Page 75 of Hayden's Stalker

“Huh?” I ask as I look at her.

“It’s time for the soundcheck.”

“Oh, cool. Thanks.”

I put the bookmark back in my book and set it aside before I follow Tati to the door. Jesse follows behind me as she leads us toward the stage. He’s going to be doing the soundchecks with her until we reach our first big city. From then, he’s going to do night shifts to protect me while I’m sleeping, and Tati will be with me during the days.

Gabriel catches up to us just as we reach the stage, and I smile at him. “Hey. You excited?”

“Of course. Should be a good show.”

I start to follow Gabriel up the stairs to the stage and turn when I notice Tati remains in place with Jesse.

I frown at her. “Are you coming?”

“No. For the soundcheck, I’ll be looking around the venue with Jesse.”

“Okay.” I nod, disappointed that she won’t be nearby, even if she’ll be in my line of sight.

I continue to the stage and find Harrison waiting with his bass. He strums a few notes as I nod at him and head to my drums. I take my seat on my drum throne and pick up my sticks, at once feeling at home.

I twirl my stick and look around the empty venue. I’m excited, and it feels ‘right’ to be here, but at the same time, nerves hit me when I realize just how many people will be here.

Will my stalker be able to get to me? Will they be in the crowd? Watching me? I feel nauseated at the thought. I swallow heavily and notice that I’m gripping my drumstick so tightly that my knuckles have turned white. My heart is pounding in my chest, and I focus on my breathing to try and calm down. I inhale deeply and release my breath slowly.

I look around and see Tati talking with Jesse. My bodyguards are here, and I’m safe. I need to remind myself of that.

Sebastian.

As Seb walks onto the stage, I decide to name five things that begin with the letter ‘S.’

Snare.

Seb grabs the set list off the floor in front of his mic.

Set list.

I breathe in slowly and release it just as slowly.

Stalker.

Brendan did say that the thing didn’t need to be in the room and visible. My heart beats a little faster, and I figure this one wasn’t useful.

Seats.

I amend my word choice as I look back at the stadium that will soon be filled.

Stadium.

I still feel on edge, but I’m a little calmer as I twirl my drumstick again and tap a beat on the drums. Once the soundcheck starts, I manage to lose myself in the music. It’s always been my safe haven. Whenever life was overwhelming me, I could escape to this and books.

For my solo, I’m singing one of the songs fromHeart Wide Open, and when I finish singing it, I look over at Gabriel. “What’s the plan after that? Should the guys start playing from offstage, and we can go straight into ‘Dream My Name,’ or do you want to do audience participation?”

“I think if we go straight into ‘Dream My Name,’ I can talk with the audience after that.”

I nod, then look over at Seb and Harrison. “Does that work for you guys?”

“Yeah, I can make that work,” Seb agrees.

---