Page 9 of Fractured Dreams

“I’d love to be a fly on the wall for that conversation,” Drew said with a laugh.

So would Tex. He quite liked the idea of seeing Eden all riled up, eyes flashing like the sun glinting off water as she gave Noah a piece of her mind.

A few minutes later, Eden and Noah were back, neither of their expressions giving anything away as to how the conversation had gone. Tex hid a smile; he’d bet on his guitar that it wouldn’t be the last time those two argued over the issue.

After they’d sat back down, Drew cleared his throat. “Now that I’ve got you all here in one place and relatively sober for once, I want to make sure we’re all on the same page with the schedule over the next few months.”

Everyone groaned, and Connor grumbled, “Don’t you ever take a break, man?”

Drew gave him a fake scowl. “You guys didn’t get where you are today by me taking breaks. Unlike you two”—he pointed at Connor and Tex—“I haven’t been able to spend the last year and a half with my feet up.”

Connor snorted, but Drew continued. “Who do you think’s been out there making sure the label doesn’t forget about you?”

Tex leaned back in his chair. “Pretty sure we’ve still made the label more money in the last eighteen months than most of their other artists combined. I don’t think they’ll be forgetting about us anytime soon,” he drawled.

“Well, that may be true, doesn’t mean they won’t get distracted by something new and shiny that comes along.” He gave Tex a pointed look.“Anyway, as I was saying, we’re getting to the sharp end of all of this now, so we need to start building some hype leading up to your album release. To begin with, while Zac and Noah are on tour, Connor and Tex, you’ll be doing a surprise guest performance at an End of Daze concert. That will get you back on the radar of the industry insiders and influencers; get everyone speculating about your return from hiatus.”

Tex nodded; that made sense. End of Daze was an up-and-coming band signed to their label. There was a significant amount of industry buzz about them, but they weren’t quite up to big venue tours yet, which meant their performances were low-key enough that an appearance by two members of Fractured would have a big impact, potentially resulting in a ton of social media exposure.

Noah and Zac were both frowning though.

“Can’t it wait until we get back?” Zac asked.

Drew shook his head. “We’re on a pretty tight time frame to meet the label’s expected release date, and if we hold off any longer on the Crossfire tour, you’ll miss your window—you’ll be too busy with the new Fractured album to spare the time. This is the best compromise the label and I could come up with. But don’t worry, it’s only going to be a short set, probably three songs max. I’m thinking Tex and Connor can jump in on two of EoD’s songs, and we’ll get the lads to join in with them on a Fractured song. Short and sweet, but enough to get the ball rolling.”

Still looking disappointed, but understanding the necessity, Zac and Noah nodded.

“But as soon as you two are back we need to finalize which songs are going on the album and get you all rehearsing so you’re ready to hit the recording studio. We’ll be making the album announcement as soon as you’re done, or close to it anyway. Currently we’re considering the best way to do that, but we want it to be something that fits with your brand of stripped-back but high-quality live performances.”

The four of them nodded.

“And we’re looking at a release date about three months after that, with probably a single drop a few weeks before. And then, gentlemen, it’s in the hands of your fans.”

Tex noticed Eden looked a little shell-shocked at Drew’s rapid-fire information dump. He bumped his leg against hers under the table. “Don’t worry, you’ll get used to it if you spend enough time around here.”

She smiled at him. “Is it weird that my brother’s been in this business for over ten years and this is the most I’ve ever been exposed to it? I feel like a terrible sister.”

“Nah, it’s not weird. You’ve had your own thing going on.”

Overhearing them, Drew broke in. “Sorry I hijacked the conversation, Eden. I’m done with the business talk now, I promise.” He took a sip of his drink before continuing, “So, Noah was telling us you’re going to be starting an internship in Oregon soon. What does that involve?”

Tex grinned at Drew’s effort to include Eden. He was a manager through and through and could be a little too business-focused sometimes, but he was a genuinely good guy. Something all too rare in the industry.

Eden’s eyes shone with enthusiasm as she replied. “It’s at a charity-based clinic that provides music therapy to kids that have development delays or disabilities, or have suffered some kind of trauma. Many of them can’t communicate well—or at all—verbally, but music allows them to express themselves and gives them another way to communicate.”

Lexie reached across the table and squeezed Eden’s hand. “What an amazing gift to be able to give someone,” she said.

Eden smiled back at her, cheeks pink again. “I can’t think of a better job than to help kids communicate with their loved ones. I’m sure it’ll be heartbreaking but really rewarding at the same time. While I’m in LA, I’m going to try to get some volunteer work at the children’s hospital too. After all, I can’t spend all my spare time lounging by the pool and slaving over a hot stove for Noah.” She gave her brother a cheeky grin, her dimple flashing.

“Hey!” Noah said, indignantly. “You told me you love cooking for me.”

While everyone laughed, Tex thought about what Eden had said. He couldn’t imagine doing a job like the one she was planning to do. Although the band supported similar charities—including providing free tickets for kids to attend their concerts—seeing firsthand the challenges they and their families had to go through and helping them to overcome those challenges, would require a level of dedication and empathy that many people didn’t possess.

He studied Eden again. She appeared so young and delicate, yet she was prepared to take on a role that most people, himself included, wouldn’t be able to handle. Lexie had been right the other night; Eden was stronger than Noah realized.

???

The rest of the afternoon and evening passed with lots of laughter, a little too much alcohol, and finally, a jam session which saw Eden pulling out her violin to play with them again.

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