Page 55 of The Last Dance

‘Sure.’ He turns to the rest of the band, still milling around the food table. ‘We’re doing an interview.’ He waves the group to the center of the room where some couches and chairs are set up. ‘One of my guys will tape too. I like to have a copy of things I say in case some reporter tries to get mouthy. It’s happened before.’

I glance to Noah, who rolls his eyes. He likes to have validation that a reporter is lying, is what he’s saying. I am not that reporter. Not now. Not ever. It could ruin me.

I take a seat at the end of the room facing the group as they make themselves comfortable on the couches in the middle of the room. I take a deep breath, looking to Noah for the courage to do this. He grins, his phone in his hands ready to capture anything that’s said.

We went over exactly how I’d do things before we left so we’d both be on the same page and not lose any time trying to figure this all out in the moment. I wrote down a whole slew of questions to ask in case I got tongue-tied. I think, really, we both knew I’d be more nervous than comfortable and unable to completely think. Or only able to overthink. That sounds more like me.

When I glance back I see Karmen has taken a seat next to Matthew, his arm draped over her shoulders. He’s whispering something into her ear as she grins.

Whatis she doing? I know that look. She’s totally flirting with him right in front of me, knowing I’m friends with Henry. How is she not more torn up about her boyfriend going out by himself for a few days to think? It’s not like that’s ever a good thing. I was distraught, and he wasn’t even my boyfriend.

She finally looks at me, scooting a few inches away from him after she probably notices the confusion on my face. I have an interview to do. I have to pull myself together. I take a deep breath and force a smile.

‘First of all, you guys were amazing. I’ve seen a lot of shows over the years and that was so intense. In such a good way.’

‘Thanks.’ The word echoes through the group.

‘You guys have really moved up the charts quickly, going from an opening band for some of the biggest names in alternative music to selling out your own shows within hours. How does that feel?’

‘I think you said it best a moment ago with the word intense.’ Matthew nods, his band following along in agreement.

‘What are your plans next? Anything new in the works we should know about?’

‘All I can say is that we are full of surprises for the upcoming year. Fans definitely won’t be disappointed with the next album.’

‘So, you’re working on it now?’

‘We’ve been working on it for a while now and it’s finally coming to an end. Personally, and I might be a little biased—’ he laughs ‘—I think it’s our best one to date.’

‘I don’t doubt that a bit. I know my copies are ready for a replacement, so they can take a break.’ I laugh nervously at my own joke. A joke that wasn’t even funny. All eyes are on me and I’m the only one laughing.

‘Anyway, tell me what you all enjoy doing when you finally get a night off from being rock stars…’

‘Some of us go home to our families and others pine over the one that got away,’ one of the guitarists answers, rolling his eyes and pointing towards Matthew and Karmen. ‘I think she’s inspired at least half of our new album.’

I look to Karmen and Matthew. The one that got away? Theydated? I knew it. He wrote songs about her – that’s how involved they were. Which, in my eyes, is not a small detail that she forgot to mention when she set this up.

‘You two dated?’ I ask, not having intended for the interview to take this kind of turn.

‘For four and a half years,’ Matthew says with a smile, his hand now planted on her thigh. ‘But I was an idiot and let my dreams get in the way. I put my dream girl on the back burner and now some asshole’s taken my place.’ He shakes his head with an arrogant laugh, his buddies laughing right along with him.

I look around the room at each of them. Henry is the supposed asshole he’s talking about. This isn’t the first conversation about him they’ve had like this. They’re so relaxed in bad-mouthing him. Like it’s something they do daily. The heat building in my chest lifts slowly all the way to my ears. He’snotan asshole. Not even a little bit. I’m clenching my jaw so hard I’m afraid I might actually break a tooth. How dare she make a fool out of him? I force myself to take a breath.

‘You two talk all the time, then? You seem pretty comfortable with each other. As if no time has passed?’ I have no idea what I’m doing but I feel like I need to make sure what I’m hearing is actually what I’m hearing.

‘All the time.’ Matthew nods. ‘I make it a point to see her a couple times a year. Lately, though, I can’t seem to stay away from her. I gotta win her back.’ Karmen jabs him, an almost concerned look on her face now. She knows she’s been caught.

I glance over at Noah, my jaw hanging open in shock. His eyes are wide as he drops the phone to his side. I gotta deal with this the right way. But I’m not sure what that is. Hearing them talk bad about Henry pisses me off like nothing else ever has. I really wanna walk over there and slap her but there is no way I could do that. I can’t let her hurt him like this though. I can’t let her let them talk about him this way. I might be mad at him, but he doesn’t deserve this. He’s the best guy I know.

I toss my notepad onto the coffee table in front of me and stand. ‘Karmen? Can I see you for a second? In the hall?’

The anger inside of me keeps bubbling to the point of me not being able to contain it any longer. Henry wouldn’t let someone hurt me like this. No matter how distant we are.

‘Sure?’ A lackluster smile crosses her face as she stands from her spot next to Matthew.

‘Help me with them, would ya?’ I ask Noah as I make my way to the door.

‘You got it,’ he says, making his way to the center of the room. ‘You guys think I could get a few photos while the girls are gone?’ he asks them, sticking with the plan we had before we got here. If anything was to go wrong, he would get some photos and we would leave. I never thought we’d have to use this part of the plan but here we are.

---