Page 68 of Follow the Rhythm
I lay awake, burning, until the sun came up.
Soundcheck was a disaster. I kept drinking to keep the hangover at bay, but with the lack of sleep, everything felt muddled and unreal. Kieran looked tired, too, but also happier than I’d seen him in over a year.
The first song dissolved under my fingertips. The chords were dragging, and the whole thing unraveled. It was entirely my fault, but I blamed it on Grace.
“What the fuck was that?” I snarled at her.
“Oh great, this Ellis is back,” Grace said sarcastically. “I missed our little talks. That was obviously on you, dude.”
The instinct to defend myself reared up. “Remind me which of us wrote the fucking song? It certainly wasn’t you.”
“Chill out. Let’s just run it again, okay?” Grace picked up her sticks, poised to start the song over.
“Why? Have you become less incompetent in the last thirty seconds? Somehow, I doubt it.”
“Ellis. Stop,” Kieran said, warningly. I ignored him.
“You’re nothing,” I spat at her, saying the words I meant for myself. “You’re fucking worthless, like I knew you’d be from the beginning.”
A tiny body barreled out from the wings, and Jess planted herself in front of me like an angry pixie. She pushed me in the chest, emphasizing her words, her face incandescent with rage. “No. You don’t talk to her like that. Don’tevertalk to her like that.”
I withstood her attack. “This doesn’t concern you.”
Grace stood up, her face white. “Leave it, Jess. Let him have his fucking tantrum. Kier, let me know when he’s calmed down.”
Jess looked at me with pure contempt and followed Grace offstage.
I watched them leave, feeling a sick sense of accomplishment. I was dimly aware of the techs and stagehands muttering in the wings.
“You need to sort yourself out, mate,” Kieran said angrily. “That was uncalled for.”
“Sure, take her side. I know where I stand,” I said.
“What are you on about?”
“So, what’s the plan, huh? Did you just want to get your knot wet? Or has your new little Omega changed you?” I pushed into his space, getting in his face. He towered over me.
“Don’t you fucking talk about Jess,” he growled.
“Why not? You know Charlie fucked her first, right?”
A new and horrifying idea occurred to me. Were they going to form a pack? Ride off into the sunset for their happily ever after while I rotted away to nothing?
“STOP,” he barked. My jaw clenched against the words I wanted to hurl at him. “I don’t know what the hell is wrong with you today, but it ends now.”
The hole in my chest was expanding.
“What would Michael think of you choosing some pussy over us? I thought we were supposed to be brothers. But you get a whiff of Omega cunt, and off you go.”
Kieran’s fist slammed into my jaw. Lights popped in my eyes. I wheeled backward and landed heavily on the stage.
“Whoa, whoa, hold on,” Charlie’s voice called. Jess must have summoned him. “Kieran, stop.”
Kieran was advancing on me, his fists clenched.
“Do it. I dare you,” I taunted.
Charlie intervened, putting himself between us, a hand stretched in each direction. “Take a breath, man,” he told Kieran.
