Page 27 of Dream Chaser
“Oh, we could,” Lexi deadpans, “but then it becomes about your body, not your voice. Which is exactly why I went classical.Because I didn’t want anyone saying I only made it because of my last name.”
I nod. It’s a sore spot, even if she jokes. Her dad is a legit rock god. If she’d gone mainstream, the comparisons would’ve been nonstop.
“I didn’t want to be a watered-down version of him,” she says softly. “So I chose something no one expected. But …” She sighs again, a little more honest this time. “Voice is still my first love. And now I’m learning how to tell stories with instruments, evoke feeling without lyrics. That’s the goal.”
“You’re gonna wreck the whole world when you figure that out,” London says from the back.
Lexi grins. “I intend to.”
The road ahead is a mess. Snow’s turned to slush, and trucks are carving trenches into the lanes. My jaw is tight, hands at ten and two like I’m guiding a spaceship.
“I’ll drive after the next gas station,” Riley offers.
“No, I got it.”
“She doesn’t trust us,” Lexi stage-whispers back to her. “We’re too reckless.”
“You have three speeding tickets,” London calls her out.
“Two!” Lexi corrects. “One of those was totally situational.”
I force myself not to be the control freak I can be behind the wheel and tell Ry, “First pee break, and it’s yours.”
We rotate drivers at every rest stop, where we also completely ignore the fact we all brought snacks and grab more. Harper’s a slow and steady driver. London is so alert to everything around her, which you’d think would be a comfort—it’s the opposite. Terrifying but efficient. Mags drives like she’s in aFast & Furiousspin-off. This isn’t surprising. At her father’s family farm, they host an annual dirt bike race that has helicopters on standby to airlift riders when they inevitably break a bone. Lexi stays in shot gun, playing DJ, which givesher the ability to catch up with everyone. She hasn’t been home since last summer. They spent the summer in London. Syd is content not driving. She doesn’t say why, and we don’t ask, but it’s possible she’s still working through what that fucking ex of hers did. Hell, I’m still trying to get over just hearing about what happened, and that was after I knew they were all okay.
We’ve stopped to eat like six times. Snacks at every stop; full-on meals at two.
“Anyone notice there’s been a strange man parked one car behind us for like three consecutive stations?” I ask.
“Probably one of the commandos.” Mags shrugs, unbothered.
“Or one of our dads,” Harper adds.
“Or a fanboy trying to get a glimpse of Lexi’s cheekbone contour,” London teases.
Lexi beams. “Let him look. This is art.”
It’s not until the fourth hour of the drive, somewhere outside Scranton, that we all get weirdly quiet. The conversation turns reflective.
Lo’s staring out the window when Lexi asks, “So, you and Kolby?”
Lo smiles.
London snorts. “I told Harper a hundred times that you’re ‘He’s grumpy and judgy and?—”
“Hot?” Harper offers.
London laughs. “Lo, your excuses were weak as hell.”
“I also said he was insufferable. And also married.” Lo chucks a cheese puff at her head.
“He was separated.” I laugh.
“And you and Hart?” Lexi asks Ry, who gushes about how Hudson took care of her through the worst morning sickness, even when she tried to act like she didn’t need anyone.
“He’s patient,” she says. “And that’s the scariest part. Because I’ve never let myself depend on someone like that before.”
“I used to think I’d always be the one fixing people,” Sydney chimes in. “And then Boone went and got shot saving me, yet was still worried about a few scratches and cuts I had.”
