Page 57 of Ticket to the Stars: Part Two

Deacon with his long, thick black hair pulled back in a low ponytail, its lengths clean for today. He wore a thin leather jacket over a dark gray shirt, the kind of tight black pants that he probably had to wiggle to get into… and if you looked too hard at his crotch, you could definitely see the imprint of his dick.

But I was sure my mom wasn’t looking there. I, on the other hand, had to fight the urge.

And Bishop, who sat on my right, looking quite boyishly charming as he smiled at my mom. His brown hair had recently been cut short, so he still had that semi-dorky look all guys got right after a haircut.

We probably looked like quite the group. I’d bet anything Mom was wondering what we were all doing here on a random Thursday afternoon. Honestly, I probably should’ve told her sooner, but a part of me didn’t know how to do it. How to break the ice that her eldest daughter had three boyfriends.

We were going on tour next week, so I figured break the news to her now. Her first, and then introduce them to Cleo—because, yes, while I had told my nowtwelve-year-old sister that I was indeed dating the members of Black Sacrament, she hadn’t met them yet. I hadn’t told her we were coming today, and I’d told Mom to keep it a secret.

Cleo was going to die when she walked through the front door.

“Yeah,” Bishop was busy answering my mom. “We’re not like that off the stage, though. We’re actually—” He paused to glance at the others. “—pretty nice guys.” Bishop had been worried that my mom would recognize him, but she’d hardly seen him as a kid. Even when I was young, she was always working. It didn’t look like she knew who he was, so we’d let it be.

“That’s good,” my mom said, and then her blue eyes fixated on me, wordlessly asking me what the hell was going on here. Why was I here, dragging my three bandmates along, out of the blue?

Well, I knew what my excuse was, besides the whole boyfriend thing, at least. I took a sip from my pop before saying, “The label, and the guys, want me to stay with them. Permanently join Black Sacrament.” It wasn’t so much news to any of us; we’d known for a while now, but that was, again, something I hadn’t relayed to my mom.

I just… I didn’t know. It felt like something that was better said in person, kind of like,Hey, Mom, these are my three boyfriends.

Mom picked up on what I wasn’t saying: “And you want to stay.” When I nodded, she went on, “That’s so great, honey. I’m glad you found something you love. Haveyou looked into online schools? Maybe you could get your degree while you’re with the band?”

My mom was unfortunately stuck in the old-school mindset when it came to college. She thought everyone who went to college got a good job and were, generally, better off in life. Maybe that was true when she was growing up, maybe she was too busy being pregnant and forced to work to support me and Cleo after our dad up and left, but now…

Well, college didn’t automatically mean anything now. Everyone was struggling, and most people were stuck in jobs they hated. That was one reason why I wanted to stay with Black Sacrament forever; I loved doing it. I loved the guys. I had so much fun being on stage performing. It really was in my blood now, and that rush you got when the audience first cheered and screamed for you… let’s just say the closest thing to it was that first tall hill on a roller coaster.

“Maybe after the Double Feature tour’s finished,” I said.

“It’s too bad you won’t be around for the summer. I’m sure Alexa is dying to hang out with you,” my mom remarked.

“Yeah, I know.” I didn’t have time to see her, but I planned on making time after the tour, taking some time off and going to visit her in the fall, maybe stay a few days with her in her dorm room. I’d seen her around the holidays, and we’d pretty much stayed up all night, catching up.

Talking on the phone versus hanging out in your bedroom just wasn’t the same. It had taken a lot of bribes of candy to get Alexa to keep the secret of my multiple boyfriends from my mom, and she was still dying to know who they were.

I wanted to tell her, but I was still locked in my contract with the record label. I wanted to stay with Black Sacrament, but that was something I’d seek to change. I wanted to be able to tell a few people, like Alexa. If I asked her to keep it a secret, she would. She might ask for sugary bribes every now and then, but something like that? She’d never blab to the world.

A silence settled over the room, and I could practically feel the guys staring at me. All three of them. Inside my chest, my heart pumped wildly. You’d think I was about to give some earth-shattering news or something with how nervous I felt.

It was my mom. She was cool. I just didn’t know how she’d handle the whole multiple boyfriends thing. It wasn’t something many people had experience with.

Sheesh. No wonder Cleo wanted me to break ground first.

“Mom, there’s something I have to tell you,” I started slowly, my eyes on the can of pop in my hands.

My mom groaned and leaned forward, burying her face in her hands. “I knew it.”

My eyes flicked to her. “You… you knew it?” I felt dumb repeating what she’d said, but it was all I could say as Istared at her hunched over figure on the old recliner by the TV. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner, but I—I guess I just didn’t know how to break the news.”

“It’s okay. We can do this. If you’re dead set on staying with the band then I’ll… I’ll find a job in the city. Cleo will hate to move, at first, but I’m sure she’d love to be closer to you—” As my mom rattled off completely random things, the guys and I exchanged glances.

“Uh, Mom, what are you talking about?” I asked.

The way she looked at me would’ve made me cringe if I knew what she was thinking.

And then she said it. She just came out and said it like it wasn’t a big deal and we could handle anything life threw at us: “You’re pregnant.”

My mouth dropped open when she said that, and no words came out of me. My mom thought the only reason I was here was because I was pregnant? Oh, God. Oh, no, no, no, no, no. This was mortifying, embarrassing, and completely wrong.

“Uh,” Priest spoke, “she’s not—”

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