Once in a Lifetime: (Becky) (Unnamed Duo Book 1)

by Luana Ferraz

  I examine the spot and it looks like… it looks like…

  “Pete!” I gasp as I yank his shirt up and have the confirmation to my suspicion. It’s blood. He has a nasty cut on the right side of his back, under his shoulder blade. It’s still bleeding, and I think it’s because of my lack of gentleness.

  “Is it bad?” he asks, apparently giving up the idea to hide it from me.

  “What happened?” I ask, still examining it.

  “Do you have a first aid kit or something?” he asks.

  I let him go for a minute as I walk to the bathroom. There isn’t a kit here, but I take a roll of toilet paper, a towel, and a bottle of water I had left there yesterday.

  “I don’t think it’s that bad, but there’s a lot of blood,” I say as I come back. “Take off your shirt.”

  He turns around again and lifts just half of it up. I wait for a few seconds for him to do as I told, but apparently he’s not willing to.

  “For fuck’s sake,” I complain, yanking the shirt back up. He flinches as it rubs against the wound.

  “Are you sure it’s not bad?” he asks again, his tone flat and distant.

  “I’ll tell you in a second,” I say as I wet the towel and try to clean the blood around the gash.

  I keep my mouth shut, waiting for the silence to make him start explaining himself. He doesn’t, though. And, then, on top of it, he starts to shake.

  “Am I hurting you?” I ask, stopping my efforts. The wound is clean, anyway. I was just buying time.

  “Yes,” he answers sharply.

  “It has stopped bleeding,” I say, retreating from him, “but I think we should dress it.”

  “Okay,” he says, pulling his shirt down carefully.

  He turns around and my heart cracks. He looks so… sad. I’m about to ask what happened when someone knocks on the door—our breakfast. I take the opportunity to ask the guy for a first-aid kit, which he promises to bring back in a minute.

  I roll the cart over towards the bed and spread its contents over it. I sit down, resting my back against the headboard. Pete sits on the other side, since he can’t lean over anything right now. He immediately starts to eat, not looking at me.

  “What did you want to tell me?” he asks.

  “No way,” I scoff, which makes him look up. “There’s no way we’re talking about anything other than what the fuck happened to you!”

  He averts his eyes, chewing slowly. When he swallows, he takes a sip of his coffee, and looks back at me.

  “I…” he starts and pauses. My heart is halfway out of my body already. “I fell.”

  “You fell?” I scoff again, not believing him.

  “Yes,” he nods once.

  “Where?”

  “On my way up to the roof.”

  “The roof?”

  “Yes.”

  “What were you doing on the roof?”

  “Kind of… hiding.”

  “Why?”

  “I…” he sighs, running a hand through his messy hair. “I had a really terrible night.”

  “Tell me,” I demand, but in what I hope is a kind tone.

  He sighs, opening his mouth to do just so, I guess, but then interrupting himself. His expression changes, softening a little.

  “No, you tell me,” he smiles faintly, giving me a pointed look. “How was your night?”

  Now, I’m the one who averts my eyes. I feel guilty for feeling… I don’t know… good, when my best friend is clearly going through hell. I don’t want to tell him about how my night was amazing when he’s sitting here so hurt—both physically and emotionally.

  “Oh my God,” he finally breaks the silence, making me look at him again. “You did it, didn’t you? You totally did! Finally!”

  He laughs, the first one I’ve seen in probably days. That’s encouragement enough to make me change my mind.

  “I thought you wouldn’t approve of my unprofessional behavior,” I joke.

  “I don’t, but I couldn’t stand all that sexual tension anymore,” he says.

  “Pete!” I gasp, feeling my cheeks heat up.

  “Honestly, I don’t know how it didn’t happen sooner,” he continues. I’m with you on that, I think. “You two almost made me barf a number of times already.”

  I throw a pillow at him for that. It hits him right in the face, making him spill some of his coffee down his shirt. He gives me an annoyed look, but it’s a Pete look. A normal Pete look. I’m a tiny bit relieved.

  “So?” he continues, raising his eyebrows. “How was it?”

  “Well… it was…” I hesitate, fully aware of how juvenile I must look. “It was nice.”

  “Nice?” he widens his eyes even more. “That’s all I’m gonna get?”

  “What do you want?” I frown.

  “A detailed report,” he answers as if that’s a normal thing to ask.

  “As if!” I say, giggling like a moron.

  “Oh my God,” he laughs again. “Give me at least a score!”

  “A score?” I repeat.

  “Yes,” he nods. “From 0 to 10?”

  I bite my lip, thinking. I don’t think I can rate it. I mean, it was pretty… different… than what I’m used to. It’s been a while—a long while—since the last time I enjoyed myself as much. But I can’t tell him that. I don’t want him reading too much into it.

  “A solid eight,” I end up saying.

  “Eight, huh?” he nods approvingly. “That’s pretty high for your standards.”

  “I hate that you know that,” I say, making him chuckle.

  “Why are you alone, then?” he frowns. Then, he gets outraged. “Don’t tell me he left you in the middle of the night like you were just a random woman he picked up at the bar.”

  “No, he actually…” I hesitate. “He actually asked me to stay.”

  I can’t look at him anymore. Why is this so embarrassing?

  “Beckyyyyy!” he coos and, in a second, he’s sitting by my side. “Did you?”

  I nod. He squeals again, pulling me into him.

  “I don’t see why me getting laid deserves this reaction,” I complain. “It’s not like it’s been that long.”

  “Becky!” he gasps, letting me go and looking me in the eyes. “It’s not about the sex part.”

  He gives me a look. I don’t really know what he means, I just know it makes me uncomfortable. So, I look away and eat some more. He doesn’t press me and restarts eating as well.

  I really want to ask him about his night again. But he’s smiling, bumping his shoulder against mine, discussing what mine and Tyler’s ship name should be. So, I don’t. It can wait a little longer.

  ***

  “Good morning!” Jake cheers as I step into the hotel lobby, giving me a wide smile. He knows.

  “Morning,” I frown, walking towards the reception desk to drop my bag with all the others.

  “Are you all packed?” Todd approaches us, and for the first time I’m glad he’s ignoring me.

  “There are still a few people missing,” Jake replies as he counts the bags.

  “For Christ’s sake,” Todd complains, like he is the manager or something. The real manager, though, is leisurely sitting on a couch, talking on the phone. “We’re planning to leave within the hour.”

  I snort. It’s stronger than me. But I only regret it because it makes both Jake and Todd turn to me.

  I want to say it’s a really short drive and he doesn’t need to get all worked up about it, but what remains of my best judgment speaks louder again. So, I say nothing. And just smile. Which makes Todd’s frown deepen.

  “Someone is in a good mood this morning,” Jake says in the same cheery tone of when he greeted me.

  “Aren’t I always?” I tilt my head to the side, giving him my best sarcastic smile.

  “Where’s Tyler?” Todd apparently is having way less fun with the situation than his guitar tech.

  I shoot him a surprised look, as if asking if he’s really t
alking to me. He raises his eyebrows, so I decide to reply.

  “How would I know?” I ask, without losing the light, ironic tone.

  “Because you spent the night together?” he mimics me.

  “Todd, come on,” Jake tugs on his sleeve.

  “What? You’ve seen the photos,” Todd frowns.

  Wait, what? Photos? What photos?

  “What photos?” I ask, now completely losing composure.

  “You haven’t seen them yet?” he continues with the mocking sweet tone. “They’re all over the Internet.”

  “What photos?” I ask again, a bit more desperate now. My mind is already thinking the worst—Tyler took pics of naked me and posted them online. It was all just a joke. I’m just a joke.

  “Someone took pics of you guys kissing at the club,” Jake is the one to explain. He’s not in bantering mood anymore. “They’re really blurry, though, you can’t tell it’s you two.”

  “Of course, you can tell!” Todd argues. “You can clearly see it’s a blond person and a purple-haired person.”

  He looks back at me with a triumphant look. And then it occurs to me this is nonsense. It’s none of his business what happened and, really, is he trying to humiliate me because I had sex?

  “So, what?” I say nonchalantly, crossing my arms.

  “So… well…” Todd stutters, thrown off by my sudden change of mood. “You spent the night together.”

  “What if we did?” I continue. Jake smiles behind him.

  “I… you…” Todd stutters again, and then sighs in frustration. “I just want to know where Tyler is.”

  “I already told you I have no idea.”

  “Whatever,” he rolls his eyes, turning away to leave.

  “You’re worse than your psycho fans,” I add, because I have to have the last word. Jake covers his mouth with a hand. I don’t have time to regret it, though, because someone interrupts our interaction.

  “What about our psycho fans?” Tyler’s morning voice thunders behind me, making my stomach flutter.

  “Oh, Todd, Todd!” I call, smiling brightly. “I know where he is! Behind me.”

  “Where were you?” Todd decides to ignore me, which is a good decision.

  “Sleeping.” I can hear Tyler’s frown without even looking at him.

  “We’re leaving in less than an hour,” Todd informs.

  Tyler doesn’t reply and I hear his footsteps retreating. Todd lets his gaze fall on me again and frowns. I wink, crossing my arms over my chest. He rolls his eyes and turns his attention back to his phone, finally walking away.

  I immediately pick up my own phone, eager to open Twitter and see the damn photos. I don’t even have to look for them—Todd was right, they’re all over my feed.

  “Shit,” I mutter.

  “It’s not that bad,” Jake walks closer to me, looking down at the screen.

  I read some of the comments, which is a huge mistake.

  Wow, Tyler reached a new low.

  So is he REALLY going at the punk bitch? *sighs*

  Is this a joke?

  Ew, I bet she doesn’t even shower!

  Calm down, people, he must have lost a bet or something.

  I give Jake an annoyed look. All the comments are talking shit about me.

  “Okay, I take it back,” he gives me a sheepish smile. “Close it, don’t read. Out of sight, out of mind.”

  “I wish that was true,” I sigh. But I do close the app.

  I notice I have a few unread messages, too. From Patrick. Letting me know about the clothes, asking about grandma and also confessing to stalking me.

  ‘I’ve found you online! You’re really good. Can’t wait to see you on stage’

  I swallow dry and decide not to reply. Out of sight, out of mind. I put the phone away and look up to see Tyler walking back in our direction, a cup of coffee in one hand and a croissant in the other. He smiles when he sees I’m looking. I smile back.

  “Hey, Beth,” he says when he’s close enough. “Jake.”

  “Someone is in a good mood today,” Jake jokes again.

  “Aren’t I always?” Tyler replies in the same sarcastic tone I used.

  I glance up at Jake. He looks back, widening his eyes. And we start to laugh.

  “I’m glad I’m providing such a good time to everyone,” Tyler says, a suspicious frown on his face.

  “Okay, I’m gonna go help load the vans,” Jake announces, grabbing a few of the bags and announcing, “We leave within the hour!”

  I chuckle again. It’s nice to know I’m not being entirely unfair with Todd. He is a pain in the ass.

  When I turn back to Tyler, he’s still frowning. I reach up, touching a finger to his forehead, between his eyebrows, and his expression relaxes.

  “That’s better,” I say. He rolls his eyes.

  “So, I got your note,” he says. I feel myself flush. I had forgotten about the note.

  “Oh, yeah, that. I didn’t want you to think that I walked out on you as if you were some random guy I picked up at the bar,” I say, using Pete’s dramatic words. I know he knows I’m not the one who came up with that thought by the puzzled expression he gives me back.

  “You did walk out, though,” he says, studying me.

  “I had to gather my stuff,” I justify myself. “We’re living soon.”

  “You could have woken me up,” he says.

  “I wouldn’t have left if I did,” I blurt out.

  A slow, bright grin spreads across his face. I roll my eyes but I can’t deny that I like it. Now, seeing him smile instantly makes me smile, too.

  “Hey,” Neil joins us, a somber expression on his face. “Good to catch you two together. Can we talk for a moment?”

  Shit. We’re in trouble. I’m going to get fired. Pete is going to kill me!

  “So,” he sighs when we arrive at a quieter corner, “I just want to apologize to you two. I tried to make it go away but by the time I found out about it, it was all over social media.”

  “What are you talking about?” Tyler asks.

  The pictures.

  “The pictures,” he says.

  “What pictures?” Tyler asks, his voice matching my panicked tone from just minutes ago.

  Neil widens his eyes, glancing at me. I shrug.

  “I didn’t know about it, either,” I say. “Until Todd mentioned it.”

  “Todd?” Tyler gasps.

  “Okay, keep calm,” Neil says, raising his hands, and then dives into the explanation. “Someone took pictures of you and Becky at the club last night. It’s all over social media today. I’ve been able to stop the press from publishing anything, but… it’s out there.”

  Christ. This is so not the conversation I thought we would be having. Neil is… protecting us? And not firing me? I’m shocked.

  “So what if there are pictures of us?” Tyler scoffs. “We went out as a group.”

  “We’re kissing, Tyler,” I clarify it for his slow brain. “It’s pictures of us kissing.”

  He freezes, his eyes cold on my face. I’m not sure what to make of this reaction.

  “Fuck…” Or of his cursing.

  “It’ll be fine, people will forget it,” Neil says. “But I’d recommend you stay out of social media for a couple of days. Especially you, Becky.”

  I nod. I choose to not tell them I’ve read some of the comments already. I don’t want to talk about it.

  “Now, the vans are outside, we’re splitting into two,” Neil claps his hands together, kind of making Tyler wake up from his trance. “You go first with your brothers and Jake and Paul.”

  Tyler doesn’t move.

  “You go now,” Neil says again. Tyler glances at me, so he adds, “You’ll have time to talk it over later. Now, go!”

  He hesitates a while, but ends up obliging. His furrowed brow doesn’t help my nerves.

  “Are you okay?” Neil turns to me now.

  “Uh… yeah… I guess…” I mumble.

&nb
sp; “I’m really sorry,” he says, actually meaning it. I’m amazed.

  “It’s not your fault,” I argue. Which is true. “It’s our fault. My fault. Why aren’t you mad?”

  “What?” he frowns. “Why would I be mad?”

  “Because…” I pause, trying to formulate a sentence that doesn’t include the word fucked in it. “I’ve been kind of unprofessional.”

  He widens his eyes with that and laughs. Full-on, belly-grabbing and all.

  “Becky!” he exclaims when he recovers. “This is not an office! Your profession demands you wear your feelings on your sleeve, all the time! It’s not surprising that some of you would end up getting too close too quickly.”

  Some of you. Does he know about Pete, too? Has this happened before? I decide to go for the second question.

  “How many times has this happened?” I ask. His amused expression vanishes, but he manages to smile.

  “You don’t really expect me to discuss this topic with you, do you?” he says in a sympathetic-yet-serious voice. “I’m a professional.”

  I feel myself blush. But then he smiles. He’s joking. I guess. But he’s really not gonna tell me anything about The Hacks’ mating habits.

  “Come on, we should get going, too.”

  I follow him to the van and sit on the back with Lindsey. She immediately puts her headphones on—we’re not going to talk, then. I’m actually not bothered. I have too much on my mind now to fill the silence with words.

  ***

  The hour-long trip to Glasgow is terrible. The load-in is terrible. The soundcheck is terrible. Not that we make mistakes, we don’t. But there’s clearly something missing. None of the songs sound the same. It’s all stiff, and tiring, and hard to watch. You can count on music to be transparent like that. Everyone has seen the pictures, everyone knows what happened last night, and everyone is wondering why Tyler and I are acting so strangely. Not that anyone voiced any opinions, but it’s written all over their faces.

  We don’t have time to ‘talk it over’ as Neil said we would. Once again, I’m stunned by how much we’re constantly surrounded by people. And, for once, I actually want to talk it over. I mean, I want to hear it—I want to hear what Tyler has to say, what his cursing meant, what the worried expression he’s wearing right now means. I want to know… I want to know what’s happening between us.