6 months later
She could hear the crowd cheering and chanting ‘encore!’. Olivia took a swig of water and shook out her hands. She followed the guys back onto the stage and sidled into her chair behind her cello. She blinked as the lights went up and smiled as the crowd erupted into a deafening scream. She listened for her cue as the bassist slapped out the rhythmic heart beat intro to Cull the Unfaithful’s biggest hit, Breaking Down. She felt the bass in her chest, drew her bow back and eased into their new trademark haunting sound. The band’s popularity had exploded since Olivia joined it; their new sound setting the band’s music apart from all the other metal bands.
When she first joined the band, she played the electric guitar and loved it. She travelled with her cello and when Johnny, the lead singer, heard her practicing, insisted that she incorporate her sound with theirs. Only then did the decision to forego her orchestra audition and join Cull the Unfaithful feel like truly the right decision.
Blaine had been furious with her. She waited a week to tell him about what he’d labelled as her betrayal. That week had been the most sensual, amazing time of sexual growth for her. They had lounged in bed late into the mornings, Blaine’s thick hands exploring her body. She learned how to relax into his touch and her orgasms had become stronger, faster, and more frequent. She knew that she loved Blaine and wanted to open herself up to please him in any way possible. Surprisingly, he was the one to slow things down with her. Olivia felt awakened, her body yearned to feel his, her womanhood needed his manhood within her. He told her that they had plenty of time to ease into all the things she wanted to try and he wanted to enjoy teaching her slowly.
Maddie had known that Olivia lost her virginity without even asking her. The morning she returned home from the rally Maddie took one look at her and asked, “Everything you expected?”
Olivia had smiled and her face flushed red. “And more,” she said before giggling and collapsing onto the couch with her sister.
They had sat together for hours, talking and giggling about Blaine, and Nate – the guy that Maddie was currently fending off. When Olivia had told Maddie about her decision to tour with Cull the Unfaithful she was furious and told her she was making the worst decision of her life. That is until Olivia told her that she was going on tour with the band, whether or not Blaine came along as security detail.
Which he didn’t.
When Maddie found out that Olivia was making the decision based on her newfound passion for playing live music, and not her newfound passion for a certain biker bad boy, she was not only on board, but proud of her sister.
Now, Olivia looked out in the front row and saw Maddie and her dad, screaming with their arms in the air.
She was incredibly sad that Blaine had refused to go on the road with her. When she found out about the offer from the band, she instinctively knew that it was the right move for her – and for Blaine. Getting him out on the road would protect him from the escalating violence of the club and playing live music to rowdy crowds made her feel more alive than she had in her life.
When she finally got the nerve up to tell Blaine he had freaked out. She knew that he wanted the best for her, but the best thing for her had changed since she met him. He forbade her from going and told her that he wouldn’t go with her. She called his bluff and went anyway. She thought that he might change his mind when she left town, but he was a stubborn bastard and resolute in his ways.
With or without him, going on tour was the best decision she could have made.
She stood up for the final bow, the rush from playing in front of the crowd still coursing through her veins. She made her way to her dressing room, excited to see her dad and Maddie. This was the closest stadium show to Torver and she had been looking forward to seeing them for months.
She hadn’t forgotten about Blaine and refused advances from men after every show. She had been tempted to fuck someone else, just to get her mind off the bastard, to let someone do the things to her that they had never gotten to do; but she knew that she had to care about someone to fuck them or it wouldn’t feel right for her. She left a backstage pass at the gate of every show with Blaine’s name on it, but the passes all remained unclaimed and her texts went unanswered. She was torn up inside that she had lost him but hadn’t given up hope.
She knew that he wasn’t dead. After the first month of unanswered messages she freaked out and called Zeb. He assured her that Blaine was alive and well, and that he would let her know if something happened to him. He also told her that if Blaine wanted to get in touch with her, he would. Olivia hadn’t been able to hold back her tears and she knew that Zeb heard her choke them back. “He’s a fucking idiot, if you ask me. A fucking stubborn idiot.” That was the last time that Olivia had reached out to anyone in the club.
She eased onto the couch in her dressing room and kicked off her thigh high boots. The shows had gotten a lot easier on her feet once she started playing more cello sets. She blotted her sweaty face with a towel, she still hadn’t gotten used to the blazing hot temperature on stage. Her skimpy outfits had a new practicality and she didn’t resist when the costume designer pulled out barely-there costumes for her to wear. Her only stipulation, no leather. First of all, it got sweaty as hell, secondly, it reminded her of Lizzie, who was probably in Blaine’s bed every night. She sighed and tried to chase the image of the slut out of her mind. If she had followed Blaine’s orders, it would’ve been her in his bed. She decided that she wasn’t going to be the kind of girl to follow any man’s orders. Her new empowered attitude cost her the man that she loved, but it gave her a life that she never dreamed possible.
Her thoughts of Lizzie’s crimson lips all over Blaine were thankfully interrupted by a knock on the door. She jumped up, brushed her sweaty hair off her face and bounded to the door in her bare feet. She was excited to see Maddie and grabbed a handful of chocolates from the bowl by the door. She had requested Maddie’s favorite chocolates in her rider for this particular show. She hurled open the door and then stepped back in shock. She gasped, the chocolates dropping from her hand and scattering along the concrete floor.