“Don’t lose sleep over it. She just needs some alone time to come to terms with whatever she’s feeling at the moment.”
“Easier said than done.” Erik leaned back in his chair again.
With his friends on each side of him, Marc blankly stared at the bonfire the Aussies had lit earlier. So ironic how the world kept rotating and life kept moving forward without blinking an eye, even if someone somewhere on the planet was falling apart.
Suddenly, Erik’s phone chimed, startling him. His face beamed, and his entire body language shifted when he read Julia’s name on the screen.
Device in hand, he pointed to the picnic area next to the parking lot. “I’m gonna—”
“Go talk to her.” Marc smiled.
They didn’t need more explanation. Erik and Julia were couples’ goals. After admitting that giving a chance to the feelings they shared, but had never dared to act upon was worth the risk of losing what they already had, they’d become each other’s balance. It had been tough at the beginning, adjusting to the new dynamics after more than a decade of being just friends. But the support and love they professed was one of the most beautiful things Marc had seen. And the efforts that woman made to talk to her man—it was around five in the morning in Germany—only reinforced that thought.
“Say we’re sending her lots of love and kisses,” Chris said in a cheesy tone, batting his eyelashes.
Chuckling, Erik shook his head. “Will do.”
As he walked away, the other two fell silent again. The music, the crackling fire, and the calm of the night lingered in the muffled air around Marc as he focused on the instrument in his hands.
For the first time in a long time, the band was doing great. They had been making enough money on their last gigs in Europe to consider quitting their normal jobs, something that hadneverhappened before. Winning the Battle of the Bands had not only given them the chance to travel overseas but also a lot of visibility—more than they’d ever dreamt of. Yet he couldn’t shake the uneasiness pressing down on his chest. He was worried. About Leah. About Chris, and the unanswered questions floating in the space between them.
Useless. Conflicted.
He wasn’t sure what the right way to act was now.
His friend’s attitude since they’d found out what was going on with Leah had been nonchalant and laid-back, as always. However, the permanent wrinkle between his brows, and the way he was constantly clenching his jaw and checking the hour on his phone, told Marc he was troubled, which was more than understandable. Aside from the cheese quesadilla the guitarist had brought to her in the back lounge of the bus where she’d locked herself up since early afternoon, she hadn’t eaten anything all day.
“You okay?” Marc asked Chris, fingers strumming his guitar.
He knew the question was stupid, that it wouldn’t change anything. But even if they had been a little distant during the last few days, he wanted Chris to talk to him. To open up and let him in. He wanted to do something that could reduce the weight of the dark entity probably eating him from within.
“Me?” the guitarist clipped, shifting uncomfortably in his seat after taking a sip of his drink. “Yeah. Why wouldn’t I be?”
“Because it’s like you and Leah are a part of the same fucking person and every time one of you is depressed, the other is, too?”
“First, you’re an ass.” Chris flipped him off. “And second, yeah, I’m fine,” he said, slumping down into his chair. “I mean… Seeing her like that”—he tipped his head up to point at the bus behind them—“has brought back some awful memories, but yeah. I’m okay.”
“I can imagine… I don’t remember seeing you as fucked up as when her dad called to tell you what had happened.”
“Yeah…”
“She is stronger now.”
“I hope so.”
“She is.”
Chris didn’t say anything, just stared at his own feet.
“I’m guessing she hasn’t told you about her catfight with Taylor,” Marc started.
“What?” The guitarist’s head whipped around to look at his friend.
“Yeah.” Marc lowered his voice. “Apparently, the blonde came at her to bark some shit about how she was hurting Søren, and little Leah bit back.”
Chris snorted. “The fuck?”
“You know I hate confrontations and I’m all about peace, but I’m happy to see our girl is finally standing up for herself.”
