Page 41 of Electric Wounds
Lily scowls but doesn’t dig into his pocket to retrieve it. Enzo looks more disappointed by that, than the thought of a photo of us in our face masks ending up on social media.
A few minutes later, my face starts to tighten as the mask on my skin hardens. “Is this supposed to feel so strange?”
“It’s a clay mask. Once it’s hard, we wash it off,” Lily replies.
“That isn’t what I usually do when something gets hard,” Jax says.
“We all know what you do then,” I say, and he surprises me by laughing.
“This isn’t half bad,” Enzo admits, his face mask softening his usual scowl.
“Love these things,” Dylan says, his mask making him look ridiculous as he grins with cracking clay falling off his cheeks. “Sometimes it’s good to relax.”
Lily laughs, her eyes shining with happiness. “I’m glad you’re all enjoying this. It’s nice to unwind together.”
Once they fully harden, Lily tells us it’s time to rinse off the masks. We crowd into the same bathroom and somehow convince Lily that we need her to wash them off us. Lily laughs, making us sit on the toilet one by one while she uses a warm washcloth to remove the clay from each of us. We return to the living room just in time to hear a knock on the door.
“Room service, perfect timing,” Dylan states as he moves to the door.
“I’m starving,” I agree.
We devour the food—juicy burgers, crispy fries, salads, and desserts. The camaraderie feels stronger, the tension from earlier gone. The jokes flow freely, the stories from past tours coming out.
“Remember that time in Tokyo?” I ask, leaning back contentedly. “At that sushi place.”
Dylan laughs. “Yeah, and how Enzo tried to impress the chef with his terrible Japanese?”
“I was close!” Enzo protests, though a grin creeps onto his face.
“You ordered us one-hundred uncooked Octopus,” Jax interjects.
Lily shakes her head, laughing. “Oh my god. How?”
Jax catches my eye across the room, and for a moment, the connection between us feels like it did in the early days of the band. I nod and he nods back. Things are good. Lily makes things good.
As the meal winds down, Lily picks a cheesy romantic comedy to watch. We settle into the plush sofas, the soft glow of the TV casting a warm light over the room. The film is absurd, but it’s exactly what we need—light and funny, no pressure.
“This is perfect,” Lily says softly, her voice content. “I’m glad we did this.”
“Me too,” Jax agrees, his tone uncharacteristically soft. “It’s good to just be together, no stress.”
Even Enzo seems more at ease now, laughing at the ridiculous jokes on-screen. As the movie plays, I glance around the room. The bond between us feels stronger than ever. For the first time in a long while, there’s no pressure, no worries about the tour or the future. Just us, together.
When the credits roll, we sit in comfortable silence. The room feels peaceful, the night exactly what we all needed.
“Thanks for suggesting this, Lily,” I say sincerely. “We needed it.”
She smiles, her eyes warm. “I’m just glad we could all relax and have some fun.”
TWENTY-SIX
CHOOSING BEDS
Lily
The room falls into a comfortable silence after the movie ends, but no one makes a move to leave. The atmosphere is peaceful, almost as if we’re all savoring this rare moment of calm. I sit quietly, feeling a sense of contentment wash over me. The band seems to be reconnecting, and there’s a renewed hope for their future together. But as my thoughts drift, I realize I have no idea where I’m supposed to sleep tonight. We never claimed the rooms, just threw our luggage around haphazardly.
Looking around the suite, there are only three rooms. I don’t want to impose or create any awkward tension, but I also don’t want to make things complicated. Eventually, we all need to talk about our situation, but I’m not ready for that talk today.
