Page 93 of For Wrath and Redemption
“He said he was broke.”
Jonah snorts. “Cheap wanker.”
I roll my eyes at Jonah’s comment, then look at Brynn.
“Most of the books here are under five pounds. Fifty-five pounds is going to get you a lot of books.”
Brynn bounces her eyebrows. “Yeah, but then we’re going to get ice cream and go souvenir shopping. I want one of those little stuffed Highland cows.”
Just then, the doors to the large room open and people start filing in.
“Let’s go, kid. We’ll get you some books.”
When Jonah removes his arm from my shoulders, I have to stop myself from frowning. Instead, I smile as he and Brynn walk toward the non-fiction set of tables and leave me with Mabel.
“Thanks for inviting us,” Mabel says, pulling my attention once again from Jonah’s retreating back.
“Yeah, of course. I’m glad you came. I think it’s good for...well...”
I shrug, not knowing how to explain it, but Mabel nods.
“Yeah, me too.”
Jonah needs to remember that he has people who love him. People who have always been there for him and who care about the person he is behind the rock star persona. He needs to remember that he has, at the very least, three people who have not and will not abandon him. I’m going to do everything I can to remind him.
As more and more people filter into the room, I sink quietly into the shadows. Instead of helping, I track Jonah and take photos. He signs a few autographs and takes some pictures, but for the majority of our time at the book sale, he talks to people about books. He helps them findbooks. He gives book recommendations. At one point, while speaking with an older man about a classic fiction novel, I get to witness Jonah actually smile and laugh. A real smile. A genuine laugh.
For a moment, I’m jealous of the older man. I want those smiles from Jonah. I want to draw those laughs from him. But then I’m overwhelmed by a sense of gratitude. This is exactly what Jonah needed. A day in his element with kind, like-minded, normal people. Not fans. Not other celebrities. Just plain, everyday, regular people.
It’s amazing to watch, actually. I knew there was charisma hiding underneath all that anger, but I never could have guessed it was this powerful.
He’s enchanting, is what he is. It’s the only word I can think to describe it. Jonah Hendrix is fucking enchanting, and I’ve been enchanted.
“Ten years ago, when we were just starting out, this was him.”
I look over to find that Mabel has joined me. I nod, then return to Jonah.
“What changed?”
I see her shrug in my periphery.
“He’s always been a nurturer. He looked out for all of us. But he also has this deep, powerful sense of empathy, and I think...” She sighs. When I look at her, she’s watching Jonah with her eyes narrowed. “I think it was too much for him. I think he broke when he learned that he can’t save everyone. Rather than feel the disappointment, he just...turned off.”
“I see that.”
“Yeah.”
“I also get the feeling he was a perfectionist.”
Mabel laughs. “He still is, actually. I mean, I was surprised when I learned he’d dropped out of Yale, but it makes sense now. Yale was to please his dad, and his dad, well?—”
“Is an asshole?”
“Yep. A big, hairy asshole. Honestly, if I was that man’s kid, I’d have dropped out of college just to piss him off, too. He’s a prick.” I nod in agreement, and then she shakes her head. “But the music? Jo’s meticulous about the music. It’s the only thing he’s never wavered on. Relationships. Himself. Everything else, he’s let go. The music? Never.”
The statement hits me right in the chest.
“Because it’s the only thing he can control,” I whisper. I get it. I understand it so viscerally that I have to breathe through the sudden sting of tears. “No wonder this tour is so important to him. Why he doesn’t want to violate the morality clause because he would lose the music as he knows it.”
