1
i was jealous
HAYDEN
Four years ago
Breathing heavily,I stand behind the curtains and peek out at the crowd. Hills Arena is one of the biggest venues in LA, and it’s packed. Tickets to this show, in our hometown, sold out in less than twenty-four hours.
Fuck, this is insane.
An electrifying energy courses through my veins. Cell phone lights flicker like a sea of stars as the audience continues to cheer. We’ve just played our last song of the night, yet our fans are still as loud as they were when we walked out. I still can’t believe this is my life.
The band my closest friends and I started on a whim has somehow earned four Grammy nominations and two wins—Record of the Year this year and Best Group Performance the year prior. Our albumFlawlessdebuted at number two on the Billboard 200, and we’ve sold eight million copies worldwide. Even in my wildest dreams, I never imagined I’d be where I am now.
“This crowd is something else,” Owen, our bass guitarist, says. He’s one of my closest friends, the person I always listen to and neverever get bored with. His energy matches mine like no one else’s. He was the last to join the band, just a few months ahead of our big break.
“It is.” I study the fans in the front row. Two songs ago, a blonde caught my attention, though I was so focused on getting the lyrics and notes just right, only the vaguest of details have stuck with me. All I remember is long, blonde hair, full lips, and big eyes.
Where is she?
“How about an encore?” Bo, our drummer, asks.
“Let’s give them a few more minutes,” Jimmy—the electric guitarist—suggests.
With a chuckle, I lean forward and search for my mystery girl.
It only takes a minute to find the head of blonde hair flowing over her shoulders in loose waves. She’s turned away from me. Head thrown back, she laughs at something a redhead says.
When she turns back to the stage, cold dread washes over me. I know this girl. I’ve known her for her whole life—how the hell didn’t I recognize her?
Fuck, I almost asked my team to bring my best friend’s little sister backstage so I couldmeether.
Squinting, I study Riley closer. Bright makeup makes her big eyes pop; full, sensual red lips. Her light pink crop top hugs her chest like a second skin. It’s been two years since I saw her last, back when she’d just been accepted into the New York School of Performing Arts, but I don’t think her hair was this long. Back then, though, she always wore it up.
She’s no longer the girl I remember. She’s all grown up.
Are you for real?my inner voice all but screams at me.Stop fucking staring. She’s Piper’s sister.
I clear my throat and tear my attention away from Riley, cheeks burning like a teenager caught with his dad’s collection of porno mags. “Ready?” I ask the guys.
As we rush back on stage, I do my best to clear Riley’s image from my head.
“Uncle Hayden!”a familiar voice calls in the middle of the madness backstage.
I turn just in time to catch my niece in my arms. Story clings to me as I hug her tightly to my chest. I inhale deeply, smiling when her marshmallow scent hits me. I love this little girl to the moon and back.
“You were incredible!” she yells.
I laugh. “You think so?”
She nods, her dark green eyes sparkling, the same color as mine.
“I’ll take your word for it.” I kiss her cheek.
My best friend Piper is here too, though half their family is missing. Her husband, my brother, is in Miami with his team, and Hudson, their one-year-old son, is with Piper’s mom for the night.
“Hey, Hade.” Piper smiles as I haul her to me for a hug. Her blonde hair is in a high ponytail, her dark chocolate eyes warm. “Sabotage was phenomenal. I got chills during every song.”
