Page 93 of Sky Full of Stars

“His lobster,” Arch says with a raised brow.

“Fuck off,” I laugh and Nick chuckles too.

I glance at Arch, we need to get his mind off this, or find out what the fuck is going on. Arch decides to call for room service and hang out with Nick while I find Bianca. When I reach the lobby my phone rang.

“Hey, sorry I missed you, we went through this little town with no service, but it was gorgeous, I took some pictures,” Jenna says.

“No problem, Slugger.”

“Everything alright?”

“Not really, we’ve had some shit here.”

“On no, what?”

I explain about the robbery and Jake. She is upset about Jake and tries to reassure me equipment can be replaced. I tell her about Nick’s guitar and she goes quiet. “Shit, that’s tough, babe.”

My lip kicks up slightly, it is the first time she’s given me a nickname. We chat for a while longer until I see Bianca come into the hotel. I tell her I’ll text her later and hang up. Bianca looks harried.

“What’s happening?” I ask.

Bianca turns, surprised to see me. The lobby is quiet, so I haven’t been recognised. She lets out a heavy breath. “It’s bad, there is a lot of stuff missing. The label is not happy. We’re trying to get equipment sent through to London to make sure there are no delays. It should be okay but it’s a hell of a cost.”

“Bianca?”

“The Warwick is gone.”

I close my eyes and pinch the bridge of my nose.

“But the local police have a lead, they might be able to get some of it back.”

“If they took the Warwick, they’ll know how much its worth.”

“It will be hard to sell, it’s known as stolen,” she says. “We’ve put out a press release to try and deter anyone buying any of the stolen goods. The police have arrested the girl.”

“What kind of dumb fuck would let a random chick on the bus?”

“He was showing off. Believe me, he knows he fucked up.”

“He did more than fuck up,” I snap.

“I know, Aidan. I fucking know.”

“We need that guitar back,” I tell her needlessly. “I have no fucking idea what Nick is going to do.” I blow out a long exhale when a hand touches my arm. I turn to Erica, her face full of concern.

“I heard what happened,” she glances from me to Bianca. “It’s awful. How is Nick?”

I grip the bridge of my nose between my thumb and forefinger, so stressed out I initially don’t notice Erica’s hand is still on my arm, and she’s rubbing circles on my bare skin with her thumb. She used to do that when we were together and I was stressed. There is genuine worry in her eyes but I don’t feel any calmer, in fact, what she is doing is making me feel worse. I pull away from her and her hand drops. Her cheeks flush as she looks away, embarrassed. I’m not sure if she is embarrassed she tried to comfort me and got rebuked or knew she shouldn’t have done it. Either way, snapping at her isn’t going to help.

“He’s okay, for now,” I answer her question, but I don’t have the energy to deal with whatever she’s doing. “Bianca, keep me posted, I’ll be upstairs with my band.”

I turn and stomp away. There is only one thing that matters to me, and that is making sure my guys are okay, pulling together and keeping Nick as straight as we could until they find his guitar. I can’t stop worrying about what this will do if we don’t get the guitar back.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

The flight to London is delayed for three hours so we’re late arriving at the hotel. Adam and the others have already left for the venue but he left word at reception there is a car to bring us all. Elle and Kevin are staying in a different hotel so we agree I’ll collect them once I’ve checked in and changed. I’m disappointed I didn’t get to see him beforehand but I’m really excited to see Adam perform.

I’m not sure why the life he leads still surprises me, but his hotel suite is amazing. All white furniture, plush carpets and an honest to God chandelier. It actually has its own separate bedroom. I peek in and see a t-shirt on the bed I imagine he took off to change into his outfit for tonight. There are a pair of sneakers dumped by his side of the bed. I smile to myself thinking of it as his side.

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