Page 21 of Sixty Days Of Summer

My gaze traces the graceful arc of her neck, captivated by its subtle movements as she takes a sip. If they actually bring her on tour, I’m totally fucked.

As soon as Xander speaks, she averts her gaze from Theo.

“Scarlet, we’ve been discussing the tour, and you understand how important this is. We’re doing this on our own now, no more label supporting us, and the new album is about to drop.”

“Yeah, Nate and Theo have kept me in on everything.”

“Well, now that Nate’s out of commission, we need someone to fill his spot. And we”—Xander glances at me, and Scarlet catches my eye briefly before turning back to him—“we’d like you to step in for Nate.”

Scarlet’s eyes pause for a moment on each of us, before finally lingering on me for an extra beat.

“Listen, guys, I really do appreciate the offer, but I'm going to have to decline,” she firmly replies.

“Huh?” Theo’s voice rises. “What the fuck, Scar? This is what you’ve always dreamed of—playing in a band, in front of packed stadiums.”

“It is,” Scarlet replies, reaching out to grab Theo’s hand. “It’s always been my dream to play in a band and rock sold-out stadiums, and I’m stoked you’re considering me for this gig. My whole life, I’ve been in Nate’s shadow. In every audition, it’s always about if I can ride on Nate’s fame to make their band popular. My last audition went great, but all they cared about was if I could get Nate to help them score an opening slot. It’s like they can’t see me for my own talent, and it’s exhausting. I really love my brother and I’m super proud of him and you guys, but if I take this gig, it’ll just prove that I’m only valued because of who I’m related to, not for my own skills.”

Damn, I never thought about how much of a shitshow that must be—constantly living in someone else’s shadow, never getting a fair shot, just being seen as a fucking footnote because of who your brother is.

“But hey, Scar, it could be an opportunity,” Theo chimes in, always looking for the bright side.

When Scarlet releases Theo’s hand, she looks at Xander briefly before turning her attention to me. “Look, I really appreciate you considering me to fill Nate’s spot, but to be honest, I don’t think I can do it. I hope you can understand why,” she says, offering a warm smile that doesn’t quite reach her eyes. Standing up, she grabs her glass of juice and walks past Theo, giving his shoulder a reassuring squeeze before heading into the next room.

“Shit,” Theo mutters, taken aback by the unexpected turn of events.

“Yeah, it’s gotta suck being trapped in your brother’s shadow, never getting noticed for your own talent,” I remark, shaking my head at the injustice she faces.

“You’d know all about that, asshole—always stuck in my fucking shadow,” Theo smirks.

“That’s why you’re stuck playing bass. Can’t handle a real guitar, huh?” I shoot back, my grin mirroring his own.

He smirks, knowing he’s lost, then shifts gears. “I didn’t know Scarlet has been struggling all these years. She didn’t say shit about what she was going through. That’s rough.”

“Yeah,” Xander says, pushing his chair back and standing up.

“Hey, where the hell are you off to?” Theo asks, eyeing Xander as he heads for the door.

“Home first, then I’m going to see Nate,” Xander replies, not looking back.

“Well, I’m coming too,” Theo announces, shoving his chair back and getting up.

I keep my mouth shut, knowing I need to steer clear of the media shitstorm. I stand up from the table, realizing that hanging around Scarlet and these damn thoughts about her will just pull me back into old habits. Time to keep my distance and get the hell out of here.

Chapter 8

Scarlet

Stepping into Nate’s hospital room, my eyes immediately land on a young nurse diligently checking his vitals. She looks at him with dreamy eyes, but Nate is too absorbed in the TV to even notice. Not that he’d give a shit, anyway—my brother’s locked up his heart tight. It will always belong to the girl he lost all those years ago.

From my vantage point, I observe as Ace exits his car, marches towards the paparazzi, and forcefully hurls the camera to the ground. I smirk at the sight—he usually keeps his emotions buried deep, closed off, unlike Theo, whose nervous twitches always spill the beans. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Acethis mad. But then again, I’ve never really had the chance to truly get to know him, so what do I know?

As the nurse wraps up and exits, I step into the room. Nate’s eyes remained fixed on the TV screen, refusing to look away. Some reporter is outside the hospital where everything happened yesterday, speculating that the tour is definitely going to be canceled now that Nate is stuck in here with a broken shoulder.

“Has the band made a public statement yet, Richard?” The news anchor’s voice reverberates loudly from the television.

As soon as Nate notices me approaching, he turns his head. “Can you believe this shit?” he says, before shifting his attention back to the TV.

Standing by his bed, we watch the footage of Ace playing on repeat, the reporter’s voice speculating about the future of the tour. “What the fuck was Ace thinking?” Nate says, grabbing the remote and turning off the television.

---