Page 53 of Grave Misgivings
I ease back into my bed as I text him back.Ten-thirty.
My stomach flips, my nerves fraying.
It’s beenten years.And inten hoursten years will disappear.
CHAPTER 14
Zeb
Today is the day.
I stare at the road, Fall Out Boy’sDead on Arrivalblaring through my speakers. The hot Arizona air filters through my windows as I try my hardest not to overthink things.
I don’t miss the irony of Patrick Stump telling me this conversation is dead on arrival, but I don’t bother changing the station, because at least the emo station doesn’t playGravedigger, and I know if I’m going to make it through the next week with the Graves, I need to have as clear a head as possible.
What better way to clear my head than to jam out to my favorite songs, right?
When I get to the Morningstar Hotel, I pull up to the gated parking area like Geo told me to do last night. There’s a small group of fans collected out front, and I watch as security ushers them around, dispelling them so I can make it through.
The attendant takes one look at me and my red pickup truck and raises an eyebrow, but he just hands me a ticket and says, “To the left. The buses are starting to arrive.”
I flash him my best smile as I pull through the open gate, turning left. Sure enough, I come to a gigantic lot that is already starting to fill up with other cars, and then I see a bus turn in.
I glance at my clock, noting it’s only ten-fifteen.
I park, but I don’t turn the music off, because honestly, it’s the only thing keeping me from jumping out of my fucking skin right now.
If you would have told me a month ago that I’d be picking Geo Graves up from his hotel and catching up while he was in town, I would not have believed you.
I’m not stupid, and I know this is probably a bad idea, if only because the desire to fall back into old roles is really tempting, but I also feel like maybe, just maybe, I need this.
Katy’s right. I do need to put myself back out there, but maybe I need to confrontmy demonfirst before I do it. Or, more accurately, the man who altered my fucking DNA.
I tap my fingers along to Dashboard Confessional’sVindicated, watching as the buses file in.
I get out of the car, leaning against the front of my truck, arms crossed. I watch them empty, noting who comes out of what bus.
I know I should probably feel star struck, because standing in front of me are some of the biggest acts on the rock scene today. Felix Hart,Heart Killer, Mateo Starr fromMage Of Mercy.
My jaw tenses.
Up until recently, my Geo Graves detox meant I wasn’t lookinghimup, but it’s honestly impossible sometimes to avoid news about a celebrity.
And Mateo Starr wasalwaysa hot topic on social media, especially since his public break up, and as of late, his whirlwind romance with up-and-comingHeart Killerfrontman, Dare Wylde.
I shouldn’t be jealous of the man, I know that, but I can’t help it.
Geo and Mateo’s “bromance” has been documented well enough over the years, and I’ve certainly seen the evidence a time or two, even though I tried to avoid it.
Playing shows together, going out to clubs. Doing everythingIshould have been doing with him.
Mateo stops, looking up and catching my gaze. Dare Wylde jumps out of the bus next to him, pulling his attention, and then I see him.
The last bus unloads, and it’s like time stops.
Geo steps down and onto the pavement, his dark hair blowing in the wind like in those dumb, cheesy romance movies.
He doesn’t see me; instead, he nods at Mateo, and I frown.
