He hadn’t witnessed this many times, but he’d seen her panicking in the past. It was awful. It hurt him to see her suffering this way, whether the trigger had an actual physical source, or it was her mind getting stuck in a fight-or-flight state.
“Hey…” Ethan got closer to her. “How are ya goin’?”
He was already cupping her cheeks, looking her straight in the eye before Marc had time to warn him to not touch her.
“Don’t—” The bassist let out a relieved sigh. She hadn’t lost it, actually giving in and letting him hug her.
Absurd to some, but if being touched usually made her uneasy, in this state she could have spiraled so fucking fast. However, Ethan wasn’t only a cute face, he really seemed to understand how this shit worked. She’d flinched, yeah, but whatever this guy had in those stunning blue eyes of his eased part of her distress.
“Bloody hell, mate. She looks absolutely wankered,” he said.
“I-I need to leave,” she mumbled, turning her face towards Marc. It took her a minute to realize who was standing in front of her, but the moment she did, her features contorted into a mix of pain and consolation, that, as bad as it sounded, made him feel good.So fucked up. “Take me back, please.”
He nodded, getting his phone out. “I’m gonna get an Uber.”
With his heart pounding hard behind his ribs, the bassist opened the app. As he scrolled through it, checking for the closest car—ten fucking minutes away—he heard Ethan comforting Leah, telling her to open her eyes while not letting go of her.
“Hey, Jäger,” Marc said softly after he’d ordered the Uber. “What happened?” It had been a while since she’d gotten lost in the throng of people in the club, and he had no idea where she had gone.
“Nothing,” she muttered, still glued to Ethan’s chest.
“Something must have happened for you to be like this.” He brushed a lock of hair away from her face, bending forward to be at her level.
“It’s just…” A sob escaped her mouth. “Why can’t I be brave and just talk to him or let go once and for all?” she slurred. “Why do I gotta keep hurting both of us?”
“What’s she talking about?” Ethan mouthed, confused.
“Leah, you’ve done nothing wrong…” Marc kissed her temple. “I’m sure you’ll find a way to tell him everything you’ve been keeping inside these last months.”
“He won’t listen.” She sobbed harder.
Reaching out for her, the bassist snatched her away from Ethan’s arms and hugged her himself, kissing the top of her head. “I highly doubt that. Søren’s so damn smitten with you…” He looked at Ethan, whose eyes widened as if something had clicked. He had probably read about the famous metalhead and his girlfriend before they’d broken up, but hadn’t connected all the dots even after he’d met Leah, until now.
People didn’t have a sense of decency when it came to the tabloids. They’d tried to keep their relationship a secret, but someone had taken photos of them at the hospital when they were visiting a friend of his and uploaded them on a couple of websites, including stupid social media. They were a little blurry, and not everyone knew who she was, so her name didn’t come up on every site, thankfully.
“He isn’t. He’s already turned the page,” she whined, sniffling.
“Trust me, he hasn’t.”
The fuck that man had turned the page.
Marc didn’t know what, because Leah hadn’t told them anything, but something had definitely happened between the two of them. The last thing he knew was that they’d agreed to talk, and then, instead of spending the days fucking each other’s brains out to make up for the lost time, they were keeping the distance between them as big as possible.
Of course, none of the guys on Buried Alive’s bus had dared to ask. But the bassist had caught Søren glancing at Leah with so much sadness, remorse, and pain in his eyes. He knew the Norseman wasn’t done yet, no matter what she thought.
When the Uber finally pulled up in front of them, Marc wrapped his arm around Leah’s waist.
“Text me when you get to the concert field,” Ethan said, concern written all over his face.
“Sure.” Marc nodded, looking at him over his shoulder as he practically dragged Leah to the car. “Thank you, man.”
“No worries.”
The trip wasn’t long, hardly thirty minutes. Time enough for Leah to doze off resting against him, whimpering, and mumbling things he didn’t hear, except for when she mentioned he smelled like tobacco.
He thought it bothered her. Until she’d started dating Søren, she used to scrunch her nose at the bitter scent. But when he asked, all she did was shake her head and snuggle up against him.
When they finally arrived at the concert field, they made their way to their temporary rolling house, the pebbled ground crunching under their feet. The night was chilly for summer, which he gladly took. Definitely appreciated it when the temperature was low enough to need something besides a tee and short cargo pants.
