Page 57 of Crash & Burn

Chapter 19

Mia

There is a knock on my door five minutes before 9 a.m. I woke up only an hour ago, surprised with how much I slept. I usually don’t sleep well in beds other than my own, but I woke up completely well-rested this morning, better than I was expecting after a day like yesterday.

I like to go on runs for my main workout, but I never go on runs in areas I’m not familiar with, so I opted for the exercise Iactuallyprefer: yoga. I did a quick flow this morning before showering and getting dressed. I packed up my overnight bag with the unopened bottle of wine and newly-purchased lavender face mask I was hoping to use last night.

Little did I know that I would relax in a completely different way.

Eddie refused to get within three feet of me, but himjust being there wascomforting.

Would I rather him be near me?Yes.

Would that have been thefriendthing to do?No.

I took what I could get, still completely confused on my exact feelings for Eddie, but I know that the amount of time I could spend trying to make sense of the feelings I have is the reason I am in therapy, so I just want to let myselffeel.

Because I can, and I want to.

And it feels so good to say that.

We didn’t talk much, but we didn’t need to. He told me about how he felt on stage, and how proud he was of Mateo, Theo, and Silas. I couldn’t help but notice how he didn’t say himself, but I kept that to myself.

I started to close my eyes when he talked about the small things in some of the songs he wants to change for the next show in three weeks, and that he needed to spend time figuring out the song they want to debut at the last show.

I remember being on the verge of sleep when he asked if I was still awake. I said yes, even though my eyes were closed, and that made him laugh.

His laugh wrapped around me like a blanket, rich and warm, and I remember thinking that he should laugh more.

Just as I was falling asleep, I heard him hum a tune I thought, in my tired state, I knew, but I couldn’t remember what it sounded like when I woke up.

Eddie was gone when I woke up, so I’m sure he left soon after that.

I head over to open the door, not even looking through the peephole to see who it is because Mateo told me he would come get me at 9 a.m. to leave.

“Hey, sunshine.”

So, not Mateo.

“This is for you,” Eddie says, his usual playful demeanor in full effect, handing me a coffee. He’s dressed in the same black crewneck he had on last night with a pair of black jeans and the same backwards hat. “Where are your bags?” He walks past me and heads over to where I am finishing up packing.

“Where’s Mateo?” I ask, my brain finally catching up to what is happening.

“He left with Theo and Silas. He has a meeting this afternoon.”

“With who?” I ask, taking a sip of the coffee Eddie brought me.

“Xander Drake.”

“The tour manager?”

“Yeah, sounds like they’re talking about next summer’s tour.”

Mateo told me about the potential meeting a few days ago, but I haven’t thought of it since. This meeting could be one step closer to the guys being the openers for the two bands that are set to co-headline the tour next summer, two of the bands they opened for last night. The difference would be that they wouldn’t be one of three other openers; they would be the only ones, and that coulddefinitelyget them on the map.

Eddie sees my opened overnight bag and, with the hand not holding his boring black coffee, he reaches in and grabs the purple container sitting on top.

“What’s this?” he asks.

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