Page 9 of Heart of a Rebel

So here we are—the four of us forming a patchwork family of our own. Making music and pretending our pasts haven’t done irreparable damage.

Noah’s phone starts ringing, interrupting Sebastian and Rome’s pissing contest as they both turn to face him.

“What?” Noah grins, pulling it out of his pocket.

“Tell your fucking girlfriend we’re practicing,” Rome says.

Noah ignores the annoyance in his tone and steps away to take the call.

“Maybe we should call it a day.” I pull my guitar off my shoulder. “We all know where this is going.”

There’s no doubt in my mind Kali is already convincing Noah to go hang out with her, which he’ll easily be talked into. Besides, Sebastian and Rome have hit their limit. If we don’t stop now, things will only get worse.

The front door opens, and I swear the energy in the house shifts when Adrian walks in. His dark cinnamon eyes find me first as he turns the corner and strikes me with his powerful presence.

It’s distracting, to say the least.

I might appreciate the fact that Adrian lets us use his home as our own personal studio, but it also means there’s no escape—from him, or whatever it is he sends tumbling in my stomach.

I’m just thankful that in the month we’ve been working on our demo at his house, I haven’t seen much of him. He goes to work at the bar, says hello in passing, hangs with the guys, and lets them throw the occasional party. Other than that, he keeps to himself.

And he avoids me like the plague. Or maybe it’s my imagination.

“Adrian, man.” Rome grins as Adrian makes his way into the room. “What’s good tonight? Eloise just cut us off for the day, so we should party.”

Adrian’s gaze slides in my direction, striking me with a current of energy. I turn away and start messing with my guitar before he senses what it does to me. Or worse, before the guys notice.

“I’m not working tonight,” Adrian says. “We can chill here if you want.”

He’s inviting chaos to his house with his statement, but he already knows it.

“Fuck yeah,” Rome cheers, pulling out his phone and typing away.

All Rome needs is the word, and he’ll have people showing up in a matter of minutes. He hates to be alone, so he has an uncanny ability to summon a party out of thin air. Plus, Rome has the personality of someone who can bring the most random groups of people together. He knows everyone and everything that is happening. He’s the social glue in our band and my exact opposite.

I admire Rome’s ability to mesh into any social situation, but I also know he uses it as a shield. He surrounds himself with distractions, so he doesn’t have to deal with whatever kicks up inside him when he’s alone.

“You guys have fun.” I wrap my purse over my shoulder and get ready to leave.

Sebastian stops me as I try to make my way past him. “Come on, El, it’s not even nine. Stay. Chill. Be cool for once.”

For some reason they think that because I don’t like to spend my nights wasted with a rotating roster of men in my bed, I’m a buzz kill. It’s called self-preservation. Not that I’ll bother trying to explain that to my brother.

“I’m tired.”

“You’re always tired.”

I narrow my eyes at him. “Some of us don’t sleep until two in the afternoon. I’ve been up since seven.”

“Pound a Red Bull then.” Sebastian grabs onto my shoulders and turns me toward him. His lips turn down dramatically and he sags his shoulders. “Please.”

I hold his gaze, trying to break him with the irritation radiating out of me. There’s no use. My brother knows that whatever he asks, I’ll do it because I love him.

“Fine.” I unwrap my purse, knowing I’m giving in too quickly, but I don’t have the energy to care. I look over at Adrian. “Mind if I put my shit in your room?”

Who knows how many people Rome and Sebastian will invite over here? The last thing I need is someone rummaging through my things.

Adrian nods his head and I follow him down the hall as Rome’s phone starts ringing. I hear him assigning people shit to bring—which mostly consists of booze and weed. Tonight is going to be a shit show, but maybe that’s not so bad for once.

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