Guarding Her Heart

by Jade Webb

  “How is she?” I ask.

  “She’s still asleep. I gave her some of my Ambien to knock her out.” Daphni’s knuckles are white as she grips her coffee mug. “His sound check starts in fifteen minutes. I want to be there.”

  I know better than to argue with her. And in truth, her fury is only matched by mine, so I nod my head in agreement. We gather our things and head out the door.

  ___

  We are at the arena in under thirty minutes, and I keep a clipped pace behind Daphni. For someone in stiletto heels, it’s pretty fucking remarkable how fast she can walk. We arrive at the beginning of Jordan’s sound check and he is on stage, mid-rehearsal.

  Daphni barrels onto the stage and marches straight toward Jordan, shoving aside anyone in her way. He stops and watches her storm toward him, an amused expression on his face.

  “You’re a sorry excuse for a human, Jordan,” she spits out. “I warned you I would cut off your balls if you hurt her, don’t think I won’t.”

  Jordan takes a step back, likely in response to the fact that even though she barely pushes five foot five in heels, Daphni is a force. He chokes out a laugh to save face and crosses his arms at his chest.

  “You are a crazy bitch. Your whole family is crazy!”

  Daphni lunges toward Jordan when suddenly Gabby appears, rushing onto the stage to pull her sister away.

  “Daphni, he’s not worth it,” she says as she drags her sister offstage. She turns back to face Jordan and shakes her head slowly. “Trust me, he’s not worth it. In fact, he’s just a sad, neglected little boy who didn’t get enough attention from his mother.” She gestures to the group of dancers, huddled in a semicircle to the side of the stage, all dressed in tight, ripped shorts and bedazzled bras. “He thinks women are just props to be used and discarded.” She turns to face Jordan, her green eyes blazing with fury and hurt. “You’re despicable, and the only thing I feel for you is pity.”

  I feel a sense of pride as I watch Gabby, head held high, as she turns away from Jordan and walks away. It’s because my eyes are on her that I miss it when he lunges after her, pulling her hair and sending her tumbling to the ground.

  I react without thinking and run toward him. My fist connects with his face before I take my next breath and he goes down. Daphni is crouched over Gabby, helping her up, and Jordan is rolling on the ground, sobbing and clutching his bloody nose.

  “Gabby, are you okay?” I ask. Her face is white and for a second, I think she might pass out. I reach for her, but before I can touch her, she pulls out of Daphni’s embrace and takes off, running off the stage.

  By now, the whole stage is a circus and I know I can’t chase after Gabby. I have to be near Daphni in the very likely event that little punk bitch Jordan tries another dirty move on her. Luckily though I think my punch was enough and his team is now hurriedly crowding around him, trying to contain the rush of blood pouring out of his nose.

  Melissa finally arrives and her eyes pop open at the sight. Before she can open her mouth, Daphni interrupts her. “He’s off the tour or I walk,” she says.

  Panic washes over Melissa’s face and I watch Daphni’s manager and PR rep step aside, both furiously typing away on their phones.

  “Daphni, you can’t—”

  “It’s done, Mel.” She snaps her fingers, calling over her manager. “He’s off the tour or I’m walking. Make it happen,” she tells him before turning to me and gesturing for me to follow her off the stage.

  39

  Gabby

  I unwrap another Hershey’s Kiss and pop it into my mouth. I count my remaining stash. I only have seven more of the chocolates my niece Isabel has pilfered for me from the kitchen below. That and three juice boxes are all I have left for the day, considering I refuse to leave the safety of her bedroom. And yes, I know it’s a cowardly move, but I don’t care. I am much happier hiding out here, in a Disney princess teepee tent with my adorable nine-year-old niece, than I am surrounded by Daphni’s, Liam’s, and Melissa’s concerned faces, gossip magazines, and non-stop social media posts. Instead, I have Isabel and our cadre of stuffed animals that are doubling as security to make sure no one else gets in.

  I am also about ninety-three percent sure my brother knows I’ve been hiding out in his daughter’s room for the last three days, but is respectfully giving me my space. Or there’s the seven-percent chance that he is just completely unaware of what is going on in his house, which would be far even more unsettling.

  So on day four of my hide-out, I’m not too surprised when I see my brother and Daphni poke their concerned faces into the bright-pink teepee. Lawrence, thankfully, is much more restrained than Daphni and politely keeps a stoic expression. Daphni on the other hand immediately gasps.

  “Gabby, have you seriously been hiding out here?” she asks, and I self-consciously tidy up my pile of wrappers and empty juice boxes.

  When I don’t respond, Daphni sighs wearily and grabs my arm, pulling me out of my tent. She sits me down on Isabel’s bed and Lawrence leans against the dresser.

  “Gabby, this is an intervention,” Daphni declares as she looks me up and down. “You need to snap out of it.”

  “Snap out of it? How do you snap out of being humiliated in front of the whole country, Daphni? God, how would you even know?”

  “How would I even know? Do you not remember my whole little meltdown with the golf club and my banishment to Bora Bora? Honey, I think I may be the only person in the world who does know what you’re going through right now.”

  A wave of guilt washes over me as I realize the truth in her words. Here I was moping and feeling sorry for myself, not even considering that Daphni, whom I had continually pushed away, might actually be the only person in the world who knew how I felt.

  “I’m sorry, Daphni," I say, my voice cracking. "You’re right.”

  “Don’t sweat it," Daphni says, covering my hand with hers. "Besides, this whole ordeal has actually worked out quite well for me."

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well,” she says as she glances toward Lawrence. “Unbeknownst to your charming ex-boyfriend, Lawrence was able to make a wise investment in his record label and demanded that he be dropped instantly from both the label and the tour. There also may have been a leaked story or two about how Jordan was a complete sleaze who was too aggressive in putting the moves on my baby sister, so I kicked his ass.” She proudly flips her blue hair over her shoulder. “I mean, I’m basically being called the Gloria Steinem of our generation!”

  I hear Lawrence snort at Daphni as I digest what she said. “Wait, what? Jordan’s off the tour?”

  “Yes, and he’s getting his ass kicked in the media, too. A lot of his exes are coming out of the woodwork and sharing other creepy stories. It’s bananas.”

  I look at Lawrence and then back to Daphni, my mouth gaping. “You guys did all this for me?”

  Daphni shrugs her shoulders and smiles. “Duh, Gabby. You’re our sister.”

  Lawrence walks over and sits down next to me, wrapping a protective arm around my shoulder. “You don’t fuck with family,” he simply says.

  “You make us sound like we’re in the mafia, or something.”

  “The Monroe Mafia,” Daphni giggles, her pink lips pulling into a playful smile.

  I roll my eyes and wrap my arms around Daphni and Lawrence, pulling them close to me. “I love you guys so much,” I tell them.

  Lawrence dusts a soft kiss on my head, and I feel Daphni squeeze me at her side.

  You don’t fuck with family.

  40

  Liam

  “No way, Daphni. Absolutely not.” I cross my arms over my chest to further emphasize my point, but as usual, Daphni totally ignores me. She continues pacing around the room, her lips pursed as she desperately tries to cobble together some kind of plan. Her intentions are purely noble and even a bit admirable. Her execution, however, is severely lacking.

  “Okay, well what if instead of like a for
mal kidnapping, we make it…more casual? Like we lose the blindfolds and handcuffs?”

  “Daphni, love, first of all, there is no such thing as a casual kidnapping. Second, I don’t think the right way to inspire Gabby to emerge back into the world is to scare the shit out of her by making her think she is being abducted.”

  “No, you missed the main point, Liam!” Daphni groans as she pins her green eyes on mine. “Sure, it’s like, a little scary for the first half, but the second half is when we surprise her with the puppies. Do you need me to explain the whole thing again?”

  I force myself not to roll my eyes because it’s clear how hard Daphni is trying right now. Even though she is absolutely clueless, she obviously wants to help her sister.

  Ever since the big fight last week and the publicity fallout, Gabby has been in hiding. While she has stayed on the tour, the minute we arrive at the hotel, she checks in to her room and rarely leaves. Not that I really blame her. The press is thirsting for five minutes with her, but Daphni has been more than willing to help out with that. She loves retelling the story of how she broke Jordan James’s nose in defense of all women, everywhere. She’s milking it, but hey, it’s a fucking fantastic story.

  “Daphni instead of all this elaborate planning and scheming, why don’t you just go talk to her?”

  Daphni stares at me blankly. “I did talk to her.”

  “No, love. Talk about her feelings, her fears, understand what she’s worried about so you can help her. All you’ve been doing is trying to bribe her with pie and baby goats.”

  “Well, she loves goats,” Daphni says softly as she collapses down on the couch.

  Sitting down next to her, I wrap a reassuring arm around her shoulders. “I know she loves goats, but some problems can’t be solved so easily. Sometimes you need to put in a bit more elbow grease.”

  She nods thoughtfully and when she opens her mouth to respond, we hear a loud, clipped knock at the door.

  “Who is it?” I call out.

  “It’s Gabby.”

  Daphni and I share a look of confusion before she jumps off the couch and rushes to answer the door.

  Gabby enters the room, her nervous hands clasped in front of her. Surprisingly, she’s not dressed in her usual uniform of black pants, a black hoodie, and sunglasses. Today she looks…better. Healthier and lighter. Her long brown hair is braided loosely down her back and her green eyes look brighter, the bags under them now gone.

  “What’s up Gabby?” Daphni asks hesitantly.

  Taking a deep breath, Gabby places her palms on her thighs. “I want to go out tonight.”

  Daphni shoots me a confused look before turning back to her sister. “Um, yeah. Of course! Sure! Wherever you want. I heard of this great club on Fifth, they have this DJ who plays—”

  Gabby waves her arms, stopping Daphni mid-sentence. “No, no club. I want to go somewhere else.”

  Daphni obediently sits back down and nods her head. “Oh, right, sure. What did you have in mind?”

  As we enter the smoky lounge, Daphni again grabs her sister’s arm. “Gabby, are you sure this is where you wanted to go?” she asks, her eyes wide as she looks around the room.

  Gabby nods and speaks with the host, who promptly brings the three of us to a small, circular booth in the far back corner of the lounge. I slide in after Daphni, facing Gabby. Her eyes are flitting around the room, as if she is trying to see everything at once.

  We all reach for the plastic menus on the table and Daphni’s eyes continue to grow impossibly wider as she reads and keeps sneaking furtive glances back at her sister.

  When the waiter returns to take our orders, Daphni turns to her sister. “Well, Gabby since this was your choice why don’t you order for us?”

  Looking down at the menu, Gabby skims her finger down. “Okay, we’ll get two brownies, please. Three of the peach Dixie Elixirs. And we will take one Maui Wowie,” Gabby says before closing her menu and handing it over to the waiter.

  “Right on. Did you want the Maui Wowie as a joint or a bong?” he asks.

  “Joint is fine. Thank you,” Gabby replies.

  An amused smile tugs at my lips as I watch Daphni continue to nervously look around, her eyes wide, as if she expects the DEA to rush in any moment now and drag her to a cell. Gabby, on the other hand, looks far more relaxed as she sinks into the cushions of the booth.

  “This is an interesting choice of venue, Gabby,” Daphni comments, breaking the silence.

  “Well, when in Rome,” Gabby answers flippantly.

  Daphni tugs her baseball cap down a bit farther over her head. All her blue hair is tucked in tightly, and the dimmed lights combined with all the smoke is a good cover for her.

  We continue to sit in awkward silence until the waiter returns. He deposits everything in front of Gabby before rushing away. For a Tuesday night, this place is absolutely packed. Gabby divides the drinks and then reaches for the lighter in the middle of the table. Lighting the joint in her mouth, she takes a long inhale and then releases a thick cloud of smoke. Taking another hit, she nods appreciatively before handing it over to her dumbfounded sister.

  Daphni takes a quick drag, which sends her into a coughing spree. She almost drops the joint but Gabby pulls it from her fingers and hands Daphni her drink. As she takes a long sip, Gabby takes another hit before passing it back to her sister.

  “Daphni, have you never smoked before?” Gabby asks with an amused smile on her face.

  Daphni shrugs her shoulders. “I’d rather get a vodka Red Bull than get high and eat Twinkies all night.”

  Gabby rolls her eyes and then, placing the joint in Daphni’s lips, instructs her on how to take a solid hit. After a few tries, Gabby deems Daphni beyond help and passes me the joint.

  I shake my head politely. “I’m on the clock.”

  Daphni pouts, pursing her lips as she gives me her best puppy eyes. “Liam, just this once.”

  I shake my head again. Smiling mischievously, Daphni gestures to her sister. “Do it for Gabby, then.”

  Gabby takes a cue from her sister and gives me an impish wink. “Yeah, Liam. Take the hit.”

  They both begin banging their fists on the table, chanting, “Take the hit!”

  “Very mature, ladies,” I comment as I roll my eyes and take the lit joint from Daphni. I take a long hit, keeping the smoke in my chest before exhaling it in a long gust. I haven’t smoked in years and I can feel the effects immediately as each of my muscles loosens and the tension floats away.

  “Not bad,” I comment as I take one last hit and pass the joint across the table back to Gabby. When our hands touch, her green eyes jump to mine. They stay locked on me as she brings the joint up to her lips and takes a long hit. When she blows out the smoke, she closes her eyes and leans back in her chair, a satisfied smile on her face.

  Daphni stares wide-eyed at her sister. “Gabby, since when did you become such a stoner?”

  “I’m not a stoner, Daphni. But, I can fully attest to the many benefits of a nice, properly packed joint to aide with the studying of macroeconomics at two in the morning.”

  Daphni’s jaw drops even more and I can’t help but smile at the sight. Falling back in her seat, Daphni crosses her arms over her chest. “I can’t believe it. My sister is a stoner.”

  “You know, there are a lot of things you don’t know about me,” Gabby says with a spark in her eye.

  “Apparently so,” Daphni responds as she absently takes a large bite out of the untouched fudge brownie on the table.

  As she takes another bite, Gabby holds back a chuckle, causing a flush of pink to tint her cheeks. Only when Daphni reaches for a third bite does Gabby shoot out her hand and stop her sister.

  “I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Gabby warns.

  “Why? I did my cardio this morning, I can have—” Daphni’s face drops the moment she realizes that the brownie she had been stuffing into her mouth wasn’t just an innocent baked good. “Oh no. Am I high
?” She drops the brownie on the table. “Gabby, am I high?”

  Gabby’s face flushes a bright pink as she tries to hold back a laugh. “Daphni, seriously? You’ve been high before. And those were pharmaceuticals. At least this is all natural.”

  Daphni’s eyes widen as she shakes her head. “Okay, true. But I didn’t get ‘high’ so I could see unicorns, I did it so I could stay up late and party. God, Gabby if I see any kind of dancing gummy bears or any weird shit like that, I’m going to kill you.”

  Finally Gabby can’t suppress her laughter and she doubles over, her eyes glistening as Daphni glares at her. After a few long moments, she finally calms down. “You know, Daphni, unicorns are the national animal of Scotland.”

  “Bullshit,” Daphni says.

  “Well,” I start to say before Gabby holds up her hand, silencing me.

  “You want to bet, Daphni?”

  Daphni rolls her eyes and looks at me. “If you learn anything from me, Liam, learn this: Gabby will turn anything into a bet. Even if she knows she’s wrong, she just likes the thrill of it.” She turns her focus back to her sister. “Okay, I’ll bite. How much do you want to bet?”

  Gabby holds up the half-eaten brownie. “Loser eats the brownie. Whole thing. Tonight.”

  Daphni shakes her head. “Fine.” She pulls out her phone, and as she types the search into the web browser, her face quickly falls. Dropping the phone onto the table, she turns to glare at me. “You couldn’t warn me?”

  I shrug my shoulders apologetically as Gabby hands her sister the brownie. Daphni stares dejectedly at it before stuffing the whole piece into her mouth. She glares at her sister as she chews it, crossing her arms at her chest.

  It only takes a few minutes before Daphni’s eyes glaze over and her movements start to slow. She starts to laugh loudly, and Gabby’s eyes widen in amusement at the change in her sister.

  “This is worth every penny,” she says, leaning toward me. “But I think it might be a good idea to get her back into bed.”