Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 73774 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 369(@200wpm)___ 295(@250wpm)___ 246(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73774 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 369(@200wpm)___ 295(@250wpm)___ 246(@300wpm)
Her text is accompanied by a short video of the guys on stage, playing a single I’ve heard them rehearsing in the studio, “Hurricane.” Kaylee zooms in on each of the guys, all of them clearly in their element until she gets to Gage. He’s playing, nodding his head in the way he does when he’s focused, but something about his eyes has me pressing pause. He looks distant, disconnected, like he’s just trying to get through the motions. Her question has me thinking about earlier tonight. I was so caught up in the chaos of my job that I was only half there while we were eating dinner.
Did he seem nervous? I can’t remember… But regardless, even if he didn’t appear to be, tonight is a big deal, and I’m not there to support him.
And then I remember what he said when he first got home. I was going to ask you to go… I was so distracted that my only focus was getting time alone to finish my edits.
Dammit, I should be there, supporting him.
Pulling up my contacts, I call Janice. It’s late, but she and Henry have always been night owls. “Hey, sweetie, is everything okay?”
“Yes… no. Gage is at his first show since…” I swallow thickly, realizing by the second how badly I’ve messed up. One of the main reasons he was scared to record again was because of everything that comes with being in a rock band. He mentioned on several occasions that he was afraid the music would always be associated with his addiction, and he worried he wouldn’t be able to separate the two. “Is there any way you could come over and watch Rory? I know it’s late and at the last minute, but—”
“Henry and I will be right over,” Janice says.
“Thank you.”
While I wait for them to arrive, I get dressed in my most “club-appropriate” attire, thankful it actually fits since it’s from pre-kids. When Henry and Janice get here, I call for an Uber and arrive at the club a little over an hour after Kaylee texted me. There’s a chance the band isn’t even playing anymore, but since I haven’t heard from Gage, I figure it can’t hurt to go in and see if I can catch him still playing. Since my name isn’t on the list, I text Kaylee, who meets me at the door. The second our eyes lock, I know something’s wrong.
“The guys can’t find him,” she says. “Security is looking for him right now. They finished playing, and part of the contract is that they hang out and have a drink. One minute, Gage was there, and the next, he wasn’t.”
I rush past her, my heart pounding, needing to find Gage. I can feel it deep inside me as if a string connects us that something is wrong. The club is packed, and there’s no way I’m going to find him in this chaos, so I pull my phone out and dial his number. It rings several times before he answers. “Sadie,” he whispers, his voice sounding broken.
“Gage, where are you?”
“I… I’m having…”
“Baby, just tell me where you are. I’m here, at Ruckus.”
“Bathroom.”
I hang up and search for the bathroom. After asking someone, I find it and push past the guys standing outside, waiting for their turn. The door is locked, so I get a manager to let me in. At first, he’s unsure, but when I explain who I am and who’s in there, he reluctantly does as I ask.
Shutting and locking the door behind me, I find Gage sitting in the corner, his face in his hands, and his body visibly shaking.
“Gage.”
His head shoots up, his glassy eyes meeting mine, and I cut across the room and into his lap. “Oh, Gage.” I frame his face with my hands. “Did you… did you take anything?” I hate to ask, but I need to know where to go from here.
“No.” He shakes his head. “It just… it was too much.” He drops his head against my chest and releases a guttural sob. “I was okay playing, but then we were supposed to stay, and I should’ve left. The guys said I could leave, but I didn’t want to let them down and have people talking shit that I dipped out early, so I stayed.”
I hold him tight while he cries, peppering kisses all over his face, needing him to know I’m here. When he finally calms, he takes a deep breath and looks into my eyes. “You came.”
“I’ll always be here. We’re a team. You just have to tell me you need me, and I’ll be here. Always. Just like when I had a panic attack, and you carried me to safety, or when I was drowning in my grief and couldn’t give Rory the Easter she deserved. You were there for me, and I’ll always be here for you.” I kiss him softly on his lips, then stand, so he can get up as well.