Emelia had been calling Grant’s cell phone for hours.

She’d let herself into their hotel room. His things were still there, but he was nowhere to be found. The bus was leaving soon, and he wasn’t ready to go.

She started to toss his things into the suitcase but stopped herself. This wasn’t her responsibility anymore. To be honest, she felt numb about the whole thing. Numb and relieved. She had known in her heart that their relationship was doomed, but her optimism had won her over, allowing her to hope for the best. Once she’d tiptoed into nearly crossing a line with Trevor, even praying for the best had started to fade.

Yes, Grant had crossed that line altogether. The thought made her sick. But, she wasn’t going to judge him. She wasn’t going to dwell on bad feelings. Not when she had been a breath away from maybe crossing that line herself. Obviously, things weren’t right between them enough if each of them had turned their attention to someone else.

It didn’t erase that they had history, and that would take time to fade.

Where could he be?

There was a microscopic chance that he might have gone back to the venue for something. Could he have forgotten a piece of vital equipment that he would need to run back for? The idea was practical. If he wasn’t going to answer the phone, then she had no choice but to try and search for him. Surely, she’d be able to hunt him down eventually. She knew it was probably in her best interest to stay put in one place, remaining in a designated spot that he was certain to return to. That place was the hotel room, but something told her to look elsewhere.

She picked up her cell phone and dialed Chloe. She would need to let someone know where she was in case something happened.

“Hey,” she breathed impatiently into the phone when Chloe picked up after the second ring.

“What’s up?” Chloe chimed cheerily into the phone.

“I have a small errand to run,” Emelia said.

“Really?” Chloe sounded surprised. “We’re leaving in a couple of hours.”

“I know, and I’ll be back,” she reassured. “I just need to pick something up for Grant at the venue. Madison Square Garden.”

Chloe laughed. “Why can’t he go himself?”

“He’s...busy.” Emelia made up the lie. She hated being dishonest to her best friend, but she didn’t want her to get involved in this little Sherlock Holmes detective event yet. She’d only try and talk her out of it. Besides, she’s the reason Grant was upset and distracted, so it was only right that she try and help him out a little.

“Okay, well let me know if you need any help,” Chloe said.

“Thanks.” Emelia knew that if she let on that anything was wrong, then Chloe would undoubtedly want to trail along.

Her phone buzzed with a text from Trevor. Her pulse picked up. Where are you?

At Madison Square Garden looking for Grant. Have you heard from him?

No. Emelia, this isn’t a good idea.

She didn’t respond as the taxi pulled into the center.

She knew the backstage area would be locked, so she scoped the area as she walked around, combing around to find a security guard or a venue employee to talk to. If she could just explain to them with her tour pass that she needed to get inside the backstage area, then maybe she would be one step closer to finding Grant.

He had never left her this long before without telling her where he was. His phone appeared to be off. When she tried to call him, it cut straight to voice mail.

Emelia was growing more frustrated with him by the minute, hoping he was okay.  After half an hour of looking, she was ready to give up. He obviously wasn’t here.

“Emelia?”

She quickly spun around at the sound of her name. Her mouth gaped open in surprise at who she saw rapidly approaching her.

“Trevor? What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be getting ready to leave?” She shouldn’t worry. He was a rock star, and he could do whatever he wanted.

He still had that stone face of anxiety etched across his face. His lips were pencil thin. He didn’t smile, and he was as white as a sheet drying in the sun.

“What is wrong?” The words tumbled from her mouth.

“I need to talk to you,” he whispered gently. His features softened as he walked up to meet her.

“What is it?” She was becoming more concerned as Trevor remained aloof and slightly apprehensive. 

“Not here. Let’s go to the café down the street.”

He took her hand, placed it in the crook of his arm and lead her across the street to the sidewalk.

“I can’t find Grant,” she said as they reached the café. “I know I should worry, but he won’t answer his phone, and he never packed any of his things. I thought he might have forgotten something on stage.”

They took seats at an outside table. Trevor ordered them lemon water and leaned on his forearms over the table.

Emelia knew she was slightly rambling, but she didn’t care. In her mind, something horrible had happened. She didn’t want it to be her fault.

“About Grant. I’m worried about him, too. But not in the same way you are.” His voice was even and firm, devoid of emotion.

“What is it?” She leaned forward too. Usually, her heart fluttered when she was near Trevor, but she was getting a strange and eerie vibe from him that was slightly unsettling.

“Emelia...” he trailed off in a hushed whisper. The guilt swimming in his eyes robbed her of breath. He glanced at her as if he were getting ready to tell her that her beloved pet had been hit by a car or something.

“I’m afraid he’s going to do something violent or aggressive. I’m worried about your safety.” Trevor stated gently as if he were afraid of ripping her to shreds emotionally with his words.

“You...what?” She shook her head in disbelief.

“He punched me after the charity speech; then he tried to blackmail me. Or whatever you want to call it. It was a pathetic attempt at a threat.”

“Oh my God, what?” Emelia rubbed her temples as she continued to stare at Trevor as if he were speaking a foreign language that she didn’t understand.

“He showed up at the charity event. Cornered me in the back after I was done talking to some board member. He pulled back and clocked me on the chin before I could blink. So I took him down, and he started spouting some threatening nonsense. He’s insane.”

Trevor tenderly cupped his hands over hers.

“Don’t,” she said, suddenly feeling like the walls were closing in on her. She didn’t know if the whole arena would collapse on her. The air she tried to breathe into her lungs was stale and stifled.

“I’m so sorry,” he stated gently. “Look, I want you to be careful around him. As soon as you told me what you were up to, I had to come. To make sure you’re okay.”

“You really think he would hurt me?” She asked and shook her head, even knowing that it was a possibility. He had been aggressive with her in the past, hadn’t he? She couldn’t deny he’d been creepy as hell at the charity event.

“I’m sorry he did that to you,” she murmured because she was having trouble speaking.

“Look, I’m letting Grant go as soon as the ink is dry on a contract with another company,” he confessed. “But we want you and Chloe to stay on with us. Burt is more than happy to pass off a ton of social marketing tasks that can be done right from the tour bus.” 

“Seriously?” Emelia raised an eyebrow. This entire conversation was surreal.

“Yes,” Trevor nodded. “Absolutely. Burt will send over an outline of the job description and duties, and if you agree, you stay. If you choose not to stay, you’re free to head out anytime. It’s up to you.”

“Okay...” Emelia trailed off, wondering if he was about to say something else. “It’s a no-brainer that we’ll stay on. I don’t really have anything in Chicago to go back to except to clean out my stuff from Grant’s and... take it from there.”

“We’ll get it taken care of. Don’t worry.”

Hot tears stung in Emelia’s eyes and blurred her vision. “We?” 

Trevor took her hands, and she didn’t pull away. “Do you want there to be a, we?”

She nodded. There was no sense in being sheepish about this. She wanted that more than anything.

“Yes, of course, I do.”

His smile lit the room. She couldn’t believe it. She had her Rock God sitting across from her, professing his interest in her. All those little fantasies in her head all these weeks were finally coming to fruition. She just had to ride this out, go with the flow and let all the kinks work themselves out. They could have a happily ever after once things had time to heal.

They needed time to get to know each other. To become intimate with one another.

Trevor reached into his pocket and pulled out a credit card. He handed it to her. Her name was written on it.

“I want this thing between us to work, Em. I want to give it the best chance. I don’t mind at all having you stay with me, but I want you to take this. You decide if you want your own room, your own space for just you and Chloe, then you can have it. This card is your freedom. Your choice. Okay?”

She fingered the card, flipped it over. Trevor was giving her the opportunity for space and independence while they let their relationship grow. Her chest filled with joy. He was going to be so good for her! And she was going to do everything possible to be good for him, too.

Trevor’s phone rang. He answered, his facial expressions showing the conversation wasn’t good. After clicking off, he frowned and sighed.

“Looks like Grant grabbed his things and bailed. The new company is going to fly in tomorrow morning for the next show.”

“He... just left?”

She couldn’t wait for time to heal, for all these kinks to work out.

Then there wouldn’t be anything standing in their way.