty mouth, but worse.” She smiles, and I squeeze her in a hug again.
“How come you didn’t talk to me?”
“You lost your father, and I want mine dead half the time, Tales. I just couldn’t.”
“I understand.” I hug her more tightly. “Don’t do it again, or I’ll cut you.” I smile, repeating what she says to Memphis all the time.
“What’s up with you and my brother?” she asks, pulling free from my bear hug.
“What do you mean?” I look away for a moment, hoping she won’t see the lie on my face.
“Tales, if he hurts you…” She grabs my hand.
“Madison, it’s flirting,” I tell her, looking back at her.
She gives me the uh-huh look. “Talk to me when you’re ready.”
“I’m ready for you to call your parents and then go back in and check on Memphis,” I say, standing up from the bench we sat on.
“And Billy.”
“Talk to me about that when you’re ready.” I smile, taking her hand. “Let’s go g
et our purses from the car.”
When we walk in, Finn looks up and says loudly, “Come on.” The nurse gives him a look. “They’re his sisters.”
“And you’re all his brothers,” she says, obviously not believing him.
“That’s what he told you, isn’t it?”
She shakes her head. “Go on in.”
When we walk in, I can immediately tell Memphis has been given something for the pain. His eyes are not vibrant and showy like they always are. His arm is bandaged from the fingertips to all the way up past his elbow.
“You okay?” Madison asks quietly.
“No, I’m not fucking okay, Mads,” he slurs. “They think I have nerve damage. I have to have surg—”
“Ery,” River finishes for him.
Memphis covers his face, saying nothing.
“He is worried about the tour,” River whispers, none too quietly.
“I’m a fucking guitarist,” he mumbles. “I play fucking guitar.”
The room falls quiet.
“And you sing, Memphis,” I say, trying to give him some hope.
“Yeah, now we have to find another guitarist. Fucking bullshit.”
“You’ll be okay, Memphis. You’ll see.” Madison’s voice cracks.
“And how the hell do you know that? You a doctor, Mads? Or you just going to college to do him or him?”
“Memphis,” I gasp.
“It’s my best diddling hand, Tales, so you may want to rethink the groupie thing, sweet cheeks.”
I feel my face burst into flames as he looks out from under his arm.
“Still got my lap, though. You can still get yourself—”
I turn and walk out. I walk out of the room, out of the ER, and outside.
“Wait up.” I turn back to see River running behind me. “Tally, he’s all fucked up on morphine. He is a mess. He’s going on tour in just a couple months, and there is no way in hell he’s gonna recover that quickly.”
“He could,” I say, rather forcefully for me.
“No.” He runs his hands through his hair. “Pretty sure the doctor said, ‘There is no fucking way, young man’.” He smiles sadly and looks down. “He is going into surgery in about fifteen minutes. He has you and Madison, who by the way, is a train wreck of epic proportions, and that’s coming from me, the cause of most train wrecks of epic proportions. Fuck!” he roars suddenly. “Look, you are, like, the most normal person in his life who’s here; go tell him the bullshit about him being okay.”
“He won’t believe me,” I argue.
“He’ll want to. Fuck, tell him, if he pulls through, you’ll give him dome or some shit.”
“What?” I honestly have no clue what dome is.
“You have two point two seconds before I claim fucked up on drugs when I get arrested for throwing you over my shoulder and marching POW! back in that hospital.”
“What?” The word doesn’t even leave my mouth before he has me up and over his shoulder, walking toward the ER entrance. “I’ll scream,” I threaten.
“Like I said, I’m fucked up and will get off; trust me, Tales. I’ve been there, done that, gotten the T-shirt.”
“River, put her down, for fuck’s sake,” I hear Finn’s voice before I get dropped on my feet.
“He needs you. Pull your shit together, stop acting holier-than-thou, and man the fuck up,” River says as Finn takes my hand and leads me back in. No sense in fighting; he’s a damn house.
He stops in front of his room and releases my hand. “Madison is making a phone call. You do whatever you gotta do in there, understand?”
“I don’t like you very much right now; do you understand me?” I ask, straightening my skirt and trying to push my mess of a hair-do back in place.
“Don’t give one fuck, let alone two. Now go,” he says in a harsh whisper as he opens the door.
I turn to walk in and feel a sharp smack to my backside, and I turn around to see River.
“POW!” he whispers.
I would rather take my chances with the crude and rude Memphis than that motley crew.
Memphis gives a slight huff. “You came back.”
“Yeah, well,” I say as I walk toward him, “I just needed a break from tonight, you know? And, well, your band mates don’t seem to get that.”
“You left because I was a dick. That’s what Madison told me, anyway. But I need you to do me a favor.”
I sit down next to him and look into his drugged and hopeless eyes.
“Your dream of being with a rock star, that shit’s not gonna happen here, girl, so you’re off the hook.”
“Off the hook for …?”
“Me banging you into oblivion.”
“Memphis?”
“Seriously, you can walk. You deserve something better than a twenty-three-year-old coffee jockey.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I’ll be serving coffee again soon.”
“You’ll be singing onstage while you heal and melting panties in the process.”
“I’m all fucked up on pain meds, and I’m chubbing up, Tales. They should bottle you up and sell you to those poor fucks who can’t get it up.”
“They could replace that pink pill with your voice, Memphis.”
“Ooo, she’s good,” he says, looking up.
“He’s amazing,” I say, looking at him.
“If I ever hurt you, cut my dick off.”
I laugh. “What?”
“Hmm.” He smirks. “I don’t deserve a good girl like you.”
“Well, I am a hundred percent sure the girls who have had you would disagree.”
He is dozing off, so I take his hand.
“Tales?”
“Yes.”
“I don’t deserve you, but everything inside and outside of me wants to take you and keep you.”
“You should rest; you’re talking—”
“Truth. I’m talking truth.”
“Under the influence, so I won’t hold you to it, Memphis.”
He slowly drags my hand to his stomach and then down … there. “Take them with you.” He uses my hand to grab his … balls. “You should have them.”
Wow, just, wow. I am blushing from head to toe and slightly turned on, while he’s a mess. What the hell is wrong with me?
“Sweet cheeks?”
“Yeah, Memphis?”
“The least you could do is give them a tug.”
“A what?” I laugh.
“Hmm,” he sighs.
“You really want me to …”
“Fuck, yeah,” he says in a medicated, slow drawl. “When I wake up, I want them slapping POW!”
I’m totally confused, so I stand, hands still under his … on his … balls. I lean over him and kiss him.
“I fucking love your mouth. I can’t wait to taste your—”
I kiss him again, then tug.
He groans in my mouth, and … I do it again.
***
Four hours. That’s how long it has been since we arrived here at this godforsaken hospital. Between the band, Madison, and me, I think the nurses are growing tired of us.
I look up when I hear Finn say, “X-Man, what the fuck are you doing here?”
This guy… X-man is in jeans and a T-shirt. His arms are covered in tattoos and he’s bulky, like he works out. He’s very, very good-looking, just like everyone Memphis hangs out with, but none of them are as handsome as Memphis.
“Forever Steel, man. How is he?”
“Still in surgery. He’s a fucking mess.”
“How’s your head, man?” Xavier asks, walking around him.
“Twelve stitches. I’ll be fine,” Billy answers. “This shit’s my fault. If he can’t play, it’s—”
“Then you’ll play,” the man covered in tattoos that looks very intimidating walks over to me. “Rough night?”
I nod.
Finn introduces me and Madison, who is asleep on my lap, in his own way. “That’s his
sister and the girl he wants to—”
“His sister’s best friend,” Billy interrupts.
“I’m Xavier Steel.” He reaches his hand out. “Someone call his parents?”
“I’m Tallia, and yes, Madison called them.”
“He has a great team of doctors; he’ll be fine.” Xavier sits down. When he’s not hovering, he looks far less intimidating. “Billy here is gonna learn acoustic—”
“I can’t.”
“The fuck you can’t; you will.” Xavier laughs, but I really don’t think he’s joking.
“Xavier …” Billy begins.
“Forever Steel, Billy,” is all he says before he turns back to me and shakes his head. “Where’s his head at?”
I look up at Finn and then River who is sleeping on the hard plastic waiting room couch.
Xavier clears his throat. “I saw you in the video monitor during our call the other day, saw him looking at you. So, I’m not asking them, I am asking”—he points at me—“you. Where’s his head at?”
I swallow back tears. “Scared, doesn’t think he’s going to be all right, but he will. I know he will. He has an amazing voice, and his talent is God given and—”
“Where’s your head at?” he interrupts.
“I don’t understand.”
“You gonna keep his head straight and mind focused?”
How? I scream in my head. How am I supposed to do that and what the hell is he talking about?
“I don’t understand,” I repeat.
He nods. “I see.”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
* * *
HYDRATE, REST, HEAL
Memphis
I can’t find her. fuck, I don’t even know who it is I’m looking for. I just know I need her, like now. Someone has me. Someone is keeping me away from her, and I don’t know who they are, either.
I look around. Darkness is everywhere. I see shadows, but nothing recognizable. They still have me, and I fight with all I am, all I have.
“Please, stop. Just leave him alone. God!”
I hear a cry, and then I see a light. And nothing good comes when you see a light. Fuck, what happened? Where am I? Why is she crying?
“Memphis, just open your eyes. Please just open your eyes.”
I force myself to do just that. I blink at the brightness a few times then finally …
Rock Star Romance Ultimate Volume 2 Page 97