She and I huddle next to black containers of gear as they breeze by talking about pizza. We both sigh in relief when someone clears their throat behind us.
“What do you think you’re doing? Those stands don’t go there. Why is everyone here a moron?”
“Sorry, we’ll move them,” Alice says, grabbing her stand and nodding for me to follow.
“Wait. Forget the stands.” The woman snaps her fingers, and a tall, skinny boy hurries over, wiping his brow and smearing black grease across his forehead. “Take these to where they belong.” He rushes off to do what she said, and she clicks her tongue at us. “As for you two, I need you to help set up Gigi’s wardrobe changes.”
I fight the instinct to gag and dig my fingernails into my arm.
“Of course,” Alice replies, grabbing my wrist and dragging me down the hall.
“I hate LA,” the woman mutters too loudly and then walks away, barking at someone on a radio.
We are going in the opposite direction the arrows are pointing for the stage. The hairs on my arms rise when Sully’s voice booms in the distance. “I can string my own guitar. Get the hell out!” A boy yelps and runs down the hall, shoulder-checking me, and doesn’t look back.
“We found him.” Alice gasps and pulls me behind a tower of crates. “Gigi at ten o’clock.”
“She can’t see me, or we’ll be tossed out before I can say anything.” I hang my head. “This was a long shot anyway.”
“What are you saying? We found him! I’ll distract Gigi, and you sneak into his room. Be sure to lock the door if you can.”
I lick my lips and ball my hands into fists to hide their tremors. “What if he chews me out, too? He doesn’t seem to want to be around anyone right now. This mission could be for nothingand—”
Alice slaps me across the face. “Snap out of it! He will take one look at you and thank his lucky stars or some romantic crap like that.” She tugs on my sleeve. “After you lock the door, take your hoodie off. He needs to see how hot you look, and he won’t be saying anything.” She giggles and covers her mouth.
She shrugs out of her jacket and tosses it on the ground. “You’ll do great. Text me if you want me to stick around or go, okay?”
I nod, too nervous to speak. She hugs me and disappears. Her voice echoes as she speaks to Gigi, complimenting how gorgeous her hair is. She’s able to pull Gigi into another room as they talk about outfits and lipstick color.
“Just do it,” I say to myself and beeline for the room Sully’s voice came from. I look around and spot him sitting on a couch with his back to me, strumming his guitar. My heartbeat is louder than the soundcheck on stage as I close and lock the door. I slip off my jacket when he snaps, “Why doesn’t anyone understand I want to be left alone?” He places the guitar next to him and turns to sneer, more angry words on his tongue, but he goes mute when he sees me.
“Veronica? What are you doing here?” He scratches his head. “I knew there was something in that cookie. Fuck.”
“It’s me. I found this.” I pull his note out of my bra and set it on the table in front of him. “And decided it’s time I stop running. I’m ready to hear you out if you still want to talk. If you don’t, I understand.” I wrap my arms around my torso, unsure what to do with my hands.
Sully flies to his feet and holds me in his arms. “I’m so happy you’re here.” He kisses me. It’s deep and hard, full of hunger and lust.
I run my fingernails down his back, and we fall onto the couch. The guitar slides to the floor, but we don’t give it a second thought.
“How did you get back here?” he asks breathless.
I smile at him big enough to crack my face. “Alice is scarily good at getting what she wants. She should’ve been a spy.”
“How do you know she isn’t one?” he snickers, wrapping his arms around me. “I’ll have to thank her. I was afraid I’d never see you again.”
“I don’t want to be in this world without you,” I whisper, looking at his lips to avoid his searching gaze.
He tips my head back with a curled finger. “Let’s get out of here. Where do you want to go?”
I laugh, lying my head against his shoulder and interlocking our fingers together. “You can’t walk out on this show. We can do something after.”
“Screw this gig. I only agreed to get Charlotte off my back. I owed her one.” He traces the freckles on the back of my wrist. “I was serious about giving everything up for you. All I wanted was to write music and have it change one person’s life. I’ve done that tenfold, and I can still be a songwriter. But none of this means anything if I don’t have you.”
“You’re okay leaving Scarlet Failure and the fallout you’ll face on social media? Fans will attack you online.”
He bends forward, picking up the guitar and examining its neck. “I never wanted the fame. It’s a pain in the ass. I’d love to be another face in the crowd walking down the street.” He leans the guitar against the table and turns to face me. “I’m fine fading into the background and having you be the star. I’ll be your…what was it?”
I laugh. “Mer-handler.”
