Chapter 11
~ Chelle ~
I couldn’t stop my thoughts from straying to the last couple days I had with Evan before everyone went their separate ways on the tour’s quick two week hiatus before heading to London to kick off the European leg of the world tour. It was a long flight though, so I had time to dwell since I hadn’t much heard from Evan since then. I was beginning to worry that our little talk before we went our separate ways hadn’t been big enough after all.
“Let’s just work on us for now and worry about letting everyone know in time. It will give us a chance to just get to know one another better without all the pressure other people put on new relationships,” I’d told him that night before we left on separate flights back to LA.
“Yeah, instead we’ll have pressure like the night when you were sick and I couldn’t go to you, because no one knew I was supposed to do that. I don’t want that to happen again, Chelle.”
“That’s a bridge we can cross when we get to it, if we need to get to it. I just need time to adjust and get ready for whatever happens when we go public. Look at Everly. She still isn’t back and things aren’t any better for her either. She’s in hiding, for Christ’s sake. I don’t have the funds or family to go into hiding with if shit were to hit the fan with us at some point.”
“You think I’d just throw you to the wolves?”
“Evan, I don’t want to think that, but isn’t that what Jay’s done with Everly, and he’s supposed to be the good guy of your band.”
Evan sighed. “Fine, we’ll leave it as it is for now, but once this hiatus is over, we’re discussing everything again. I don’t want to hide. It goes against everything I want, Chelle. I understand your reasons, but I have mine for feeling the opposite too.”
“Okay,” I had acquiesced. “We will revisit it as soon as we’re back together.”
“I can’t believe we’ll both be in LA for most of the two weeks and I’m not going to get to see you.” He ran his fingers through the lengthening bits of brown hair there and sighed.
“That’s what you get for being a busy rock star. A shit load of money, but the fame and the schedule make it impossible to enjoy.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever heard a more apt description. I hate album cycle tours for that reason, but I love them for other reasons.” He shrugged. “It’s a mixed bag.”
“Chelle,” David called out as he tapped me on the shoulder. I glanced over at him in the seat beside me on the plane.
“What’s up?”
“Just wanted to check on you. You seemed pretty lost in thought there for a while.” I gave him a wan smile and then tossed my neck pillow into my lap. It wasn’t really doing me any good anyway.
“I heard some things,” my brother started to say before looking away from me.
“What kind of things?”
He turned back to me then. “I heard that you were seen hooking up with Evan before we left on break.” When I didn’t deny it my brother swore under his breath. “Chelle, I want whatever will make you happy in life, but you need to be careful. Tour relationships almost never work out.” He glanced up toward the stairs that led to the first class area. “Have you even talked to him since we left Florida?”
“We’ve texted,” I admitted somewhat falsely. We had texted the first day we were back, but then there had been nothing but radio silence. I knew he was busy because I saw him on television a few times from the hotel room I’d rented for the two-week stay in LA. He’d been scheduled to attend two movie premiers and do a slew of radio and TV spots along with some sort of fundraiser gala. I hated that I had to see him on the TV; especially since he warned me he had a date set up by the studio for the fundraiser. It had already been in the works for a while and he couldn’t back out unless I was willing to go with him as his date instead. I declined, but probably not for reasons he could fathom.
How the hell was I supposed to go to a fundraiser gala for Hollywood Elite? I could barely afford the two weeks in the crappy little roach motel I was staying in and that was only because my brother had pitched in even though he had only stayed there one night with me. He had other places to crash. I certainly couldn’t afford the type of gown I would need to go to an event like that, let alone the money to get my hair and makeup done so I didn’t make a fool out of myself. I’d just told him I wasn’t ready for that type of a coming out instead, because my pride couldn’t take the hit of reiterating to him exactly how broke I was. It may have been a charmed life getting to tour with the bands while selling band merch, but selling that merch didn’t actually pay all that well. You were paid in experiences more than you were in cold hard cash. After I turned down his offer I didn’t hear from him again, not even in response to the few texts I’d sent asking if he was doing okay.
We were on the same flight to London. He was in first class. I was most assuredly not. None of The Infinite Everything members had stepped foot outside their posh environment. If I didn’t already know they were onboard I would have never guessed. It made a cold, lonely feeling start to settle into my belly and deliver a queasiness I couldn’t seem to shake.
“Lost you to your thoughts again, little sister. If this is a problem, I can fix it for you. You don’t have to be here if you don’t want. I can get you an apartment. Someone at the studio could help out with that. I could ask Everly when she gets in.”
“Everly’s coming back?” I questioned, knowing that nothing had changed for her. No one had stood up for her, even now, weeks later. If I were her there was no way I could do that. I couldn’t face Jay after he refused to tell the world the truth.
“Yeah, Travis said she’s coming in on a different flight with her friend that is going to be our new PA. They’ve been chilling out in Ibiza for the last week or so, apparently.”
“That must be nice,” I admitted.
“Her friend is some rich girl and paid for it all. Travis and Everly come from a down to earth, blue-collar working family. She couldn’t afford that trip any more than you or I could.”
“I think if anyone deserved it though, she does.”
“Yeah, damn shame what she’s been through and for nothing. The guys are seriously pissed at The Infinite Everything, Jay, management, everyone.”
“They should be,” I told him, to which Dave nodded his head in agreement. He reached over and squeezed my knee to get my attention again. “Chelle, you’re an adult, and one I trust to make the right choices in life because you’ve seen where the wrong choices lead people. Be careful, okay? Those guys seem nice, but if the nicest of them can’t get his shit together and stick up for the woman he is supposed to respect and love, then you can’t guarantee that any of them will do right by a woman. I think they’ve all been tainted and jaded enough by this life that they don’t actually see what’s right in front of them until someone takes away their playtoy before they’re done with it.”
I sat with my mouth hanging agape, staring at my brother. He’d basically just called me Evan’s play toy. “You know what I mean,” he tacked on quickly before I could really get angry with him. After all, it didn’t seem like he was that far off base considering I hadn’t heard from Evan at all and we were on the same flight.
~ Evan ~
“So what’s up with you and Chelle? Let me guess, she didn’t like the fact that you had to take Miranda Wellington to that gala shindig last week and now you’re getting the cold shoulder?” I kind of wanted to punch Micah in the face because he had it all wrong.
“That’s not it. She basically pushed me to go with Miranda.”
“How so?”
“I asked her to go with me, and she told got all sketchy on me and told me that she’d probably rather not come out as a couple in that way just yet.” I knew my tone was snide and dejected still, but it hurt that she wouldn’t even consider going with me. Most women would have killed to be on my arm at such a public event.
“Ouch!” I yelped when Micah’s hand slapped into the back of my h
ead. “What the fuck, man?”
“You’re an idiot.”
“What? How do you figure?”
“You asked her to a gala fundraising event?”
“That’s what I fuckin’ said,” I muttered.
“A black tie event?” He questioned with eyes bulging out a bit at me expectantly.
“Yeah, you know this since you were there.”
“I’m waiting for you to see the bigger picture here as to why a girl like Chelle might find an excuse to tell you no, even though she knew that would mean you having to take someone else.”
“What the fuck are you talking about?”
“Evan, man, you can’t be this dense. I know you grew up with a bit more money than most of us, but seriously, let’s think about this. The girl stowed away on the tour with her brother posing as a dude because they were basically homeless. No ‘basically’ about it actually, Dave told me they let their apartment go when he signed to go on tour with Seduction and Sacrifice.” Micah got quiet for a minute and then gave me a dirty look. “Do you even know where she stayed when she was back in LA?”
Suddenly I felt sick to my stomach. I had been worried about coming home from tour to my own family imploding because of my mother’s infidelity. I worried about having to carry on a secret relationship that sat bitter on my tongue after hearing about what my mother had done. I had somehow forgotten that Chelle didn’t have a home to return back to in LA.
“You’re an even bigger idiot than I thought you were. Damn, dude, that’s harsh. I hope she wasn’t living on the streets all that time.” Micah shook his head. “My original point, before I realized you’re a moron, was that the girl couldn’t afford to do her hair and nails let alone get a dress that wouldn’t embarrass you in order to attend a function like that.” Jesus. I felt like kicking my own ass. I was a complete and total fool. “I see from the sick look on your face that you’re finally starting to get how big you fucked up.”
“That doesn’t change the fact that I can’t do a secret relationship.”
“That’s cool, because thanks to your shitty behavior, I doubt you have a chance at a relationship anyway. When’s the last time you spoke to her?”
I swallowed thickly. “The day she told me she wouldn’t go to the gala,” I told him quietly as he shook his head at me in disbelief.
“Damn man, I don’t do relationships and even I know you fucked up.”
“Did I really though? You know the shit my mom pulled. She pretended to be done with my dad and carried on a secret relationship with another man. I don’t like the secretive shit. I don’t trust it.”
“So what’s her reason for keeping things quiet?”
I told him what her reasoning was and how she kept using Everly as an excuse for why she wasn’t ready. He was giving me the ‘you’re a dumbass’ look again though as I explained it with a bit of disbelief coloring my words.
“That is a legitimate concern she has man. Seriously, Everly is public enemy number one and she did nothing to deserve the backlash. I hope those lying ass whores get the karma that they clearly deserve. That probably won’t happen, unfortunately, especially after the way Jay screwed things up going to meet with his ex to try to get her to come clean and then by not making a public statement. I can see Chelle’s point and she has a right to be worried. The press would absolutely have a field day with her past. She’s either going to be hailed as a modern day Cinderella or a gold digger and there isn’t a lot of room in between for the actual truth.” I started to speak but he cut me off. “I understand your point too, man. Does she know about your mom?”
“I haven’t told her about that, but lots of people know. It was in the news.”
“She doesn’t strike me as the type that keeps up with celebrities though. Hell, she probably doesn’t even know who your mom is. Sounds like you to make a decision and either man up and actually talk to Chelle or just end it clean now since you haven’t even talked to her in over a week.”
“I think I’m just going to let her go. She can’t handle the limelight and I need someone who can stand up to the cameras and the assholes and tell them all to fuck off. You know? This life isn’t for the faint of heart.”
“No, but being the perfect girl for you and not necessarily being ready for this lifestyle are different things man. She could grow into that. Are you sure you want to throw away this chance? When is the last time you really had a woman tie you in knots like this? It’s been a good, long while. Hell, maybe Samantha back in high school. Dude, you are jaded by your parent’s history, but what about your grandparents? They met each other and fell in love out of the blue. They’re still together.”
“Since when did you become a romantic?”
“Since it ain’t me trying to tie my balls to a chain,” Micah stated matter-of-factly.
“That’s not how the saying goes,” I informed him.
“Yeah, well, I think it was translated wrong. I’m just correcting it.” He patted me on the shoulder and stood up. “I’m behind you, whatever you decide man. For now though, I’m going to go dip my wick in some mile high pussy. That flight attendant wasn’t shoving her tits in my face earlier for nothing.”
I just shook my head at the horndog. “Your dick is gonna fall off one of these days.”
“I smell jealousy in the air!” He sing-songed back to me before skipping down the aisle toward the grinning flight attendant. She was probably about to lose her job and yet she was going to do it anyway. People never failed to amaze me with what they were willing to do to get next to a celebrity. That thought brought me back to my current predicament. It always came back to the one girl who wanted to hide from being seen with me instead of wanting to jump on my coattails and ride them into infamy or money.
Maybe Micah had been right about why she hadn’t gone with me to the gala, but then again maybe I should just stop this and spare us both the heartache down the road, because it was looking like she’d never be able to handle the shit my life would dish out for us. Decision made, I closed my eyes and tried to get some rest before we landed in London and I was booked non-stop for interviews, concerts, and morning shows.
Chapter 12
~ Chelle ~
At the airport I never saw Evan, Micah, Jeremiah, or Mags. It was like they all had magical powers and were able to just apparate off of the plane and arrive to some wicked crazy fan fair at the hotel they had us all booked into. The bands took up the top floor and the crew was on the second and third floor of the hotel. I was part of the crew, and although though my brother had invited me to stay in his much bigger room I had declined. It was time for him to have his own space and for me to have the ability to cry my eyes out in the peace and quiet of my own space where no one would come looking for me.
I hadn’t known him that long, but I’d grown fond of Evan. I missed him, the way he teased me, and the jokes we shared, listening to him drum out beats randomly without even realizing he was doing it. I missed his touch too, but it was growing more evident that he did not feel the same. While my jealousy over seeing him on the arm of another woman for that gala had sealed the deal for me somewhat, it apparently had the opposite effect on Evan. While I was now ready to try, he was moving on without so much as an explanation, ‘hi,’ or ‘how are you?’ on his way. Our first day in London was a write-off. It had been booked in as simply a jet-lag day. I fully expected to hear from Evan, but when I didn’t I just hid out in my room and ordered room service so no one would see my puffy eyes.
I’m not too proud to admit I cried my poor little heart out. I thought we had something. I had been anticipating this leg of the tour and the possibility of getting to see some sites with the man I was falling for, and now I’d just have to avoid seeing him, because I knew once I did my heart was going to break into a bunch of little pieces all over. I dreaded having to see him with his hands on another woman.
I managed to avoid seeing him for the first three days and then on the second concert night in Lon
don it finally happened. I’d taken extra time to get the merch for Fourth Down packed up so that I could track what we’d need to order before we got to Germany. Fourth Down was already a big hit in Europe even if it had been news to them. Their merch was flying off the shelf as quickly as I could pack it back up there and at this rate, we’d need to order sooner than later.
So, after being dog-ass tired and wanting nothing more than my pillow on the slightly upgraded bus the crew had been given for the European leg of the tour, I managed to walk down the hall to see none other than Evan with Chris and Drew from Fourth Down. Evan also happened to have two groupies hanging off of him and they had already lost their shirts. I managed to speed walk by them and thought I got away clear when I heard Drew call out to me. I didn’t turn around. I couldn’t. The tears had already started and my hands were shaking with the tension of holding in the screaming I wanted to throw at Evan. He hadn’t even had the decency to tell me it was over to my face. Instead I threw up a hand in the air and waved as I continued my face-paced walk away from them. Okay, so I may have actually started running toward the end of the hall, but that was only because the tears were so heavy that everything was starting to blur and I didn’t want to lose my way.
~ Evan ~
“Fuck!” I hissed out as I saw Chelle start to actually run further down the hall in order to get away from us. Hell, in order to get away from me and the two half naked groupies who had been pawing all over me trying to convince me to autograph their tits.
Drew, ever the astute man, turned on me then. “What the fuck was that about?”
“Why was she running?” Chris asked before turning to see his band mate glaring in my direction. Suddenly, things started dawning on him too. “Tell me you didn’t,” he stated calmly.
The Infinite Beat (T.I.E. Book 2) Page 11