“You okay, babe?”
“Just gonna call my mom… be back in a bit,” she says, heading down toward the bunks, obviously for some privacy.
Well, for whatever privacy you can get on a tour bus, anyway.
Chapter Eighteen
NATE
It’s been an hour, and I’m worried about Ria. I know this phone call is an important one and could take some time, but I also don’t want to leave her on her own after she collapsed. So when I look back and see no movement, I decide to check on her to make sure she’s okay.
Walking quickly, I notice our bed curtain is closed, and the sounds of someone upset are coming from behind it. I tense up and slowly bend to pull back the curtain. Ria’s off the phone and curled in a ball, crying into her pillow. Sighing, I climb in over her, yanking the curtain closed behind me, and pull her gently against my chest. She cuddles into me immediately and continues to cry into me.
“Hey, hey, it’s okay. Let it all out. Whatever it is, we’ll get through it together.”
She wipes her face and shakes her head. “I didn’t s-see this c-coming. Patrick’s always b-been this strong p-pillar in the community,” she stutters out and continues, “I-I never thought I’d s-see him fail, or my mom b-be the type of person to q-question standing by him…” Ria takes in a deep breath, “… when h-he needs her the most. I m-mean, who does that? Bails when it g-gets tough? She should stand by h-him, right?”
“Shh, baby, it’ll be okay. But yeah, I agree, it is strange that she’d leave just because times got hard. That’s a cop-out.”
“Exactly. God, I don’t even know who she is right now.”
“Once everything settles down, maybe she’ll remember why she loves him and that sticking by him is important?”
“Maybe. I just hope it’s not too late, and he won’t forgive her.”
“I’m sorry, babe. This is all happening, and you’re miles from home. Do you want me to get Tillie to take us to an airport so we can go see Patrick?”
She shakes her head. “No. I signed a contract. My obligations are to Recoil.”
“Ria, family is more important than a fucking press junket.”
“No, really, it’s fine. I’m better distracted.”
“Well, if you change your mind, just tell me, and we’ll get on the first plane out of here.”
“You’re so good to me.”
“I try. Now wipe those tears and kiss me, woman,” I say lightheartedly.
She chuckles, wipes her face, and leans up on her elbows, pressing her lips on mine. I kiss her back passionately, running my hand through her hair. In any other circumstance, I would’ve rolled her over and made her feel all kinds of good to help her forget, but I don’t want to push herno sex on the busban, especially after her fainting. She needs to rest, so I ease the kiss, and she pulls back, leaning her head on my chest. I wrap my arm around her for comfort as she traces lines up and down my shirt, covering my chest.
“Nate…”
“Mmm…”
“Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For coming to find me. For being here for me. For looking after me. For everything.”
Lightly, I run my fingers up and down her arm, feeling the silkiness of her skin caressing my fingertips. “Babe, I’m always going to look after you. You’re stuck with me now.”
Two Weeks Later
Over the last two weeks, Ria has been stressed to the limit.
Things within her stepdad’s production company went as we all thought. It completely collapsed, leaving hundreds jobless, billions of dollars in transactions lost, and one marriage in tatters. And Ria had to deal with it all from the road. Every interview segment we appeared in was banned from talking about it, which helped, but it didn’t stop the paparazzi from screaming about it at every stop we made. The problem is, she’s becoming so stressed that she’s passed out twice more.
