I feel a tap on my shoulder. “You up?”
I roll over and see Ariel. “Yeah. I thought you were sleeping.”
She shakes her head. “My mind is racing.”
“Same here.”
“Move over,” she says and nudges me.
I scoot to the side as Ariel sits down. She swings her legs up beside mine and lies back, so we’re lying side by side. She pulls the bunk curtain closed. “You’d think they’d make these beds bigger,” she says. “Rock stars get laid on their busses all the time.”
I raise an eyebrow. “Are you speaking from experience?”
“Maybe.”
I elbow her and she giggles.
We’re quiet for a few moments before she says, “Things are stupid right now, aren’t they?”
I nod in agreement.
“I’m knocked up and you’re fighting with Gunnar. Neither should be happening.”
“Amen, sister.”
We stare at the ceiling. Although we’re both dealing with issues, hers more life-altering than mine, it’s nice to know I’m not alone. I’m sure she feels the same way.
“You know,” she breaks the silence, “true artists would take their feelings and spill them into song.”
I turn my head. “Like Taylor Swift?”
“Exactly.”
I guess I’m not a true artist. “I don’t feel like writing. All I want is a phone call.”
“I hear you.” She sighs. “All I want is to stop puking up everything I eat.”
“You’re having a girl,” I muse. “My mom said I was the worst pregnancy out of four. I have three older brothers.”
“You think? I like the idea of having a girl. I wouldn’t know what to do with a boy.”
“I think you’d figure it out. Moms are resourceful like that.”
Ariel closes her eyes. “I still can’t wrap my mind around the idea. I mean, I can’t deny what my body is telling me, but it’s still surreal.” She looks at me. “How will I make it through nine months of this? How will I push out a baby? How?”
“With the help of powerful drugs.”
She rolls her eyes and sets her hand on her belly. “That doesn’t make me feel better for subjecting an innocent child to my poor parenting. I’m not sure I should have this baby.”
“Stop,” I chastise her. “The stork has never once delivered a baby and a handbook. If you decide to raise the little peanut, you’ll do just fine. I know it.”
“You think?” Ariel’s expression softens. “It’s hard to be logical when I’m so emotional.”
“I know you’ll do what’s right, whatever you decide.”
She sighs. “Thank you. That makes me feel better.”
I frown. “I wish Latson felt better.”
Ariel extends her hand to me, and I take it. She squeezes my fingers. “He’ll call.”
“Unless he doesn’t.” I can’t help but imagine something awful, like him taking PTA mom Natalie up on her carpool offer. I shudder.
“He’ll realize he overreacted.” Ariel gives me an encouraging smile.
“I hope you’re right,” I say.
When we arrive in Tampa, Ariel heads to her doctor appointment in a rented Mercedes, and I head up to my room without Roxanne. My body feels drained when it shouldn’t; I just spent the last nine hours on a bus. I need to pull myself together and focus on something other than Latson. We have a show tonight, and I need to concentrate.
When I get to my room, I open the door and fumble my way through with my suitcase, guitar, and bag. My exhausted eyes sweep the space like they always do and land on the desk opposite the two queen beds. A huge grin break across my face and relief instantly floods my body. I drop everything I’m carrying and skip over to a huge vase of roses sitting there. I bury my nose in the petals and inhale; there must be two dozen flowers here. Each one is a rich, velvety red and has a faux diamond set in the center. Eagerly, I find the card with my name on it and pry it open, excited and relieved to read Latson’s words.
As quickly as the high came, the low crushes me. The flowers aren’t from him.
My apologies for NOLA
Yours, Caleb
Chapter Twenty Five
“I really think we should add “Fairytale” between “The Short Life” and “Over-Exposed”. It would be a natural pace progression.”
Dean tries to talk me into performing solo as the four of us enter our dressing room. We just finished opening at the Tampa Bay Times Forum.
“It would also give my voice a break.”
He wiggles his eyebrows, and I shove his arm. “Pace progression my ass. You’re just being lazy.”
Singing solo doesn’t bother me so much anymore; it’s the attention I might get from Caleb. I don’t want to give him any reason to talk to me, much less send flowers. Speaking of, I got rid of the roses by leaving them on an empty table in the hotel lobby. I didn’t want them, and I definitely didn’t want Roxanne to question me.
Stepping in front of the mirror, I pull out the bobby pins Mona buried in my hair. Instinct tells me to check my phone to see if Latson called, but I force myself to wait. I really don’t want another dose of disappointment. In fact, I’d rather check it when I’m alone so I can mope in private. I don’t know how long he plans to drag out the silent treatment, but I think it’s been long enough.
“Hey, guys. Do you have a minute?”
I turn around to see Mason enter our dressing room. He looks stressed. “Is Ariel okay?”
He nods. “Everything’s on schedule tonight.” He glances over his shoulder, then shuts the door behind him. “I need to talk to you all about the rest of the tour.”
His words grab Dean’s attention. “What about it?”
Mason turns toward the guys. “Ariel’s pregnant.”
Paul’s mouth drops open. “No shit.”
“Yes, shit.” Mason rubs his eyes. “I met her at the doctor this morning. She’s six weeks along.”
Drew blows out a heavy breath and Dean crosses his arms. “So, what does that mean?”
Mason’s phone rings, and he pulls it out of his pocket to silence it. “It means she’s made a few decisions. Number one, after seeing her ultrasound, she’s decided to have the baby.”
I smile. I had a feeling she would.
“The tour’s fucked.” Paul throws up his hands. “Unbelievable.”
“Not so fast.” Mason meets his eyes. “We’ll have to cut some dates, but we’ll finish the States. The international leg will have to be canceled.”
I can feel Dean relax from feet away. “Are you sure?” I ask. “Ariel’s felt awful.”
Mason nods. “Her doctor gave her the okay to perform as long as she’s feeling up to it. I’m going to look at the remaining cities tonight, get with the label, and decide what to cut. My guess is that we’ll avoid multiple stays in one city.”
Dean rubs his chin in thought. “How are you going to justify the cancellations? Are you going to make something up?”
“No. Ariel is going to announce the baby. She’ll tweet the news tomorrow.” Mason steps toward the door and opens it with a sigh. “She doesn’t want to lie to her fans, or let them down. I’m headed to find Roxanne and break the news. I’ll send you the revised schedule as soon as I have it.”
When he’s gone, all four of us look at one another. “I wonder who the father is,” Paul muses, then winks. “I know it’s not me.”
I shake my head and start to pack my things. I won’t be sharing that information.
Dean plops down in a chair next to me, so I ask, “Do you feel better about the tour now?”
“I’m a little disappointed things will be cut short.” He gives me a small smile, and I give him one in return. “You should let Gunnar know,” he adds. “With this news, you might get a response.”
Since I’ll be coming back earlier than expected, maybe I will.
I pull out my phone and try to hide my frown when I see Latson hasn’t tried to contact me. I type out a message: I know you’re not talking to me, but Ariel has decided to have the baby. Some tour dates will be canceled. I’ll be back before November.