Page 78 of Don't Love the Boy Next Door
“Why is everyone so quiet?” Ethan asks as he swings his bass over his shoulder.
“My roommates suck,” Cody says.
“Really? I thought they were cool guys.”
“Yeah, not so much.” He hits his drumsticks. “And a one, two, three!”
Katie grips the mic stand tightly, not moving around like she always does. Her shoulders are still hunched and her voice is a little mousy, but she sounds amazing. I catch Ethan’s brows dip as he watches our lead singer. Even Cody notices that something’s off.
And me? Well, I suck worse than ever. I keep playing the wrong chords. Ofmyown song.
Ethan holds up his hand, and we stop. “Why aren’t we in sync? Let’s take it from the top again.”
Katie sounds a little more confident, but I’m a total wreck. I wince every time I make a mistake.
Ethan holds up his hand and looks at me. “You good, bro?”
I glance at Katie, whose gaze is on me. But she quickly looks away like her eyes got burned. I swallow hard, trying to ignore the ache in my chest, and put on a fake smile. “Yeah, I’m good.”
“The concert isnextFriday,” he reminds me, as if I don’t know. “We can’t afford to make mistakes.”
“Got it.”
I’m a little better this time, but nowhere where I’m supposed to be. I’m just too messed up about the whole thing. I hurt Katie, and I hate myself for it.Loathemyself. But it’s for the best. Still, I don’t know how I’ll live with myself.
“Eric!” Ethan shouts.
“Sorry. I got it.”
“I get you’re nervous for the concert,” he says. “I am, too. But we’ve got this. It’ll be just like performing at our gigs. Just to a wider audience.”
I nod like he understands what I’m going through. I wish the only thing on my mind was nerves for the concert. Not the weight of the pain I caused the most amazing person on the planet.
“It’ll be epic,” Ethan continues. “So let’s have fun and not stress.”
“I’m going to the bathroom,” Katie mutters before walking away.
Squeezing my eyes shut, I let out a breath. I’ve never felt as rotten as I do now.
I play the song, forcing my fingers to hit the right chords. Now that Katie isn’t in the room, I don’t make as many mistakes. But as soon as she’s back at the mic stand with her shoulders even saggier, I make even more mistakes than before.
Cody groans. “We’ll never be ready in time. We’ll make fools of ourselves.”
“We got this,” Ethan assures him. “We just need to practice and focus.” He glances at me with raised brows.
“I’ll be ready in time for the concert,” I promise, though I’m not really sure. I don’t think my heart will ever heal from this.
“Let’s call it a night and pick this up tomorrow. Eric, squeeze in as much practice as you can.”
Katie mumbles goodbye and sprints out of the basement faster than a bullet. Just as I swing my guitar over my head, my brother storms over to me. “What the heck is up with you?” he demands.
“What?”
“I know you, bro. You haven’t played this bad since…I don’t know. Since we were six?”
I shrug. “It’s just nerves like you said,” I lie. “I’ll be ready for the concert.”
Ethan examines me closely. “No, Iknowsomething’s up. What’s going on?”
