Chapter Seventeen:
Emerson
I’m not sure I know what happened last night. After we had checked into our rooms at the hotel, I made my way to Braxton’s room. It couldn’t have been more than ten minutes after check-in, yet, he didn’t answer. I waited a few more moments hoping he was just delayed, but nothing. So as soon as I woke up this morning, I hurriedly showered and then ran over to his room again looking for him.
Once again, he doesn’t answer the door for me, so I am starting to worry about what Cade said to him. It could have been anything last night, but whatever it was has had Braxton acting differently ever since. Because I can’t seem to locate him, I’m starting to worry that all of our encounters and attraction to one another has been in my head. Why else would he go MIA on me when he knew he was getting laid?
I don’t find Braxton again until sound check. He’s onstage, so I can’t really go up to him and talk about what happened. That doesn’t stop me from standing in the back of the room with my arms crossed in front of me. Breigh shows up shortly after, from who knows where.
“Hey,” she says as she stands beside me.
“Hi,” I reply, acknowledging her. “How was your night?” I’m not sure I want to know, but she is still my best friend.
She raises her eyebrows surprised. “It was really good. Look, I’m not naïve enough to think that he’s not going to be attracted to other girls, but I’ve never felt this way before about anyone.”
I sigh. There is nothing more in the world I want than her happiness; she deserves it. “If he hurts you, I’m not holding back,” I warn her.
She laughs, nudging me in the shoulder. “I wouldn’t expect anything less.”
The band finishes playing through two songs and tuning before deciding they are good. Cade jumps off the stage, heading straight for us. “What time is your flight tonight?” he addresses Breigh.
“12:15, why?”
He rubs the back of his hand across his forehead. “That means you have to get there around 10:30.”
She nods. “I can take an Uber.”
Cade looks distressed, rubbing his hand across his face. “Or I could take you.”
“What time do you guys play?” she asks with a concerned look.
Cade scrunches up his nose, thinking. “We go on around 8:30.”
“That’s cutting it close, don’t you think?” I feel like she addresses the question to me.
I nod. “Yeah, I can take you and then bring the van back.”
Cade shakes his head back and forth. “No. I’ll take you.”
That settles it. Even though we are only minutes apart, if Cade wants something, he gets it. No questions asked.
“Fine,” I give in and then my eyes dart around the room, nearly forgetting that I had come here with the intention of confronting Braxton.
I don’t see him at first, so I shift my attention back to my brother and best friend. “Well, we only have a little time left together. What should we do?”
Cade kisses Breigh on the top of her head before whispering something in her ear and walking off. I eye her up and down suspiciously. “What was that?”
She blushes, barely able to contain her excitement. “He just told me to spend some time with you before it’s too late. Margaritas?”
I glance back at my brother surprised. He rarely ever puts anyone’s needs before himself. Breigh is doing something to him, and it isn’t entirely bad.
I loop my arm with my best friend’s. “I thought I might never get you back from his claws.”
She giggles. “Oh, whatever.”
***
Breigh is gone, and I’m sad. I had such a good time with her here, even though I would have loved to spend more time with her.
The whole Cade and Breigh thing is so new and foreign to me, I’m still having trouble accepting it. I want nothing more in the world than for Cade to fall for Breigh and give her the fairytale love she’s always wished for, but I know with him being a musician it’s hard to divert the female attention. I don’t blame him.
I didn’t get a chance to speak with Braxton prior to their set, and before we had to pack up and get back on the road to Oregon. It’s almost a ten-hour drive from Sacramento to Portland, so luckily we get a day off to recoup and not race all the way there. We decide to stop in Ashland, right after the border and get some motel rooms.
It’s nearing five in the morning when we check into our rooms, and I try once more to figure out what is going on with Braxton. He’s barely looked at me since we left California, and besides two words in passing, he’s acting as if I don’t exist. It hurts.
Geo is the one who got the other individual room apart from me so sneaking over to try to speak with Braxton right now will only throw up red flags with Cade. I switch up my approach and text him instead.
Hey. I write simply.
Anxiously waiting for his response, I light up the screen of my phone every few seconds hoping to see a reply.
Fifteen minutes later, my phone finally buzzes from the nightstand beside the bed.
Hi.
That’s it? That’s all he is going to say to me? I feel my blood boiling.
So you’ve been hard to pin down the past couple of days. As soon as I hit send, I regret it. It’s not like we’re dating.
His response comes a lot sooner than his first text. Yeah, sorry, been busy.
Why does it feel like you’ve been avoiding me? Did I miss something? I hate feeling stupid.
There is a long pause before I get a reply. By the time my phone buzzes, I’m pacing back and forth across the room like a crazy person.
No, you’re good. His answer is short, simple, to the point, and vague as fuck.
Come over. I can’t explain it, it just happens.
Actually, I’m about to go to bed. You should too. We have another long drive tomorrow.
Avoiding. He’s definitely avoiding me. The thought crushes me. I don’t know what I’ve done or what has changed, but Braxton is acting cold again and I don’t like it.
Ok. I type as if I couldn’t care less. See ya tomorrow.
It’s obvious to me that something has changed and Braxton will more than likely not be taking my virginity. The thought both upsets and frustrates me. It’s like I can’t get a guy to come near me with a ten-foot pole. When I get home, I need to distance myself from my overprotective brother. I’m tired of being alone due to his antics. Hell, if I really want to push the envelope, I’ll find someone to make out with tomorrow at their Portland show. It’s about time I start living life to the fullest.