Page 18 of Crossroads

I wore jean shorts and a flowy top with gladiator sandals. I had let my hair dry naturally, so it came in long pink, blonde waves, and my tattoos were out in full force. I did not have a lick of makeup on, but the bruises were nearly gone now. And frankly, I’d finally been sleeping so that meant I could breathe again, and the dark circles were no longer visible.

It was amazing what you could do when you did nothing but try to rest.

“You look gorgeous, and I hate you. You don’t need makeup.” Teagan paused. “We won’t let anybody take a photo of you from what we can see. But if somebody does, if they’re going to see these bruises, they’re going to have questions. And yes, they’re healed so much better than I thought they would be, but they still might wonder.”

I cursed under my breath.

“You’re right. Let me go add some concealer.” Here I thought I was being all forward-thinking, trying to just be Kiera West, and not drummer Kiera West with the funky eye makeup.

“Your ex can kick rocks for all I care.”

“Damn straight.”

I worked quickly, as I usually did my own makeup for our tours, knowing that I was just going to sweat it off behind my kit anyway. My face didn’t hurt anymore, and I could smile without breaking my lip.

“Okay. Ready to go.”

“I’m not even that quick when it comes to putting on lipstick,” Teagan said with a smile.

“I have to reapply mascara more than a few times during an event, and I just wanted to be quick. Especially when we’re on a tour bus and you’re shifting around.”

Teagan’s face paled ever so slightly at the mention of the tour bus, and I could have cursed. Gabriel and Briar were just now getting on the bus again. They had been following along in an SUV, sleeping in hotels, or flying, doing anything not to get on the bus itself. Considering they had crashed in one and nearly died. And Malcolm had died.

As in Teagan, Briar, and Bodhi’s brother.

“I’m sorry.”

Her throat worked as she swallowed hard. “Don’t. Just caught me off guard. It does sometimes, and then other times I’m fine. Our family has known far too much loss, and we’ve learned to breathe through it. To figure out how to move on and live. At least I think so.” Her smile brightened as she slid on her shield. “Now come on, I’m hungry.”

“And we can’t have that. A hungry Teagan is a scary Teagan,” I teased.

She shoved playfully at my shoulder, and I followed along to her SUV. Bodhi’s truck was parked in front of his workshop, and I could hear the sounds of tools, but I didn’t go and tell him where I was heading. I didn’t want to bother him, and frankly, it wasn’t like we were together in any sort of way. It wouldn’t make sense for me to alert him of where I was going. Except he would be worried if he showed up, and I wasn’t there.

“Do you want to text him and tell him where you’re going?” Teagan asked, her voice oddly careful.

“I don’t have his phone number,” I said, noticing the lack. I had been living on his property, and I couldn’t even text him.

“Well, I’ll fix that.” Before she pulled out of the driveway, she pulled out her phone and quickly texted me his number.

“It’s just smart for you to have it, in case of an emergency. I don’t know how long you’re going to stay here, but Bodhi’s not going to kick you off the property. Not if he hasn’t already.”

I wasn’t quite sure what to do with that, but while my hands shook, I put his phone number into my contacts and opened up my text.

Me

This is Kiera. Teagan gave me your number. Don’t be mad at her. I’m heading out to lunch with the girls. Just wanted you to know.

I set my phone down as Teagan drove through the forested area to the main road of Ashford Creek.

“He probably won’t text back. Or if he does, it’ll be the letter K in about an hour. He’s not part of the group chats often. Not that we Ashfords have too many group chats going.”

“I would assume you would.”

“Callum hates texting. I’m not a huge fan of it either, to be honest, and Bodhi never texts.”

“What about Briar?”

“She does more than I do. But it’s the twins that do the most.”