Reckless (Thoughtless, #3)(97)

Kellan was absent from our room when I went back to it, but it didn’t take me long to find him. The bus was only so big, after all. Creeping past the people still slumbering, I made my way to the lounging area of the bus. The driver nodded at me and I waved, hoping he hadn’t heard anything. I sometimes forgot about the drivers of our busses. This one was a sweet older man named Jonathan. Oh well, Jonathan was a professional bus driver for rock stars. I’m sure he’d heard and seen a lot.

Kellan was seated on a plush chair near a table, strumming his guitar. He peeked up at me and smiled, and I took a moment to just appreciate him before making my way over. He nodded his head at a steaming cup on the table. “Coffee? It’s instant.” He cringed. There was a small kitchen area near the bathrooms, with a microwave and a mini-fridge, but that was about it.

I graciously accepted the cup anyway. “Thank you.”

Kellan watched me set up my notes and laptop, then returned to his guitar. We worked side by side for a while, with Kellan’s guitar and my keyboard making the only sound. Then Kellan started humming a song. It wasn’t a melody I’d heard before, and I paused the story in my head to listen to him work on something new. I guess I wasn’t the only one who’d been inspired this morning. I loved that we could be together, but could be doing our own thing too. We each had our own lives, our own joys, our own friends. We weren’t dependent on each other for happiness, but being together sure amplified the feeling.

As the minutes stretched on, I thought I could peacefully live out the rest of my days this way. Then an exclamation of surprise sounded from the back of the bus. Kellan and I both turned to look, but the curtain was still in place, and we couldn’t see anything. We heard it, though. Or rather, we heard him.

Louder than was necessary, Griffin was repeating, “Oh my f*cking God!” over and over. Other people grumbled, while a few more loudly shushed him; it was still pretty early. Dread bubbled in my stomach. I was really apprehensive about anything that could shock Griffin.

Kellan set down his guitar and stood up. “Why don’t you stay here?” he said to me. For once, I did as he asked. My heart was beating harder as I watched the curtain swish closed behind Kellan.

I heard a slew of excited whispers and mumbled complaints. I really had no idea what was going on. The longer Kellan stayed back there, the more curious I became. I half-stood a handful of times, only to sit back down again. Did I really want to know? Yes . . . and no.

When I finally couldn’t stand it, Kellan remerged. Maybe it was my imagination, but he looked a little paler. As he approached me, I thought I heard my cell phone going off in the very back of the bus. After it silenced, it went off again.

Kellan quietly sat in the chair next to me while Griffin peeked his head out of the curtain. I couldn’t tell if the look on his face was incredulity, excitement, or just uncontainable curiosity. He was pulled back into the sleeping section seconds later. My eyes were wide and fearful, my belly full of dread as I locked gazes with Kellan. “What?” I whispered.

Kellan scrunched his brow, almost like he was at a loss for words. My cell phone was still incessantly ringing. While he thought, I murmured, “Maybe I should get that. It could be my sister.”

Kellan’s expression darkened. “I wouldn’t be surprised.”

“Kellan?”

Sighing, he placed a hand on my knee and said, “Joey leaked the tape. It’s all anyone is talking about this morning.”

My heart sank, but it quickly evened out. I’d been expecting this bombshell. “Oh, you had me worried for a minute.” Kellan chewed on his lip, and I instantly knew there was more. “What?” I muttered.

He rubbed his thumb around the temple of his skull, like he had a headache. “Joey’s camera was . . . f*cking fabulous.” His tone was harsh and sarcastic. Pausing his mind massage, he looked up at me. “It’s so grainy that she’s hard to make out, so, because of Nick shoving me onto this tour, and all of the stories, photos, and speculation, everyone is just assuming that I’m doing—”

My heart stopped. “They think you made a sex tape with Sienna.”

Kellan nodded. “They look enough alike that it’s a really easy mistake to make. Plus, the angle wasn’t that great, and there’s no date on the tape. The only clear thing about it is that it’s definitely me.” He rolled his eyes. “There is this one clear shot of my face, since I . . . started the recording . . . and Joey says my name a lot.”

A wave of nausea rolled through me, but I pushed it back. He’d made that tape a long time ago. “Oh, should you say something?”

“Yes, absolutely, but . . .” Kellan shrugged. “I’m not so sure that it will matter. People will believe what they want to believe.” He closed his eyes that suddenly looked very tired. “Even Griffin believes it’s Sienna on the tape.” Reopening his eyes, he cupped my cheek. “I’m sorry, but I think I just unintentionally gave them the irrefutable proof they were looking for. I don’t think it’s possible to stop this now.”

Knowing he was probably right, I let out a weary sigh. We couldn’t just make a statement and think that everyone would suddenly understand what was really going on. The public was too in love with the idea of Kellan and Sienna as a couple. No one had really believed Kellan before this tape exploded in our faces. They definitely wouldn’t believe him now. With Kellan’s very first “No comment” response, we had unwittingly helped fuel up a locomotive. Nick and Sienna had then taken control and sent it barreling down the tracks, and this sex tape had just snapped the brake lines. The gossip train was out of control now. All we could do was wait for its inevitable crash and hope we all survived the wreckage.