Love is a Lyric (Rockstars Anonymous)

by Michelle MacQueen

  At least she was smart. If she’d returned for him, they’d eat her alive. He turned back toward the photographers who were insistent on chronicling even his private moments. Anger did nothing to dissuade them, so he grinned despite the rain they’d trapped him in. “You all want to hear a song?”

  19

  Piper

  Piper hurried toward the street she’d promised to meet Chase on, thankful he’d lost the paparazzi by the time she’d called him.

  It took everything in her not to turn around and return to help Ben, but that would cause too many problems.

  The rain started to let up as she slowed to a jog and wiped water out of her eyes. Her heart thundered in her chest but not from the run. A fingertip grazed her lips where only moments before Ben kissed her like she was the only woman he wanted to kiss.

  She had a list of points in time she’d remember for the rest of her life.

  The last morning she spent with her parents.

  The day a ten-year-old Chase told her she could be his sister.

  When she heard the first song she wrote on the radio.

  And the exact moment Ben Evans looked into her eyes like he could for the rest of their lives.

  She hadn’t wanted to fall in love with her sister’s boyfriend, ex or not. She hadn’t wanted to put her heart on the chopping block.

  But the only call she’d ever listened to was the music, and she’d never felt anything quite like singing with Ben. That was the only explanation for why she’d let him kiss her, the only reason she put herself through something she knew wouldn’t end well.

  A camera flash alerted her to the woman before Piper saw her.

  “Care to give us a statement about Ben Evans?” The woman had a low voice that was a complete contradiction to her sprightly appearance. Blond hair matted to her face, slick with rain.

  Piper looked away. “No.”

  “That’s not an option, dear. Without a statement from you, we run our story as bad boy rocker caught cheating on his girlfriend and singing partner. Do you want to be responsible for breaking up an iconic band?”

  Piper almost laughed. Almost. Fate’s fate—for lack of a better word—wasn’t yet known. But if it was over, it wasn’t because of Piper. Quinn broke everything long before Ben ever looked Piper’s way.

  “Still no comment?” The woman tapped her chin. “Okay. I’m warning you though. My editor can be vicious. If you have a side to the story, I’d tell it.”

  She was right. Piper had seen the lies printed about the band, but she couldn’t reveal the truth—if she even knew what that was.

  Squaring her shoulders, Piper looked to the sky as the rain lessened to a drizzle. She closed her eyes, not wanting to see the pity on this woman’s face when she spoke.

  “I am a nobody. Not important. I want to apologize to Ben Evans for letting my fandom get out of control.” A tear squeezed through her closed lid.

  The woman was quiet for a moment. “You’re telling me you’re just a fan?”

  Piper nodded, finally opening her eyes to look at the woman. “I ran into Mr. Evans in the pub and followed him out. He was inside with his brother and just looking to sing a bit. He was gracious enough to stop and meet a fan. I…” She sucked in a breath. “I kissed him before he could stop me. See? I’m just a fan, not someone Ben Evans cares about. He is very much in love with Quinn Hayes.”

  The words tasted sour in her mouth, but she couldn’t pull them back in.

  A car pulled up to the curb, and Piper could have cried when she recognized Chase.

  The woman pursed her lips before nodding. “Makes sense. He is a rockstar, after all.”

  Piper pushed past her, those words rocketing around her brain. He is a rockstar, after all.

  I’m a nobody.

  Amidst all the lies, at least she’d begun telling some truths.

  “Whoever this is has a death wish.” Piper groaned into the phone as she pried her eyes open.

  “Get out of bed, Piper.” Melanie’s tone held a note of warning, an omen of words that were to come.

  Piper sat up, rubbing her eyes as she grew used to the light dancing across the room. Last night drained her of every bit of energy, every emotion. After Chase dropped her off, she didn’t even bother with a shower, opting to change into dry clothes and wrap her damp hair into a bun instead.

  She hadn’t even waited up for Ben’s Lyft to get back. That would have meant facing him, talking about what happened between them and what couldn’t happen again.

  “Are you listening to me?” Melanie was never mean, but her job included wrangling a bunch of ornery rockstars, so there was a steel to her, a coldness she could turn on and off like the flip of a switch.

  Piper ran a hand through the hair that had escaped the bun to dry wildly around her shoulders. “I’m here. What’s up? Please, tell me why you’d call at this ungodly hour.” She glanced at the clock wincing when she saw it was ten in the morning. Okay, not so ungodly.

  Melanie was quiet for a long moment before her low, measured voice came through again. “You don’t know.” She cursed. “Don’t you have an alert for Ben’s name on Google or something?”

  “Why would I have that?” It was so ridiculous it would’ve made her laugh if her mouth wasn’t so dry.

  “Because you worked for Fate. Didn’t you want to know what was said about them?”

  “I never cared.”

  Melanie sighed a ‘you’re hopeless, Piper’ kind of sigh. “If you cared, you’d have seen the storm you’ve just created.”

  “What do you mean?” Piper slid from the bed and retrieved her laptop from the desk. Opening it, she sat on the corner of the bed and pulled up a browser. “What am I looking for exactly?”

  “Try your name.”

  Piper froze, her hands hovering over the keyboard. Her name? No. She’d always managed to stick to the background, never becoming more than an unknown girl in photos of the band, hanger on number one as a movie would have called her.

  And now? “Mel… why am I searching my own name?” She couldn’t bring herself to type it in, not yet.

  “Because you’ve really messed up this time.”

  P. I. P. E. R. H. A.Y. E. S. Her pinkie rested on the Return button for a moment before pressing down.

  Article after article appeared, along with a row of pictures showing the kiss from last night. They’d learned who she was. She stared at the first link to a blog post on a well-known gossip site. “A nobody or a home wrecker?” They’d found a picture of her and Quinn somehow and the word sisters stretched across it.

  “You with me, Piper?” Melanie’s voice softened.

  Piper couldn’t speak, all she could see were those words. Another post changed them to “band wrecker,” claiming to have inside knowledge of Fate’s demise.

  “It’s…” She couldn’t get more than the one whispered word out.

  “Honey, this is only the beginning.” Melanie was a friend, but her duty to her clients would always come first. “These boys are charming. Lord, I know that more than most. I spend my days keeping myself from being drawn in by their looks and their music. And Ben… he’s a special kind of charmer. I don’t blame you for falling for him, but—”

  “I know.” Piper cut her off. “You don’t have to say it, Mel. I know who I am and who he is.”

  “Oh, sweetie, this has nothing to do with who you are. I know Ben, and I have no doubt whatever he feels for you is very real. But these rockstars, they will choose their music every time. The world needs to believe in the love story of Fate. Heck, my heart has been a bit broken since finding out it’s not really a love story after all.”

  So had Piper’s if she really thought about it. She looked up to Quinn because it seemed she had everything, that she’d lived her life in a way that brought only good things to her. When Piper pulled the curtain back to reveal a woman who was just as flawed and lost as anyone else, it hurt.

  Quinn. She closed her eyes. “Has she se
en it?” Her sister would never forgive her, and Piper didn’t know if she could live with that.

  Melanie paused. “Well, that’s sort of why I’m calling. Right now, I’m standing outside a meeting room. She’s in there waiting for me to bring the phone to her. I don’t know what she’ll say to you, and if you don’t want to talk to her, I won’t force it on you.”

  Piper pushed the computer from her lap and leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees. “Okay.” She had to do this. It was time. “Put her on.”

  There was a rustling before a familiar voice filled the line. “Piper?” Quinn sounded tentative and so unlike herself.

  “Hey, Quinny.” Tears built in her eyes at the sound of her sister’s voice. She was Piper’s person no matter what had happened between them, no matter how awful she’d been. Piper didn’t abandon people for their choices, she tried to help them become better.

  But she’d always worried it was too late for Quinn.

  Until now. Because her harsh, strong, sometimes-wicked sister was crying. “I miss you, Piper.”

  Piper hiccupped back a sob. “You could have called.”

  “I didn’t think you wanted to hear from me.”

  She hadn’t. And she had. “I’m so sorry, Quinny.” For everything. Letting Quinn steal her songs and get them to this unrecognizable place. Kissing Ben.

  Falling for him.

  “Are you okay?” It wasn’t what Piper expected her to ask. “The paparazzi can be vicious.”

  Piper scooted from the bed and walked to the window to look out on the empty street. They hadn’t yet found where Ben’s parents lived. “I think so. I don’t care what they say about me, but I don’t want it to hurt the band.”

  “It won’t. That’s one of the reasons I wanted to talk to you. The label wants Ben back in L.A. They think we need to show a united front. Conner is coming too. If we’re together, the media will eventually forget all about this episode.”

  Episode.

  That was why Quinn wanted to talk to her. Not to check on her. Not to ask what was going on between her and Ben—she didn’t care.

  “You want me to convince him.” It wasn’t a question, and Piper’s voice lost all emotion.

  Well, she’d gotten what she wanted. Her sister needed her.

  “I knew you’d understand, Piper. I’m going to put Mel back on. Talk later.”

  Piper breathed deeply as she kept herself from hurling the phone against the wall. “Mel, I’m going to strangle her one of these days.”

  “Get in line.” Melanie sighed. “But she’s right. We need Ben here. It does no one any good for him to still be in Ohio. Please, get him on a plane.”

  “I love you, Mel, but I don’t work for Fate any longer. I am here as a friend to Ben. I will put him on the first plane to L.A. once he’s ready to return and not a moment sooner. Please, stop calling me to fix his life. Until I start working for Drew, I am officially a free agent, and this free agent will always do what’s best for Ben Evans.” She slammed her thumb on the end button and threw her phone down onto the pillow.

  She wanted to scream, to rage, but that wouldn’t do anyone any good.

  The doorbell rang, but she didn’t move. When it rang again, she remembered what day it was. Julia and Jonathan were probably at church.

  And Ben was most likely still asleep after last night.

  She dragged herself from the bed, not bothering to change out of the oversized hockey t-shirt that once belonged to Chase and short shorts. After going to bed with wet hair, the strands twisted around her face. She reached behind her head to free the rest of them from the haphazard bun.

  The steps creaked as she ran down, and someone pounded on the door.

  “Open up, Ben.”

  Piper knew that voice, but what was he doing here in Ohio?

  She pulled open the door, her heart freezing in her chest. Four larger-than-life superstars stood on the front stoop.

  Drew grinned when he saw her. “There’s my assistant!” His eyes skimmed her pajamas and ridiculous hair. “Wild night?” He pushed by her into the house with a wink. “After that pic of you and Ben, I assume it was.”

  Piper’s mouth flapped open and closed as she stared at the other three. Noah Clarke, the British rocker shot her a smirk. “Going to let us in, love?”

  Jo Jackson, Noah’s just-as-famous drummer pushed him aside. “Apparently she’s Ben’s love.” The scowl didn’t leave her face as she followed Drew inside, leaving Piper to stare at the lone stranger.

  But he wasn’t a stranger. She thought of Ben’s description of the mysterious rocker, the musical savant who didn’t let fans see his appearance. She knew it in her gut this was Dax Nelson, the man she’d idolized for years.

  He smiled shyly, adjusting a backpack slung over one shoulder. “Hello.”

  He was nothing like she’d pictured and exactly like she’d pictured. “H-hi.” Her cheeks flamed. “I-I’m Piper.” How was it that she spent her life around famous people, but Dax Nelson struck her dumb?

  Drew slid an arm over her shoulders. “Should the rest of us be offended little Daxy is the only one who makes you nervous?”

  She pushed him away, forcing herself to turn from Dax and take in the living room crowded with rock stars. “What are you doing here?” Her eyes found Drew because he was the only one she truly knew.

  They shared secretive looks she didn’t know the meaning of.

  “We’re here for Benny boy.” Drew walked down the hall. “This place have any food?”

  They came for Ben? She thought back on all the text messages she’d seen from them while she’d held Ben’s phone, but she didn’t understand. Ben had a tendency of shunning other famous people, something that always irritated Quinn when he refused to go to the clubs they frequented.

  But there was something different in this group, a familiarity that went beyond their shared fame.

  “I’ll go get Ben.” Piper left them raiding the kitchen as she trekked upstairs and knocked on Ben’s door. No answer.

  She pushed it open to find a neatly folded bed. His guitar sat in the corner and clothes hung on the end of the bed. He hadn’t come home last night.

  Worry spiked in her, and she ran to her room to find her phone, texting out a message she didn’t have time to second guess. A crash sounded downstairs as she hit send.

  She dropped her phone into her pocket, twisted her hair into a ponytail, and went back downstairs.

  Rockstars were going to be the death of her.

  20

  Ben

  Piper: Are you okay?

  Ben stared at those words, willing himself to respond. He’d spent the morning reading articles claiming the band Fate was no more because lead singer, Ben Evans, had an affair with Quinn Hayes’ sister.

  “Bro.” Chase sat on the arm of the couch and handed Ben a mug of coffee. “What did you do?” He stared down at his own phone, probably looking at the picture that had already circulated across the internet.

  Once the Lyft arrived the night before, Ben escaped the paparazzi, but he couldn’t bring himself to go back to his parents’ house, to face the girl who’d run from him. So, he’d given the driver Chase’s address instead and waited outside the door until Chase got home.

  “I don’t know.” Ben sipped his coffee but only to have something to do. What had he done? Had he ruined everything? His career, his life…

  His friendship with Piper.

  Chase let out an angry huff, and Ben couldn’t look at him. He deserved every bit of ire his brother held for him, every long silence and scathing look.

  He waved his phone in front of Ben’s face. “What did you do?” he said again as if repeating the question would drag a different answer out of his brother.

  Ben set the mug on the coffee table and bent forward, his elbows resting on his thighs.

  Chase jumped up and paced across the room. Back and forth, his fists clenching at his sides. After what seemed like an eternity of waiting
for the storm Ben knew was coming, Chase stopped in front of him, only the table separating them.

  Ben looked up at him, his chest deflating. “I’m sorry, okay? I know I need to just focus on the music.”

  “You think I care about the music?” His scowl deepened. “You don’t get it, do you? We aren’t in L.A. where people actually care that you’re famous. Here in Ohio, here with us, you’re only Benji. And it was Benji who screwed up, not Ben Evans.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “Do you think it was Ben Evans she kissed last night?”

  Piper. He closed his eyes, picturing her standing in the rain as if it didn’t bother her, running through the streets to save him from the paparazzi. He could still feel her lips on his.

  Chase sighed. “It was you, Benji. She kissed you. Not because you’re famous or you can carry a tune. She’s in love with you.”

  Ben froze, his heart pulsing against his ribs as if trying to break free. “No.”

  He both wanted it to be true and didn’t. If Piper… There’d only been one woman he’d loved and that ended. But had he loved her? Kissing Quinn never stole the breath from his lungs, it never sent him spinning into the darkness wondering which way was up.

  Not the way Piper… “How do you know that?”

  The anger faded from Chase as he rounded the table to sit next to Ben on the couch. “I know Piper almost as well as I know myself. Her expressions, her movements. She’s a part of me, always has been. There’s this look she gets when her eyes meet yours. I don’t know if she knows she's doing it. But it’s hard to mistake the emotions on her face.”

  Ben shook his head. Piper never let her emotions show, it was one of the things he respected about her at the same time it frustrated him. He never knew what she was thinking.

  As if reading his mind, Chase continued. “You have to look deeper, Ben. Piper thinks she has to be strong for everyone. That she has to let Quinn treat her like crap because her sister needs her. That she has to think about what everyone needs before they think about it themselves. And you… she’ll never let you get close.”