Page 49 of The Heartbreakers
It took a bit for me to find the file, but after pulling it up, I passed my laptop to Alec. He pulled out the chair and sat down next to me, and then took his time sifting through the different photos. When he finished, he gave a satisfied nod and handed my computer back without a word.
I waited to see if he was going to say anything, and when he didn’t, I asked, “So…why’d you want to see those?”
“Because I can tell you’re nervous,” he said, as if those few words were explanation enough. I frowned at him, unsure of what he was saying, so he continued, “I don’t know if it’s because you’re worried about impressing Paul or our fans, but honestly, you could take a picture of us staring at a wall and everyone would love it. The reason I wanted to see something else, something not related to the band, was to make sure I was right. This stuff here,” he said, pointing at the screen, “confirms that. You’re good at this, Stella. If you just trust yourself, this job is going to be a piece of cake. I promise.”
It was the longest speech I’d ever heard Alec give. And as for the cake part? I really hoped he was right.
• • •
He might not be the most social person in the world, but Alec was a sweetheart. After our conversation, he took me out to lunch to cheer me up. At first I feared it would be awkward because I didn’t know what to talk to him about, but one on one, he was surprisingly good at holding a conversation.
As soon as we finished, Alec had to meet the rest of the band to rehearse for their show tomorrow night, and to keep my thoughts from wandering back to my nerves, I decided to tag along. When we arrived at the arena, security showed us into the main floor. What was normally a basketball court had been converted into a huge theater, with a stage set up at the far end of the room. The space looked strangely empty without anyone filling the thousands of seats.
“Everyone should be over by the stage,” Alec told me as we crossed the large room.
I spotted JJ first. He was already standing onstage, pacing back and forth, and twirling his drumsticks in both hands. Alec waved, and when JJ saw us, his eyes went big.
“Hey, Stella,” he called out. His voice was loud. Too loud. “I didn’t know you were coming to watch our rehearsal.”
“I didn’t have anything else to do so—” I stopped midsentence when I saw Oliver.
He was leaning against the side of the stage and some girl was pressed up against him, her arms wrapped around his neck, her fingers buried in his wavy brown hair.
“Oh, Ollie,” the girl said and giggled.
I forced myself to look away. My mouth was hanging wide open, the shock on my face clearly displayed for Alec and JJ to see, but I didn’t even care because my brain was still trying to register what I’d just seen. Oliver wasn’t kissing her, but they looked cozy enough to make me wonder if they already had. It seemed the magazine article Cara had read about him was true—Oliver Perry was a player.
I knew I had no right to feel hurt, but there was a biting ache in my stomach, so I pushed my fist against it, trying to force the pain away. Oliver was free to kiss whomever he wanted, especially considering that I’d told him I only wanted to be friends, but for some reason a tiny painful feeling of betrayal wrapped itself around my heart.
What I should have felt was relief—if I’d let things carry on between us, I could have ended up with a hurting heart—but all I wanted to do was kick myself for loving that adorable, yet clearly deceitful smile. I bet it was his favorite weapon of choice. One small upward tweak of the lips, and he could have any girl—even a sensible one that didn’t like his shitty music.
JJ clearly saw the look on my face because he chucked one of his drumsticks in Oliver’s direction. “Hey, idiot!” The stick missed his head by inches and ricocheted off the stage with a resounding clatter.
“What the hell?” Oliver demanded, looking up from the girl. Alec cleared his throat and raised his eyebrows at Oliver before glancing at me. A look of pure confusion crossed his face when he saw me. I couldn’t tell if it was because he didn’t get why he was being interrupted or if he was surprised to see me standing here. I hoped the second.
The room was silent as we stared at each other, both of us waiting for the other one to make a move. Finally he pushed the girl away from him and took a step forward. He opened his mouth like he was going to say something, but I didn’t want to hear whatever he thought would make this entire situation less uncomfortable.
“Hey, Oliver,” I said cheerfully, forcing a smile on my face and hoping he wouldn’t pick up on how upset I was. My stomach turned like I had eaten something rotten as I said his name. All I wanted to do was scream. At him. At the stupid girl standing next to him. At myself.
How could I be so stupid? I had known from the moment Oliver tricked Drew and me that he was trouble. He was the lead singer of America’s most popular boy band, for Christ’s sake! How could he not be a heartbreaker?
“Stella—um, hi,” he started to say, but then Courtney appeared from backstage, Xander trailing behind her.
“Is Alec here?” she asked, looking around the room, and then she spotted him. “Perfect. Let’s get started, boys.”
• • •
Cara picked up on the first ring.
“Stella! Oh my God. I’m so glad you called,” she blurted out before I even had a chance to say hi. “How’s Miami? Wait, are you even in Miami anymore? What about your new job? Is it everything you thought it would be? Are you having fun? And ooohh! How are things going with Oliver?”
I hadn’t wanted to call Cara yet—I mean, I did, I desperately did, but I hadn’t even lasted four days before needing to talk to her. My plan was to call home on Monday after I had a full week of work under my belt in hopes that, by then, my homesickness would be curbed. But seeing Oliver with someone else had the opposite effect. It messed with my head, and now there was a dull aching in my heart for home.
“God,” I said, half laughing, half crying. “It’s so good to hear your voice.” I didn’t even care that Cara had bombarded me with questions the instant she picked up.
“You sound upset,” she said, her voice getting soft. “Are you okay? You’re not thinking about coming home, are you?”
“Not really,” I said quickly, even though the thought had crossed my mind. “I just feel so stupid.”
