Total pages in book: 30
Estimated words: 27923 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 140(@200wpm)___ 112(@250wpm)___ 93(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 27923 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 140(@200wpm)___ 112(@250wpm)___ 93(@300wpm)
“Those things will kill you,” a soft voice murmured from the darkness.
I opened my eyes to see Piper Hughes, Larken’s twin sister, standing over me. “Isn’t your momma gonna yell at you for being out at all hours of the night?”
Piper shrugged before lying beside me. She pointed to the cigarette in my hand with a lopsided smile. “You got another one of those cancer sticks?”
“How are you gonna sneak into the house?”
Piper pulled out her lighter and sucked the filter of the cigarette, making the ember glow. “I reckon the same as you, through a window. Hopefully, I won’t wake them up like last time. I’m pretty sure Dad would send me to military school if I were a guy.” Piper laughed as she deepened her voice to imitate Mr. Hughes. “‘You’re acting like a no-good hussy, gallivanting around these streets like a woman of the night. Want the whole town talking about you? You won’t have any eligible suitors if you behave like those women who live across town. Fatherless.’”
Her mocking tone, mimicking her father, made me sad and uncomfortable. I lived on the other side of town. Was that why Larken hadn’t introduced me to his parents? Usually, when I slept over, he shook me awake in the early hours and rushed me out of his bed before his mother started making breakfast in their sunny kitchen. Well, I assumed it was sunny. I didn’t know what the kitchen looked like.
Whenever I saw Mrs. Hughes around town, she seemed like someone who would be a fan of yellow wallpaper with a daisy or sunflower pattern. She wore floral dresses and smiled sweetly at everyone. Her pies were the talk of the town, and everyone praised her for being the perfect mother and wife.
My mom had been an aspiring actress who got knocked up and forced to marry a man she didn’t love. Why didn’t my mother have an abortion? It would’ve saved us both from a lifetime of misery.
I swallowed the lump in my throat and ignored my emotions. Taking a deep breath, I willed my tears to stay at bay. “What show did you go to tonight?”
“Some garage band. They had a female drummer. She was amazing. Hot too.”
Why did Piper mentioning another girl’s attractiveness bother me? We might have lived in a somewhat close-minded town, but I wasn’t a homophobe. Love was love, and in a world full of misery, if you were lucky enough to get a hold of it, you should death grip it. No, I wasn’t judgmental. I was jealous. I would’ve reacted the same way if she’d made the statement about a guy.
She laughed and leaned into me. “Don’t worry, Kaye. You’re hotter.”
I stiffened at her words. It was almost like she’d somehow cracked open my brain and was privy to everything within.
“Were they a cover band, or did they perform their own songs?” I asked, wanting to change the direction of the conversation.
“Mostly covers. Like, in all honesty, every single member of that band was utter shit but the drummer. It pisses me off, you know? Every decent band in the region would want her if she were a guy. Women aren’t taken seriously in the music industry.” Piper turned to me, excitement flaring in her eyes. “She was good. Like, John Bonham good. I watched her hands the entire show. She was possessed. That’s the sign of an icon, when the music fuckin’ bleeds through you.”
“You can sing. Maybe you should start a band and ask her to be your drummer.”
“Yeah, right. You think my dad’s gonna be okay with his daughter going to seedy clubs to play music for a bunch of drunks?” She gestured at her clothes, and I smiled at her floral skirt and button-up white blouse. “It’s bad enough I have to go to bars dressed like Country Barbie.”
I turned onto my side. “If you want grungy clothing, come by my house when my dad isn’t there. I’ll fix you up. I know music is what you want, Piper. You shouldn’t give up your dreams to suit what others think is proper.” I glanced away, thinking about how many lives had been ruined because my mother had given up on her dreams. “Besides, your broken dreams could cause another’s nightmare. Put yourself first, Piper. Put your needs first.”
I froze as Piper pushed back a loose strand of my hair. “You gonna follow your own advice, Kaye?”
CHAPTER 2
Kaye
“You gonna avoid the entire tour or what?” Lars asks as he barges into my bus.
I glare at him. “Um, it’s called knocking. What if I was naked?”
Lars rolls his eyes as he grabs a bottle of water from my mini fridge. “You’re acting like I haven’t seen you fucking groupies.” He twists the cap and takes a long sip. “Funny thing is, you’ve fucked more groupies than I have.”