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My face falls, realizing he’s been spending his night indulging in the rockstar lifestyle. Alcohol, drugs, and easy women. And if that’s how he spent his night, then I can guarantee that He Who Shall Not Be Named Out Loud has too. Wonderful.
“Gross,” I mutter, hoping we can get this call back on track. “Why are you calling me so late then? Is everything okay?”
“Yeah, everything’s sweet,” he says. “I was just checking up on you. You said you were getting your exam results back today. How’d that go?”
“We’re almost at the mall,” Madds offers.
“Ahhh, fuck. It didn’t go well? Retail therapy?”
“Yup,” I say, popping the p.
“Candles?”
“You know it,” Madds sings.
Axel sucks in a breath, the sound hissing between his teeth, and I can imagine the way he would have awkwardly grasped the back of his neck. “Shit. Okay, umm . . . You wanna talk about it?”
“Nah, I’m good—”
I hear a noise in the background, something kind of like a door opening. “Shit. Didn’t realize you were in here,” a familiar voice says, penetrating right through my soul. There’s a slight pause, giving me just a second to remind myself to breathe before it comes again. “Fuck . . . that her?”
Axel lets out a heavy sigh. “Shit. Yeah, man. Just . . . just give me a minute, alright?”
I hear the door close, and while it’s a subtle thud that fills the car, to me, it feels like a bullet right through the chest. “I’m sorry,” Axel says. “You good?”
I plaster a fake smile across my face as the heaviness weighs me down. “Yeah, I’m good,” I lie as Madds reaches across the center console and grabs my hand, giving it a tight squeeze. She’s capable of reading me so easily.
“Sure?”
“Yeah, listen, we’re just pulling into the mall parking complex,” I say, lying right through my teeth again. “The call will probably drop, but I’ll check in with you tomorrow before your flight to Australia.”
“Okay, yeah,” he says, his tone shifting with a shallow heaviness, making it clear he knows I’m lying but not being able to do anything about it. “I’ll talk to you later. Be safe, okay? And Madds?”
“Yeah?” she says, perking up.
“Look after my sister.”
“You know it!”
Ending the call before it somehow gets harder, I let out a heavy breath. “You really okay?” Madds asks, a deep skepticism in her tone as my eyes begin filling with tears.
“No,” I admit, needing to pull over again. “Just need a second.”
“Okay. Take your time.”
I blow out a heavy breath, my cheeks inflating like balloons, and in a flash, I hit the gas and whip the car back around. “Woah,” Madds says, gripping the door. “Where are we going?”
“Home.”
“But . . . but candles.”
“Fuck the candles, Madds,” I say, pressing a little harder on the gas. “We’re getting drunk.”
2
Ezra
Rain pours over us, sticking my black button-down to my open chest, as the eager crowd roars, and I step back from the microphone before breaking into the guitar solo of our final song. It’s been a wild night. Hell, a wild fucking week, and now the rain only makes it better. There’s nothing I love more than a rain show, and the fact that we’re in Australia is the fucking cherry on top. These Aussies know how to go off. They’re always our loudest crowd, and performing for them always leaves me on a fucking high.
