Nate and Matt stand and walk over to the makeshift bar, and I turn to Techie, who’s halfway through one of his fact spiels, and blow him off.I need to get this settled sooner rather than later.“Sorry, I’ll be back,” I tell him.
He furrows his brows before I stand then I stroll away. “Danger?” Techie calls out.
Ignoring him, I keep walking to where Matt and Nate are talking.
Taking a deep breath, I walk up to Nate. “Do we have a problem?”
Matt shakes his head. “Danger…don’t!” Matt warns.
Nate grits his teeth and flares his nostrils. “Yeah… yeah, we do,” Nate confirms.
Matt puts his hand on Nate’s chest. “Nate, stop it!No,we don’t. Just walk away, Danger,” Matt urges.
I shake my head in confusion. “Okay, so this is really left field for me ’cause last I knew, the band was doing great. We’re selling out our club and bar shows. Luke is looking at getting us a tour. So I’m not sure what the problem is?”
Nate scoffs. “Of course you don’t.”
“Then tell me.”
He looks over to where Ryan and Lunar are talking and laughing, then back to me. “Lunar… she’s Ella two-point-o,” Nate chides, and Matt clenches his eyes shut and waits.
My teeth squeak as they grind together, and a harsh breath is forced from my nose. “What?”
“Admit it… Lunar is another piece of pussy you’re going to fall for, and when the time comes to go back to America so we can grow the band, you won’t. You’ll chooseherbecause that’s what you do. You choose the pussy over your bandmates and our future.”
“Shit,” Matt murmurs, nervously scanning the crowd.
I stiffen my posture and shake my head, balling my fists. There’s nothing I want more than to knock Nate on his ass. The force of my heartbeat is so strong I can hear it thundering in my ears.
“One… Lunar is not a piece of pussy. And two… we’re not a couple. So when we leave Australia, she stays here, and we go on to do whatever we need to do. I’m helping her leave…” I lower my voice, “… this place. And she is helpinguswith our promotion and sales. Yes, I might beinvolvedwith her, but she isn’t clouding my judgment, Nate.” I take a deep breath and continue, “I know me leaving the band was a fuck up ofepicproportions, but it’snotgoing to happen again. I’ve learned my lesson,believe me.”
He rolls his eyes. “Sorry, dude, but once bitten twice shy. Idon’tbelieve you, and unlike my brother and Ryan, who you have wrapped around your tiny cock, I don’t fall for bullshit twice. You’re gonna be the downfall of Recoil. And I know,just know,it will be when we’re starting to make it big. Just like last time.Youwill be why we fail again, and it will all be because ofher.”
If my nails were any longer, they’d be piercing my palms from the force of my tightly clenched fists. I breathe harshly out of my nose, my chest rising and falling while Matt watches on helplessly.
“Listen here, you fucking ignorant little shit. Drummers can be replaced. Singers aren’t as easy… you’d do good to remember that.”
Nate lunges forward to grab me, and I don’t flinch. Matt jumps between us and pushes his brother back. “Stop it! You’re acting like a fucking dickhead. Walk it off, Nate,” Matt warns.
Nate pushes his brother, making him step back, then grunts and storms off in the opposite direction.
Shaking my head, I run my hand through my hair and puff out a gust of air through my lips. “Jesus! I had no idea he was holding on to that.”
“Nate’s always been a hot head, but he is really worried the band is gonna fail again. He’s put everything on the success of Recoil. Danger, we have to make it. We need to pull all our energy into the band if we want this to work,” Matt says.
Nodding, I hear his underlying message—don’t get wrapped up in women.I’m hearing it loud and fucking clear. But Lunar and me, it’s different. With Ella, I gave up everything to be with her, fucking everything. I put up with so much. I changed myself, and I was royally screwed over.
Sure, I like Lunar, I like her a lot, but my heart is damaged. It’s not something I can or will just give freely again. Hell, I don’teven know if I’m capable of love anymore. And someone who’s from another country? That’s near impossible because I won’t subject myself to a long-distance relationship again.
Once someone so irreversibly breaks you, can your heart ever truly be repaired? I’m unsure, and I don’t know if I’m willing to take that risk to find out.
I hope Lunar is on the same page. Otherwise, I could end up looking like a damn prick.
Shaking off the last two minutes of my life, I head back over to Lunar, and she grabs my shirt, pulling me to her with a smile so wide it twists my stomach into knots.
“I saw some heated discussion with you guys, is everything okay?”
I don’t want to tell her it was about her, so I give her the gist of it. “Yeah, just Nate being an ass about me leaving, nothing a bit of time won’t heal.”
