Page 4 of The Burdens We Share
I stare, wide-eyed, at the flower as a chill creeps down my spine. It has the same baby pink petals I’ve come to be so familiar with these last months. I’ve kept this to myself since it started, but for months I’ve been finding these roses in strange places. The first was at the studio, then another at a photoshoot, and another at the Muse Awards. It all started a couple of days after Aria was in the hospital. There have never been any notes attached to the roses so I’ve never been sure what to make of them. I’d be lying if I said that finding them in these personal locations didn’t freak me out a little, but I haven’t been threatened in any way, so how serious can it be.
I mean, yeah it’s creepy that I’ve found them in my personal dressing rooms, but maybe it’s an act of kindness from an admirer or something. Usually, when I get them, I just leave them where I found them, so I do the same now. I stare at the flower for a second longer than I should. My skin crawls, and a chill prickles across my shoulders. This doesn’t feel like a gift. It feels like a warning. I rush out of the dressing room and my phone starts to ring from inside my bag. I groan as I reach into itand rummage around until my hand closes around my phone.
I am manifesting that the caller is not Nara. I hold my breath as I flip the screen over and exhale in relief when I see Nate’s name on the screen. Nate is Aria’s boyfriend Slater’s bandmate in Thunderstrike. Nate plays bass too and when Aria and Slater had to do all that publicity shit where they pretended to be together to distract the media from the fact that they had a leaked sex tape, we had to spend quite a bit of time with Slater’s band, or Sly, as everyone calls him. The fake relationship that Aria and Sly had worked in turning their bad press around, but shit only went downhill after, cue Rogan and his drugging and kidnapping my best friend. Asshole.
In the time we had to spend with Thunderstrike, Nate and I hit it off pretty well and actually became good friends. Our friendship is purely platonic and I’d consider him to be one of my best friends. We flirt with each other, but in the same way the girls and I flirt and tease each other. It isn’t a romantic thing, it’s a close friend thing.
I accept his call and bring my phone to my ear, “Hello?”
I hear loud music and immediately know Nate is at the club, “Satan’s Baby! I just saw the pics from the show. You look hot,” he compliments in his booming voice.
I immediately frown at the mention of the show and my appearance. Could he see what Nara saw and just be saying that to not hurt my feelings? “Thanks, Nate.” I try to make my voice sound chipper, but the effort crashes and burns, turning to dust just like all the self confidence I had.
There’s a pause at the other end before his tone becomes more serious, “Are you okay?”
I start walking again, desperate to get to my car and home, holding my phone to my ear the entire time. “Yeah, I’m good,” I lie.
I can hear the frown in his voice, “I don’t believe you, butwe’re gonna pretend that I do.” He must be walking somewhere because the music quiets down in the background, “What are you up to, right now?”
“I’m leaving the show, I’m gonna head home,” I answer.
A door closes and I can hear him perfectly, “Um, no you aren’t. You’re coming to the club and hanging out with your best friend, Nate Sawyer because he misses your beautiful face.”
A small smile tugs at my lips. Nate just has a talent for cheering me up with his bright and playful personality. “You know, usually when someone refers to themselves in the third person, they have a personality disorder,” I tease.
He laughs on the other end, “I think everyone in our line of work has some kind of disorder.”
I laugh back, “That is very true.”
Nate circles back, his tone serious, “So will you come hang with me, or not? I miss you.”
I chew my lower lip in thought. I’m feeling pretty shitty at the moment after my conversation with Nara, but Nate always has a way of cheering me up and taking my mind off of things. I catch sight of a clothing rack in my hands and stop in my tracks. My eyes land on a stunning white mini dress with pearls stitched into the fabric with white rhinestones. I look down and find a pair of heels to match and take a step closer, looking down. There’s a number five stitched into the sole of the heel, my size. I dip my finger into the dress and pull the back to the side to get a look at the size on the tag. It’s a size two, my size. What are the odds? I’ll take it as a sign. “I miss you, too. What club is it?”
“Hellraiser,” he replies.
I smirk even though Nate can’t see me, “Perfect. Be there in twenty.”
“Yes!” Nate cheers from the other end.
I hang up and snatch the dress off the wrack before reaching down to grab the heels. Do these belong to me? No. Am I takingthem anyway? Yes.
Chapter 2
Ivory
I wake up tothe sound of my phone ringing from where it rests on my glass nightstand. I groan as I rub the sleep from my eyes with the heels of my palms. Who could be calling me at this ungodly hour?
I roll onto my stomach and start army-crawling across my king bed to my phone before I grab it and hit accept without reading the name on the screen. “Yeah?” I yawn into the phone.
The voice on the other end of the line is one I know well. Very well. Especially when it’s screaming at me in that bossy tone. “Why have you not picked up? I’ve called you four times,” Selene complains, her voice impatient.
I open my eyes and frown, “Because I was sleeping. You know, that thing that normal people do at this hour?”
Selene only grows more impatient. “Get your ass to my office now. We’re having a meeting.”
“You and your meetings,” I complain. “What happened now?” Knowing our band, someone probably was arrested or another sex tape got leaked.
Selene’s voice seems to lighten up and I swear I can hear what sounds like excitement in her next words, “Just get here. It’s a surprise.”
