Page 42 of Rock Star

“Wow! Just… wow! Wembley!” Firebird shrilled from where she was standing next to me.

Jake came up to us. “Time to get the show on the road with those sound checks,” he bossed. “Chop. Chop.”

“I need to call a band meeting before the concert,” I said to him with determination in my voice, “There’s something I want to tell you.”

He whirled on me. “Is it important?”

“Yes, it fucking well is.”19After our sound check, I joined in the band meeting. It wasn’t the first one I’d attended…ChiMera had included me in every meeting since Paris. We rode the elevator up to the Royal Box after Jake had gotten the keys from security. It felt weird to be sitting where Princes William and Harry had perched their asses to watch the annual UK equivalent of the Super Bowl—which Brits called American football—but Jake said we’d be away from prying eyes and ears up here.

“What’s so fucking important that it can’t wait?” he muttered. “You should all be relaxing before the show.”

Axel glared at him. “I know that, but there’s something I wanted to say.”

He then told everyone what his mom had revealed.

Shock reverberated around the box. The guys leapt out of their seats, mouths falling open.

“Who the fuck?” Foxy exclaimed, tipping his head to the side.

“Yeah,” Zach echoed. “Any idea who Ella was seeing?”

“My guess is that Kimberly was having a relationship with my sister,” Axel growled.

“Do you have any evidence for that?” Jake’s tone was sharp.

Foxy twirled the drumstick that never left his hand. “Axel said it was a guess, bro’.”

“What reason did Kimberly give for quitting?” Axel shot Jake a stern look.

Jake gave a curt nod. “She said she wanted to work permanently in the theater. Said that touring and living out of a suitcase for months on end wasn’t for her.”

“Seems like a reasonable enough reason to me,” Rhys spoke for the first time.

“We all know how stressful being on the road can be,” Zach added.

Axel grabbed a fistful of his own hair and pulled at it. “It’s fucking killing me not knowing who Ella was with…”

How I wanted to gather him in my arms and soothe him.

Later, Phoenix. Later…

I turned to Jake. “Did Kimberly leave her contact details? Maybe you could get in touch with her…”

“And ask if she was in a relationship with Ella?” He shook his head. “Not sure I can do that. It wouldn’t be professional…”

“If you won’t, I will,” Axel snarled. “Ella was my SISTER.”

Foxy leapt out of his seat and grabbed Axel’s shoulders. “You gotta calm down, mate,” he said softly. “Get yourself into the right mindset for tonight’s gig.” He checked his watch. “The crowd will start arriving soon.”

The guys and I all surrounded Axel in a group hug like we did before we went on stage.

The others were looking up at him… although tall, they were shorter by a couple inches. He looked down and I caught his eye, caught the pain there. I mouthed the words, I love you.

“I suggest we adjourn this meeting until after Glastonbury.” Jake stepped away from us. “All in favor say ‘aye’.”

“Aye,” we repeated resignedly.

What else could we do?

As Foxy said, we needed to prepare for tonight’s concert. Vanilla Sky were due to kick off at six thirty and we’d be on at eight.

We rode down to the ground floor and, with a heavy heart, I went to my allocated dressing area.

The guys had a routine of playing video games in their room whenever we had a sound check before a show, which was only ever the first night, and I would Skype call my parents in mine.

My stomach churned. God, I hoped what just went down wouldn’t throw cold water on tonight’s concert. Axel had been so freaking stoked to play Wembley.

Thea and I were sharing a separate part of the soccer teams’ dressing room to the guys.

Normally, she’d have gotten ready in Vanilla Sky’s bus, but she and her bandmates were Londoners and staying with their families here. After tomorrow’s concert, their contribution to the tour would be over. ChiMera would travel to the Glastonbury Festival on the weekend, our last gig, then fly back to the States.

My contract would end after they’d recorded their next album. I sucked in a breath… I would have to start looking for a band needing a female lead singer after that. Even if they wanted me, I didn’t wanna continue touring and singing backup for ChiMera. I’d achieved recognition now. Katy Perry, Mariah Carey, Sheryl Crow and P!nk had all sung backup before making it on their own. I owed it to myself to at least try.

I stepped into the screened-off area. Thea was still putting on her makeup. She smiled at my reflection in the mirror and lifted her hand. “Guess who’s just gotten engaged?” she said, showing me a beautiful diamond solitaire ring.

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