Lilac

by Reid, B. B.

  “Thanks.” I dragged myself onto the high stool before snagging her drink and taking a large gulp. I barely knew her, but since we were about to walk through hell holding hands, I figured swapping cooties was the least of our worries. “Speaking of warnings, I could have used one before walking into that room.”

  “I wanted to see what you would do when your back was against the wall. Get used to it because what happened today was just the start, and when you’re on the road, there will be no one to play the mediator. I needed to know you could hold your own.”

  “Sure.” I still wasn’t happy about being ambushed, but what could I do other than let it go? No one else was beating down my door to give me an opportunity like this. I wanted to make some noise, and now I had my chance. Touring with Bound would reach all corners of the world.

  I could take that to the fucking bank.

  “Now, for the reason I called you down here.”

  “You mean scaring the shit out of me wasn’t the reason?”

  “Not even close.”

  “Fuck.”

  She looked away, toying with a dark curl as she sunk deep in thought. I took the time to check out the band walking on stage now and realized I’d never heard them play before. I wondered if they knew who sat in the audience tonight. Oni was one of many A&R reps at Savant Records, but she was obviously willing to think outside the box, and what she managed to pull off this afternoon was huge. I’m not sure how many strings she pulled behind the scenes, but it seemed so effortless from where I sat. If I weren’t so desperate, I’d be suspicious, but I couldn’t afford to look a gift horse in the mouth.

  “Did I ever mention I was the one who discovered them?” she asked after several minutes had passed in silence.

  I felt my brows dip as I turned away from the five-piece on stage. “Who?” Surely, she couldn’t mean—

  “Bound.”

  My eyebrows kissed my hairline. I swore I could feel the strands touching. “Really?”

  “Try not to look so surprised,” she tossed back.

  “Sorry, it’s just…I had no idea.” I would never have guessed, considering the words they exchanged at the meeting. “They don’t seem very grateful.”

  Oni snorted before rolling her eyes. “They’re not. They hate me, themselves, and each other. In my case, the feeling is mutual.”

  “But why? Without you—”

  “Savant would have never found them,” she finished for me. “They were a lot like you. They weren’t looking for fame. Fame found them. Although they weren’t as hard to convince.”

  Oni gave me a pointed look, a reminder of the months she spent wooing me with the promise of a record deal until one day, I simply gave in. I was fine letting her believe that since I preferred my cards close to my chest.

  Clearing her throat, Oni looked away, and I had a feeling we’d finally arrived at the real reason we were meeting in secret. “There’s something I’d like you to do for me.”

  I should have been ready to do anything for her. I should have been grateful, but the graveness in her tone kept me wary. “Okay…” I drew out instead.

  Reaching over the round table, she grabbed my hand and squeezed. My spine was ramrod straight from the unexpected touch and the warmth that, until now, Oni hadn’t shown toward me…or anyone. Oni Sridhar was all business, all the time. “Find a way to keep them together.”

  “Keep who together?” Her nostrils flared with impatience, and I realized I was starting to sound like a parrot who’d been crossbred with an owl.

  “Bound.” Seeing the question in my eyes, she went on. “When I met them, they were finishing each other’s sentences, and now they can barely stand to be in the same room together.”

  “They seemed fine to me,” I mumbled. I couldn’t forget how they had circled and preyed on me the moment I stepped into that room.

  “Because you saw what they wanted you to see. The only time they’re united is when they’ve set their sights on the same game.”

  “Meaning me.” She gave an apologetic nod in confirmation. Splendid. “So what am I supposed to do? Put an apple on my head so they hate each other a little less?”

  “Nothing quite so dramatic,” she replied with a tip of her red-painted lips.

  “Then what?”

  “In short? Find what’s broken and fix it. If you can’t, at the very least, keep them from killing each other. I don’t care how as long as it gets you all home in one piece.”

  “I’m confused,” I said as my gaze narrowed. “Am I playing for Bound or babysitting Bound?”

  “You’re securing your future,” she vehemently shot back. “I know those assholes seemed like a unified front in there, but they’re one bad argument from breaking up, and they’ve all been best friends since their first boner.”

  “How is that my problem?”

  Sitting back in her seat, she studied me, searching for a weakness. Obviously, she found it because she finally answered, “No Bound, no deal.”

  My eyes were mere slits now as I regarded the cutthroat businesswoman lurking underneath that angelic face. “I’m starting to see why they don’t like you.”

  I was also getting that it was hard to rattle Oni Sridhar when she shrugged. “It’s this business. It brings out the worst in everyone.” She tipped a head full of dark curls toward me. “Including you.”

  My stomach turned as cold dread replaced the warm blood in my veins. God, I hoped not. I’d seen me at my worst, and it wasn’t just ugly. It was catastrophic. The casualties were endless.

  I found myself staring a little too closely at Oni’s lips as she bounced her head in time to the music, completely unaware of my focus or interest.

  “Anything else?” I demanded curtly. I needed a distraction before I hit on the A&R rep. There was no reason for me to sleep my way to the top. I was already there, and I still didn’t understand how.

  “In a few days, you should hear from a man named Xavier Gray.” I didn’t miss the way her lips flattened at the name. Another fan of hers, I supposed. “He’s Bound’s manager, and he won’t like this any more than they do. Luckily, he’s a professional, and he’s good at his job, so you shouldn’t have too much trouble from him.”

  I felt my heart quicken. “Why wasn’t he there this afternoon? Couldn’t he have done something?”

  “No,” she said as she stood from the stool. I guess our clandestine meeting was over. “And they blame me for that too.” She walked away without saying goodbye, and I watched her disappear before finally exhaling.

  Fantastic.

  It’s been two weeks since I became Bound’s guitarist and not a peep from Xavier or my new bandmates. I knew Oni had given them my contact information. I also knew they weren’t occupied with anything pressing. Just last night, a blog had reported spotting them walking inside a Las Vegas casino.

  I felt like I was in high school again, except instead of waiting for one boy to call, I was waiting for three. Four if I counted the manager who’d despised and discarded me already. I wasn’t even afforded the pleasure of giving them a reason to hate me first.

  Bummer.

  Oni, on the other hand, didn’t seem surprised when she called to check on things. However, in typical Oni fashion, the conversation abruptly ended once I informed her that I hadn’t heard a peep. That was close to forty-eight hours ago, and now she’d disappeared too. I wasn’t sure how much of this was in her job description, but since she was the only one in my corner, I didn’t ask questions.

  Pounding on my bedroom door jolted me to the here and now.

  “Yo, Brax, let’s go!” Griff demanded. “We’re going to hit traffic.”

  “It’s L.A.!” I shouted back even after glancing at the time on my phone and cursing. “There’s always traffic,” I muttered more to myself since she was already gone.

  I stood from my bed and began stuffing last-minute shit into my rucksack. My sleeping bag took up most of the space, but my dad had shown me a few tricks sinc
e my sister and I spent our summers camping with the church growing up.

  This weekend was the Indies in Indio Festival, and my name was on the lineup. I was glad the guys I usually played with talked me into it since I had spent the last two weeks of my spare time rehearsing rather than waiting by the phone.

  I’d invited Oni, who only offered a maybe.

  Now I was starting to think it would be best if she didn’t show. The crowd wouldn’t be more than I was used to, but somehow, I was more nervous than I’d ever been. What if I floundered tonight and ended up on the internet as a source of ridicule only to later be discovered as Bound’s newest member?

  Holy fuck, I really knew how to stir a pot full of steaming shit, didn’t I?

  Wearing only a thong, I quickly squeezed my ass into my tightest pair of blue jeans. I then paired it with a cropped black corset that pushed my tits up to my chin.

  Perfect.

  If only those assholes could see me now.

  Bound’s first impression of me hadn’t been exactly accurate. They’d been too quick to judge me by my cover while ignoring the pages inside.

  As I shoved my feet into a pair of thigh-high boots with fake crystals and silver spikes adorning the black straps running the entire length, I considered biting the bullet and calling them. I wasn’t a fan of the self-involved who assumed communication was only found from one end, so if the three of them couldn’t be mature about this, I would.

  Perhaps it would be for the best.

  Houston, Loren, and Jericho were undoubtedly expecting me to cower. If Oni was right and Bound was splintering, a new threat would force them together. I just wasn’t thrilled at the idea of turning myself into a target. It wasn’t quite what Oni had asked me to do, but I didn’t see any other way.

  Carrying my ruck and guitar case into the living room, I found my backing band in the living room pregaming with my roommates. I’d met Liam, Mason, and Abe two years ago in a dive bar. Liam had hit on me first, followed by his brother, who somehow thought he had a better chance after I’d turned down his twin, who was identical in every way.

  It wasn’t their fault they had no shot. The night we met, I was a skittish kitten still adjusting to my surroundings even though I’d been in L.A. for two years. Once upon a time, their blond hair, blue eyes, and the boy-next-door charm would have won me over. I turned them down because I knew what they were inviting into their bed while they had no clue.

  Abe, their equally hot but too shy roommate, hadn’t bothered trying after watching his friends get shut down. Apparently, rejection had never happened to the Miller brothers before. I was grateful that at least one of the trio could take a hint since Liam and Mason, usually when alcohol was involved, hadn’t entirely given up on getting down.

  They might not have been able to weaken my resolve, but they had convinced me to let them back me on stage since I was more adept at scoring gigs, and they needed the extra cash.

  Tonight was one of those nights.

  The guys were decent musicians with Liam on lead guitar and backup vocals, Abe on bass, and Mason on drums while I doubled up on vocals and rhythm. It’s just that their hearts belonged elsewhere. The twins were both studying to be doctors and Abe an engineer. Music was just their side bitch.

  “You ready for this?” Liam greeted after pouring a shot and handing it to me. He studied me so intently that paranoia had me fearing he knew my secret. I hadn’t told anyone, not a single soul, that I was Bound’s new guitarist, so I knew it wasn’t possible. I doubted anyone would believe me even with my tour contract bearing Savant’s letterhead along with Houston’s angry scrawl, Loren’s practiced one, and Jericho’s lazy loops beneath my effeminate signature.

  Stupidly, I’d stared at our names for hours that night, and it wasn’t awe over my fast road to stardom that made me do so. It was seeing my name mixed among theirs. The strangest part was how right it all seemed—like lost pieces connecting at last.

  Nodding at Liam, I took the shot glass, tossed it back, and decided as liquid courage burned its way down my throat that Bound’s time was up. I’d give them until morning before I broke down the walls they’d built and stormed my way into their lives once again.

  “Aren’t you cold?”

  Bundled in a magenta winter coat with a fur hood, Maeko peered up at me through dark eyes while waiting for my answer. Despite it being winter, it was seventy degrees today and wouldn’t get cold until much later. I’d give it another hour before Maeko gave in and peeled off those unneeded layers.

  Griffin, the most daring of us, wore even less than I did. Her entire ensemble was red—faux-leather skater skirt and sheer, long-sleeved crop top. She didn’t leave much room for guessing, even though the stares she caught lasted an uncomfortable length of time. She’d turned down every single advance as she kept a tight grip on Maeko’s hand. They were thick as thieves, and when they were together, no one else existed.

  Sometimes not even me.

  “Nope.” The truth was, I was burning. Always burning.

  The guys and I had just returned from checking in backstage, dropping off equipment, and confirming our input list and stage plan one last time with the festival’s sound crew while Maeko and Griff set up our tents.

  Now that it was done, the six of us wasted no time jumping into the fray. The festival was already well underway, and I needed the distraction. The massive stage and the flashing colorful lights were more intimidating than usual even though nothing was special about the setup.

  I wasn’t sure if five minutes had passed before Liam, Mason, and Abe ditched us. Their chances were better at finding girls to take the edge off if they weren’t mistaken as taken.

  We shouted our agreement to meet backstage in a couple of hours before the crowd swallowed them. Left alone with Griffin and Maeko, who were already on their way to being wasted, I sighed. Fear of tumbling off stage kept me sober. I’d save getting wrecked for after the show so I could quickly forget if I made a fool of myself.

  The winter music festival was amateur hour. Half the acts were booed off the stage, but it brought the people out in droves. Really, any excuse to get drunk and have something new to post on Instagram would bring them out. If I never read another living my best life hashtag, I will have lived my best life.

  Before I knew it, after ducking wandering hands from anonymous culprits, eating overpriced food from the food stalls, window shopping at the clothing vendors, flirting free drinks out of guys, and warming up by random bonfires, two hours had come and gone. I now had only fifteen minutes before our changeover time.

  The last festival we played only allowed ten minutes to get one band offstage and the next ready to perform. We were allotted fifteen minutes, which was doable, considering only the headlining act would be given the luxury of a soundcheck. Twenty minutes for setting up would have been ideal, but the festival had booked plenty acts for the weekend. In addition to selling more tickets, it kept the crowd pacified if too many of the performances stunk up the place.

  “Are you nervous?” Maeko shouted so loud I wouldn’t be surprised if she’d gone hoarse. We’d been slowly forcing our way through the drunken, half-dressed assemblage, and now that the stage was mere feet away, the music had become deafening.

  I knew what put that worried look in Maeko’s eyes. I’d been too quiet for too long. Because I liked to be in my head where I felt at home amongst my own chaos.

  A nod was all I offered since my tongue felt too thick, and the smell of brine made me feel as if I were in the middle of the ocean rather than the desert. If I swallowed, I was afraid I would choke.

  “You’re dynamite, babe,” Griffin assured me as she rubbed my back in a soothing motion. Sure, Griffin looked like the popular cheerleader, but she had the personality of a nursemaid. “You’ve got this.”

  At least one of us could say it with a straight face. With my friends sticking close, I approached the line of guards keeping backstage separate from the crowd and the short, over
weight man wearing a full beard and a headset.

  Before I could give my name, he spoke. “Hey, are you, Brandy?” he asked even as he glanced at his clipboard where my name was printed clearly.

  “Braxton.”

  “Backup’s already here,” he announced, making me sigh in relief. The guys getting hammered or caught up chasing ass had been on my mounting list of worries these last couple of hours. “Get backstage. You’re up next.” Headset guy then started shouting at one of the crew members without acknowledging his mistake.

  What if there was a Brandy waiting to perform, and I took her spot? I knew I was overthinking things considering the organizer had emailed the running order, but that didn’t stop my pits from perspiring. The lights and constant need to vomit would keep me warm if the temperature dropped, so at least I had that. Freezing on stage wasn’t what terrified me anyway.

  Reluctantly, I waved goodbye to my friends, who held each other as if I were going off to war, and passed through the metal gate one of the guards held open for me. Once I cleared it, I debated calling Oni to see if she’d been able to make it.

  And that was when I heard them.

  Helicopter blades.

  My attention shot toward the sky along with everyone around me. Chances were that it was just one of the local channels reporting the festival. It took a few minutes to realize that it wasn’t just approaching or flying overhead.

  It was landing.

  Even though we were in a desert valley, a collection of horrified gasps rang out since the pilot had chosen to land within a stone’s throw of the stage. A gust of wind threatened to knock over any equipment not tied down along with everyone backstage when it hovered twenty feet off the ground before executing a smooth landing.

  There was a moment of hesitation before the asshole with the clipboard rushed toward the chopper as its blades still circled. He was yelling something into his headset. Whatever was said in return, there was too much happening for me to overhear. Four more guards materialized on the heels of the headset guy as they rushed for the bird.