Take Me With You

by K. A. Linde

  That thought warmed me throughout my last final, and I handed in my test to Professor Williamson with a smile on my face. If I hadn’t aced it, I would be shocked.

  “Thank you, Miss Graham,” he said, taking the paper out of my hand. “It’s nice to see a student take the initiative in my class.”

  “My pleasure. Would you by any chance need any help this summer with lab work? I should be in town. I would love to be of any assistance.”

  “Hmm.” He stroked his beard as he contemplated what I’d asked. “Yes, I might have something. Come back by before the summer session starts, and we’ll work out the details.”

  “Yes, sir. Thank you.”

  I was euphoric. All my hard work had paid off. I was going to get to do some real lab work over the summer, which would only help my graduate school or medical school applications. I hadn’t decided between the two.

  It felt great to be done, and I pulled out my phone to call my brother as I walked out of the building and to my car.

  “Aribel,” Aaron said briskly.

  “Hey!” I said. “How is work?”

  There was a short pause.

  “Fine. You sound happy.”

  “I finished finals. It feels good to be done for the semester.” I popped open the door to my car and sank into the driver’s seat.

  “Am I talking to my sister? Don’t you usually mope when school gets out?”

  “I’ve turned over a new leaf.”

  “A new leaf, huh?” He sounded unconvinced.

  “Yeah. Actually, that’s why I called. I’m going to a concert when I get back into town this weekend. Do you want to go with me?”

  “What are we talking? Cello performance? Symphony?” he asked, sounding distracted.

  “Um…it’s a rock concert.” I started up the car and drove back to my place.

  “A what? You’re going to a rock concert? Who is playing?”

  “The Drift. They’re this pretty popular band right now.”

  “I know who The Drift is, Aribel. I didn’t think you even liked that kind of music.”

  “I do. Plus, well…I want you to meet my boyfriend. Mom and Dad told you I was bringing him home with me, right?”

  Aaron sighed. “Yeah, they told me. Also, Henry told me this guy is kind of crazy and yelled at you when he met the guy?”

  “Ugh, why are you even listening to Henry? I told him I don’t have any interest in him. It’s like an arranged marriage, Aaron. It’s weird.”

  “I’m just looking out for you. Henry is a good guy. We’ve been hanging out more since Christmas.”

  “Great. Then, you date him.”

  Aaron laughed. I could practically see him shaking his head at me.

  “So, a rock concert to meet your boyfriend, huh? I guess I could swing that. It’ll be good for me to see him before Mom and Dad. That way, we can figure out how to reduce the damage. I’ve already heard Dad say the word phase a couple of times in relation to the new boyfriend.”

  I rolled my eyes. Of course. “Thanks, Aaron. You’re the best.”

  “This should be interesting.”

  I laughed and agreed as I pulled into my parking spot. I slid the car into park, and then my laughter died out.

  There, standing outside of my building, was Grant’s dad. He was leaning against the side of the stairwell, clearly waiting…for me. I swallowed hard and tried to think about what the policeman had said on the phone. Maybe I needed to talk to Grant’s dad and tell him to leave me alone—and also have my phone with 911 up and ready to make the call at any point.

  “Aaron, I have to go.” I tried to keep my voice level. “I got back to my place. I’ll see you when I get home.”

  I hung up and then readied the phone with 911. My pulse quickened as I slowly eased out of the car. I couldn’t believe I was doing this. I couldn’t fucking believe he was here.

  God! Couldn’t he get the picture that I didn’t want to get involved, and Grant didn’t want to talk to him?

  No, clearly not.

  I took a deep breath in and out. He needed to be told. That was what the officer had said.

  I closed the distance between us on shaky legs. “Hello, Mr. McDermott.”

  “Aribel Graham,” he said.

  “What are you doing, staking out my apartment?”

  “I’m not staking out your apartment, darlin’. I gave you plenty of time to contact me. You did get the phone number from your friend Cheyenne, didn’t you?”

  “I did.”

  “Now, I’m simply following up on that conversation since I never heard back from you.”

  “Did it never occur to you that I didn’t want to speak with you?”

  I would be civil. I could be civil. This was possible. I wouldn’t stand before this man, terrified and shaking, like before. I would tell him the truth and then make him leave, or I’d call the cops again.

  “I considered that, but this is too important to me. I don’t generally take no for an answer.”

  He smiled devilishly at me, and I cringed away from it.

  “I’m trying to talk to my son, and since he won’t answer you and you’re dating him, I thought we could have a chat.”

  “A chat,” I said hollowly.

  “Yes. A chat where I explain I need to see my son, and then you convince him to do that.”

  “I won’t do that.” I crossed my arms over my chest, still tightly holding the phone in my hand. “Grant doesn’t want to have anything to do with you. I don’t want to either! You should leave both of us alone. Let him live his life without you. He’s done fine so far.”

  Grant’s dad dangerously narrowed his eyes. “Well, I didn’t ask for your opinion on the matter. If he cares for you, then he’ll listen to you.”

  My face paled. “You can’t use me to get to Grant. I know what happened that day, what you’ve done. The last thing he wants is to confront a very messy past. So, take it from someone who knows him, he’ll never want to see you again.”

  “You don’t know the half of what happened or what I’ve been through. And Grant can’t escape his past any more than I can. While he might be gallivanting around the country with his band, he has to come home sometime. It would be easier for everyone if you agreed to get him to speak with me.”

  I saw red. I couldn’t believe he was trying to convince me to do this. “No! I’m not going to do anything for you, and you don’t deserve anything from him, not after what you put him through.”

  “What I put him through?” he bellowed. “You have no idea what you’re talking about. He sent me to prison.”

  “With all due respect,” I said, slinking up the first step toward my place, “you killed his mother in front of him. You sent yourself to prison.”

  “So, this is my son’s opinion of me?” He sounded dejected yet furious.

  His eyes were murderous, and it made me take another step away from him.

  “You’ve given him no reason to see otherwise, and stalking my apartment isn’t really helping.”

  Grant’s dad nodded. But I couldn’t tell what he was thinking, if he was even considering my words. Then, without another word, he left.

  I stared after him in confusion. All of that, and he had just left? It didn’t make sense. What did he want from Grant? The only thing I could guess that wasn’t sinister was some type of closure. But then, why would he say Grant had sent him to prison?

  There were too many questions, and my brain was running away with me. His dad could have hurt me if he had wanted to, and nothing had happened. That didn’t necessarily mean he wouldn’t hurt Grant if given the option. I’d seen the look in his father’s eyes. I’d seen the anger bubbled up under the surface at the mention of what had happened that day.

  I knew the last thing Grant wanted to do was meet with his father, and I didn’t want to play into his hands by convincing Grant otherwise. But it might take Grant talking to him to get him to leave Grant alone. He was determined, and if I knew anything about
McDermott persistence, then Grant would find no peace from his father anytime soon.

  Aribel.

  I’d finally get to see my girl. It didn’t matter to me that I’d also have to go through the likely painful encounter of meeting her judgmental parents. In fact, I was the one who had pushed her to tell them about me in the first place. Though telling them about me and officially meeting them was a different story.

  But it would be worth it as long as I was finally with her again.

  “Grant’s getting his dick wet tonight.” Trevor cracked up on the bus as we pulled into Boston.

  “Fucking finally,” Ridley joked.

  “I can’t wait to fucking meet this chick who has you so whipped,” Nic said.

  Vin snorted. “Just wait. She’s this tiny little innocent blonde. You’d never peg her as a fucking groupie.”

  McAvoy smacked him upside the head. “That’s because she’s not, dipshit.”

  “That’s fucking right she’s not,” I growled possessively.

  Next to Nic, Joey leaned back and crossed his arms. “How did you end up with a little innocent thing in Jersey when you have so many options on the road?”

  “I wouldn’t say Ari is a sweet, innocent thing anymore,” Miller said, struggling to keep a straight face.

  “Oh, fuck off, guys!”

  They all laughed, and it felt nice for once to relax with the bands, knowing I’d be getting some ass tonight.

  Then, Donovan walked in. “What’s so funny?”

  “We’re talking about Grant’s girlfriend. She’s coming to the show tonight,” Ridley filled him in.

  Donovan arched an eyebrow at me. “Is she bringing another guy again? She seems to have a new one at every show.”

  “Don’t make me punch your fucking face again.”

  Donovan smiled at me and held his hands up. “I was trying to clarify the facts here, bro.”

  “Come on, D, we’re having some fun,” Trevor piped up. “Have a beer and chill out with us. We have a full day off after this to get fucked and fucked up.”

  Donovan looked over at me for a second. It was in that moment I realized what had fucking happened. Donovan had been such a punk-ass bitch lately that even his own bandmates preferred to hang out with me and my bros. Donovan and I had done nothing but argue these last six weeks, and now, he wasn’t even fucking welcome to fucking chill with us.

  I lifted my shoulder in affirmation, and Donovan pretended not to notice. Of course he would.

  “Sure, man,” he said. He slapped hands with Trevor, who passed him a beer, and then he slid into a seat.

  Just like that, all the animosity of the past couple of months dwindled between us, and as long as Donovan would stop acting like a motherfucker about Ari, then we could stay this way.

  An hour later, the crew was already busy putting our set together, and we were doing the sound check. Once everything seemed ready to go, I made sure to reserve two front-row tickets for Aribel as well as backstage passes for her after our show.

  By the time the show was about to begin, I couldn’t keep from fucking bouncing with energy.

  Vin punched me on the arm. “Dude, fucking chill out. If I’d known you’d start acting like a fucking freak, I never would have given you Ari that night.”

  I raised my eyebrows. “Is that what you think happened? You gave her to me?”

  He shrugged. “Steered you in her fucking direction. I’m the man.”

  “You’re such a douche bag.”

  “Yeah,” he agreed. “But you fuckers are happy or some shit. In the long run, no harm, no foul.”

  No harm, no foul?

  He was fucking lucky there had been no damage done. I’d just fucked some random chick I probably would have fucked if I were sober.

  “Ready?” Miller asked, sidling up next to us.

  “As ready as we’ll ever be, bro!” Vin cried.

  “She didn’t bring the girls with her, did she?” McAvoy asked.

  He leaned forward to try to get a glimpse of the audience. I wasn’t sure if he was asking because he missed Gabi and wanted to see her or if he was asking because he was afraid to see her again.

  “Nah. It’s just Ari.”

  He nodded his head and crossed his arms. “Cool.”

  The lights flickered, and then the room went black. That was our cue.

  We wandered onstage and received cheers from the audience. I slung my guitar over my head as the lights rose.

  I walked right up to the microphone, yanked it off the stand, and said words that had never been truer, “Boston, it is so fucking good to see you tonight!”

  The crowd went wild. Despite the sold-out show and thousands of people cheering for us, my eyes went straight to the front row, looking at the pair of enormous blue eyes staring up at me from the most beautiful face I’d ever seen.

  Ari.

  Her smile was radiant, and she only had eyes for me. It took everything in me not to vault off the stage, capture her lips in a searing kiss, and cart her ass off with me.

  “We come from a tiny little town off the Jersey Shore.”

  There were more cheers.

  “And this is our first time ever playing in Boston, so send us some love. This is ‘Hemorrhage.’”

  Then, I poured all my love for Ari into the guitar. Even though I was singing about getting the fuck out of Jersey, all I really wanted in that moment was to return home with her.

  My memory didn’t hold a candle to the magnificence that was Grant McDermott. It was a hazy outline, a foggy sketch to the masterpiece.

  From my spot in the front row, he towered over me, clad in tight-fit dark jeans and a V-cut red T-shirt that made me want to drool. He always wore dark colors, so seeing him in a delicious red made him absolutely edible. His hair was a little longer and wildly finger-combed. All I could think about was running my fingers through it as I kissed him until he was breathless. His dark eyes kept shifting back to me, and I warmed everywhere. In those brief moments, I could imagine us completely alone—just me and Grant.

  His eyes were like molten lava, burning away my clothes and seeing through to my heated body. I’d never felt such desire for someone before. Watching him perform usually made me appreciate him more, but I was flat-out turned on.

  And standing next to my brother while my boyfriend eye-fucked me from the stage was a little uncomfortable—especially when Aaron leaned over.

  He whispered to me, “The lead singer looks like he’s going to pull you onstage and do something obscene.”

  I bit my lip, trying not to get excited at the prospect. I should have been horrified. The old Aribel would have been horrified. I could only find a mild embarrassment that my brother had noticed.

  I probably should have told Aaron that I was dating the lead singer of the opening band, but I’d wanted to judge his reaction. When we’d shown up, he had been confused because I didn’t have another guy in tow, but I’d explained we were going to meet him after the opener. It was sneaky on my part, but I couldn’t help it.

  When Grant had announced they were from the shore, Aaron had leaned over and told me he thought that was cool. Apparently, he had spent some time on the shore during his four years at Princeton. We had overlapped during his last year at school because we were only three years apart, but I couldn’t remember him mentioning the shore.

  I sang through the list of songs that ContraBand performed, and then “White Hot” came on.

  “You sure seem to like their music,” Aaron mused.

  I tried not to blush as Grant sang out the sexual lyrics to a sea of people. His eyes found mine, and he licked his lips in between verses. The image seared into my mind. I found I couldn’t tear myself away.

  Aaron bobbed his head to the music. “I really like this one. Great lyrics.”

  Now, I really was blushing.

  “White Hot” ended, and McAvoy started up the drumbeat for “Life Raft.” The cheers intensified tenfold.

  The lights
dimmed, and a spotlight shown on Grant. He held the microphone up to his mouth as if it were life or death.

  Then, his sweet voice came through the speakers as he said, “This song goes out to the love of my life.”

  A chorus of, “Aw,” went up through the crowd as Vin and Miller brought the opening chords to meet McAvoy.

  I felt like jelly, and I was completely rooted to the spot. Grant had called me the love of his life to an entire audience. Aaron was saying something in my ear, but I couldn’t even hear what it was over the sound of Grant’s smooth voice.

  God, he was such a perfect jackass. I hated that he was on tour. I hated that he had to be away from me. Despite the fact that we were opposites, we loved each other so much.

  “Aribel?” Aaron said, waving his hand in front of my face.

  “Oh. What?” I snapped out of my trance.

  “This song sounds really familiar. I feel like a friend from school recently sent it to me. Are they from Princeton?”

  I glanced between my brother and the band. “Yeah, they are.”

  “Have you seen them before?”

  I nodded cautiously. “Yes.” Then, I took a deep breath and gave in. I pointed up at Grant with a smile. “That’s my boyfriend.”

  Aaron stared between me and Grant and then back. His mouth slightly hung open. His eyebrows were scrunched up in confusion. “You’re dating the lead singer?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Oh, Aribel,” he said, shaking his head. “You’re totally fucked.”

  I heavily breathed out.

  Shit!

  That was not the reaction I had hoped for. Maybe it was what I had expected, and that was the reason I hadn’t told Aaron in the first place. But I hadn’t wanted to believe I was in as much of a hole as I was going to be with my parents. If that was the first thing Aaron had said though…he was probably right.

  Grant finished out the last few lyrics of “Life Raft.” I applauded with the crowd, but the elation from moments earlier was replaced with fear.

  How would my parents react when they met Grant? What would they say when they found out he was in a rock band? How completely fucked was I?