WILDWILDWEST
16
Lucky
"Ross, no!"Lucky called after him, but Jude grabbed her armfirmly.
"I’ll handle it.Trustme."
Before she could respond, Jude was out of the bus. Confused, she looked out the window just in time to see him spin Ross around and punch him in the face. She heard gasps, and she quickly realized everyone on the bus was either pressed against the glass or exiting the bus for acloserlook.
Ross fell to the ground with that punch, still clutching his cell phone while blood gushed from his nose as Jude stood over him. Swiping the phone from him, Jude threw it to the ground and crushed it underneath his heavy boot. Ross held his bloodied nose and spoke, but Lucky couldn't hear. Based on his indignant stare, she knew he was saying it wastoolate.
As Jude turned to face the bus, Ross tried standing up but fell again. The roadies and Dylan patted Jude on the back as he entered the bus and made his way back toLucky.
"Sorry, I tried,"hesaid.
Looking deep into his green eyes, for a moment she forgot what happened. But as Lucky realized her first kiss was going to be splashed across tabloids and magazines, she felt her stomach clench and twist. After the interviews and now this, she felt like her whole life had suddenly been made public. She missed the comfort of her home and how simple her life wasbefore.
Her heart sank as she imagined the photo being seen by everyone. That moment was something private and special to her. It was something she dreamed about and never thought would ever happen, but it did. And now she had to share it with the world. Thinking about Jude's reputation, she imagined how bad the headlines would be. The tabloids would take something sweet and turn it into something it wasn't. Her vision blurred as tears filledhereyes.
Feeling the bus begin to move, she sat on the bed as tears spilled from her eyes. She couldn't stop them from falling. She covered her face, not wanting Jude to seehercry.
"Why are you crying? Because of the picture?" heasked.
She nodded as the words spilled out of her mouth. "I thought he was my friend. We even let him ride on the bus with us. Now I know he was waiting for something to happen all along. Something he could make a buckoffof."
"You learn that quick in this business. Not everything or everyone is who they seem." He sat beside her and held her against his chest as she sobbed. "Sometimes the ones you think you can trust the most, you should have trusted the least. You'd be surprised what money does topeople."
"Is that how you got your reputation?" sheasked.
He let her go before answering. "Let's just say there's always an element of truth in everythingyouread."
"Wait,youmean--"
"That means we're not going to talkaboutit."
He got up and left the room without an explanation. She looked out of the small room, towards the sea of leather chairs. Ross and his stuff were gone, along with his friend Mark. She was glad about that, except it meant he was probably selling the photograph that veryminute.
After so many days on the road, a couple of hours felt like nothing to Lucky. She was used to the steady sway and hum of the bus. Positioning herself in a seat next to a window, she sat with her acoustic guitar and strummed as she played with some lyrics she wroteearlier.
The label had already suggested she should plan her next album. She figured if the tour did well enough, they'd have her recording sessions done and be out on the road again quickly. It didn't take much to figure out how theyworked.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Jude approaching. Her heart leapt into her chest as it did every time she saw him. It didn't matter that they were trapped on a bus or if she hadn't seen him in a while, her body reacted as it did when he first entered the dining room at breakfast in Philadelphia. She hoped it wasn'tobvious.
"Hey Olivia, I called some people I know in Phoenix. They're going to have a bike for me when we get there. We're going on alittletrip."
"Atrip?"
"Dress comfortably, we're riding up to Sedona. I think you need a break from all this. Show's not till tomorrow nightanyway."
Watching him walk away, she thought about how gorgeous he was and wondered again about his reputation. Maybe that was how he worked. He probably just kissed her because he had the opportunity and no other women werearound.
She thought about the many women swooning over him at every show. How he'd always disappear with them. Then she thought about when she barged into his room and found him alone. It still didn't makesense.
Jude was right, she needed to live. She had to experience life and all its ups and downs. Her parents had sheltered her too much. Maybe if she had been out in the world, she would've seen Ross for exactly who he was and not trusted him soeasily.
Looking around the bus, she wondered who else she couldn't trust. Jordan she would trust with her life. Looking at her dozing with her head resting on Dylan's shoulder, she knew she had to trust Dylan as well. If Jordan trusted him that much, she knew he had to be agoodguy.
