Page 31 of The Masks We Wear

Brody

I FOLLOW SELENE DOWNthe hallway, passing event staff as we go. One staff member hands me my sticks as I walk and I tuck them into my back pocket. Selene looks at me over her shoulder, “Are you sure this is a good idea?”

I nod, “Yes.”

Selene grins like the Cheshire cat. “It’s a very nice thing to do. I’m proud of you.”

I give her a small smile. “Thanks.”

She takes a turn and I follow her. Immediately I find two burly security guards, blocking two women from entering. Selene gestures for them to let the girls in and she does. I take in the older woman first. She’s an inch or two taller than me with jet-black, shoulder length hair, curled loosely and she wears a pair of jeans and a Satan’s Angels t-shirt. Her eyes go wide when she spots me and she places a hand over her mouth in shock. The smaller woman, or girl rather, is about five inches shorter than me with olive skin and chocolate colored hair. She squeals when she sees me and bounces up and down on her feet. “Ohmygod! Ohmygod! Ohmygod!” She cries excitedly. She wears a pair ofdenim shorts with a t-shirt. On the t-shirt is a graphic of me at my drum set.

I grin when I see it. “Nice shirt.”

She blushes and rushes towards me, throwing her arms around my waist and hugging me. I hug her back and her mother apologizes on her behalf for her excitement. I wave her off and smile down at the girl, she looks up at me with the widest, toothiest grin. “You must be Lucy. It’s nice to meet you. Your brother talks so much about you.”

Lucy’s big green eyes go wide, “He does?”

I nod. “Yep.” I whisper in her ear so her mom can’t hear, “I think you may be his favorite person. He’s a grump.”

Lucy laughs, her freckled cheeks turning red. “He’s always mad about something. Mom used to tell him when he was little that his face would freeze if he kept frowning.”

I can’t help but chuckle at the thought of a young Harvey. Lucy releases me and I grab her hand, looking up at her and Harvey’s mother, “It’s nice to meet you Mrs. Taylor. Do you mind if I steal Lucy for a bit?”

She waves me off, “Sure, have fun! And you can call me Melissa, I’m not married, and Harvey and I don’t share the same last name.”

I nod, “Right. Thanks, Melissa. I’ll bring her back soon.”

Selene and Melissa engage in a conversation of some sort while I lead Lucy down the hallway we came from. She asks me questions about myself as we walk and I answer them all for her. I bring her to both Ivory’s and Aria’s dressing rooms for photos and meet and greets before I steal her away again and bring her to my dressing room. I stop right outside the door and peer inside, finding Harvey on his phone, not typing but making a curious face.

Lucy whispers, “He’s been texting me for hours and I haven’t answered. I didn’t want to ruin the surprise.”

I whisper back, “That’s probably why he looks constipated. I’m gonna tell him I have a surprise for him and then you can come in.”

She nods and I wink at her before I step inside. “Hey,” I greet him.

Harvey looks up and nods before looking back down at his phone, his brows creasing.

“My guests came.”

He grunts in acknowledgement.

I roll my eyes, “Hello?”

He looks up, “I heard you.”

“I said my guests came.”

He flares his nostrils in annoyance. “And I said I heard you, what else do you want?”

I frown. “Well, I wanted to do something nice but since you’re being a dick, I don’t care anymore.” I call to the door. “You can come in,” I yell to Lucy.

She peeks her little head inside and Harvey’s eyes go wide with shock. She sprints into the room towards him and he jumps off the couch to catch her. “What are you doing here?” He says, a warm smile on his face as he holds her to him. It’s amazing how he can go from being the world’s biggest dickhead to being so kind and loving with a child.

Lucy squeals, “Brody invited me and Mom!”

Harvey’s eyes widen even further, and he glances at me. I don’t say anything, still annoyed with his attitude. “You did that?”

I raise a brow and nod.

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