Page 25 of Broken Melody
Rocco smiles at me, Henley snorts, but Nixon finally speaks, “Um, yeah. Mad lied.”
“Lied?” I ask my brow furrowing in confusion. “What do you mean?”
“We aren’t worried about that at all. We know that no one can really get along with Maddox. Hell, we merely tolerate him. If anything, Maddox will need to be the one kept in line, not you, love. He’s an ass these days. To everyone,” Nixon says with a smile.
“Downright prick at times if you ask me,” Henley adds.
“Hey!” Maddox protests. “That’s not true.”
“Yeah it is, Mad, sorry,” Rocco says and Maddox sighs and looks back at his menu like a sullen baby. It makes me chuckle softly and his eyes meet mine again, and narrow. “As far as your experience, well, we had none either until we were given our initial opportunity. So, that doesn’t concern the rest of us.”
“Well, not that I’m not happy to see you all, but why exactly are we all here then if this was all a ruse to begin with?” I ask shooting an appropriately nasty look at Maddox.
“We found out about your dinner twenty minutes ago. Maddox told us what he’d done, so we invited ourselves,” Henley says with a shrug.
“Yep,” Nixon says. “We want to get to know you better too. And of course save you from having to dine alone with this guy,” he says jerking a finger at Maddox.
“Yep, we want to know everything about you. Tell us your whole life story. We want to know everything,” Rocco says.
“Ugh, I think I’ll pass on that suggestion. Trust me, it’s not that interesting.I’mnot that interesting,” I state nervously yet adamantly.
“Now I know that can’t be true,” Maddox says leaning forward with his elbows on the table looking at me intently.
“Have you always lived here in California?” Rocco asks.
“No,” I reply. “I moved here about three years ago. I grew up in a small town where the minds were even smaller.” I pause take a sip of water. “I outgrew it and wanted to get out,” the lie comes easily and with little regret.
“What about your parents? Are they still living there? Or are they here? What do they think about your singing with us? Will we get to meet them? Any sibs?” Rocco asks.
“Wow. That’s a lot of questions, but I can answer them quickly. No siblings. My parents are dead. I’d love to know what they think, but…” I shrug.
“I’m sorry,” Rocco begins and the other guys start to say something but I shake my head.
“Don’t worry about it.”
“Have they been gone long?” Maddox asks me softly. Looking at him I see his furrowed brow and tenderness in his eyes.
“Since I was twelve. A long time.”
“Do you like it in LA? You must if you haven’t left yet,” Nixon asks and I’m thankful for the change of subject.
“I love it here. The weather is great, the people amusing. My best friend is fantastic, my job pays the bills, and there’s really nothing else to tell. See, I told you, I’m boring.”
“When did you realize that you love to sing?” Maddox asks me.
I can’t help but smile at him. “I don’t ever remember not singing. I remember performing for my parents when I was little. My mom played the piano beautifully and I would sing as she played. Our home was always filled with music, my dad had an album collection he loved, and I remember some serious rock concerts I would perform in front of my bedroom mirror using my hair brush as a microphone.” They laugh and I smile. “Of course, I was amazing. Won all kinds of awards.”
“Awards?” Nixon asks.
I move my hands to the side, pretending to hold an award in them. “First, I’d like to thank God, for giving me the ability to sing, and my parents for their support through the years.” They all laugh and look on in amusement. Maddox is smiling widely and I think to myself that he’s the most beautiful man I’ve ever seen. “I’d like to dedicate and share this award with my idol, Pink, not the color, the singer. She inspires me to be myself, and I feel like it’s my duty to thank her for the song Just Like A Pill that I’ve sung no less than 5,308 times.”
They all laugh again, “Pink, huh?” Henley asks.
“Um, she’s kick ass,” I tell him.
“That she is,” he agrees.
“Remind me to have you sing that song for us some time,” Maddox says with a smile and a wink and it makes my stomach flutter.
