Interlude

by Chantele Sedgwick

“Sometimes it is. Especially if we play several nights in a row.”

  “I don’t get it.”

  “What don’t you get?”

  “I just … I don’t get why they won’t let you do what you want. It’s dumb.”

  He sits up straighter. “They make you do what sells.”

  “Well, that’s stupid. If you hate it so much, why do you still do it? If you don’t love what you’re doing, it’s not worth it. I play the piano, but I pick and choose what I play. No one tells me what I have to play. I mean, when I was little, my teacher told me what to play, of course, because I was just learning, but now, I play what I love.”

  “That’s different, though.”

  “Is it?” I stare at him with what I hope is a challenging look on my face.

  “Yes. You play what you want to play because you’re not tied down to a contract or anything. But if you want to do something else, like make a CD or something, you’ll have to play by the record label’s rules.”

  He’s got a point I guess. “Why do you do it then?”

  “I ask myself that question every day. That’s one of the reasons I’m on this plane.” He laughs as he says it. Not a happy laugh, just a pity laugh. “I don’t want to do it anymore. I don’t want to be famous. I want to be … normal. You know?”

  “Kind of hard when you’re in so deep, though. Because you are. In deep.”

  He sighs. “I know. That’s why it’s complicated.”

  I nod, not knowing what to say.

  “So, there’s my big secret. It’s stupid and selfish, but what can you do?”

  “I wouldn’t call it selfish. You’re doing what you want to do for a change. Not what someone’s telling you to do.”

  “Trying to.” He pulls out his phone, looks at it for a second, and puts it back in his pocket. “I keep thinking someone’s going to call, but I turned it off.” He smiles. “I’m never not expecting a phone call.”

  “Yeah, Totally opposite of me. I don’t expect many calls. Like, ever.”

  He laughs. “That would be nice.”

  “So, you’re going to quit? Just like that?”

  “Not that simple. I really hate the fact that people tell me what to write, what to sing. But I could get in huge trouble, I have a contract. Running away isn’t the answer. I can’t run away. But I thought it would be good to get away for a while anyway. Take a little break.”

  I lift my hand, hesitating only a second before placing it on his arm. “You’ll figure things out. I know it.”

  “I hope.”

  His skin is warm and my fingers shake a bit from my stupid nerves, so I put my hand back in my lap. “So, where are you running to?”

  “Home.”

  “Like a home you own? Yourself?”

  “No. My family has a place on Long Island. It’s nice.”

  “Cool.” I’m pretty sure Long Island is where The Statue of Liberty is. Maybe. I should know my states and cities better. I need to pay more attention at school.

  “You’ve never been to New York, have you?”

  “Is it that obvious?”

  He grins. “No. Just a lucky guess.”

  “Good. I think. I’ve been lots of other places, if that counts.”

  “Like?”

  Crap. “Um, I went to Washington once. To visit my uncle.”

  “Washington’s nice. Lots of rain.”

  “Yes. It does rain a lot.” I frown. I bet he’s been to every state in the United States. “I’ve been to Las Vegas.”

  “Nevada. That’s two. Three if you count California.”

  “Yes. Three. And I’ve been to Utah to visit my cousin, Cole. So four states in all. Holy frick, I’m a loser.”

  “Not a loser. Just not a traveler. Nothing wrong with that.”

  “I’d love to travel someday.”

  “It’s fun. Sometimes.”

  I pick at the little spot on my pinky nail and watch as blue paint flecks fall to the floor. I’m going to have to repaint this nail anyway, so I might as well get it all off. “So,” I start. “What’s your favorite state you’ve been to? Or place? I’m sure you’ve been out of the country.”

  He nods. “I’m a big fan of Florida. Nice beaches. The Everglades are cool.”

  “I’ve always wanted to go there.”

  “You should. It’s awesome. I like being warm. Although it is a bit too humid for me. I can’t do a thing with my hair.”

  I glance at him and he grins. “Right. Hair probs. I can relate.”

  He chuckles. “But for real, it’s humid. Right when I walk outside it feels like I’ve been sweating for hours. It’s kind of like when you get out of the shower and the room’s filled with steam and you can’t get dry no matter how hard you try.”

  “Like a sauna?”

  He laughs lightly and shakes his head. “Yes. That would be what I was trying to describe. A sauna.”

  “Not a fan of those. I don’t like sweat. Did you like any other places you’ve visited?”

  “I loved Hawaii. I wasn’t a big fan of being surrounded by ocean, though.”

  I laugh. “Yeah, that’s kind of daunting, isn’t it?”

  “You never know when the ocean will want it back.”

  “I know, right?”

  “Let’s see.” He thinks for a moment. “I really liked England. I love history, so the castles and things were cool.”

  “Oh, England. That’s on my bucket list for sure. And Italy.” Maddy and I are already planning a trip. She’s been begging Mom and Dad to go there for years. If she ever gets better, of course. And she will. She’ll get better.

  “You’d love Rome. It’s amazing. But there’s the ocean problem again. At least while you’re flying to get to Europe.”

  “Ugh. I’d probably throw up if we were flying over a whole ocean. I don’t know why that’s terrifying, but it is.”

  “Just wear those little orange arm floaties and you’ll be prepared in case of an emergency.”

  “Oh, yeah. Sexy.” I chuckle and glance out the window to examine the mountains and green foliage covering the landscape below. “Speaking of flying, where do you think we are?”

  He leans over me to look outside, his shoulder brushing mine. “Hmmm … I’d guess—”

  A woman’s voice sounds through the speakers above, making us both jump. “We are approaching the Denver airport. If you could stay in your seats and buckle up, that would be great.”

  “That was …”

  “Weird?” he finishes.

  “Yes. So will we be spending our layover together?”

  “Of course,” he says, smiling. “I’d be bored out of my mind if we didn’t.” He’s still leaning across me, looking out the window. He glances at me out of the corner of his eye, a smirk on his face. As he leans back into his seat, his arm bumps mine, making my heart go crazy. I can’t figure out why I’m reacting this way. I don’t even know the guy. If I get this crazy over someone I just met, I can’t imagine what I’ll feel like with someone I’m actually dating.

  I’ve never had time to date, though. Not when Maddy can’t enjoy dating, too. I have a few good friends I hang out with sometimes—one in particular named Tru—but with all the time I spend with Maddy, it’s hard to have a normal high school life.

  Speaking of Tru, I should have texted her before I left.

  The plane descends and I take out my ticket to get on my next flight. “Hopefully you know where our next gate is because I’d be running around like a crazy person trying to find the right one. Because … let’s face it. I’m a crazy.”

  “Trust me. I’ve seen crazier. And I’ve been in this airport plenty of times. You’ll be fine. Just stick with me.” He gives me a reassuring smile and I feel a blush creep to my cheeks. He probably thinks my cheeks are permanently pink at this point.

  I’ll definitely be sticking with him, though. I glance at my ticket again. “Two-hour layover. That’s not too horrible.” I say it like I’ve flown a thousand times.
When in reality, I’ve only flown to Washington. Once.

  “Yep. One hour isn’t long enough sometimes and more than two is enough to make you bored out of your mind. Two hours is perfect.”

  As the plane rolls to a stop and the stewardess gives us instructions to exit the plane, the passengers start to stand and get their things. Jaxton turns to me as he stands. “Do you have anything in the overhead?”

  “My backpack.”

  He nods, pulls it out, and motions for me to go in front of him.

  “I can take it. You don’t have to carry it for me.” I try to take it from him, but he just laughs.

  “I’ve got it. You’d better start walking. You’re holding up the line.” He chuckles as I turn to face a bunch of empty seats. I hear someone grumble about the girl with the dark hair not moving fast enough and practically run down the aisle and into the jetway.

  We pass through the gate and I walk over to the window overlooking the airport. “I’ve never been to Denver. But you probably knew that since I’ve only been to four states.”

  Jaxton’s shoulder bumps into mine. He has my backpack slung over one shoulder and looks totally relaxed. “Five now.”

  “Layovers don’t count.”

  “I guess you’re right. Denver’s nice, though.”

  “You’ve been everywhere,” I say, watching another plane take off.

  “There’s no place better than home.”

  I look over at him, his baseball cap pulled low as he stares out the window, my backpack hitched over his shoulder. “You don’t have any luggage?”

  He laughs. “No. I didn’t need to travel with anything this time. I left pretty quick. Grabbed the last flight, I think.”

  “Oh.”

  “I’m going to see my family. They have enough of my stuff there that I don’t really need anything but my phone.”

  “Charger?” I raise an eyebrow.

  “Pretty sure I can find a spare charger. Do you know anyone who doesn’t have a cell phone?”

  I shake my head. He’s got me there.

  “And I have a credit card, of course. Speaking of—you hungry?”

  My stomach growls in response.

  He leans toward me. “I take that as a yes.” He nudges me with his elbow. “Come on. Let’s get something to eat before we’re stuck on the next flight.”

  “Okay, but I’m paying.”

  He doesn’t say anything, just throws back his head and laughs in response.

  CHAPTER 10

  We’re heading for something good

  That much I know is true

  Tell me what you need from me

  I’ll do anything for you

  —J.S.

  I’m standing in front of the bathroom mirror, cursing my hair and the mascara smudges under my eyes. Did I really look this bad the entire two hours on the plane? I don’t remember looking in the mirror before jumping in my car and heading to the airport. So of course I look my absolute best …

  After I comb my fingers through my hair and wipe the smudges from under my eyes, it helps, a little. I look tired, though.

  I feel tired.

  I’m doing this for Maddy, though. I’m going to find our mom, ask her to come back home with me, and she will save Maddy’s life.

  No distractions.

  Even if the distraction is a rock-and-roll star. I run my fingers through my hair one more time and sigh.

  “This is as good as it’s gonna get,” I whisper to myself, ignoring the weird look the lady a few sinks over gives me. And then my stomach growls so loud I’m sure everyone in the bathroom can hear it, so I head back out to meet Jaxton.

  At least I’ll have someone to talk to until I get to New York.

  He’s standing against the wall reading another magazine. A beautiful man reading is always nice. It just makes them seem so … intellectual. I laugh at my random thought and resist the urge to take a picture of him and put him on some website called “Hot guys reading.” I’m sure I can find one. Actually, I’m pretty sure it already exists …

  And it’s not like he’s not already plastered on every website already. He wouldn’t mind, right?

  Jaxton lowers the magazine and smiles when he sees me. “So, what do you want for lunch?” He sets the magazine down on one of the chairs by the wall and we head toward the smell of food. “Not much to choose from here. Hope that’s okay.”

  “Well, it’s not like we’re out on the town.” I smile up at him. “I’m sure you could demand some gourmet food and they’d bring it to you in two seconds though. Considering who you are. You know. Play it up. Get rid of the nice-guy persona and pretend you’re a Hollywood starlet or something.”

  He grins. “That would be interesting, wouldn’t it?”

  “I haven’t known you for too long, but I couldn’t see you doing that.”

  “I’m a good actor when I have to be.”

  My eyes widen. I wonder if he’s secretly a diva and actually does demand ridiculous stuff. I breathe a sigh of relief as he chuckles at my expression. “You’re joking.”

  “Of course.” We both laugh as we turn the corner, I glance around at the few places to eat. “A hamburger sounds good I think. It’s safe.”

  “Safe?” He stops walking and looks down at me, a question in his eyes and an amused smile.

  All I can do is shrug. “What can I say? I don’t like surprises.”

  He chuckles next to me and puts his hands in his pockets. “Surprises? Like what? Tomatoes or pickles?”

  “No, those are good. Onions are gross, though. They’re nasty little surprises that show up even if you tell them to take them off sometimes. Gag.”

  “So, onions are not a safe food.”

  “Correct.”

  “Noted. You’re hilarious, you know that?” He grins and steps up to the counter to order. “A hamburger with pickles and tomatoes it is then. With cheese?”

  “Always.”

  “Ah. A girl who knows a good burger when she sees one. Would you like fries with that?”

  “Who doesn’t order fries?”

  He stares at me, his mouth breaking into a sly grin. “Seriously? I’m considering marrying you right here and right now.”

  “In a fast food place?”

  “Why not? A girl who can eat equals the girl of my dreams.”

  “A fast-food wedding. What could be more romantic than that?” I smile as he puts an arm around my shoulder and squeezes me once before letting go.

  I shove my hands in my pockets and try to stop my heart from beating out of my chest.

  Jaxton orders our food then and even though I insist on paying, he just shakes his head and laughs. Again.

  We sit down at a table for two in the far corner. I watch how he looks around, keeping his head down and hunching over so no one notices him. “I think we’re good,” I say, gesturing to the empty tables around us.

  “You’d be surprised.” He unwraps his hamburger. “People recognize me in the least conspicuous places.” He takes a bite and chews slowly, still glancing around like someone’s going to jump out at us at any moment.

  “An airport is pretty conspicuous.” Maddy would totally pick him out of a crowd.

  He smiles. “You’re right. Which is why I look like this and we’re sitting by ourselves.”

  “Do you have a lot of, you know, hardcore fans?”

  I say it as he takes a drink and he sort of chokes on it as he laughs. “That would be a yes. A lot of people love Blue Fire. My guitarist, Eric, has his share of fans, and so does my bassist and drummer, but for some reason people focus on the lead singer most of the time. So … Yeah. I have a lot of hardcore fans out there. Which can be good and bad.”

  “Any stalkers?”

  The corner of his mouth twitches. “A few.” He pops a few fries in his mouth. “No one too crazy, but I do have a restraining order on one girl. She was a nut job.”

  “Nice.”

  “She would wait by the corner on my street ev
ery day and follow me in her car. Every day. She approached me once, told me we were destined to get married and she wanted to have my babies.”

  “Wow. Classy.”

  He laughs. “Classy? Try scary.”

  “Seriously. I can’t imagine people throwing themselves at me. It’s got to get old after a while.”

  “A little.” He winks.

  We sit in comfortable silence as we finish our meals and I can’t help but wonder how the heck I’m even sitting here with him. He’s famous. And good looking. More so than I thought I’d ever admit. And … nicer than I ever imagined. Not that I’ve ever imagined much about him before. But he’s a good mini distraction to keep my mind off the daunting task of finding Carmen once I reach New York. I should have a better plan, but the truth is, I don’t. I have no idea where Carmen lives and have no idea how to get there. I have two addresses, but how can I find said addresses without knowing where anything is? GPS will work, but it’s still scary traveling through such a huge city. I need to make a plan soon, and since the adrenaline of actually jumping on a plane heading somewhere I’ve never been is wearing off, now all I can do is worry. I’ll worry less once I’m in the air and actually make a game plan that makes sense.

  I’m glad Jaxton is helping me pass the time by talking to me, though. He just seems like a normal guy. Nothing like the stories or the pictures. That must be hard. Seeing so many lies about you and not being able to do anything about it.

  As I finish off my water, I notice a girl out of the corner of my eye staring in our direction. She pulls out her phone and points it toward us, obviously snapping a picture. Jaxton notices, too, and shrinks in his seat with a smile on his face, pulling his hat down. “Told you.”

  My mouth drops open. “People just randomly take pictures of you? Just like that?”

  “Yeah. Awesome, right? And I’m sure that one had me chewing a mouthful of food. Can’t wait to see that all over the Internet tonight.”

  I glance over at the girl again; she’s being very loud and animated with her friends. They look over at us, too, whispering to each other and giggling. I wait for one of them to walk over, but they never do. “That’s so bizarre.”

  “What?”

  “That people just … do that. You could be doing anything and they’d just snap a picture without a second thought. It’s so … I don’t know. The whole privacy thing is nonexistent, isn’t it?”