Piper: A Last Score Spin Off

by K. L. Shandwick

  I blushed, shy at her humility. “You’re too kind. I’m sure that won’t ever happen,” I replied with a small chuckle.

  “Don’t you believe it. It happens every day. Treat every performance as if it’s your last. That way you’ll respect the crowds who flock to see you and keep the fans you make.” It was a great piece of advice.

  Myleene interrupted us to give Layla her five-minute call, and I made my way back to my own dressing room, leaving her to get ready for her show; but I wasn’t ready for the evening to be over.

  It was only 9pm, but we never got the luxury of hanging around to watch Layla’s performance. As Kansas was the next stop, we shipped straight out again on the bus.

  Leaving the venue at the back via the loading dock, there was a four-foot drop to the ground. Kerr jumped down, waved at me with his hands up and helped me down. I fell into his arms when I lost my footing and he caught me tight to his chest. We both laughed and as our eyes met, we separated and climbed onto the bus.

  Petra called after me as I climbed the steps. “Piper, I think this is yours,” she said, holding out my cell phone.

  “You’re a lifesaver,” I admitted because my phone held my whole life in it and I knew no one’s phone number off by heart. I’d been so caught up in the excitement of going on stage before, I had forgotten to retrieve it from the dressing room counter to drop it into my purse.

  As soon as I held my phone in my hand, it became the central focus for my attention. I wonder if he’s called. The weight of the small gadget in my palm made it hard to ignore and an overwhelming urge to check again if Simon had called washed over me.

  Knowing my night would be ruined if I checked and he hadn’t called, I decided not to put myself in that position and quickly dropped it into my purse.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  “I’d like to propose a toast,” said Kerr, holding up a Corona beer with a small wedge of lime still stuck in the neck of the bottle. “To our amazing leader, Piper. You knocked it out of the park tonight. Thank you for choosing us as your tribe,” he added, grinning widely.

  My heart swelled with pride and love for the group of people surrounding me, all invested to make sure I succeeded. Leaning in toward me Kerr hugged me tight, “So fucking proud of you,” he told me with a slow smile. “Even though I’ve heard you sing hundreds of times now, I still get goosebumps. Your voice affects me like no other,” he admitted.

  When Kerr gave me validation of his approval, my throat constricted. Simon should have been here.

  A mixture of emotions collided inside my head which included everything from elation to devastation as snapshots flashed in my mind: of my mom’s dying face, the empty space outside the bus where Simon should have been as I turned to look out the bus that morning, and finally a happier one of how wildly the crowd had reacted to my performance.

  When more fleeting thoughts ran through my mind about all the challenges I had faced, battled, and won, tears flowed down my cheeks unreservedly.

  “What’s the matter? What did I say?” Kerr asked as he eyed me with concern, placing one knee on the couch. He sat beside me, his leg tucked beneath him and he immediately pulled me into his chest. The comfort I drew from his embrace in that moment meant everything to me.

  Petra and Isiah immediately stood and retreated to the back of the bus, leaving Austin and Wyatt staring awkwardly at us. “Would you guys mind giving Piper some space for a few?” Kerr asked, gesturing with his head for them to follow the others.

  “Sure,” Austin muttered. He and Wyatt shuffled off slowly and as I looked up, my teary eyes met with Wyatt’s who had glanced over his shoulder. I offered a weak smile and he gave me a small one in return, but his eyes held his concern for me.

  Once the other guys were out of earshot, Kerr pushed me away to arms-length to look at me. His questioning eyes burned into mine.

  “All right, spill,” he ordered.

  I shook my head.

  “I can’t make you feel okay if I don’t know what’s wrong in the first place,” he offered.

  “I- it… it’s not your job to do this.”

  When he continued to stare at me with concern, I sighed. “It’s all a bit overwhelming,” I stated. It was as clear a confession as I could voice.

  Kerr sighed too like he hated seeing me upset and put my head back on his chest. “Singing? Performing? The live gig?” he probed.

  “Not really that, it’s more about my memories; people I care about not being here to share it all with,” I admitted.

  “Simon?” Kerr said in a flat tone. Taking in a deep breath, his lungs expanded his strong, broad chest beneath my cheeks, and I knew he was almost as annoyed as I was that Simon hadn’t been there.

  “Partly… and my mom,” I blurted and burst into tears again.

  “Hey,” Kerr said, repositioning me so he could see my face again.

  “Sorry. I guess I’m not as strong as I think I am.”

  “Piper, you are one of the strongest people I know. To have achieved what you have after all you’ve been through is incredible. It’s like no matter what shit life has thrown at you, you’ve managed to use your negative experiences and turn them into your amazing success.”

  I lifted my head to glance at him and shrugged in surprise, “Shit to sugar, huh?” I asked, giving him a wry smirk. “Thank you… sometimes I feel so alone, you know?”

  “I do know. I’ve watched you battle your demons daily, listened to the way you talk about your mom. I can’t imagine how you feel… and I have to be honest with you, Piper, Simon not being there tonight has totally pissed me off.”

  A knot immediately formed in my stomach at the tone in his voice and I felt Kerr’s body tense. “I mean nothing should have been more important than seeing you perform tonight,” he spat in frustration.

  I swallowed roughly. I didn’t want to believe Simon hadn’t given a thought about what it would mean to me to have him there.

  “It’s hard to know what to think because looking at this in a realistic way, M3rCy and Simon have done what we did tonight, hundreds of times. The perspective is completely different.”

  “Bullshit, Piper,” he countered, “I don’t buy that and neither do you. Don’t defend him. No matter how many times he’s walked out on stage he has only ever had that one first time.”

  Thinking like Kerr only made me feel worse. I knew deep down he was right, but my tender heart didn’t want to face the reality that I wasn’t important enough to Simon for him to have been there.

  Shaking my head, I pulled away from Kerr’s embrace and stood up. “Come on, I’m not going to sit here and wallow in self-pity all night. I’m starving, and those pizzas smell incredible,” I said, wiping my eyes as I gestured in the direction of the small galley where piles of pizza boxes had been waiting for us when we climbed on the bus.

  It wasn’t fair to create a bad vibe on the bus either, I had my bandmates to think about. Kerr stood and stuffed his hands deep in his pockets. Shaking his head, I knew he was annoyed when I wouldn’t address it anymore, but he followed my lead and let the subject drop.

  By 2am, I was drunk and emotionally in a much better place thanks to being introduced to Petra’s Strawberry Daiquiri, and Tequila Sunrise cocktails.

  No one was counting how much we had drunk and by the time I realized how inebriated I was my heart was numb.

  I’d never played drinking games before or the game, Chubby Bunny; nor had I realized what a party girl Petra was. Watching a drunk girl stuffing thirty-one marshmallows in her mouth at one time was hysterical.

  My sides positively ached from all the laughing I did and by the time I was ready for bed I was so merry my thoughts shrunk of anything other than the moment I was in.

  “All right, I’m going to head into bed,” I muttered when the mood changed, and Petra and Isiah began canoodling on the couch. Austin had already retired with some porn movie he had been recommended, and Wyatt was so drunk he’d fallen asleep where he sat.
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  Kerr stood up, “I’ll walk you home,” he offered with a chuckle because his cubby was the one next to mine. Simon’s warning flashed through my head and the smile I had initially given him when he had spoken must have frozen on my face. Kerr is not a cheater.

  Bracing myself for what he may do, I willed Kerr to prove Simon wrong and by the time I arrived at my cubby I felt as nervous as hell. Turning to Kerr, I placed my hand on his forearm and tried to behave as normally as I could around him.

  “Thanks for all you’ve done to support me today, Kerr. I really appreciate your friendship,” I stated.

  Moving his hand around my shoulder, he pulled me close to his chest. I stiffened, wondering if, like Simon said, Kerr was about to make a pass.

  “You’re more than welcome, gorgeous,” he informed me, his strong hands both swamping my small body as he engulfed me in a tight hug. Kissing the top of my head, he pushed me back effectively separating us and eyed me with curiosity.

  “You going to be okay tomorrow?”

  I nodded, swaying a little on my feet. Kerr chuckled.

  “Yeah, it was a watershed moment today,” I admitted. “Thank you for being so considerate and kind,” I said a little slurry.

  Kerr’s hand swept around the back of my head and he pulled me close, placing a chaste kiss on the top of my head again before stepping away.

  “Okay, honey, I need to get some shut eye. See you sometime in the morning… if you recover that quickly,” he said, snickering.

  Smirking, because I knew I must have looked a hot mess after all the alcohol, I turned and clumsily climbed into the cubby. I was about to pull my curtain divider closed when Kerr spoke again.

  “Piper?” he murmured.

  “Hmm,” I asked, looking back out toward him.

  “I think you’re a fantastic girl and I was so proud of you today. Never stop being you for anyone else. Don’t change who you are to fit anyone else’s mold and keep kicking ass like I know you can.” I smiled slowly but it turned into a wide grin the longer he stood there.

  “Ditto… apart from the fantastic girl thing,” I muttered back. My heart was instantly full of everything I knew I felt for him, but I had no other words to express what he meant to me as a friend at that point.

  “For the record, Simon McLennan’s a dick.”

  I heard what he said but spread out on the bed without getting undressed and shook my head. Despite what you think Simon, you’re dead wrong about Kerr.

  If Kerr was the player Simon had thought he was, he’d had every opportunity to make his move, and he hadn’t. He was a true friend. Turning over, I punched my pillow and fought the tightening in my chest at the thought of Simon.

  For a few minutes, I resisted another urge to check my phone, then decided if I was as important to him as he was to me, he’d have been at the gig.

  Waves of nausea dragged me out of my sleep. The drone of the bus engine did nothing to settle the way my stomach rolled.

  Edging up onto my elbows, I wondered where I was for a few seconds, then hazy memories of the games we played flooded back along with all the alcohol I had consumed.

  Immediately, I edged my way out of the cubby, caught my foot on the drape and landed unceremoniously on my ass at the foot of the steps.

  “Ouch,” I winced, stumbling to my feet. I hurriedly staggered with my arms outstretched to balance me until I reached the toilet door.

  Seconds later my nose wrinkled in revolt as I retched and vomited a rainbow of stale alcohol into the bowl. “You okay?” Kerr asked, sliding into the small restroom beside me and automatically gathering up my hair.

  “No,” I croaked. “I’m never drinking again; that Petra is the devil’s spawn. I want her arrested for feeding me alcohol while I’m underage,” I muttered before retching again. My throat stung from the effort of throwing up and Kerr chuckled.

  “Fuck, what am I going to do with you?” Kerr asked in a playful tone. “Was this on your bucket list by any chance?”

  “Leave me alone, I’m fine,” I said and retched a dry heave again. “I’m sure I’ll feel better once the contents of my stomach are safely deposited into this bowl.”

  “Ah, the 'feeling sorry for myself' phase,” he stated. “It usually accompanies the 'I’m never drinking again' promise, which you’ll break as soon as you’ve forgotten this time. I give it a couple of weeks.”

  “Who made you Professor of Puke?” I grumbled, wrapping the toilet tissue around my hand then wiping my mouth. I straightened up slowly in fear of a new wave of nausea. Turning to face him, he took his thumbs and wiped the mascara from under my eyes.

  “There. You only look half dead now,” he said, like he was my dad sending me off for a night on the town.

  “Thanks, you’re so good to me,” I mumbled and wrapped my arms around his waist. It was then I realized he was naked apart from a pair of boxer briefs. I felt my face flush, but I tried not to act differently.

  “I’m going to lie down again and hope the next time I wake this will all have been a dream.”

  Catching the handle, he opened the door, “Doubt that, Piper, we don’t get many do-overs in life.”

  “Did you sleep in those?” he asked, noting I was still in the clothes I had changed into after the gig.

  “May have,” I stated and smirked, a little embarrassed.

  “You’re officially a lush,” he declared. “You may want to take a shower and brush your teeth rather than go back to bed,” he advised. “You can nap later. Going back to sleep now will only make you feel worse.”

  Hesitating outside my cubby, I nodded. “Sounds like a good idea,” I admitted. “Go back to bed, I’m fine now. Thanks for caring for me,” I said.

  “Always, sweetheart,” Kerr responded and climbed back into his bed. Hearing a deep sigh, I wondered what he thought of me and decided after what he’d just witnessed it couldn’t have been good.

  I also sighed because this had been the second time I had consumed too much alcohol—the first being with Simon—and the result had been the same.

  I wondered how many more times it would take before I learned to hold it, and not reproduce it the following day.

  Chapter Thirty

  Six gigs, six days, and only one tiny text from Simon.

  Simon: Do everything I know you can because you ARE everything.

  If I’d received his text and he’d been around, it would have been the world. Instead, I had found it the day after my debut in Seattle. He’d sent it about two minutes before I had gone on stage.

  Only two minutes before–that had felt like I wasn’t on his mind and he’d almost forgotten. Is he hedging his bets with me? Playing me along until he’s bored with who he’s with?

  At the very least, I had expected a response from him when on day four of the tour a picture emerged of Kerr and I ‘hugging’ in the loading bay after the first gig in Seattle. Of course it was nothing like what the picture suggested, but the caption had stung.

  Piper acts her age and trades Playboy Simon McLennan for a much younger model.

  After a love match lasting barely six weeks—a lifetime in terms of the relationships Simon McLennan has had in the past—has the Rock God been relegated into supporting act status in favor of Piper’s hunky handsome band member, Kerr Logan? Sources close to the couple say they are “inseparable.”

  At the time of going to press neither McLennan, Piper, nor their representatives, were available for comment, but with Simon’s absence during the tour, one must assume the whirlwind romance with the much younger, gorgeous, and top drawer singer, Piper, has run its course.

  On the music front, Piper has been touring with Layla Hartmann. Rumor has it, unknown Piper got close to McLennan who helped discover the talented young artist. Piper is now being hotly tipped as a next generation to rival the fabulous artist, P!nk.

  When I had tried to contact Simon to deny the report, it was the first time I had reached out to him. He hadn’t contacted me since his ini
tial text, which I hadn’t replied to, but the article had given me a valid reason to do so.

  We were supposed to be together, yet as I called his number, I was plagued with anxiety because I had no idea where I stood. With Simon’s lack of enthusiasm, I felt heartbroken and I wondered if I should have listened to the man who had never let me down.

  As Simon’s phone went to his answer service I closed the call out, not even bothering to leave a message. It was pointless if he wasn’t concerned in the first place.

  Unlike Simon, Gibson was quick to follow up, and I heard both relief and anxiety in his tone when I denied the rumor, but I had to confess I hadn’t heard from Simon.

  Gibson had figured the media were fishing but cussed under his breath about Simon and asked when I’d heard from him last.

  I told him the night of my debut concert but didn’t elaborate, and he appeared satisfied with my reply. Offering me reassurance and advice for dealing with the press, Gibson concluded the call, and I knew the first thing he’d do was contact Simon himself. I then wondered if Simon would contact me after he’s spoken with Gibson.

  Since the story had broken regarding Kerr and me, I had cried myself to sleep—both times in Kerr’s arms, my head against his chest while he smoothed down my hair to soothe me. I never looked at Kerr as anything other than a brother and from what he told his girl, Louisa, it was the same for him.

  Kerr had called her the morning the story broke and fortunately Louisa had been so gracious about the whole thing. She worked in advertising and was used to people spinning things to look a certain way.

  Sitting shoulder to shoulder with me during a Skype call, Kerr declared how he felt about her and not once did Louisa eye me with suspicion.

  “I’ve known you for seven years Kerr. In all that time I’ve felt blessed with what a caring and compassionate man you are. It’s one of the things I love most about you. I don’t feel threatened at all by you, Piper, for the reason I’ve just said. I. Know. Kerr.”