by Julie Archer
“Lovely! Look forward to seeing you both later.” Annie fluttered her fingers in a wave and headed off to find a table of her own.
“Who’s the polyester wearing busybody?” Rosie asked, keeping her voice down in case it carried across the restaurant to Annie.
“Tris’ aunt. She’s…” I tried to find the right word to describe her. “She means well.”
“Shall I guess she doesn’t think you’re good enough for her darling nephew?”
“Bang on the money as always.”
“And what did she say after your recent hospital stay?”
I sipped on the elderflower pressé and wished there was something stronger in there. “Tris didn’t tell her. Well, he didn’t tell her the truth. He said I’d had an allergic reaction to nuts. Now she’s paranoid she can’t make her famous almond meringue roulade when I go next go there for dinner.”
A snort of laughter came from Rosie’s side as a spray of gin and tonic shot across the table. “That’s hilarious! Are you going to play up to it?”
“Maybe. It’s certainly better than what actually happened.” Not having meringue dessert was a small price to pay in return for keeping one of the worst events of my life from Annie Judd.
4
Tris
The upstairs bar of RedVBlue was filling up rapidly. Some people I recognised, most I didn’t. From the way Saff and Jonas were working the room, I suspected many of them were involved in the music industry. I stood to one side, with Darren North, the guitarist in TheSB. He and I had become close friends in the time I’d known Saff, even closer after the house party incident. It was good to have a guy friend, someone I could chat shit with and who knew exactly what Saff was like. As so many of my friends had deserted me since I went to prison, I enjoyed his friendship. Aside from Saff, we had a few things in common and he was a great guy to hang out with.
“Is it always like this?” I gestured to Saff with my bottle of beer.
“What? Her and her cousin schmoozing, while me, Barney and Tommo stand on the side-lines?” He nodded, telling it like it was. “I’ve got used to it though and it doesn’t bother me as much as it once did.” There was a moment’s pause before he went on. “When she’s on form, she’s amazing, but there’s something I can’t put my finger on. She doesn’t seem herself at the moment.”
I had noticed the same thing. Like this morning when I’d teased her about taking photographs; her reaction had been out of character—extreme almost. Usually she would have played along, even snapping a few shots herself before deleting them. Plus, she’d been unusually jumpy the past couple of weeks, almost secretive at times. I hadn’t pushed her on it, in case she was already having second thoughts about us and our relationship.
“I’m glad you think so too. I thought she was only being different around me.”
Darren shook his head. “No, she’s been like it a while.”
It didn’t take a genius to work out when the change had first happened. At the time of her overdose, she’d refused to talk to anyone, said she didn’t need any kind of counselling. My niggling thought now was that she did, but didn’t want to admit it to anyone. Not even me.
Uncle Col and Aunt Annie appeared in front of us.
“Tris! What a lovely evening!” Aunt Annie reached out to embrace me, a little unsteady on her feet. “There are so many lovely people here! Lovely, it’s just lovely, lovely!”
Uncle Col rolled his eyes at me. She was going to regret this in the morning.
“Wait until you hear the set,” Darren chipped in. “We’ve got some killer songs I think you’ll love. I’m Darren, by the way.” He held out his hand, but Aunt Annie leaned in for another hug.
I bit my lip, trying not to laugh. If Saff appeared out of sorts, then Aunt Annie was doing a great job of challenging her. I couldn’t remember the last time she’d got this drunk, certainly not in the time I’d been staying with them.
“I’m sure they’ll be lovely, and it was lovely meeting you too, Darren,” slurred Aunt Annie. “Ooo, look, there’s Jonas. Let’s go and talk to him.” She grabbed Uncle Col’s arm and staggered off.
Watching as she tottered across the room, I shook my head. “I hope Jonas has other people he needs to talk to. She can talk the hind leg off a donkey when she’s overexcited.”
Darren laughed. “Oh, he’s good at making excuses and getting away from randoms. With Saff’s track record, he’s had to.” He ground to a halt. “Sorry. But you know what she was like.”
In spite of Saff’s previous reckless streak, I loved everything about her. I knew she was nothing like the gossip columns portrayed, even if she had been a bit feisty on our first meeting.
As if knowing we were talking about her, Saff approached. “What are you two whispering about?”
“You, obviously.” I kissed her full on the lips, my hand reaching for the small of her back to pull her close to me. “And did I tell you how gorgeous you look tonight?” My gaze swept over her tight, black Chinese-style sheath dress with a mandarin collar. In typical Saff Barnes style, it was cut mid-thigh and had a slit almost to her hipbone, showing off her shapely legs. If you’d seen her from the back, she would have looked demure and sensible, her pink and blonde hair in a messy sexy updo. From the front, it was another story. I couldn’t wait to get her home. Absently, I stroked the back of her neck. She froze and pulled away from me. “What’s up?” I asked.
She tried to smile. “Nothing. I was coming to tell Darren we’re going on in a few minutes, so he needs to get ready. We’ve got a schedule to stick to.”
“When did you ever bother to think about a schedule?”
“When Jonas told me we’re going on tour.” Saff grinned.
“We’re doing what?”
“You’re doing what?”
Darren and I spoke at the same time.
The grin grew wider as Saff turned to walk away. “You’ll find out more tomorrow. We’ve got a meeting at Monet’s at eleven. Don’t you read your email?” She winked and sashayed off.
“A tour? We’ve never done a proper tour.” Darren gulped down some more beer. “Well, unless you count the weekend we spent at a festival and gate-crashed a few stages.”
I had absolutely no idea what it involved. All I knew was it meant Saff would be away. What was I meant to do without her?
“I’ll catch up with you after, Tris. I need to go and find out what this is all about.” Darren slapped me on the arm and left me alone with my thoughts.
It wasn’t too long before the band were on stage.
The only other time I’d seen TheSB play, it had ended in disaster. I’d almost got into a fight defending Saff; then my estranged father had turned up, told Saff I’d been in prison and basically ended our relationship before it had even started. I felt secure in the knowledge history wouldn’t repeat itself tonight. I hadn’t heard from my dad in ages.
My gaze went to Saff; she was all that mattered to me.
“This next song is extremely special to me. Inspired by someone I didn’t expect to meet and certainly didn’t expect to stay in my life.” The husky undertones in Saff’s voice had me hooked, even though I knew exactly what was coming next.
The set TheSB were playing consisted of the new EP, plus a couple of covers and old songs. The couple of performances I’d seen Saff do blew my mind. When she was on stage, it was almost as if she were a different person. She seemed to channel an exaggerated persona of herself, playing up to the crowd and feeding off the energy in the room. I could barely take my eyes off her.
The chords began and instantly I recognised the tune. Easily the song which would end up being a massive hit, it was their version of a power ballad.
Saviour. Surprise. Salvation.
The lyrics were about me and I felt every one of the words deeply. Especially the one about being her saviour. If I hadn’t have turned up when I did to that party, who knew what might have happened. We might not have been standing here now.
; It didn’t bear thinking about.
“Aww, what a lovely song, Tris. Is she singing about you?” Aunt Annie and Uncle Col had joined me two songs into the set, shortly before Saff made her announcement.
Unable to speak, I nodded.
They listened intently as Saff sang then, as she finished, Aunt Annie squeezed my arm. “I had no idea she felt so deeply about you,” she whispered into my ear.
“Oh, she’s given me a few clues.” Saff’s gaze fell on me and she lifted her chin slightly, acknowledging me. I blew her a kiss in response.
She really had changed my life and I couldn’t wait to find out what happened next.
5
Saff
Once the set finished, I headed for the toilets. I needed a couple of minutes to breathe and come down. I knew it was the only place I’d get some respite before going back to face the crowd. Luckily, it was empty, and I was able to pee in peace. When I came out, I checked my reflection in the mirror. The make-up Rosie applied was still intact, even the glossy burgundy lips. I ran a hand through my hair, aware of the adrenaline dissipating. After a gig as well received as this one had been, I always wanted to do more. To carry on the feelings of euphoria, the post-singing high. Maybe we could go on to another bar? I’d ask Tris when I found him.
I barrelled back out of the door in a hurry to return to the party, and without realising bumped straight into someone.
“All right, darling? You’re looking pretty fucking hot tonight.”
Instantly, I recognised the voice and my blood ran cold.
Carl.
What the fuck was he doing here?
Lifting my head, I looked at him.
His face was twisted into a sneer. “You haven’t been replying to my messages.”
Taking a steadying breath, I replied, “I don’t have anything to say to you.” I attempted to dodge past him, but he blocked me and backed me against the wall.
“Really? I am surprised.” Without warning, he reached out and grabbed my chin, forcing me to look directly at him. “Your boyfriend broke my nose.”
“Doesn’t seem to have improved your looks much,” I said, sounding braver than I actually felt. My gaze darted around the hallway, desperately hoping someone would appear to rescue me.
“Careful, sweetheart, you know what I’ve got.” He shoved my face to one side, gently slapping my cheek. “If it gets out, I get to take you down like that.” He clicked his fingers for effect.
Ice ran through my veins as I listened to his veiled threat. “What do you want?”
Carl smirked. “You’ll find out when I’m good and ready. But I suggest you play nice, because your career, your relationship, everything you’ve got, could disappear. I’ll be in touch.”
Just as soon as he’d shown up, he was gone, leaving me standing there alone.
“Saff? Where have you been? Jonas is going to say a few words,” Rosie called from the entrance to the bar.
I glanced around to check Carl had gone. The last thing I needed was to try to explain who he was and what he was doing there.
It seemed I was never going to be able to forget that night.
After the encounter with Carl and unable to sleep again, I ended up sitting in the kitchen from around half past three. I honestly didn’t know what to do about Carl and his threats. Those closest to me knew the truth and it was all that mattered to me. But I didn’t want the whole world to find out. Carl’s warnings intimated they could. At least we’d be away for a week or so on tour, so he wouldn’t be able to get to me there.
Tris and Jonas both got up around seven, surprised and pleased to see I’d made them breakfast. Trying to act as normal as possible, it had given me a distraction, something to take my mind away from Carl, albeit briefly. After they’d gone, I took a leisurely bubble bath and got ready in what was record time for me.
This meant, for once, I was the first to arrive at Monet’s. I claimed our favourite table in the corner and nursed a strong black coffee until the others arrived. Darren was next. He sank into the seat next to me, latte in one hand, chocolate croissant in the other.
“Want some?” he asked, breaking off a chunk of pastry.
I shook my head. My appetite had deserted me after last night. It was all I could do to stomach the coffee.
“How do you think last night went?”
“Jonas thought it was a good set.” I cradled the mug in my hands. “We should get some publicity from the Roccia team and I think there have been a couple of pictures on The Goss.” The latter site was the bane of my life. From frequently featuring me falling out of clubs and bars to revealing my relationship with Tris, they certainly guaranteed publicity whatever I did. Hopefully the gig would generate positivity this time.
“Yeah, I spoke to Joel briefly afterwards too. He was pretty pleased.” Darren took a gulp of his coffee. “Tell me what you know about this tour then.”
“We should wait for the others.”
“How come you’re here so early anyway? We usually have to wait for you.”
“Too hyped up after last night. I couldn’t sleep.” I shrugged, almost dismissing the fact I’d had around two hours rest, even though there was a grain of truth in my explanation.
“Oh, I get it. You and Tris wanted to celebrate how well it had gone.” A smirk crossed Darren’s face as he wrongly assumed my reasons for being awake half the night.
I threw a balled up napkin at him. “Stop it! I don’t want you thinking of us in that way.”
“Ugh, as if, Saff. Tris and I are good mates, but I wouldn’t go that far.”
“Either of you want another drink?” Tommo materialised by the table, gesturing to Barney who was in the queue.
“Mmm, more coffee please.” I drained the last of the almost cold black liquid and screwed up my face.
It was a few minutes before they finally sat down at the table. Barney pushed a fresh mug towards me, and I wrapped my hands around it for comfort.
“Right, everyone’s here now,” said Darren. “Tell us what you know.”
I reached into my bag and pulled out a couple of folded sheets of paper, smoothing them out in front of me. “Jonas has got us a support slot on a tour with another one of the bands on the label. Apparently, the lead singer of the group they already had originally booked has done a runner, and no-one knows where he is.” The guy had the right idea. If I could run away right now, I’d do it. But I had too many people I didn’t want to let down, so I was doing my best to tough it out.
“I’d heard the rumour,” mused Tommo. “One of my old band mates told me the story, but I didn’t know if it was true.”
“Their loss is our gain.” Darren stuffed the last of his croissant into his mouth. “Who’s the band?”
“Trash Gun.”
“Seriously? Scott Lincoln?”
“Yep.”
“Shit.”
The three guys exchanged glances and raised eyebrows.
Trash Gun were a four piece indie rock band who had started around the same time as TheSB. While we’d eked as much out of our first album as possible, they’d worked their arses off and had become the darlings of the independent radio stations. Constant airplay meant they’d hit it big. It was a shame Scott Lincoln’s ego was now bigger than his band. Supporting them would be a mixed blessing.
I passed the sheet of paper to them. The venues on this tour were small; booked way in advance and not in anticipation of the success Trash Gun would glean. Four shows over five days across the country ending in Manchester, their home town. It would be hard going, with all the travel in such a short space of time, but it certainly meant I could escape for a while. I could exist in a tour bubble where no-one could get to me. More specifically Carl.
The three of them examined the information, pointing at locations and commenting how they’d been to the majority of the places to see bands themselves. It seemed they were up for it.
“What do you think?” I asked.
“We’d
be stupid to turn it down.”
“It’s a great opportunity to get back out there.”
“Touring with them will definitely get our profile up.”
The three of them spoke at once, but the overall consensus was clear.
We were doing it.
TheSB were going out on tour.
6
Tris
When Saff suggested we go out for dinner on Saturday night, I knew something was up. We didn’t often eat out, preferring to stay in or get takeaway, mainly so we didn’t have to go too far from the bedroom.
We ended up at the same burger place where we’d had our first ‘date’, the day she’d asked me if I’d be her fake boyfriend. There was definitely nothing fake about us now though.
This time, I ordered a burger with the works. I was pretty sure Saff wouldn’t be offended if I got salsa or guacamole down my t-shirt. Saff was having chicken salad. I’d noticed she hadn’t been eating much recently. Not quite enough to make me worry and speak to her, but just enough to notice.
I took a huge bite, instantly regretting it as I felt salsa juice slide down my chin. Surreptitiously, I grabbed a napkin and dabbed at the mess.
“What’s up?” I took a gamble and asked her outright.
Saff put her fork down. “I wanted to tell you about the tour TheSB are going on. I met up with Darren, Barney and Tommo this morning.”
Of course. I found myself breathing out a small sigh; she’d brought me out to dinner to tell me about the tour. I already knew about it. She’d mentioned it last night when she reminded Darren about their meeting. Maybe I’d been paranoid thinking it was something else. “Go on.”
“We’re supporting Trash Gun.”
I gulped down my beer. When she’d said they were supporting another band on the label, I hadn’t imagined it would be anyone as popular as Trash Gun. I had their first two albums and had played both of them to death the minute they’d been released.