by JN Welsh
She scowled. She had been doing what was necessary to get things back to normal. “You’re going to do this to me, now?”
“I’m trying, Leona, but acting like this week never happened is impossible.”
“Try harder.” She peeped the area for any eavesdroppers.
Luke narrowed his eyes. “It’s that easy for you?”
Leona bit her lip. “You know it’s not, but discretion is everything. We can’t go broadcasting this like Paul—”
“You’re seriously going to compare me to Paul Reese right now? That’s a fucked up fake out.” Every inch of Luke’s face frowned.
Exasperated, she explained. “I’m not comparing you. I’m drawing a correlation to the circumstances around this.”
Luke scratched his head. “What are you not telling me, Leona? Something’s up. I see it every time Paul’s name is mentioned.”
Her nerves were jittery from the thought of coming clean. What would he do when he found out? If she had ousted Paul as the fraud producer he was when they’d broken up, then the chain of events that had happened to Luke may have been avoided. “You have a performance.”
Luke followed her to the backstage entrance. “Then let’s talk after.”
Leona was reluctant to agree because she hadn’t yet figured out what she would say to Luke or how deep she wanted to go. “Fine.”
“I’m serious, Leona. No more secrets.”
Leona hugged herself. “I heard you.”
He moved closer, the glint in his eye her only warning before he kissed her.
She stepped away. “Okay, then. Later.”
Luke’s presence onstage marked the end of their lover’s retreat. The crowd was electric and welcomed him home. Even now, she was unable to rid her thoughts of him touching her and their time together.
He had wanted to talk, but when she told him the truth, would he understand why she couldn’t take a chance? They’d have hard times balancing their personal and professional relationship. The distance between her in New York and him in California would strain their intimacy. Eventually things would get ugly and they would break up. She’d have the reputation of dating her clients and again burn professional bridges that she was just starting to rebuild. She had worked hard over the past year to clean her slate.
Now Luke wanted to write all over it. She was sure her feelings for him had far surpassed what he felt for her. But that wasn’t even the worst of her worries. What of her secret? Could he forgive her when he found out the truth about Paul and her part in all of it? What if she loved Luke and it wasn’t enough? She rolled the tension from her shoulders and summoned her managerial self to the forefront.
Luke was in the zone, playing for about two hours. Things were running smoothly and everyone, from the promoters to the fans, was happy with the show. Leona went backstage to go to the ladies’ room.
As she washed her hands, a loud gasp from the crowd carried over the sounds of Luke’s music. Whatever had happened wasn’t good. She hurried toward the main area of the club. Sara burst through a set of doors, her face paler than normal and creased with worry lines.
Leona’s heartbeat quickened and she started to run. “Sara?”
“Oh my God, Leo. He won’t come down. He fell but he won’t come down!”
Leona tried to apply order to Sara’s ramblings but she couldn’t understand. “Sara, stop. Breathe. Tell me what happened,” she yelled above the music that continued to play.
“Luke did a stage dive. On the surf back in, he tried to climb up to the stage, but he fell and hit his head, really hard, I think. I called for help.”
Before Sara finished her sentence, Leona was running to Luke. Sara tried to keep her speed and continued to fill her in.
“He stumbled onstage and I think he’s hurt real bad. Diesel tried to get him off the stage but he won’t come down.”
When Leona got to the stage she saw Luke standing behind the DJ equipment, but he was as still as a post, and his eyes were fixated on one spot. He held himself up with his arms and was inhaling and exhaling as if willing himself to breathe.
Leona raced up the staircase to get Luke and placed a shaky hand on his back. “Luke?”
He turned his head to her, like a creepy doll in a haunted house, his eyes glassy. A thin stream of blood dripped down the side of his face.
She repeated to herself not to freak out. “You have to come down, Luke.”
“I have to play for the fans.”
He responded to her, which she thought was a good sign, but his lazy blinking added to her worries. She didn’t second-guess and thought it better to be safe than sorry.
“We have to check and see how badly you’re hurt.”
“I can’t leave,” Luke said.
Leona held his face in her hands. She leaned in and spoke in his ear. “You’re bleeding. Please come down, baby. Come on.” She pulled Luke and he started to move with her.
With a blood-wet hand, she fanned Sebastian over to help Luke offstage.
EMTs had arrived and Leona and Sebastian delivered Luke right into their hands, while Diesel created space around them. They had a stretcher ready for him.
“I don’t need a stretcher, I can walk. See? I’m okay,” Luke mumbled to the EMTs.
“Are you feeling dizzy, sir?” one of the EMTs asked.
“Not much,” Luke answered too casually for her liking. “I don’t need to go to the hospital.”
“You’re going and that’s final.” Leona motioned to the EMTs and then called to her team. “I’ll go with Luke. Make an announcement. I’ll be in touch.”
“We got it covered, Leo,” Sara said and was off to communicate with the club and corral the fans.
As Leona rode in the ambulance with Luke, she was a bag of nerves. He had hit his head hard enough to cause bleeding.
What if he has serious damage? “Is he going to be okay?” Leona asked one of the EMTs.
“He appears to have a cut, but a doctor needs to check him out to be sure there isn’t any further damage.”
“You could just ask me, you know?” Luke said to both Leona and the EMT. He reached for her hand. His hands were a little cold and she warmed them with hers.
“I think you would tell me you were fine, even if you weren’t.” She lifted his hands to her mouth and blew on them. “What happened?”
“I was crowd surfing and I missed my step climbing back onto the stage,” he said simply.
All Leona could do was shake her head at him.
They arrived at the emergency entrance and Luke was rushed in.
“You have to wait here, miss,” a hospital security guard told her.
“Oh no, I don’t.” She tried to bypass him.
“The staff needs space to help your boyfriend, miss. Someone will update you as soon as you’re able to see him.”
As she watched the staff approach Luke through the set of double doors, she alternated between wringing her hands and stroking both ears between her thumb and index fingers. Dear Lord, please let him be okay.
* * *
Leona was about to lose it by the time a nurse found her and let her know that she could see Luke. They had him in a small room, hooked up to an IV and receiving fluids. Her blood pressure shot up and she leaned against the door.
“It’s just a precaution, Leona. I’ve had to get stitches for my head, but I’m totally fine.”
She rushed to his side and gently slid her shaking arms around his neck and kissed him. “You scared the shit out of me. Don’t you ever do that to me again.”
He nuzzled the bandage-free side of his head against hers. “Is that an order, Miss Sable?”
“Yes.” She kissed him again.
A knock sounded on the room door and they separated.
A man in a white lab coat entered. “Mr. Anders
on. You’re all set. You can leave after your IV is finished. The nurse will take care of it.”
“Leona, this is Dr. Vargas.” Luke pointed.
“This is the manager you spoke of who won’t let you leave the hospital until I tell her you’re fine?” Dr. Vargas teased.
“Yes,” Leona confirmed. “Tell me, Doctor. How is he really?”
“He’s fine. He has a hard head, that’s for sure. He may have been a little disoriented after his fall but he’s fine now. Nothing is broken, just some stitches with a little local anesthesia. Once it wears off, it’ll hurt. A lot. He may also be sore but he’s not complaining. X-rays show no sign of damage. So, I’m sending him home with some pain medication that will also help with any swelling, and a prescription for an antibiotic cream.” Dr. Vargas signed a paper on a clipboard and handed it to Luke.
“Can he still perform? He has a show on Friday in LA.”
“Sure, but I suggest he take it easy until then.” Dr. Vargas quickly examined Luke’s eyes with a small light giving him instructions. “You are very lucky, Mr. Anderson. Pay better attention the next time you...what is it...crowd surf?”
“My sentiments exactly. Thank you, Doctor.”
Dr. Vargas left and she once again wrapped her arms around Luke.
“See? I’m all good,” he whispered in her ear before kissing her earlobe.
“The doctor is right, Luke. You were really lucky. This could have been so much worse. I mean...was it worth it?”
“The stage dive? Every time,” he said without missing a beat.
“Wow.” I’m in love with a daredevil. He squeezed her with the arm not attached to the IV. The way his green eyes shined at her gave her butterflies.
“What?” she asked.
“Nothing.” He bit his lip and gave her a sly smile. “I’m ready to blow this joint.”
Leona stood up. “Then let’s get you home.”
* * *
Home. A vivid vision of building a home with Leona formed in his head.
In the house, Leona headed to the kitchen and he headed for the bathroom. He had to pee like a racehorse from the fluids. He checked out the gash on his skull. They had shaved the hair just above the right eyebrow and when he tilted his head forward, he inspected the two-inch long wound.
He finished up in the bathroom and toddled into the kitchen, where Leona paced.
“Leona?”
“Yes.” Her sharp pivot made her blurry. “Are you hungry?”
The sun had just started to come up. “I’m not feeling up to food right now.” He patted his stomach.
Leona moved to the stove. “Some tea? It might be soothing.”
Her nervous movements were worse than someone on too much caffeine.
“I’m more tired than anything else.” He lazed over to her and collected her into his arms. He was glad she didn’t pull away because he needed to hold her.
She squeezed his torso. He knew she cared by the way she’d embraced him at the hospital and now, as she shivered against him. Good idea or not, he could muster up the energy to make love to her if she let him.
“Come to bed with me.” He held her hand and steered her toward his bedroom.
“You think you’re slick, but I was there when the doctor suggested you take it easy.”
“I know.”
When they arrived at his bedroom, he pulled her down on the bed with him, unwilling to let her go. “I want to feel you in my arms like this again before we get back on tour.”
She touched a finger to his scalp close to his wound.
He saw the stress on her face and moved her hand away from his head and kissed her fingertips.
She was tense when she first lay down, and then her body relaxed as she snuggled into him.
“One last time.”
* * *
Leona jiggled Luke awake for his morning interviews.
Luke grimaced, holding his head. “Motherfucker!” Dark circles dusted his eyes and his color was still slightly off.
Leona stood by the bed ready with medication and a glass of water in hand. She wanted to take his pain away.
Luke desperately swallowed the pills.
With everything they both had at stake with the tour, she couldn’t believe her next words. “We’re cancelling the show.”
“Huh?” Luke squinted with one eye open. “No way.”
Leona buffed her left ear continuously. “You can’t perform like this.”
“I perform tomorrow. I’ll be fine.” Luke growled and held her hand as he lay back against the pillows. “Now, please be quiet, baby. Until these meds kick in, any noise sounds like my head is in a fucking ringing tower bell.”
She massaged his neck and bent to place a gentle kiss on his forehead. She rubbed light, slow circles on his scalp. Staying last night was already a bad idea. With all that had happened, their chat had dropped lower on the list of priorities. But he was hurt and she couldn’t bring herself to leave him.
Once Luke settled back into bed she got with her team. She postponed his morning interviews and made everyone aware of the adjustments she was making to Luke’s routine until she was confident he was back to normal.
“How is he, Leo?” Sebastian broke her momentum.
“He’s managing a mother of a headache, which is probably why his doctor told him to take it easy today, but he’s clear to perform. All we can do is support him as best we can. We’ll be driving to LA tonight. Thank you guys so much for being so quick and efficient with this. I read the press release and the news updates are correct, with the exception of the tabloids. Let’s keep confirming that no tour dates have been cancelled.”
“We got your back, Leo. Are we still going to conference with Tommy later?” Sara asked.
“I’ll see if Luke’s up to it, but we’ll meet regardless.”
“We haven’t sold out LA yet.” Sara’s statement with all its meaning hung in the air.
“It’s not over. Let’s get feet on the ground for our grassroots efforts and blow up social media. We’re not in control of the outcome anymore, but we are in control of our own efforts. We have until the first note of the first song to make it happen. So let’s go.”
“I’m with you, Leo,” Sebastian said and Sara agreed.
Leona went over a few more details and then hung up. She knew Luke would be hungry so she prepared something for him to have when he got up.
She was alone and had nothing but time to think about the what-ifs. Luke felt like a vital organ in her body that she’d soon have to part with. How can this work? What if I say yes to this? Leona opened her computer and dug into a few files she’d buried because they reminded her of all that had happened between her and Paul. She was solution oriented, organized, and always tried to cover the bases. Maybe she’d never gotten rid of the files because deep down inside she knew one day she might want to fight. Maybe one day she would need these recorded sessions with Paul and dated images of lyrics and song structure notes in her handwriting. She condensed it all in an email to Tracy Ruiz and typed a message. What can I do with this?
Pressing send had her worrying her earlobe, and her heart raced. All she had done was ask the question but the answer and any action or inaction would rock her world forever.
A half hour later, Luke straggled into the kitchen and sat down at the counter.
Leona watched for any signs that something wasn’t right. “How’re you feeling?”
“Much better. Those meds are like magic mushrooms.”
“I bet,” Leona smirked. “Do you feel up to the conference call we have with Tommy later?”
“Yeah. We have LA coming up. This is a big deal.” He eyed the food on the table and eased onto one of the stools at the kitchen counter. “Is this for me?”
“It is. Eat what you want and I’ll take care o
f the rest.”
“Did you eat?” Luke pointed down at the fresh salad, baked salmon, and fruit smoothie she had made.
“Not yet.” In truth the emotional rollercoaster had preoccupied to the point where food was the last thing on her mind.
“Are you going to let me eat alone? Come eat with me.”
“Still bossy, huh?” Leona climbed onto the stool next to him and shared food for them both. Was there anything she wouldn’t do for this man if he asked her?
Luke gave her that boyish grin that dissolved her into a puddle of mush. He nudged her with his shoulder. “Thanks for everything.”
Leona met his hypnotic orbs and nudged him back. “Anytime.”
What if?
Chapter Twenty-Five
The effect Luke’s accident had on the tour was something Leona and her team could not have foreseen. The accident had created buzz, and a video of his fall went viral on social and traditional media outlets. The fans expressed get well sentiments and shed tears for The Musical Prophet. They camped out at decoy hotels and the real hotel. In the end, the team needed to boost Luke’s security.
Candy and Velvet arrived to perform as Luke’s opening act. As a much-needed female presence in a male dominated industry, the duo had been added to the tour.
“We’re excited to be here. When we heard about Luke’s accident we thought the concert might be cancelled, but Tommy kept us updated. We’re glad Luke’s okay,” Candy said.
Leona liked the ambient undertones in their Nuevo electronic sound so much that she’d downloaded a few of their mixes and listened to them on the drive to Los Angeles.
“I’m glad we have this chance to work together given that our first meeting was cut short. Your sound check was amazing. You’ll do great tonight.”
Velvet pushed her half-shaved red hair with platinum blonde strands over her shoulder. “We were hoping that when we’re ready to tour, you’d be our tour manager.”
Given the chilled first impression, Leona was somewhat surprised by their interest in her as a manager. “We can definitely discuss it when Luke’s tour is over. I think I’d like working with you both. I have to go, but I’ll check on you ladies before the show.”