Page 64 of #Moonstruck

What had he meant? Maybe I should, too? Angie knew I adored her.

Then Fitz was back with a worried-looking Ryan in tow. I realized what Fox had meant. That I should tell Ryan about my inexplicable feelings. Feelings he probably didn’t want to hear about.

Was I that obvious? Had everyone figured it out? Was that why Diego was cold and Fox mentioned it so casually?

And why Ryan stayed away from me?

“Are you okay?” he asked.

“I can handle a few eggs. Although I prefer my eggs inside a cake. I also would have preferred them to throw cake at me. It wouldn’t have hurt as much.”

That made him laugh. Cole returned with a washcloth, which Ryan took from him. Then he sponged at the egg on my head. “Never stop surprising me, Maisy Harrison.” His hand moved to where I’d been struck in the chest, and at the last second, he handed me the towel, as if realizing what he’d almost done.

Fox returned with a stricken look. “Maisy, I’m so sorry.”

It took a second to register that Fox held the broken pieces of my Dreadnought in his hands. I reached for it, unable to comprehend that my favorite guitar was now in pieces.

Everybody’s voices sounded far away, like echoes from the other end of a cave. It seemed like Ryan was saying he was sorry. So, so sorry. Tears filled my eyes, making it impossible to see. My throat tightened as I ran my fingers along the surface. It couldn’t be fixed. Someone had totally destroyed it.

“I want more security, and I want you to press charges against everyone who did this!” Ryan yelled. Why did he even care? He’d made it more than obvious over the last few days that I didn’t matter to him.

He told Fox to take me back to the bus, and he started arguing with Piper over canceling the show completely.

“It’s not fair to penalize thousands of fans for the actions of a few,” she said.

Ryan yelled something back, but I cradled my guitar in my arms and let Fox lead me. I still had my Gibson Les Paul, but the Dreadnought had been a part of me and my music for so long. It was like somebody had just ripped off my arm.

“I’m really sorry, Maisy. I have Larry posted at the door. Let me know if you need anything.” Fox gave me one last sympathetic look and returned to the venue.

I put what was left of my guitar on my bed, not sure what else I should do. I couldn’t bear the thought of just putting it in a trash can. I went into the bathroom and used some shampoo and bottled water to wash the egg out of my hair over the sink. I changed my clothes and lay down in my bunk. I tugged at the loose metal strings on the Dreadnought and felt overcome with the desire to sob again.

First things with Ryan fell apart, and now someone had destroyed my guitar. The eggs I could get over. That damage was already gone. But this? This was permanent.

Was my situation with Ryan permanently changed, too?

I would not lie here and cry about it. I wouldn’t.

Even though it was still early evening, I reached into my bag and pulled out the medical kit I’d packed. I took an over-the-counter sleeping pill, wanting this day to be over.

Tomorrow had to be better.

The next day didn’t start out great, either. I woke up, got out of my bunk, and used the bathroom. There was a moment when I forgot what some crazed Luna-tic had done to my Dreadnought. When I saw the mangled pieces at the foot of my bed, it all came rushing back.

Fitz leaned out of the top bunk to sleepily tell me we were almost to Missoula, Montana.

I went into the lounge since I was starving, and I found Cole drawing on a sleeping Ryan De Luna with a permanent marker.

“What are you doing?” I hissed.

Cole had the nerve to look surprised. “Piper said it’s a rule that if you fall asleep in a common area, you get a Sharpie to the face.”

“Not Ryan! He is going to be pissed. Weren’t you the one lecturing me about not getting us fired?”

“This is totally different,” he said in a loud whisper.

“Why?”

“Because this is funny.” He rolled his eyes at my outrage. “We’re staying at a hotel tonight. We aren’t performing until tomorrow. That’s plenty of time to clean it off.”

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