“There are press on your front lawn,” Stevie said, turning to Carson with a frown.

Carson shrugged. “That’s not an unusual occurrence. They know I stay here when I’m in town.”

“Now they are going to know I stayed here last night.”

“Nothing happened.”

“Yeah, but they don’t know that. You know what these guys are like. They are going to see me leaving and it’s going to look like I’m doing the walk of shame.” She looked down at herself. “I’m not even decently dressed.” She was wearing jeans and a t-shirt, the first things she’d pulled on before they’d left for the hospital.

Carson took her hands and turned her so she was facing him, her back to the window. “It’s going to be fine,” he said, his eyes searching hers. “We’re just two old friends catching up.”

Stevie snorted. “There is no way they are going to buy that story Carson.”

“So I tell them something else. Trust me, okay. Neither one of us need the press speculating about our relationship. I have a whole team of people that deals with this.”

Stevie sighed and rested her head against his chest. It would have been easy to fall into bed with Carson last night. There was comfort in the easy familiarity and she knew he could make her forget the shitstorm that was waiting for her when she got back to the tour bus. It would have been easy to just forget all of that for a little while and let someone else look after her. But it wasn’t Carson who she’d wanted to take care of her. It was Nate. It would always be Nate.

Stevie took a deep breath and straightened her shoulders. She had managed to escape for a little while but now she had to get back to the real world. She dug around in her handbag for her sunglasses and pulled her hair back in a smooth pony-tail. She was not going out there with bed hair. She slicked on some lipgloss and then looked up at Carson.

“Okay. I’m ready.”

The car was waiting for them on the road but they had to get through the crush of reporters first. Carson opened the door and two burly security guards flanked them as they descended the stairs. Stevie could hear the click of camera shutters and the shouted questions as Carson guided her through the melee. She kept her head down and didn’t speak. She should have thought it through before allowing Carson to take her there the night before, but she’d been too upset and just needed to escape for a while. No good deed ever went unpunished in paparazzi-land and now she was paying the price of her weakness.

The car door opened and she was bundled inside, Carson sliding in next to her and then the door slammed closed muting the noise from the press that now surrounded the car.

“We’ll drop Ms. Jacks off first—”

“No, Carson,” Stevie said shaking her head. “I’ve already disrupted your life enough for one day. Besides, I wouldn’t mind a bit of time alone before facing Jace and Vanessa.”

Carson inhaled and then sighed. “Okay,” he said. “But I want you to call me if you have any problems.”

The car began to move slowly, dodging the reporters. Stevie leant her head back on the seat and closed her eyes. By the time she had fallen asleep the night before, it had been really late and it had been an early wake-up call. She had turned off her phone because she hadn’t wanted to deal with Jace or Marci, but before that she’d sent them a text so they knew where she was at least, even if she didn’t want to talk to them. Carson had been a perfect gentleman, although she sensed he would have been more than willing to help her forget the events of the day. The only problem with that was that all she could think about was talking to Nate. Hearing his voice, feeling his arms around her. He’d offered to come to her and now she wished fervently that she’d said yes instead of trying to be strong about it.

The car pulled to a stop and Stevie opened her eyes, looking around.

“This is me,” Carson said, looking at her with concern. “Are you sure you’re going to be all right?”

She gave him a small smile and nodded. “Yeah. I’ll be fine. A few hours’ sleep will do me the world of good and hopefully Marci has a plan for us. You go. I’m all good.”

He gave her one last look before sliding out of the car. Stevie reached into her handbag and pulled out her phone, turning it on and watching as the missed call notifications lit up the screen. They were all from Nate. She touched the screen and lifted the phone to her ear. It was answered within the first two rings.

“Stevie?”

“Nate.”

“Oh god Stevie. When you didn’t answer your phone, I went a little crazy wondering if you were all right.”

“Sorry. I turned it off. I didn’t want to deal with Jace and Marci, you know? I just wanted a night to myself to sort through everything.”

“Any more news on Nadine?”

“She was sleeping when I left the hospital. The doctors said she would be fine, but…”

“Tell me.”

Stevie shrugged even though she knew he couldn’t see her. “I don’t know what all this means for the band. I thought we were old enough not to fall into this trap of drugs and alcohol, but ever since this tour started Nadine has been getting wilder and wilder. I thought maybe it was just blowing off some steam or getting caught up in the insta-fame, but now I’m worried that there is something else going on.” She didn’t voice the fears that Jace had shared with her. It wasn’t her story to tell.

He exhaled roughly. “Oh babe, I don’t know what to tell you. I know how easy it is to fall in love with the fame. People want to party with you and they are willing to do anything for you. Nothing is off limits and it takes a stronger person than I was to resist it all.”

“But you did, eventually.”

“Yeah, but it cost me my career in the process.”

“No, what cost you your career was you being led around by your dick instead of making the grown-up decisions.”

He chuckled. “You’re right. I didn’t take control of my career and that’s why I ended up in the mess I did. Things are different now though.”

“I know,” she said with a smile, “you’re doing really well out there. The fans love you.”

“Not as much as they love you,” he said, his voice soft and husky.

Stevie took a deep breath. “I’ve been offered an opportunity to go solo,” she said and then held her breath waiting for the answer.

“Really? Wow. Do you know who?”

“Marci didn’t tell me who, she just told me that someone had offered me a solo deal. I don’t know what to do. After last night, I am inclined to think about it seriously. I just want to write and perform my music, I really don’t want any of this drama. Being on tour with Jace and the girls has made me question the whole band thing. They fight all the time and the easy way we had with each other is gone. It’s not fun anymore. And now with Nadine in the hospital, I don’t even know if we have a band anymore.”

Nate was quiet for a long time and Stevie had to check that the call hadn’t been dropped. When he finally spoke, his voice was serious.

“You can’t make the decision without talking to them first,” he said. “You need to tell them about the offer and you need to lay your cards on the table. It was the biggest mistake I made, taking that deal with Rocksteady, but I had been too young and stupid to see it at the time. I wasn’t honest with you Stevie. I should have told you how scared I was that you would be offered a contract and leave me high and dry. I should have told you that I didn’t believe I had enough talent to make it on my own and when Gina offered me the contract I thought it was the only chance I was ever going to have of making it big. I knew if I told you all of that, you would talk me out of it and I didn’t want that, because I didn’t believe in us enough. I thought that if I walked away from Rocksteady, I would be walking away from everything I’d ever wanted. But the truth was, walking away from you was walking away from everything I’d ever wanted, I just didn’t know it at the time.”

Stevie felt the tears on her cheeks as she finally forgave Nate for taking the deal with Rocksteady. She hadn’t known that he felt so insecure and she had thought it was because he hadn’t had faith in her that he had walked away.

“Oh, Nate,” she whispered. “Thank you. Thank you for telling me.”

The car came to a stop next to the tour bus and Stevie quickly wiped her eyes.

“Listen. I’ve got to go, but I’ll call you later, okay?”

“Okay,” he said. “Talk to Jace and the girls. Promise me that you will talk to them before you make any decisions.”

“I will,” she replied. “I promise.”

Jace looked up from his cereal bowl as Stevie stepped into the bus.

“Hey,” she said.

“Hey,” Jace replied. “We’re about to go back to the hospital to see Nadine if you want to come.”

Stevie sighed. “Yeah, I do. Just let me get changed.”

Stevie walked past Jace to her bunk and grabbed a change of clothes before slipping into the small bathroom. She had a quick shower before getting dressed. When she returned to the front of the bus, Marci and Vanessa were waiting with Jace.

“Ready?” Marci asked and Stevie nodded.

They were quiet in the car as they were driven to the hospital. A small contingent of press were waiting for them at the doors to the hospital, but they kept their heads down and didn’t answer any of the questions thrown at them. Thankfully Marci had organized a couple of security guys to be there to help them run the gauntlet. No one said anything until they were safely within the doors of the hospital.

“The doctors have said she can be discharged today,” Marci told them as they walked quickly through the halls to Nadine’s private room. “They recommend that she not perform for a couple of days at least. She needs rest and fluids and not to exert herself too much.”

“So, what about the concert tomorrow night?”

“Lily has offered to lend you her violinist if you still want to go on. We are telling the media that it was a combination of food poisoning and exhaustion.”

“Nobody is going to believe that shit,” Jace said, roughly.

“Maybe not,” Marci said with an unconcerned shrug. “The media will say whatever the hell they like, but that’s the company line.”

Stevie kept her mouth shut. There were so many things she wanted to say, but now wasn’t the time or the place. She wanted to check on Nadine first, make sure for herself that she was really okay. Then she would have the discussion that was burning a hole in her gut.

“So, what do I tell Lily? If you guys want to take a break, she needs to know so they can organize another opener.”

The three band members looked at each other. “Let’s talk to Nadine first,” Stevie said. “We should probably ask what she wants to do.”

The others nodded and they turned as one to enter the room.

“I’ll let you guys have some time alone with her. I’ll just be down the hall if you need me,” Marci said as she backed out of the room and closed the door.

Nadine looked up at them from where she lay in the bed. She looked scared, like she was bracing herself for attack.

“Oh god, Nadine,” Vanessa cried, rushing to her, “I was so scared.” Vanessa hugged Nadine tightly and Nadine closed her eyes and sniffed.

“I’m so sorry,” she said. “I was stupid and I didn’t think—”

Jace went to the other side of the bed and drew her out of Vanessa arms and into his own.

“Shh,” he said, “It’s okay. You’re okay,” he mumbled over and over.

Stevie felt like she was intruding on a private moment between the siblings, but she held her ground. If they were going to make it as a band then she needed to be included in this kind of stuff. She needed to be part of their close-knit family too.

“How’re you feeling?” Stevie asked, her throat tight with emotion.

Jace pulled back but didn’t let go of Nadine’s hand. Vanessa sat on the edge of the bed holding her other hand. Nadine’s eyelashes were starred with tears.

“Better,” she said. “But with a hell of a hangover.” She didn’t try to make a joke which was an odd occurrence for Nadine. She liked to use her wit to deflect unwanted scrutiny.

Stevie huffed out a breath and pulled up a chair. The others didn’t seem to want to broach talk about the elephant in the room.

“Why?” Stevie said. “Why did you take something from someone you didn’t know? Why were you taking drugs at all?”

“Stevie—”

“No, Jace. It’s okay.” Nadine looked up at her. “I know I’ve been a shit over the last few weeks but,” she looked around at Vanessa and Jace and then back at Stevie. “I feel like the fuck-up of the group and the pressure to be perfect like the rest of you got to me.”

“So your solution was to fuck up even more?” Jace growled.

“No. Not consciously anyway. I just wanted to escape for a while. This is supposed to be fun - the fame, the concerts, the tours - I thought it would be more fun. But it’s fucking hard work and you were making it so much harder with your perfectionist shit, Jace. Playing on stage should have been a rush, but you were structuring the life out of it.”

Jace sat back in his chair and ran his fingers through his hair. “I was scared,” Jace admitted. “I was scared that if we fucked up on stage that we’d get booted from the tour. I just wanted everything to be exactly how it should be.”

“But that’s not why people come to see us play,” Stevie said quietly. They’d had this argument before.

“I know,” he said, sitting forward again and hanging his head.

“So what are we going to do?” Vanessa asked. She looked at Nadine. “Marci told us that Lily said we can use her violinist to perform tomorrow night because the doctors don’t want you exerting yourself.”

“Or we take a break until you’re better,” Jace said, “and Lily gets another opening act.”

Nadine looked at each of them. “You’re leaving the decision up to me?”

“Yes,” Stevie said. “We don’t want to perform without you if it will upset you. We’re a team and this decision needs to be made as a team.”

Nadine blew out a rough breath. “I don’t want to perform tomorrow night, but I want you guys to. Use Lily’s violinist. He’s good, we’ve jammed a couple of times. But I think we need to take a break from the tour for a bit. I don’t think I’m ready to go back on stage yet.”

“Okay,” Jace said, pulling out his phone. “I’ll let Marci know so she can let Lily know.”

Stevie waited until he’d put his phone away and took a deep breath. “I have something to discuss with you guys.”

Three pairs of eyes turned to her.

“I’ve been offered a solo recording contract,” she said slowly.

The Court siblings seemed to gasp as one and Stevie hurried on.

“I said no,” she told them, “but then with everything that’s been happening lately, I reconsidered it.”

Jace scowled and sat back folding his arms across his chest. Vanessa’s eyes filled with tears and Nadine just looked resigned.

“Here’s the thing,” Stevie said, standing up so she could pace. “I love you guys, but the last few weeks have been hell. All the arguing and the partying and animosity - it’s been seriously messing with my head. We live together and work together in Nashville without any of that shit, but out here on the road, the band that we had created morphed into something different. And I began to resent it. I think we are an amazing band, but not when we are at each other’s throats all the time. I just want to write music and perform it without all the drama. I want it to be like it was before we got on that tour bus.” She looked at Nadine. “I’m with Nadine in this. Being on stage in front of a stadium full of screaming fans should have been fun. That rush you get when you perform and the crowd is with you, like you’re one big organism breathing together, that’s what I want to feel when I get on that stage. I don’t want to be worrying about all the little details and making sure I’m on the right mark so the light will hit me at the right time. I want to go out on stage and let the magic take over. Do you get what I mean?”

Jace looked guilty as they all nodded.

“And then I want to come back to the bus and know that my band members are safe and happy and having fun. Not arguing and yelling at each other and then storming off in a huff to get high.” It was Nadine’s turn to look guilty. “Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying I’m perfect. I know the drama with Nate and Carson is distracting as hell, but what I am saying is that we all need to try better. If we are going to make it as a band and not flame out at the first hurdle, then we all need to be committed. So that’s what I’m asking. Are we all committed to Court’n Jacks or do we call it quits while we’re still friends?”