Page 98 of Living on the Edge

“Let’s not let him ruin our night,” Kirsten says, wrinkling her nose. “Fuck him.”

“Ew. No.” I shudder slightly and everyone laughs.

“You guys are going to stay for Nobody’s Fool, right?” Kirsten asks, looking at all of us.

“Of course we are.” Sam hugs her to his side. “Wouldn’t miss your last official show of the tour.”

Her face falls for a second. “I really don’t want to leave.”

“Do you have to?” Mick asks quietly.

“I…” She sighs. “I want to give college a shot. I love New York, and my plan has always been to use my time in college to find musicians I may want to work with, write music full-time, and get a degree I can fall back on. I don’t know if that’s going to work out the way I want it to but I want to try.”

“Then you should go,” Ryleigh says, nodding. “You know the bands will welcome you back with open arms if you hate it and want to come back. But you won’t know if you like college or not until you try.”

Kirsten nods. “Exactly.”

“Okay, I need a drink,” Jonny says. “Then I’m going to go watch Foreigner because Karnal Death makes me want to puke.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

We all head for the green room.

* * *

Nobody’sFool plays for close to two hours, earning a hell of a fine, but they don’t care. They play all their hits, Kirsten’s duet, a handful of covers, and then invite Jonny on stage to sing with them. Sam goes out and does a solo with Stu, and then Mick and Tyler do this dueling bass thing that’s as amazing as it is hilarious.

By the time we get back to the hotel we’re tired, hungry, and exhausted, but everyone gathers in the suite Tyler booked for the party. There’s food, endless champagne, and a keg of beer.

The girls are gathered in a corner of the room, drinking champagne and talking, so I figure this might be my chance to talk to Jonny. He looks up in surprise as I approach.

“Hey.” His face is shuttered.

“Can we talk?”

“What about?”

“Can we go outside?” The suite has a balcony, and he follows me reluctantly.

“What’s on your mind?”

“Look, I know I screwed up, and I’m genuinely sorry for lying.”

“But?” He meets my gaze warily.

“Can we ever move past it? Are you going to hate me forever?”

“I don’t hate you. I told you that earlier. You’ll always be my brother. I just don’t trust you anymore. And it’s going to take time to build that up again.”

“That’s fair. But how can we move forward if you’re not talking to me?”

“We’re talking now, aren’t we?”

“You know what I mean. Don’t be an ass.”

“I’ve always been an ass.”

“I’m being serious, man. I miss you.”

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