The energy coursing through my veins is electric. And the adrenalin from being on stage and performing at Wembley is like nothing I’ve ever experienced in my entire life. The music is flowing through me as the lyrics meld with my atoms, forming a cohesion which ignites my insides into an inferno of harmonious tension. The tension reverberation through me which is making me feel more alive, more vibrant, and more energised than anything I’ve ever felt before. If this is what being high on life is like then I don’t ever want to come down.

Everything feels right, my band is playing perfectly and we’re starting our world tour with our family. It seems like nothing could go wrong right now. Everything feels like this tour is going to run smoothly, and everyone is in a great mood as we come off the stage and are greeted by our parents.

“Great job, son, you did amazing as always,” Dad says leaning in and hugging me.

“Thanks, Dad. Now you have to get out there and show them how it’s really done,” I say as the crowd cheers so loudly I can hardly hear myself talk. He smiles and Colt comes over and slaps me on the shoulder.

“Your stage presence is becoming awesome, Caleb. You’re actually working it so well, you couldn’t tell this was your first massive show. Sure you’ve had big shows, but I know how huge this one was for you. So you did well, you should be proud of yourself!” Colt says and I give him a nod.

“Thanks, Colt, that means a lot,” I say and he winks at me and walks over to Lia. I smile at Dad and he walks off and over to Johnny getting ready for his performance. I pull out my phone, I know Indi is still at work and probably won’t answer me, but I need to send her a message and let her know how amazing it was. I head toward the Staked green room as I type on my phone.

 

Me: OMG Indi. That was the most amazing thing I’ve ever done. I can’t believe the rush I just felt. I hope in six months’ time on my final concert of the tour it still feels this thrilling. Hope you’re having a good night at work. xo

 

I hit send and walk into the green room to see Chad talking to Ella and she’s laughing at something he’s saying. I have no idea where Annie and Aston are, but I’m sure they’re around somewhere. I sit down on the plush white sofa and relax back into it just reveling in the atmosphere. When my phone beeps. I look down to see a text message from Indi.

 

Indi: I’m so happy you had a great time. I wish I could have seen it. I bet you were on fire, and I bet by the end of it, you will still love it just as much. Music floods your veins and I doubt you’ll ever get sick of it. Work is boring, no one is sick tonight. So I’m able to sneak out more, hence this text. Are you going to an after-party now?

 

I smile and type out a reply.

 

Me: No, the after-party is later when Slayed is finished. They’re just going on now. Everyone seems pretty chilled though, so not sure there will be much of an after-party. I haven’t heard what’s been planned, so there may not even be one. lol

 

I hit send and chuckle to myself at how tame this rock tour is. Most rock tours are full of groupies and wild sex parties, drugs and scandals, and this one is most likely to have us all in bed by midnight every night. My phone beeps as I watch Ella walk out of the room and Chad goes off with her, so I’m left alone.

 

Indi: What? No after-party? You guys give rock and roll a really bad name, you know that? ;)

 

I laugh out loud and nod because I know she’s right and hit reply.

 

Me: We totally do. I’m in the green room sitting on the lounge suite drinking tea and knitting a nana rug that’s how hardcore I am. lol

 

I hit send and chuckle to myself. A reply comes back almost instantly.

 

Indi: You’re an idiot. Okay, an emergency is coming in. I have to go but have fun and I’ll call you before I go to bed. If you’re still up. xoxo

 

I don’t bother replying because I know she’ll be gone. I put my phone away and look around the empty room and decide to go to the side of the stage and watch my dad perform for a while. I did learn everything from him, so I should show him some respect and support and watch him rock out. Although Slayed are not as spritely as they once were seeing as they’re all close to their fifties now. I get up and walk back out of the green room and down to the side of the stage where there's a hell of a crowd gathered. All the mums are there. Recoil is there. Chad’s there and they’re all watching Slayed as they perform to the sold out stadium that I just performed for. I stand next to the guys from Recoil, and they’re all moving to the sound of the music. Danger looks at me and smiles like he’s in his element and I grin back. He walks across and stands right next to me, so close we’re touching shoulders.

“So Ella, hey?” he yells into my ear over the music.

I turn and look at him smirking and raise an eyebrow. “Yeah, what about her?” I yell back.

“Is she ready to mingle?” he yells and I furrow my brows and wonder what the hell this guy is on.

“What do you mean?”

“Is she single and ready to mingle?”

“Yeah, she’s single but she’s pretty young, you know?”

He shrugs and licks his lips. “So how young are we talking?” he asks and I get an uneasy feeling.

“She’s seventeen. So not legally an adult yet, if you know what I mean?”

“I know what you mean. I just think she’s sweet like sugar is all.” He laughs as I nod and roll my eyes inadvertently. “So put in a good word for me will ya?”

“Sure thing,” I say. Chad glares at me and I shrug and walk over to him.

“What the hell was that about?” Chad asks and I shake my head.

“Honestly, I have no idea. The guy’s a creep,” I reply and Chad nods.

“Sure is,” he says and then looks back to the stage to see his dad throwing his drumsticks into the air and catching them just in time to smash the crash cymbal. Chad cheers and I smile and decide I’ve had enough of this. I walk back down to the green room and make my way back to the comfy lounge to sit down and relax, away from the weird people. I’m playing games on my phone when Ella comes racing in.

“Caleb, come quickly. Annie’s freaked out and fainted,” Ella says grabbing my hand and pulling me up and out of the green room and along the hallway.

I struggle to keep up with her as she drags me along. “What do you mean? What did she freak out about?” I ask and Ella shakes her head.

“I shouldn’t tell you,” she says and I stop and pull her to face me.

“Ella,” I say sternly. She furrows her brows and slumps her body.

“Okay, fine, but she’s going to hate me for telling you. She slept with Aston and he told her that he loves her and she freaked out thinking he’s lying to her about loving her or some shit. It’s so weird, cuz, I’ve no idea what’s wrong with her,” she says and I nod even though I’m a little confused.

“Okay, take me to her.” I’m a little surprised that Aston finally got his way with her. Shame he made her freak out about it though. I walk into the kitchen area and Lia is crying and wiping Annie’s pale face with a wet cloth.

“Oh crap,” I say as I kneel down next to her. She’s so pale and is sweating.

“Geez Annie,” I murmur and look at Lia.

“Can you take her to the green room? The sofa would be more comfortable than the floor,” Lia says and I nod.

“Of course. Are you okay, Lia?” I ask while leaning down and picking Annie up. She’s a dead weight and it reminds me of the time I had to carry her when she was wasted.

“Yes, I'm all right, sweetheart. I just want Annie to wake up,” she says rushing alongside me as I walk her to the green room. As I walk in Aston spots us and rushes over.

“What the hell? What happened? Annie, are you okay?” Aston asks starting to panic himself.

“It’s okay, mate. She’ll wake up soon,” I say and move over to the lounge suite to place her down gently.

“I did this, didn’t I?” Aston asks and I feel sorry for him. His eyes are welling up and Lia walks over to him and wraps her arm around his shoulders for comfort. I hope to God that she’s okay because even though if what Ella is saying is true and Annie is overreacting, I never want to see my cousin like this.

“What’s wrong with her, Caleb?” Ella asks.

“I think she’s had a bit of a panic attack and fainted. Don’t worry, Ella, she’ll come back to us soon,” I say hoping that’s all this is and Annie starts to gasp.

“Annie?” Ella asks desperately.

She groans and moves her hand to her chest like she’s in pain.

“C’mon Annie, open your eyes,” I say as she opens and closes her eyes a couple of times. “Good girl, Annie, come back to us.” I wipe the cloth over her forehead slowly.

“It hurts,” Annie whispers.

“What hurts, Annie?” I ask.

“My chest,” she says and I nod and frown because I think she’s in emotional pain because she’s upset with Aston.

“I know, cuz. I know it hurts, but it’ll get better. I promise,” I say and lean in kissing her cheek.

“Is she okay?” Aston asks.

“She’ll be fine, mate. I think she needs to talk some things through with some professionals and then she’ll feel a whole lot better.” I know Annie has issues, and I really think they’re coming to the surface.

“This is completely my fault,” Aston berates himself and Annie starts to cry even though her eyes are closed.

“I think this has been coming for a while, and somehow you’ve helped trigger it. We all just have to be here for her now, even though she will push us away,” Ella says as Lia comes back in.

“Is she awake yet?” Lia asks.

“She’s awake, just not fully alert,” I reply and Lia kneels down beside Annie and takes her hand.

“Are you with me, sweetheart?” she whispers tucking some of her hair behind her ear.

Annie nods.

“This nice medic is going to take a look at you, okay Annie?” Lia asks while the medic takes Annie’s blood pressure. She is zoning in and out and to be honest I’ve never seen her like this and it’s worrying the hell out of me. Not only for her health and well-being but because this is day one of our tour and how’s she going to cope with the rest of it?

“I think it was just a panic attack, but she’s exhausted. Her stress and anxiety levels peaked and it caused her to black out. She has very low blood pressure, and to be honest I think she should go to the hospital just for observation. We can maybe get a psych evaluation while she’s there,” the medic tells us and Annie passes out again. “Okay, I think we need to take her now,” the medic states and I nod.

“I’ll carry her to the ambulance,” I say.

Lia nods as she starts to cry again.

I carry her to the ambulance and Lia hops in with her. Ella, Aston, and I follow in a chauffeured car behind to the hospital. Poor Aston is a mess and he’s blaming himself. I tried to tell him that this is Annie’s issue and it stems from a deep-seated problem with her birth parents and not from him, but he wouldn’t believe me. He’s beyond consoling. Ella is panic stricken and no one has told Colt because he’s still performing on stage, so God only knows how that’s going to go down.

We arrive at the hospital and Annie has been moved to a room and is set up for observation. She’s exhausted and she’s pretty much just staying asleep. So now that everyone is settled in, I’m going to go and find Indi. I walk up to the nurses’ station.

“Hi excuse me, my cousin is in here and she really likes the nurse called Indi. I was wondering if you could page her to see if she is available for me?” I ask and she smiles and bats her eyelids and I know I’ve got this one in the bag.

“Sure thing, I’ll call her down now,” she says and then lifts up the phone and announces it over the speakers for Indi to come down to reception.

I wait patiently, and even though I saw her this morning and we said our goodbyes, I feel like I need a fix and I can’t come here and not see her. That just wouldn’t be right.

I wait for about five minutes and then I see her walking toward me. She spots me and her eyes open wide and she stops in her tracks. She looks around like she’s being ‘Punked’ or something and I smile. She shakes her head and walks up to me frowning.

“What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be knitting a nana rug or something?”

“I missed you,” I say and lean in kissing her quickly.

She swats at my face as she chuckles along with me.

“I’m working, Caleb. I can’t go around kissing gorgeous men,” she says and I race my hand over my heart and feign shock.

“You kiss other people? Indi, I never would have thought that of you—”

“Shut up. No really, why are you here?” she asks and I decide it’s time to get serious.

“Annie, she had a panic attack and is so exhausted she passed out. The medic brought her in here,” I say and she shakes her head.

“Really? It’s only the first concert of your tour and she’s panicking and passing out after one show? That’s not healthy, Caleb. Are you sure she should be doing this tour?” she asks and I think it’s sweet the way Indi cares for my cousin.

“I think she’s more stressed about her love life than from playing the concert. Apparently her and Aston made whoopee and then he told her that he loves her and she freaked out thinking her birth parents didn’t love her so how could anyone else.”

Indi frowns and shakes her head slightly. “That’s so sad,” she says and I nod. “Well, she needs to know that being adopted doesn’t mean you aren’t worthy of love though, right?”

We all know that Annie’s insecurities are unfounded.

“That’s why I wanted to find you. She likes you and I think maybe she needs someone to talk to—”

“I’m not qualified like that Caleb—”

“No, I didn’t mean you specifically. I thought that she trusts you, maybe hearing from you that she needs to see a psych or something…well, maybe she might be more open to it.”

“Oh, yeah, of course. I think it’s a good idea for her to talk to someone. She obviously has issues, so I think I know the exact right guy for her to speak with. I’ll set it up.”

I lean in and wrap my arms around her waist pulling her to me. “Caleb, I’m at work!” she says trying to break free of my hold, but I’m too strong for her.

“I don’t care, after I leave here I’m not going to be able to hold you for six months and so I want every reminder of you I can get.” I lean down kissing her soft lips hard. She resists for a second and then relaxes as my tongue enters her mouth. She moves in against me and runs her hands up my arms and into my hair.

I love it when she does that!

We kiss slowly and passionately and I’m already mourning the loss of her lips before it happens. Not being able to kiss her for six months is going to drive me crazy. I need her, she is the beat of my heart. Without that beat, my blood can’t pump and my limbs starve of oxygen. I need her to breathe and letting her go is going to be a pain I don’t want to experience until I have to. But I do have to, for the sake of the band.

I slowly pull away and she looks up into my eyes, hers are sparkling and misting up like she’s feeling the pain and loss just like I am. We stare at each other and I’m lost in her beauty. It astounds me how one person can simply be the most beautiful woman in the world and she’s all mine.

“I love you, Indi,” I whisper and she smiles brightly.

“I know, I love you too. Now let’s go check out your cousin hey?” she says breaking my trance and smirking at me. She knows she has me completely under her spell, the naughty witch. But she can put a spell on me any day, as long as she is mine.

She moves away and we start to walk toward the bay where Annie is. I take a deep breath and shake my head as I watch her fine arse sway from side to side with that sauntering swagger she does so well. Fuck! My cock twitches in my pants and I take my eyes from her delectable arse and look straight ahead trying to will my best friend to keep himself calm. I can’t take her here, so I have to rein him in.

Down boy!

We walk into the bay to see Annie is now fully awake and Colt is here too.

Great this should be fun!