Chapter Thirty
Riley
My heart was beating fast as we made our way to see Silas with Paisley and Ruben. Ruben had never met Silas, but he’d heard a lot about him, and he was already a big fan after hearing one of Silas’s songs on the radio. He still couldn’t believe that I knew him.
“I can’t believe you know someone famous,” he said as we made our way to the concert.
I laughed. “He wasn’t famous when I knew him.”
“And he actually lived with you,” he sighed happily.
“Lives with me. Present tense. I still have all his stuff.”
“What? I didn’t know that! You have his stuff. Can I come and look through it?” he asked.
Paisley shook her head. “That’s so weird. I had no idea you were this weird.”
“Oh come on; you knew,” he said.
She giggled. “Yeah, I knew.”
I laughed at the two of them. They were ridiculously in love, and every time I saw them together, I felt like they had fallen even deeper for one another. Paisley had admitted to me that they hadn’t even slept together, which was very unusual for her. Not that she slept around a lot, but ‘try before you buy’ had always been her motto. I’d asked her why things were different with Ruben and she’d actually blushed. I had never seen Paisley blush about anything in the entire time I'd known her. She said they had done other stuff but that they were waiting because they wanted it to be special. I had a feeling that they wouldn’t be able to wait much longer though. They could not keep their hands off of each other. It usually made me feel a little twinge of jealousy, but today I just felt happy for them. I knew it had everything to do with the fact that I was just about to see Silas.
“So, I have a surprise for you,” Paisley said as we arrived.
“For me?” I asked.
She beamed at me. “Oh yeah. I managed to get you backstage as soon as Silas is finished playing.”
“What? You did? How on earth did you do that?”
She chuckled. “I spoke to someone who spoke to someone else. Honestly, I was very lucky it all worked out. I didn’t want to say anything in case it didn’t. But, thankfully, it all came together. Okay, so here’s the plan. His last song is the one that we all heard on the radio. As soon as you hear that song, you can make your way backstage. You need to ask to speak to Mr. Burkes. He knows that you are coming. He’ll let you in. Then you can surprise him.”
I almost burst into tears I was so happy. “Paisley. I can’t believe you would do this for me. This is incredible. Thank you. I’m so excited.”
“Absolutely. You know I would do anything for you. I know how hard these past few months have been. Come on, don’t get emotional on me. If you cry, then I’m going to cry, and I did my eye makeup so nicely before we left.”
I laughed. “You’re right. I don’t want him to see me looking a mess after such a long time. Thank you,” I said to her and gave her a hug.
“Come on, you two. We need to get in so we can get a good viewpoint.”
“You really are crushing hard on Silas,” Paisley said as she took his hand.
“What can I say; he’s a good-looking lad.”
I laughed. “Oh yeah. And he’s even better up close. I promise you’ll get to meet him.”
“Did I mention how wonderful I think you are?” Ruben said and grinned at me.
“That’s a far cry from how you were the first time you met me,” I teased.
He groaned. “Are you going to hold that against me for the rest of my life?”
“Yes. I think I am,” I said. I noticed that Paisley was smiling, and I knew that it was because he had just mentioned that he wanted to stick around forever. I wouldn’t be surprised if she called me tomorrow to say that they had slept together. Tonight was going to be a good night for everyone it seemed.
We made our way inside and managed to find a fairly decent spot near the front. We’d gotten really good tickets so that we could get close, and I hadn’t at all cared for the price. I would’ve paid even more for it if I had to. I heard someone nearby talking about the main band, and I chuckled as I realized that I had no idea who was even playing.
“Uh, who is the main band tonight?” I said to Paisley, and I saw someone give me a strange look.
She chuckled. “You seriously don’t know?”
“Nope,” I said.
“The Flaming Arches.”
“What? They’re huge!” I exclaimed. The Flaming Arches had been around for the past few years, and every year they seemed to grow a bigger audience. It didn’t hurt that the band consisted of four men that looked more like they should be models than singers. They were good looking and had voices of angels. It was hard not to like them, and usually, I would’ve given anything to have seen them live.
“So, are you hanging around to watch them?”
I laughed. “Definitely not.”
Again, the woman next to me looked at me as if I was going completely insane. I was standing near the front at a Flaming Arches concert, and I wasn’t at all interested in seeing them.
Standing in the crowd, I couldn’t believe that I was actually about to watch Silas perform. It seemed unreal. Not so long ago we were hanging out at the house, talking about whether or not our dreams would ever come true. He’d seemed so unsure about his future, and he’d come so close to saying yes to a full-time job as a construction worker. Things could’ve gone so differently. And while I hated being away from him, and hated the idea of other girls flirting with him, I couldn’t not be happy for him. Standing here, waiting for him to come up on stage, made me realize just how happy I really was for him. He deserved this.
Suddenly, I heard his name, and I watched in excitement as he walked up onto the stage. My heart skipped a beat as I saw his familiar gait, and watched as she smiled out into the audience. I knew that he probably couldn’t distinguish one face from the next when he was up on stage. We probably all just looked like a blur of faces to him. But I smiled up at him regardless and whispered that I was rooting for him.
Ruben squealed beside me, and I laughed at his enthusiasm. Then, there was a hush over the audience as Silas began to sing. I thought he was a good singer from the first time I had heard him at the pub, and I didn’t think that he needed to improve. But he had improved. In such a short space of time, his voice had taken on a different tone. All the rough edges had been smoothed out, and there was a confidence that wasn’t there before. But other than that, he was still the same Silas. My Silas. I smiled as the audience around me cheered for him. They might not be here to see him, but they were loving him all the same. I was sure that it wasn’t going to take until he was the headline act.
“He’s amazing,” Paisley said.
“He is,” I swooned. I couldn’t take my eyes off him. How had I been away from him for so long? He was even better looking than I remembered.
His set was just over an hour long. Every time he started a new song, I wondered if it was going to be the one from the radio. When it eventually came, I stood in shock, frozen on the spot.
“Go on,” Paisley said. “You better go.”
“Aren’t you coming with?” I said.
She shook her head. “Are you crazy? No, this is your moment! You’ve got this, Riley. Go and enjoy it. We’ll stay and watch the band. Either come find me here or send me a message and let me know what’s going on. We can meet at the car later or something.”
“Okay,” I said and took a deep breath. “Thank you,” I hugged her and then I hugged Ruben and rushed off.
It was only when I got there that I realized I had no idea what this Mr. Burkes even looked like. Thankfully, when I asked the bouncer, he knew exactly who I was talking about. Mr. Burkes came out moments later, a big burly man that immediately turned friendly looking when he smiled.
“You must be the lovely Riley,” he said as he stuck out his hand for me to shake.
He had a firm grip, and I shook it eagerly. “Thanks for letting me in,” I said. “I really appreciate it.”
“No problem at all. I was told not to say anything to Mr. Aarons,” he said, and I tried not to chuckle at hearing someone refer to Silas in that way. It seemed so formal.
“Thank you. So, where do I go?”
“You just need to head straight ahead and take the first door to your right. They’re coming off stage any minute, so you’ll be able to get him as he comes out.”
“Got it. Thank you,” I said and walked in.
There were quite a few people inside, and I was glad that nobody seemed to wonder who I was or why I was there. A group of people were blocking the doorway, so I stood for a while as I waited for them to move. I heard a lot of commotion going on and realized that Silas and the other band members had arrived. My heart was beating so loud I wondered if everyone around me could hear it too. I walked through the corridor and heard Silas talking to someone. It was so good to hear his voice again. It wasn’t the same hearing it through the phone. I took another deep breath and then opened the door.
I wasn’t sure what to expect, or who else was going to be standing on the other side, but I wasn’t at all prepared for what was about to happen next. I opened the door and saw Silas standing there. He hadn’t noticed me yet, and I was just about to say something when I saw a woman walk right up to him and kiss him. I immediately turned around, too embarrassed by what I had seen and too hurt to see any more. I rushed back down the hall to a very surprised looking Mr. Burkes.
“What’s going on?” he asked. “Didn’t you find it?”
“Sorry,” I mumbled. “I . . . I have to . . . I forgot something,” I said.
He opened the door for me, and I quickly rushed out before he could say anything else. I ran to the car, let myself in, and burst into tears. I immediately sent a message to Paisley telling her that I was in the car and that she didn’t have to rush. But she must’ve known that something was up with me because she was there only fifteen minutes later. Her and Ruben climbed into the car and looked at me in surprise.
“He kissed someone. I walked in to surprise him, and he was kissing another woman,” I said before they even asked me what was going on.
“What the hell? Are you serious? Did he see you?”
I shook my head. “No. I ran out before he could. I’m so embarrassed. I’ve been such a fool. Waiting for him all this time. Oh, you guys, I’m so sorry . . . you shouldn’t have come back for me. Why don’t you go and watch the band? I’ll call a cab or something.”
“No way! We’re staying with you. Come on, let’s go. You’re not going to be alone tonight.”
“Yeah, the idiot. And to think that I wanted to meet him so badly. You deserve better than this, Riley,” Ruben said. “Also, I’m driving. You climb into the back with Paisley! We’ll get some wine and make sure that we still have a good night. Okay?”
On the way home, I heard my phone ringing. I fished it out of my bag and saw Silas’s name pop up. There was no way I was going to answer it. I showed the phone to Paisley, and she shook her head.
“Don’t answer it,” she said.
“I won’t.” I ignored the call, as well as the message that he sent me immediately afterward asking when we could meet up. How could he do this to me? Did he want to meet with me to tell me that he had met someone else? Or was he just going to pretend like it had never happened at all? Maybe that was who he was now. Perhaps he was not the Silas that I remembered.