Page 32 of The Masks We Wear

“Mom’s here?” He asks Lucy and she nods. “Where is she?”

Lucy shrugs, “Talking to the lady with the suit and high heels.”

“Selene,” Harvey laughs.

Lucy wraps her arms around his neck and the sight of them together is so wholesome. I feel a stab of envy at how he lets hisguard down with her but I know it isn’t fair of me to feel that way. I’m just his client, she’s his little sister.

Harvey and Lucy talk quietly, and I can’t quite make out what they’re saying but I get distracted as Ivory and Aria enter the room and take Harvey in. The puzzled expressions on their faces reveal a mirror of my thoughts. How is Harvey, asshole, Taylor, smiling and being loving towards a child? I asked myself when I first saw them together, it’s very odd to see this tender side of him.

Ivory wears a light pink chain bralette with a matching skirt, revealing plenty of skin. Her hair has recently been touched up with its baby pink ombre coloring and she has glitter and rhinestones on her eyes, but she doesn’t need all of it to sparkle on stage, her personality shines all on its own.

Aria, never a fan of skirts, wears an electric blue pair of leather shorts that leave a small amount of her rear on display, and she completes the look with a matching blue bralette top and fishnets with rhinestones. All of it ties in perfectly with the baby blue streaks in her hair. Her makeup is simple, the way she likes it.

Lucy’s focus homes in on us and she squirms out of Harvey’s grip and runs over to us. “I can’t believe I’m really here.” She exclaims.

I ruffle her hair, “Better believe it, because you are.”

Aria smirks, “And not only that, but you’re backstage while we perform. You get the best seat in the house, Kid.”

Lucy shrieks in excitement and jumps up and down. I can’t help but grin at her excitement. She’s excited because ofus. It feels comforting to know that I have at least one loyal fan that I don’t have to worry about being irrelevant to. I wish they were all like Lucy. She’s shorter than I am, so I easily drape my arm over her shoulders and pull her into me. “Harvey, take a picture of all of us for Lucy.”

He nods, his face not revealing any emotion, as he slides his phone out and snaps a few pictures of us. We all pose and make different faces, so Lucy has as many photos to look at as she wants later on.

Selene pops her head in and knocks on the door, “Show time in five.”

My chest deflates. Selene walks away and Ivory and Aria nod their heads at me to follow them as they start for the stage. “I’ll be out in a minute,” I say awkwardly.

They nod and wait in the hallway for me. Lucy looks up at me expectantly and I try to force a smile for her, not wanting to ruin her experience in any way. Harvey walks closer to us and looks down at Lucy, “Luce, can you wait in the hall with Ivory and Aria for a minute so I can talk to Brody?”

Lucy looks up at me and then at her big brother and the wide, devilish grin on her face says that she knows something but whatever it is, I don’t know it. “Okay,” she agrees as she skips out of the room, leaving me alone with Harvey.

“Thank you for doing that for her. This means a lot to her and she won’t forget it,” he thanks me.

I shrug, “I didn’t just do it for Lucy.”

He exhales, “Brody-”

I cut him off, “It’s not like that. I just felt like you’d stop being such a dick if she was around. I thought you could use some cheering up.” I ramble as I reach for a water bottle to occupy my hands and my eyes. “It was selfish really, I was just trying to butter you up so you’d be nicer to me, that’s all,” I lie as I sip the water.

He gives me a look like he doesn’t believe a word that came out of my mouth. “Right.”

“Anyway, I should go.” I put the cap back on the water and turn to leave but he grabs my arm, stopping me. I feel electricity jolt through my body and my veins from where he touchesme. I wish my body didn’t react to him this way, but it feels unstoppable.

“Wait,” he says under his breath.

I look up at him expectantly, but I’m not sure what I expect him to say. He already made his feelings towards me very clear, so what could this be? “Yes?”

Harvey tries to speak, his mouth opens, but words don’t come out. He closes his mouth and seems to reevaluate his word choice and then he tries again, looking defeated. “Thank you. For her and for me.” Is all he says. Just five words but they mean something else entirely when they come out of his mouth.

I’m so stunned by the raw emotion on his face that I just nod, no witty responses prepared on the fly. He lets go of my arm and I turn and leave the room, finding the others in the hallway. Together, we make our way to the stage, Lucy and Harvey behind us and with every step I take closer to the fans who’ll be watching my every move, my legs feel like they’re getting heavier and heavier. My heart thuds so loudly it sounds like its own drum, and my breaths become rapid. With every second I get closer to the stage, it feels like I’m going down a slippery slope.

chapter 16

Harvey

I’ve always hated music.I find it pointless to sit and listen to a song when you could be using that time to listen to a podcast meant to teach you something and better you or read a book on something of significance. That was my firm stance on the subject before I met Brody Drake. She’s proven to be dangerous to me in many ways, but now she’s adding another reason to my growing stack of reasons I keep in my head. I still hate music, don’t get me wrong, but I hate it significantly less now, or I hate it only when she isn’t making it. There’s just something about the way she plays and the sounds she creates, they feel like a small glimpse into the heart of the woman that tries so hard to be something she isn’t for other people.

The entire time she was on stage, I stood completely captivated backstage with a perfect view and Lucy right beside me, singing the lyrics with Brody and bobbing her head to the music. My mother is floating around somewhere, probably trying to find a rich boyfriend, leaving me all alone with Lucy which I have no issue with. I’ve missed my little sister so much, texting her and calling her hasn’t been enough. Warmth spreads in my chest when I remember that Brody is responsible for bringing Lucy here, to me. We both know the reason she told me she did this was a lie. She did this with warm intentions even if she likes to lie and pretend she did it selfishly and that makes me question my wavering emotions over her all over again. Every time I think I have a grip on myself and that I can successfully build a wall between us and shut her out, she doessomething like this to tear the wall down and leave me exposed and vulnerable, two emotions and feelings Ineverwant to face because they make me feel like I’m not in control and Ihaveto be in control. It’s non-negotiable.

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