Page 79 of Strum Me

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Brad

That went well.

I’m still staring at the spot she vacated over five minutes ago.

Our first conversation after finding out that Silas is Ben’s fatherwasn’t supposed to go that way. But she’d cornered me and it just all came out. I didn’t mean to hurt her with anything I wanted to say, but that look in her eyes before she ran off tells me she’s probably somewhere crying…and hating me.

But what does she expect? How can she expect that I would feel any differently? Silas. FUCKING SILAS! And I’m not just pissed at her relationship with him, but Ben’s as well!

Yes, I am fucking envious that this dickwad of a man is the father of that little boy. That little boy that I’m fast falling in love with.

But if she could’ve kept that from me, knowing how I feel about him, then what else is she capable of? Maybe she really is the girl who couldn’t even be bothered to come say goodbye when I left to go on tour.

She didn’t know, remember? the voice inside me reminds me.

But it doesn’t change that even without receiving my messages, she never came to find me, came to talk, after that night we spent together that was supposed to be the first in our lives together forever.

I don’t know what to think.

But I do know that I can’t leave it like this, and we need to talk.

I need to find her.

“Oi! Cum-waffle!” Jez’s head pokes into the tent. He’s wearing his mic headset already, his bow in hand. “Get your head out of your overinflated ass. We’re waiting for you for soundcheck. Come on, we only have fifteen minutes before the other band’s up.”

Jack comes over and attaches the mic receiver to my belt and pulls the headset around my neck, adjusting the mic to my mouth.

“Fuck. Can’t you cover for me?” I really need to go find Emily before my words cause too much damage.

“And test your violin mic with what? My dick? Come on!”

“Okay, okay, no need to get mad over the little things!” I follow him out of the tent and toward the stage.

“What little things?” he asks as he breaks into a jog, waving at the crew on stage and pointing to me behind him.

“You brought up your dick!” I poke him with my bow.

“Don’t make me make you choke on it,” he threatens as we climb up the stage to meet up with Sebastian and Marius.

“Pick my teeth with, maybe!” I growl.

“Um, guys, your mics are on…and recording,” Dennis’s voice booms into our earpieces.

“It’s okay, everyone already knows about Jez’s toothpick prick,” I hear Seb respond, then chuckle at his own hilarity.

“Shut up, and let’s get those instruments tested,” Dennis commands

And for once, we listen.

***

“Hey, what’s going on with you and Emily?” Seb asks me as we finish soundcheck, pulling our headsets off and leaving them on stage for the crew to take care of.

“What…why? Why would something be going on?”

“Other than your ‘sleepover’ the other night, and whatever it was that made you both late the other day after the show, it’s like the last day or so you’ve barely been in the same place at the same time. Made me wonder which one of you is Clark Kent and which is Superman.”