Page 17 of When We Fell Again
“It’s okay.” She sighed. “I’ve got it. You go and get ready.”
Behind me, the doors opened, admitting a group of lads who had clearly been on the beers already. They came up to the table and pushed me out of the way, not realising who I was.
“Got any bargains?” one of them asked. “I mean, as the band has been out of the spotlight for so long, I’d expect a discount.”
In an instant, Lex clicked into her professional persona. “You might expect one, but I’m not giving it to you. Everything’s for sale at the prices shown.” She gestured to the poster tacked up on the board behind her.
“But you must be on commission, right? So anything you sell, you get a cut of.” He gave her a cheeky grin. “Come on, babe. What do you say?”
Lex bit her lip, and I knew she would be fighting with herself about what she wanted to say as opposed to what she should say. I also knew she wouldn’t appreciate being called babe by a nineteen-year-old student.
“Maybe you should come back after the show and see if there’s anything left.” She gave him a tight smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “Then maybe I can think about a discount.”
The guy picked up one of the hoodies and pinched the fabric between his fingers. “Doesn’t seem like good quality stuff anyway, so I might not bother.” He gestured to his mates. “Let’s go and get a few drinks in before the gig starts.”
They went into the main hall, and Lex let out a hard breath. “Prick,” she hissed.
“I hope that was aimed at him.”
She managed to raise a genuine smile. “Of course.” She glanced down at her phone on the table. “You should be backstage by now. The support act is due to start soon.”
“If you need a hand, I’m happy to stay longer.”
“You go. I can handle this.”
I wanted her to tell me to stay, but I knew she wouldn’t. Lex had always been way too independent to admit when she needed someone. Especially me. Admitting defeat, I turned towards the doors. “I’ll see you after, yeah?”
“I’ll have those painkillers ready.”
That wasn’t what I meant, but if that was how she chose to deal with it, her call.
Two girls approached the stand and pointed excitedly at one of ourretrot-shirts. Okay, the ones that were several years old and the management team thought this would be a great opportunity to shift them. Turned out they were right.
I headed towards the backstage area, flashing my VIP pass at the bouncers as I went past, and found the others sitting in a tiny room laughingly dubbed a dressing room.
“Where the hell have you been?” demanded Levi. “We thought you’d…” His comment trailed off, and I knew exactly what he and the others had been thinking. If I went missing before a gig, they made assumptions about who I was with and what I was doing.
But Dexter isn’t here anymore.
“Just checking up on our merch sales.” I held up my hands.
Jude let out a belly laugh. “Checking up on our tour manager more like. And how is the lovely Alexis this evening?”
Reaching for the nearest item, which turned out to be one of Jude’s drumsticks, I tossed it at his head. “Fuck off.”
“You’ve still got it bad for her, haven’t you?”
“I needed some painkillers,” I bluffed. “And she’s the one who has them.”
“Yeah, yeah, whatever,” muttered Jude.
Deflecting, I changed the subject, asking whether they thought we should mix up the set list a bit, maybe throw in a couple of covers. Both ideas were roundly rejected, with Robbie spouting off about how bands who do covers might as well just give up if they can’t come up with anything original. Thank God I wasn’t serious.
That night’s set felt a bit flat because I couldn’t see Lex in the audience. I couldn’t be arsed to go the extra mile as I had been during the previous nights. The crowd was as receptive as other audiences had been, and I suspected we’d get more good feedback. Everything that was going towards keeping us in a contract, on the books at Core Impact Records, and being able to go out and play live music like we loved to. But seriously, I couldn’t let it slip again.
“You coming for a few drinks in the bar?” Levi asked after we’d packed everything away and got changed.
“Need something to loosen me up, and drink isn’t it tonight.” I flexed my left arm and shook my head.
