Blessed Tragedy(36)

We sat in silence until the front door closed behind Garrett. “You want me to crash in the rec room?” Colton asked, not waiting for an answer before getting off the bed.

“Depends.”

He turned on his heel to look at me. “On?”

“Can you keep your hands to yourself?” I wanted to feel him next to me. Eventually, if one of us met someone, we'd have to learn to sleep alone. Luckily, we were both painfully single.

“I'll give you a ninety-two percent guarantee.”

I stifled a laugh at the random percentage. “Not good enough. If I remind you that my dad is two doors down what percentage do I get?”

“Three hundred and fifty percent. I like my balls too much.”

Colton flopped onto the bed and I leaned against his chest. “I miss you,” I whispered. There was no scent in the world better than fresh water cologne and Colton – unless you added in leather. That was the true trifecta.

“I miss you too.” He softly kissed the crown of my head. I didn't pull away this time. “I miss you so much. I meant it when I said you're killing me.”

My hand grazed Colton's side, my mind flooded with memories of our nights spent together before everything went to shit. “We might be okay. Someday.”

“I'll take someday.” He gently lifted me, shifting our heads to the pillows. “I'll take whatever I can get with you.” After brushing his lips against mine, he pushed my shoulder urging me onto my side.

When the sun started peeking through my bedroom window, we were still curled into each other, our fingers interlaced across my stomach. I couldn't deny how good it felt to be in his arms and that scared the hell out of me.



“Come on, Moo, you guys are going to be late if we don't go,” Mike yelled up the stairs. A pit grew in my stomach, remembering back to the last time he had hollered up the stairs for me to hurry. The first time they'd seen me perform, the first family outing without my mom.

“You okay?” Colton asked, dropping a chaste kiss on my shoulder.

“Yep, let's get outta here. You bring my gear?” It had been more than three weeks since I'd been on the back of Colton's motorcycle and I needed the serenity that came from feeling the horsepower beneath me.

“It's all in there, right where it belongs.” Colton picked up my duffle bag and motioned for me to lead the way outside. I smiled once I passed him. There was something comforting in his statement that my things belonged with him. It wasn't said in a possessive or domineering way. It was a simple testament to our f*cked up relationship.



The day was perfect for a long ride on the bike. The sun was shining without any stifling heat; the winds were calm and traffic light. I quickly found myself hypnotized by the rumble of the engine and gentle vibrations.

By the time we pulled down the gravel drive at Comstock, I had myself convinced that everything would work out one way or the other. Jon and Travis stopped in their tracks to see if their eyes were deceiving them as we pulled to a stop behind the bus.

“So, I'm assuming you kissed and made up?” Jon asked, shaking his head. I could only imagine what our issues were doing to everyone around us and had to imagine he felt a measure of relief seeing us together. At least I hoped he did.

“Well, she's not threatening to castrate me, so I guess that's a start,” Colton laughed.

“Good. I think we'll all breathe a little easier now that your balls are safe.” Travis still seemed guarded when he looked at me. His was the one friendship I doubted would ever be the same as it had once been.

It didn't take long before the tension in the air became palpable. Colton was giving Garrett the grand tour of our home away from home while Jon and Travis introduced my brothers to some of the other bands.

“Well, looks like you really can have your cake and eat it too.” I turned to see Tanya's coffee brown eyes narrow as she watched Colton and Garrett walk off the bus.

“What in the hell is that supposed to mean, Tanya?” I snarled. I knew exactly what she was implying and I wanted to make her say it out loud. Jon had been abundantly clear that she was skating on thin ice and I, for one, couldn't wait to be the one to watch her fall through.

“Not many people are slick enough to get the boyfriends to be best friends. Kudos.” She nodded to the two men who were in a heated debate over whether Gibson or Fender guitars were superior. “Look at them, it's almost like they're not competing for a place in your pants.”

“You know what, Tanya, screw you.” I didn't care that I was yelling loud enough to draw the attention of people walking by. “Garrett is one of my oldest, dearest friends and Colton is head over heels in love with me. I'm sorry you're a pretentious, bitter bitch who can't find anyone to love you, but that doesn't give you the right to rip me to shreds. You know shit about me; you know shit about my life. If you value your job, I highly suggest you back the f*ck up and think about what you're doing. You have zero say in what I do in my personal life.”

I'd spent much of my life angry. That was nothing compared to the pure rage I felt coursing through my veins at the woman who had deemed it her job to crush every aspect of my life. The fact that she had no reason to do so only made my blood come to a full boil.

“Sweetheart, you're delusional if you think anything you have is real. You're nothing more than eye candy out there and I know for a fact that Colton isn't nearly as smitten as he claims to be. Just you watch, soon enough you'll understand what I'm saying and you'll be the one on your ass wondering what all went wrong.”

“Enough!” Jon roared. My head snapped at the sound and I saw Mike and Matt holding Colton back as Jon stormed over to where we were standing. “Rain, go spend some time with the fam. Be back in an hour.” It wasn't a suggestion. As much as I wanted to be part of whatever was about to go down, I knew he was doing it this way for a reason. I was far too pissed off and wrapped up in the issue to keep a level head while he talked to the vile bitch.

Garrett grabbed my upper arm hard as I spun to take care of her myself when I heard her parting shot. “Look at her Colton. I can't believe you're stupid enough to believe she's not sleeping with him. Just look at the two of them walking away from you.”

“Stop,” Colton commanded. That was the last word I heard as Colton and Jon escorted her onto the bus with Trav and Jared close behind.

Once we were out of sight from the buses, I collapsed onto the ground. The roller coaster of my life was out of control and I'd hit my breaking point. Matt scooped me up in his arms holding me as I sobbed. “Hey, none of that. Let the guys take care of her. Now, let's go grab a beer.”

It wasn't even noon and I had a show to prepare for but, in that moment, nothing sounded better to me than losing myself in the beer tent until the last possible minute. I nodded against Matt's shoulder and he shifted me to his back. I laughed like a schoolgirl as he gave me an excessively bumpy piggy back ride through the concessions area.

Colton texted me as I started on my third beer in an hour to let me know the situation was taken care of. That would have made a normal person feel better but I'm far from normal. Instead of feeling at ease knowing I wouldn't have to deal with Tanya anymore, I started running through all the trouble she could create as payback.

“Stop.” Mike stood in front of me, his hands on my shoulders. “I know what you're doing. You're going to drive yourself insane. You need to learn to trust them.”

“I do trust them, Mike. It's her I have no faith in. Look at what she's already done.”

Garrett placed a hand on the small of my back, joining in Operation Mental Maddie. “He's right. You say you trust them, but you're not showing that right now. You just go out there and do what you do best and let Jon handle it. From what I've seen, he'll do the right thing. Now, don't you have work to do?” They walked with me until we reached the edge of the bus corral before turning back. “We'll come and find you after the show. Knock 'em dead out there. And drink some water.”

“Yes, Mister Dietrich,” I teased. It was cute to see him go into band director mode. He knew better than any of us just how quickly things could go wrong when performing in the heat.



Three hours later, the sun was high in the sky and beating down on the stage. We hadn't even started our set and I felt sweat dripping down my back. Jon squeezed my shoulder before taking his place behind the drum kit, reassuring me everything would get back to normal soon. I took the stage sixteen beats after Jon and Trav started Animal, feeling the energy of the crowd seeping into my pores.

“What's up, Comstock!” I shouted into my microphone. The crowd grew louder and I looked to Colton as he ran to join us on stage.

We ran through our standard set before introducing the fans to some of our new sound. “Alright, now you might have heard noise on the Internet that we're changing things up this year. Unlike some of the crap that's been out there about us,” I looked to Colton briefly, “This is no joke. Let's show some love for Jared Sorenson!”