“To a guy his size, everyone seems smaller than they really are,” a voice sounded from behind the guitarist. Silas stepped away to reveal a long-haired man I recognized as Abel, the lead singer of Bleeding Moonlight.
Abel tipped his chin at me. “Hey, Ivy.”
“Hi.” I gave him a timid smile. My nervousness returned, and my hands grew clammy just in time for me to shake Abel’s hand. If he noticed, he made no mention of it. When Abel joined the band a few weeks after the rest got started, they switched out of our garage for an abandoned warehouse outside of town where they could blast their amps at full volume. I didn’t see them much after that, so I never got a chance to exchange more than a few words with the singer.
The last person to greet me was Charlie, the second guitarist. He smirked and flicked his gaze over me. Charlie had joined Bleeding Moonlight after their first album was already out, and despite him visiting River Valley with Cole a number of times, our paths hadn’t crossed. Cole had mentioned in passing that Charlie could be a handful, and that he’d gotten the band in trouble during some interviews for being rude to the reporters. As the guitarist scrutinized me from under his lashes, I held back the urge to squirm.
“I’m Charlie,” he said in a voice that resembled a drawl. “And you’re Cole’s little sister, huh?” His hands were in his pockets, and he stood with a strange posture, as if he were leaning slightly back. Tattoos covered the entirety of his arms and even snaked up his neck.
I cleared my dry throat. “I’m Ivy.”
The smirk on his face grew. “Cole said you’re nothing like his degenerate self. He said you’re a very nice girl, who does well at school and doesn’t let loose much. Was he lying to us?”
Shaking my head, I inwardly screamed at Cole’s drab description of me. This was supposed to be a fresh start. “Um. No. That’s true, I guess.”
“I wonder what made you want to come here then?”
“Well, I guess I just want to experience something new,” I mumbled and dropped my gaze to the ground.
Charlie scoffed. “You might have to find your claws to survive the next two weeks, kitten. You look like you’re about to pass out, and you’ve just gotten here.”
“Hey, don’t be a jerk,” Ezra jumped in and nudged Charlie aside before steering me to an armchair across from the sofa. “Don’t listen to him, Ivy. You’ll be fine. We’re all going to be keeping an eye on you.”
I knew Ezra was trying to reassure me, but my stomach dropped.So much for being on equal ground. I didn’t want them to feel like they had to babysit me.
“Don’t worry about me,” I said to Ezra and forced a smile. “I’m sure you’re all super busy with the tour. By the way, where’s Cole?
The drummer’s cheeks reddened. “He’s…meeting someone. He should’ve been back by now. Let me give him a call.”
A temper I usually kept well-hidden flared inside me. First, my brother didn’t meet me in the airport, and now he couldn’t even make it back here on time? Whenever we’d spoken about me coming, he’d seemed excited, but I was starting to worry maybe I’d misread him. What if he didn’t really want me here?
I bit on my fingernail and watched as Ezra stepped out of the room before I turned to the rest of the band, who’d settled back on the sofa. “When are you guys going on stage?”
Silas pulled out his phone. “In about one hour. The opening band is going on right now, then it will be us for an hour-long set, and then the headliner.”
The headliner was Ritual Disruption—a massively popular heavy metal band. I didn’t listen to a ton of metal, preferring indie rock, but I’d done my research on them as soon as I’d found out they’d be on the same ticket as Bleeding Moonlight.
What I’d found was…a bit concerning. They seemed to be as troubled as they were famous, at least when it came to their lead singer, Jamie Berg. He was rumored to have a drug problem and was a reported diva who often skipped interviews and showed up late to his own performances. I wondered if the guys of Bleeding Moonlight had to interact a lot with him.
“How’s the tour been so far?” I asked, playing with a loose string from my ripped jeans.
Silas shrugged. “It’s been good for our exposure. We’re finding a lot of new fans.”
Charlie picked up a beer bottle from the floor and tipped it to his mouth. “We’re going to be headlining our next world tour. I can feel it,” he said. “This is just a step toward world domination.”
I couldn’t fault Charlie for his ambition. Bleeding Moonlight was on a strong trajectory as far as I could tell. They had three albums under their belt, and Cole had told me they were planning on working on the fourth as soon as this tour was over. The first three albums had received critical acclaim, and I had no doubt the fourth could propel them into the next level of stardom. I wanted my brother to succeed, even though I was currently growing more and more irritated with his continued absence.
We chatted for a little while longer, the guys catching me up on their earlier shows and asking me about myself. Ezra returned and told us that Cole would be here in ten. The conversation turned to last night’s show, and I sat in silence for a few minutes before deciding to escape to the bathroom. I caught Ezra’s eye. “I’d like to change from my airport clothes. Is there a bathroom I could use?”
The drummer jumped to his feet. “Of course. Let me show you where it is.”
He led me out into the hallway, and we took a few turns before stopping by a door marked with a large “W”.
“Here’s the women’s dressing room,” Ezra said. “You think you can find your way back when you’re done?”
“Definitely,” I assured him.
The drummer smiled at me kindly and left.
