Page 39 of For Eva

His voice rose to a level that caused the loud chatter in the room to come to a dead halt, and Danny finally turned around. I locked eyes with him, pleading for help, but he stood motionless, staring at the three of us.

Jesse snickered and raised his glass to Eric. “Well, congrats, kid. You’re off this goddamn tour. So take your band and get the fuck out of here.”

“Fuck youandyour tour, man. Just leaveherthe fuck alone.” Eric turned and pushed through the crowd, disappearing inside the private elevator.

Gasps and whispers rippled through the crowd until Jesse smiled and waved and told them everything was fine. He took a long sip of wine and pursed his lips before turning to walk away. “Too bad that didn’t work out, sweetheart.”

My skin burned, and the girl outside the window screamed at me, telling me to leave—to break through the glass and disappear into the darkness. But I couldn’t. I couldn’t let the band get kicked off the tour. Not on my watch and most certainly notbecauseof me.

“No, wait,” I said, grabbing his arm. “Eric just misunderstood. He didn’t mean what he said, and I’m sorry I didn’t, uh…Shit.I’m just sorry, okay? I’ll fix this. I’ll find him and explain everything.”

“You’re very loyal.” Jesse leaned into me, and I shivered as he whispered into my ear. “I like that.” He pulled back, wearing a smirk which made my stomach turn. “How about you tell Eric to come talk to me tomorrow, and we’ll see what happens?”

I nodded, wondering exactly whom I was being loyal to,as I rushed for the elevator and jabbed the call button. I dabbed the corners of my eyes, trying my damndest not to cry. I prayed Danny would sprint to my side, hold me, and whisper that everything would be okay. But I stepped into the dimly lit box alone, casting one last glance at him, still wide-eyed and paralyzed. Hot tears trickled down my cheeks as the door closed, and I collapsed against the wall, shame swallowing me whole.

SEVENTEEN

Danny

April 1989

“Come the fuck on,” I hissed as I punched the gold button on repeat, waiting for the elevator to make its slow climb up to the penthouse.

Over my shoulder, I spotted Bryan buzzing nervously around Jesse, who finally turned his back, ending the discussion with a flick of his hand. Bryan searched the room, his eyes landing on me, and he bolted in my direction as I stepped inside.

“What the fuck happened, man?”

I could barely hear him over the blood pounding in my ears, so I shook my head and pressed the button for the eighth floor, allowing the door to slide shut despite his panicked protests. I leaned against the cool metal, my thoughts shifting like pieces of a puzzle I was desperately trying to put together. What the hell had caused Eric to blow up at Jesse? And what did Eva have to do with any of it?

The elevator lurched to a halt, and I shot out into the hallway. I rounded the corner and spotted her sitting on the emerald carpet, hands buried in a nest of blond hair.

“What thefuckdid Eric do?” I pointed to the door behind her. “Is he in there?”

“No.” She grabbed her shoes and scrambled to her bare feet, pushing past me and entering our room.

“What the hell?” I said, catching the door before it slammed shut. “I’m not the one who lost my shit up there. Why are you pissed atme?”

She tossed her purse on the bed and reached for the zipper on the back of her dress. “I can’t fucking talk to you right now, Danny.”

“What? Eva, youhaveto talk to me. Are we off this tour? Is that what Jesse said?” I raked my hands through my hair, gripping my scalp.

She stepped out of the black leather into a pair of jeans, then frantically pulled a T-shirt over her head. “I don’t know. I mean,no. I’m gonna fix this.”

She rushed past me, and the water turned on in the bathroom.

“Eva, you can’t fucking fix Eric publicly humiliating the lead singer of the band we’re opening for,” I insisted, following her. “I mean, I know you think you can make this better, but you have to tell me what happened so I can—”

She ran a towel over her freshly scrubbed face, and I stared at her reflection in the mirror.

Her eyes were rimmed in red, and her cheeks were blotchy and pink. “Wait, are you crying?”

She sniffed as she squeezed between me and the doorway and began rifling through her luggage.

I crouched down beside her and closed the lid on the suitcase. “Enough, Eva. Tell me what the fuck Eric did before I go beat the shit out of him.”

She looked up at me, her nostrils flared. “He was doing whatyoushould’ve been doing, Danny.”

“What?”I blinked and jerked my head back. Was I losing my fucking mind?

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