Jared and his bandmates were taking up their places. He scanned the crowd as the bass guitarist leaned over and spoke in his ear.
Oliver leaned towards me. “Looks like he’s looking for someone.”
Before I could say anything back, Oliver lifted me up and my feet were planted on his shoulders. His hands linked with mine to keep me balanced. When Jared saw me, he waved and walked over to the edge of the stage. Leaning down, he spoke to a security guard. They both looked my way as he pointed me out. Jared watched the security guard push his way through the crowd for a second, and then he took his place at the middle of the stage.
Oliver jiggled my arm to get my attention. “Ready to get down?”
I peered down at him and felt myself tilting to the left, feeling myself falling. Oliver let go of my hands and grabbed my thighs, as he moved his feet apart and braced himself. “Just trust me, okay?”
At least that was what I thought he said as he held on and balanced me in front of him. I didn’t even have time to blink before my back slammed into his chest and his hands held the back of my thighs, as if I were sitting on a chair. He lowered me further and let go of one of my legs and then the other as he steadied me until I could stand.
“See? I told you to trust me. I’ve never dropped a girl yet.”
My hand fisted the front of his shirt, as my knees wobbled. “What are you, a damn gymnast?”
That brought a deep chuckle from him. “Nah. Special Ops.”
“Military?”
“Something like that.” His head jerked to someone standing behind me. “I think the security guy wants to talk to you.”
I looked over my shoulder and saw the same guy Jared had talked to earlier, pushing his way through the crowd to get to me.
“Excuse me, Miss, but Jared has asked for you to meet him after the show. Just head up to the stage when it’s over, and I’ll take you back to where the band is.”
I nodded at the Mr. Clean look-alike and he turned away, pushing back through the crowd.
The strum of an electric guitar belted out of the speakers, as Jared spoke to the crowd.
All the noise rushed into my ears, and time sort of stalled out for me. Jared was on stage like he’d always talked about. He stood center stage as people screamed around him. We’d all joked about it over the years, giving him a hard time about his need to be a celebrity, and all I could do was stare in awe at what he’d become.
The band kicked off one of their original songs, before Jared had joined, and rocked the crowd. After that, they played a few more cover songs from other bands. Songs I’d never heard before, but I screamed along with the crowd anyway.
By the time the band was done, Jared was covered in sweat. His chest heaved as he gripped the microphone. He brought his thumb and forefinger up in the symbol of the Six and winked at me. The crowed roared for more, surging forward until bodies were pressed so tight against me, I felt like I couldn’t breathe. Jared turned to the drummer, and they closed their set out with a song that made everyone lose their damn minds.
Someone shoved in between Paige and me. She cried out, flailing her arm in my direction. An elbow caught me in the chin, and I slammed into a girl behind me. She shoved me forward, and I couldn’t catch myself as I fell. I knew if I couldn’t get up, I’d be crushed by the crowd. My hand splayed against the trampled grass as I caught myself from hitting the ground face first. The crowd kept surging forward. I was forced to drop to the ground and roll to get away from the shoes coming at me. I came to a sudden stop when I rolled into the feet of the people in front of me. My arm went around my head to protect myself as best as I could as I curled my legs up to my stomach, making myself as small as possible. Getting to my knees would be a fight. Standing was impossible.
I peeked out from between my arms, looking for a small spot I could try to pop up in, when I saw Oliver picking people up and moving them. His massive shoulders cut a path directly in front of me, clearing enough room for Paige to get to me.
Paige put her arm around me and helped me up, as Oliver shoved people out of the way, making enough room for us to get out of the crowd.
Security met us halfway and stepped in beside Paige and me until we made it out of the thickest part of the crowd. They ushered us back behind the fenced-in area where the bands had parked their tour buses. Behind the stage was so much quieter than being in front. I felt my anxiety drop, and I pulled Paige close. “Are you okay?”
When she looked at me, I saw the panic she’d kept contained. “That is the craziest thing you’ve ever put me through. Never again, Riley. Do you hear me? Never. Again.” She was angry, but she hugged me until my ribs protested.
I pulled against her tight hold. “Ouch, Paige. You’re crushing my lungs.”
She loosened her arms and looped her arm through mine. “I thought you’d been trampled. Thank God that guy helped us.” She pointed over at Oliver, who stood talking to a security guard. It was then I noticed a small wire running up behind Oliver’s ear to a fitted earpiece. He looked over at me. I pointed at my ear and scowled at him. He shrugged as he finished his conversation with the security guard, and then walked over to where Paige and I waited.
“I thought you were just here for the concert,” I said, leaning over to get a better look at the black earpiece he wore.
He looked past me as he scanned the area. “I am, but as crowd control.”
Paige squared her shoulders and tossed her hair back. “Well, I’m glad he was there. If not, they’d be hauling your corpse out at the end of the night. What the hell is wrong with these people anyway?”
Oliver chuckled. “I ask myself the same question at every concert.” His eyes squinted as he looked around Paige. “Looks like Jared is coming to get you. If you ladies will excuse me, I need to get back out there.”
I put my hand on his arm to stop him. “Wait!” He partially turned so that he could look over his shoulder at me. “Thank you, Oliver. I really appreciate your help.”
He dipped his head. “Anytime, although maybe not again today. Okay?”
My legs trembled at the thought. “Maybe not ever.”
His laugh was deep as he shook his head. “Maybe you should just stick to the radio,” he said as he walked away.
I turned back in Jared’s direction as he picked me up and spun me around. “How awesome was that?” he shouted with his face lit up like a kid on Christmas morning. He hooted and spun me until I wanted to throw up.
“Put her down, Jared. Jesus, between you and the crowd that almost crushed her, she’s not gonna make it through today,” Paige said as she grabbed Jared’s arm and forced him to stop spinning me in circles.
When he set me down on my feet, I leaned my head on his shoulder to keep from falling over.
Jared put his arm around me. “The crowd almost crushed her?”
Paige pointed in the vicinity of the stage. Another band had started up and the sea of people was going crazy. “It’s complete madness out there.”
I picked my head up, and Jared smiled at me. “You guys were really good. Is it like that at every concert?”
“Jared!” His name was screamed loud enough to be heard over the music pumping out of the stacked speakers. Before I had a chance to turn around to see who the voice belonged to, I was shoved into Paige. She caught me, and we stood, slack-jawed, as a girl wrapped her entire body around Jared, yanking his head to hers and kissing him like she planned on sucking his tongue out through his mouth. Jared’s arms flailed, and he staggered. Her grip on him was so firm that he had to grab her arms and push her back, which did nothing about the leg lock she had on him.
Paige busted out with a laugh that irritated me. She slapped her leg and shot me a look that said ‘can you believe that shit?’
I crossed my arms and turned away, not wanting to make a scene. Jared had a psycho girl on his hands, and he needed to deal with her. I’d had enough of his crazy fans.
Out of the corner of my eye, I could see
him struggling. “Damn it, can you please stop trying to stick your tongue down my throat?”
The girl giggled as she rubbed herself against him. “You and me. Your bus, your band. I don’t care, just…”
I snapped and stormed over to stand behind Jared, where she had no choice but to look at me. “Oh my god! Seriously? Could you be more of whore?”
Jared’s hands were planted against her shoulders, as he locked his arms out straight to push her off him. “Can one of you wave down security before she gets pregnant by osmosis?”
Paige stopped laughing and turned in a full circle, looking for help. “Be right back!” she shouted over her shoulder as she took off.
The girl cackled and threw herself backwards, giving Jared no choice but to grab her arms before she slammed her head into the ground.
When I snorted at his heroics, he made the mistake of turning his head to look at me. The female octopus took advantage of the distraction I’d caused and wrapped her arms around the back of his neck.
Jared didn’t even try to keep her from falling. He kept his head turned to face me, putting his hand up in front of his face so she couldn’t get to his mouth. No matter how hard she tugged on his face, she couldn’t get him to turn it back towards her.
“Can you get the fuck off me? I’m not interested.” I could see the anger dancing in his eyes. His patience was a fine thread away from snapping.
My eyes darted around the fenced-off area. There were people milling about, but no one seemed concerned about the situation Jared was in. They grinned and looked away, making no offer to assist him. Paige only had another minute to come through with help, or I’d pull that bitch’s hair out strand by strand and then feed it to her.
I scanned the area again and saw Paige jogging towards us. She waved at me when I noticed her. Behind her was a golf cart. When I waved back at her, the golf cart picked up speed and swerved around her, sliding to a stop beside us. The lone security guard appraised the situation and pulled out a handheld radio.
The girl attached to Jared laughed when the security guard tried to pull her off him. At that point, Jared was tired from the concert and then having to hold off the girl who’d become his own personal ornament. I could see it in his eyes when he all but silently begged me to help him.
The security guard took a step back to answer his radio, and I made my move. I gave Jared a slight tip of my head and he craned his neck as far as he could to the side. Pulling my arm back, my fist connected with her jaw, and she went limp in Jared’s arms. He lowered her, none to carefully, to the ground and walked backwards until he bumped into me.
The security guard looked down at the unconscious girl and up at me. “You shouldn’t have done that.”
“I better not go to jail for this, Jared,” I whispered against his shoulder.
I felt his body sag a little. “What was she supposed to do? That girl has been hanging off my damn neck for the past ten minutes. No one else stepped in, and even you couldn’t pry her off.”
The security guard’s hands settled on his hips, as he looked down at the girl again. When he looked back up, he seemed confused. “You mean to tell me she was assaulting you?”
Paige stepped in front of Jared. “She ran at him, knocked over Riley, and launched herself at him. He asked her several times to let him go, and she ignored him.” When she was done speaking, she crossed her arms and planted her feet. When the security guard made no move towards Jared and me, Paige looked over her shoulder. “Are you all right, Jared?”
I felt him straighten up. “Yeah, I’m good, but she needs to go.” He nodded his head slightly at the girl still sprawled on the ground.
The security guard rolled the girl over and looped what looked like zip-ties over her wrists. When he was done, a second golf cart rolled to a stop and Oliver darted over to where we stood. “Can’t even leave you on your own for an hour, Riley.” He shook his head as a smile stretched across his face.
I shrugged my shoulder and looked away.
“A friend of yours?” Jared’s eyebrow rose up and disappeared under his hair.
When Paige heard him, she spun around and shoved her finger into his chest. “He saved her from your crazy ass fans when they shoved her to the ground and almost made her a part of it.”
Jared sucked in a sharp breath. “I thought you were kidding… just being dramatic… Shit, Riles. I’m sorry.” His chin hit his chest, and Paige snatched her hand away.
Oliver and the other security guard put the unconscious girl in the security guard’s golf cart, and he drove away. Oliver watched him leave and then walked over to where we stood.
“So you have a pretty good right hook. Tom, the security guard, was impressed anyway.”
I chewed my lip, cowering behind Jared, as I waited for him to ask me to put my hands behind my back.
When I looked up, he winked at me. “Might I suggest you take that bodyguard idea seriously, Mr. Jackson? This concert is milder than most, but you and your friends could have been seriously injured today. Thankfully, you only had to face a horny groupie. Next time, you might not get so lucky.”
Jared face went into a sneer. “Shut up, Oliver. My parents had no right hiring you. I don’t need your help. Just go.”
Paige’s mouth dropped open, and she glared at Jared when Oliver shook his head and walked away. “Are you serious? All of that could have been eliminated if you’d stop being so damn stubborn!”
“I don’t need a shadow babysitting my every move!” Jared roared back at her.
“No, you fucking idiot. You’re right. You don’t need a babysitter. You need a fucking savior!” Her arms fell beside her into clenched fists. “Riley, I’m done here. Can we go?”
Before I could step in and calm the situation down, Paige stormed off. I took off after her. When I caught up with her, I was almost at a jog to keep pace. “Paige, wait!”
She never broke stride. “No, Riley. I won’t wait. And you shouldn’t either. This is no place for us. We need to go home.”
“But, we just got here… We haven’t even had a chance to see Jared.”
“You can stay as long as you like today. I’m heading back to the hotel. We’re leaving tomorrow, even if I have to knock you out and stuff you in my car.”
I let her go. She was beyond hearing anything I had to say.
Jared jogged up to me. “Is she okay?”
My eyes filled with tears. I’d just wanted today to be a good day. I hadn’t seen Jared in weeks. Hadn’t seen any of the Six in weeks, and I missed them. When he saw the first tear fall, he pulled me into a hug.
“I’m sorry, Riley. Maybe being here wasn’t a smart idea. You should go back to the hotel with Paige.”
I pulled back from him, wiping the wetness from my cheeks. “And then what, Jared? Forget I know you? Forget we’re friends?”
He grabbed my hands and held them tight. “No, Riles. Never that. I couldn’t live with myself if you weren’t my friend. I just think that concerts aren’t a good idea. We’ll see each other in between my concerts. I can fly you and Paige out when I have a few days between gigs. We can hang out in a safe place where you don’t get shoved to the ground, and I don’t get attacked.”
“I’m not ready to say good-bye. I just barely got to say hello,” I said, kicking my foot against the grass.
“Hey,” he said, lifting my chin, “it’s okay. Besides, the bands packing up and heading out in like thirty minutes.”
A sigh slipped past my lips. I braced myself to argue with him, as he lifted his hand and waved at someone behind me. “Jared…”
A golf cart rolled up beside us. When I turned, Oliver patted the seat beside him. “Come on; let’s go find your friend so she doesn’t have to walk back to the hotel alone.”
Jared hugged me tight and then ushered me into the golf cart. “I’ll call you!” he shouted as he turned and jogged away.
“What the hell?” Jared had handed me off without even looking back.
WHEN WE PULLED INTO MY driveway the next day, things were tense between Paige and me. She’d been furious over what happened at Jared’s concert, and I really didn’t blame her, but there was nothing we could do about it. How was Jared to know that would happen? I couldn’t stay mad at him for things that were out of his control. Paige, on the other hand, was ready to beat the shit out of him the next time she saw him. I don’t know how many times she repeated the fact that I could have died, been trampled to death in the crowd, all because of his need to be some sort of rock-n-roll god. It didn’t do any good to fight back with her. She needed time to process it and then get over it. I’d wait it out, and things would be fine. Besides, it was highly unlikely Jared would invite us back to one of his concerts anyway. It would probably be months before I saw him again.
The silver lining in all of it was the fact that Ace’s graduation was fast approaching, and I’d get to see him again. Hold him again. My fingers came into contact with the pendant they’d given me. Each one of them had a little piece of my heart. Each one of them was a link to who I was. Each one was living their lives while I stood in a sort of stasis of my own making. I picked up the phone and called Dr. Anderson. I wasn’t going to sit around and feel sorry for myself. I had a life too, damn it, and I needed to start living it.
As I pulled up Dr. Anderson’s number, my phone rang. The unknown number flashed on my screen, making me curious as to who it could be. There weren’t that many people I talked to, and those I did were programmed in my phone. Instead of answering it, I let it go to voice mail and called Dr. Anderson. If it were important, they’d leave me a message.
DR. ANDERSON PUT ME RIGHT TO work and, over the next couple of days, I got up with the sun and worked until well after it set. There had been a higher rate of emergencies than normal for the vet’s office, and I tagged along with Dr. Anderson to gain as much experience as I could. Once Ace graduated, I planned to go back to school. I just wasn’t sure which one yet. His graduation was in just a couple of days, and my stomach danced nervously as the hours passed by. I’d checked in with his mom, and we were all set to leave the day before he graduated. We were staying at a hotel close to Fort Benning.
The Summer I Fell (The Six Series) Page 19