Page 48 of Fractured Frets

“Okay.” I grabbed my purse off the floor and gave him a quick kiss on the lips. “I love you. I’ll call a taxi.”

“No. Get Beckett to take you home. Then he can come back and get me.”

My house was only twenty minutes away, so that would work. “Thank you.”

I gave him another kiss, on the cheek this time, then dashed out the door.

Why did Mom call me when she knew I was with Slip? She’d always contact the doctor or Bridget when I was away working. Why not tonight? But my bones shriveled and wilted. I knew why. She was my responsibility.

Mom was getting worse.

Within a year or two, if she didn’t look after herself, she’d need permanent care. She already ate into so much of my time when I came home. I constantly worried about her declining health. What kind of life would Slip and I have if looking after my mother would eventually demand more hours in my day? If not all of them.

That dream we had to escape our everyday lives seemed to slip further and further away.

I’d always have to look after Mom.

I loved Slip. I never wanted my life to be a burden.

But was I selfish? Cruel?

BecauseI didn’t want to let him go.

Chapter 14

SLIP

I stretched out on one of the long sofas in my band’s dressing room, still recovering from the long flight from LA to London two days ago. My friends had slept the whole way, but I’d struggled to get comfortable on our private jet. I usually could sleep anywhere, but not on this tour. Planes were not my friend. My hip had protested against every position I’d laid in.

But time with Maddy had been worth the trip home. Like always, she’d worried about how we’d make things work and got upset over the gossip surrounding Harper. Totally understandable. I was too. Hopefully my new ink had sealed the deal, proving to Maddy how much I loved her. I’d helped take care of her mom, who’d had a panic attack rather than anything more serious. She hadn’t even had a fever.

Still, since Maddy was worried about her mom, we’d stayed at her place for the rest of the weekend. We’d skirted around talking about post-tour plans, and yet again delayed them as we’d dealt with enough highs and lows, gossip and drama for one quick catchup.

Nothing tore my heart in two more than the tears rolling down Maddy’s cheeks and the last taste of her sweet lips before I had to leave.

I wanted to stay, but the tour pulled me away.

Four more weeks until I saw her again.

Sixteen shows.

Nine cities.

The countdown is on.

I took a deep breath and refocused. In a few hours, the guys and I would play in front of sixty-five thousand people at the O2 arena—one of the biggest shows of the tour. The first of three back-to-back nights.

As Flint, Cole, and Lewis sank onto the adjacent sofa for our pre-soundcheck meeting, the nervous energy and buzz skipping between us hummed through the air. But my hip didn’t share the same high. I’d have to take it steady on stage.

April, Blake, and Falcon, our tour manager, took to the sofa opposite me. But the serious vibe coming off them meant only one thing. Trouble. April tapped her stylus pen against her tablet’s screen. “To kill the gossip surrounding Slip’s affair that won’t go away, and push some positivity around your sellout shows, we’ve added a few publicity appearances to your schedule while here in London.”

I winced, letting out a frustrated breath. Fucking Harper. I still wanted to kill her. She’d posted one “I’m not with Slip” comment on socials, and she’d gotten to lay low and out of sight while we’d been in LA. Now she got to hang out in the hotel with Charlotte while the guys and I...and Maddy, back in Vancouver...had to face the paparazzi and deal with the bullshit that had been published about me, Harper, and Maddy. I hated having to drag the guys into damage control because of ludicrous online lies.

Maddy and I had done some outings in LA with the help of April and Jodie. We’d taken her mom out to dinner at a popular restaurant and ensured we were photographed. Maddy and I had PDA’d like motherfuckers, hugging and kissing and holding hands. I’d loved every minute of it, but Maddy wasn’t into showing off like that. I didn’t enjoy that element of it, but we’d survived. Our united front had shot down some of the stupid rumors, and hopefully, so would whatever April had planned.

But I was exhausted just thinking about it.

“How many appearances is a few?” I wriggled the furry black cushion beneath my head to get more comfortable.

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