Chapter Thirty-Three
Silas
I felt sick to my stomach as we left home. All I wanted to do was to stay behind and sort things out with Riley. I was glad that Dominic was going to see her. I was hoping that the two of them would talk and that he would get to the bottom of things. I’d told him to call me as soon as he managed to go and see her.
“You should be happy,” Shaggy said to me when he saw me moping in the corner. “And we get to go back home now for a bit before moving on again.”
“That’s your home,” I reminded him. “Not mine. That apartment is not even mine. I’m only staying there temporarily. All my stuff is back home. Actually, who knows where the hell it is at the moment. It might be with my brother. I hope not. I hope she changed her mind and let me keep my stuff in my room.”
I was babbling, and poor Shaggy had no idea what I was talking about. I hadn’t confided in any of them about what had happened, but they all knew that something was up.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, man,” he said as he shook his head. “But you don’t sound happy. You were great at the concert. You should be really happy with yourself. And that hot girl came up and kissed you. What was that all about?”
I sighed. “Just a fan.”
Shaggy laughed. “Just a fan. I wish a fan would come up to me and kiss me like that. If you ever want, you’re more than welcome to send them my way if you don’t want them. I will gladly take them off your hands.”
I laughed. “I’m sure you will.”
Shaggy sat down opposite me and handed me a beer. “You sure you’re okay? I’m assuming things didn’t go well with that Riley girl?”
I sighed. “Things didn’t go well at all. But not in the way you think. I mean, I didn’t even see her. She won’t see me and I don’t know why. I feel like I’ve done something and I have no idea what it could be. She wants me to move everything out of the house too. That’s how serious she is. Even her best friend looked like she wanted to kill me. And nobody is telling me what’s going on. I sent my brother over to get my stuff. I’m waiting for him to call so that I can figure out what is going on. I’m going out of my mind. How can she just suddenly hate me like that? I’ve done nothing.”
“Whoa. That’s rough. I’m sorry. No ideas at all as to why she could be mad at you?”
I shook my head. “I have no idea. None at all.”
“Women!” Shaggy said at shot me an apologetic look. We sat there for a while not talking and then he got up and went to fiddle on the computer. I could see that he had no idea what to say to me. It was at that moment that I realized just how little I knew these guys. We might have been touring for the past few weeks together, but we didn’t know each other. I suddenly felt so alone. I had heard about stars being the loneliest people in the world, and now I wondered if I was already starting to feel that way. My career had only just begun, and already I felt the effects of it. That wasn’t a good sign. I just needed to make things right with Riley. Then everything would be okay.
When my phone rang, I jumped up in nervousness when I saw it was Dominic. I rushed to answer it.
“Hey, did you go and see her?” I asked without even bothering to say hello to him. I wanted to get straight to the point.
“I did,” he said. “And . . . well . . . Silas, she said that you have been kissing other girls. She’s pretty distraught. She’s a nice girl, too. I thought you liked her. What happened?”
“What? What do you mean? I haven’t been with anyone else. All I’ve wanted was to see her. What is she talking about? Who told her this rubbish?”
“She saw you, Silas. She actually saw you kissing someone. Listen, you can tell me. I’m your brother.”
“She saw me? I don’t understand. I have not kissed anyone.”
“She came backstage to surprise you. And she said she saw you kissing someone. She ran out before you could see her.”
The memory of the fan coming up to kiss me flooded my mind and I groaned. Of all the times for her to walk in on me, it would obviously be that time. “Oh no. I wasn’t kissing her,” I said, and I explained to Dominic what had happened. “She walked right up to me and kissed me, but I pulled her off me. I didn’t kiss her back. I wasn’t interested in her at all.”
“Shit. Well, that’s bad timing. She thinks you are with someone else now. That’s why she didn’t want to see you. She really likes you, Silas. I could see how hurt she was. She’s a really cool girl.”
I sighed. “She’s the best. This is awful.”
“You need to make things right.”
“I have to. Okay, thanks for letting me know. I really appreciate this. At least I know that this wasn’t something I did. I can fix this. I have to fix this.”
“You have to. Silas, she’s perfect for you.”
I smiled sadly. “Yeah, I think so too.”
We spoke for a little bit longer, and then when I put the phone down, I immediately went up to the front to talk to Garren. As usual, he was on the phone, so I sat and waited for him to finish up. He was scribbling something down furiously in his notebook, and he held up two fingers to show me that he wouldn’t be long.
When he was finished, he looked at me and smiled. I noticed how tired he looked. The lines around his eyes looked like they had been etched in. No wonder he was so tired. The guy never stopped for one minute. Was that how I was going to look one day?
“Silas. Almost home,” he said, and I resisted the urge to tell him that we were not going back to my home but to his home. “What’s up? Sorry about that. You know what it’s like with me; business never stops.”
“Is there any chance that I can take a few days off? I want to go back home to sort a few things out. I didn’t get enough time to do it while we were here. I know you said we are busy, but I literally just need a few days. That’s all. Let’s say two days tops.”
He looked at me and shook his head. “I’m sorry, Silas. But we can’t. You know we are leaving for Florida tomorrow.”
“Florida? I didn’t know that.”
“I gave you the schedule. Remember there were changes. I gave you the schedule and told you that we were going there first before going home. Didn’t you see it?”
I suddenly remembered him giving it to me. I remember him saying something about changes but I hadn’t been listening. I had put it aside to look at, and I had completely forgotten. My mind had been on Riley.
“Oh. Uh, I didn’t see that. And it’s set in stone?”
“Of course it’s set in stone. What’s going on, Silas? I thought that this is what you wanted? To be a singer. To see the world. To get paid for doing what you love. That’s what I’m providing for you. And now you don’t seem happy.”
“Oh, I’m definitely happy,” I said. I felt immediately guilty. What was wrong with me? Garren had done everything in his power to get me to where I was. It had only been a few months, and I was already so well known. “Sorry, it was just something I wanted to sort out. But I’m happy. There’s nothing to worry about. I’ll make a plan.”
“You sure?”
“Of course. Thanks, Garren,” I said and walked away before he could see how upset I was.
I felt annoyed. I was obviously grateful and happy for everything that Garren had done for me, and happy that I was living out my dream. But my life also felt so out of control, and I didn’t like the feeling of not having a say in anything that I did. I wanted to shout at him and tell him that it was my life, but what if he fired me? What if he told the world how ungrateful I was? I couldn’t do that. Not when he had done so much for me. I just had to make things right with Riley. I would just keep calling her until she answered. I would phone Paisley and explain myself. I would do anything and everything to make sure that she heard me out. I hated that she thought so badly of me.
I got back to the apartment and looked around. It was strange being back after being on tour for so long. Even though it wasn’t my home, I still wouldn’t have minded a few days to relax. But we were off to Florida the very next day, so all I had time to do was shower, eat and sleep. I wasn’t sure if I was going to get any sleep though. Not unless I spoke to Riley. I was just about to phone her when my phone rang. My heart leaped. Perhaps Dominic had found a way to get through to her. I didn’t recognize the number though.
“Hello?”
“Silas. It’s Able.”
“Oh hey Able. Good to hear from you again. You looking for your box?”
“Yes, I’m looking for your box. Where is it?”
What the hell? Why was he so angry at me? I shook my head. “Whoa. What’s going on, Able? Why are you so angry? I’m not even home right now.”
“I know you’re not home. I’m at your home.”
“You are? You’re at the house? How do you know where I live?”
“Oh, come on. It doesn’t take a genius to find these things out. Now, if you don’t give me the box right now, I’m going to do something you’re going to regret.”
Able had never spoken to me like that before. I suddenly understood why people were so scared of him. And where was the box? I had left it in the house, but then Dominic had cleared out all my stuff. Did Dominic have it? Was it still there?
“What’s in the box?” I asked. Something very important must be there if he was acting this way around me.
“That’s none of your business.”
“Able, you don’t have to talk to me in that way. We’re friends. Aren’t we? Anyway, I’m not at home at the moment. I’m not sure where the box is right now, but I’m sure I can find out.”
“Listen to me right now, Silas. That box is important. I gave it to you to keep safe. You weren’t supposed to run off like that and leave it. How dare you do that.”
“What? How dare I leave your box? What’s going on? What’s in the box? And why are you so angry?” I asked.
“If you want to see your girlfriend alive again, then you will get back here immediately and give me the damn box.”
“Riley? You have Riley?” I said in a panic. My blood ran cold as I pictured him alone with her. “You leave her out of this. This has nothing to do with her. You hear me. I swear Able, you better—”
“Just get me the box, Silas,” he interrupted and then cut the call. I tried to call back, but it didn’t go through. Then I tried to call Riley, but the phone just rang.