Chapter 49
Brian reached with his
hand to massage the back of his neck, trying to rub the soreness out. He
glanced at his watch, noting the time. It had been a long and exhausting
afternoon, the band and dancers practicing over and over again to get the new
song down pat. Brian deliberately ignored the undisguised looks of resentment
and hostility thrown at him as he ran them through another rehearsal, wishing
he could just as easily ignore the dark shadow of Xavier who sat quietly in the
front row, observing. Brian didn't need to turn around to know he was being
watched, he could feel the penetrating stare of the bodyguard burn into his
skull. The last note of the song was a long one, and as he finished it Brian
opened his eyes to see the rest of the group surveying him, waiting sullenly
for him to repeat, "one more time."
"Uh, I guess that's
it, y'all. Thanks for taking the time to work on this."
Brian heard mutter of
"as if we had a choice" and "do we get paid overtime?"
filter by him as they left the stage. Walking over to the cooler on the quickly
deserted stage, Brian reached down to search for a cold bottle of water. He
felt Xavier surface up from behind him and Brian took his sweet time drinking,
not wanting to face him. Brian finished the bottle and with irritation turned
to look at the bodyguard who had waited patiently for him to acknowledge his
presence. He gave Xavier a sour look, tossing the empty away and bent down to
reach a towel to wipe the sweat from his brow.
"Everything to your
satisfaction?" he scoffed.
Xavier ignored him,
sticking his hands casually into his pockets as he wandered around the stage,
nonchalantly examining the band's equipment.
Brian shrugged.
"Great," replied, answering his own question. He snatched his bag and
headed towards the dressing room. Fingers of steel wrapped around Brian's upper
arm, stopping his exit. Dragging the young singer close, Xavier stared at him a
moment, looking him over.
"So what
happened?" he questioned calmly, his eyes searching Brian's.
Brian tried to wrench
away, but gave up as Xavier's hand tightened into a vice-like grip. "What
are you talking about?" he asked evenly, his stomach twisting with fear,
wondering just how much Xavier knew.
"Don't fuck with
me," said Xavier lightly. "Harry quits, you punched someone at Burger
King…" Xavier prodded, waiting for an explanation. Brian coolly looked
down at the beefy hand that was crushing his arm, then up at Xavier.
"Let me go."
Xavier eyed him for a moment
then released his stronghold. Brian moved away, massaging his arm. What
should he say? His mind raced, trying to figure how much Xavier knew, how much
he didn't. No one knew where the hell Harry was and Brian was positive none of
the guys had talked to X. He decided to go with what Xavier had already
questioned him about.
"Harry quit because
we were all horsing around in the bus and he got angry," answered Brian
simply, leaving out the real reason. "He lost his temper, took off, left
us right in the middle of nowhere." Brian kept his voice steady, trying to
sound bored. "All of us were hungry so we stopped at Burger King and some
kid got jealous because his girlfriend was flirting with Nick. He was about to
punch Nick when I decked him. End of story."
Xavier had hitched his hip
onto the end of a massive speaker, his hands crossed in front of him as he
listened to Brian's explanation. "Just horsing around, huh?"
Brian wondered if Xavier
could see how shaky he felt. "Yeah, horsing around," he repeated, fighting
to keep his expression neutral.
Xavier stood up and gave a
massive stretch. "Hmm," he said, noncommittal. Brian watched him,
unsettled by his casual manner. Did Xavier believe him or not? Ill at
ease, Brian edged past the bodyguard, anxious to leave. He almost made it past
but once again the quick hand of Xavier blocked his way. Xavier leaned in, his
mouth brushing against the blond singer's ear. "You're a poor liar. But
that's okay. It just makes the game more interesting."
The closeness of his mouth,
the warmth of Xavier's breath against him made Brian physically sick. He yanked
hard, ripping free of the bodyguard's hold and vaulted off the stage, running
up the aisle. He reached the top and kept on running, unable to rid his mind of
the sinister laughter that floated up behind him.
* * * * *
Nick was in a foul mood
and everyone knew it. It had been a particularly pain-in-the-ass day starting
with Brian begging off a PR meeting, complaining of a headache, and asking Nick
to fill in for him. Nick reluctantly agreed and left with the limo driver, only
to have the driver get them completely lost. Finally reaching their
destination, after an hour of confused driving. Nick's tolerance level dropped
another notch when he discovered the publicity meeting had been canceled.
Leaving, he had climbed back into the limo, only to get stuck in freeway
traffic for two more hours due to an overturned semi. Nick waited in agony,
needing to pee bad, having unwisely drank a large soda before he left. Now,
back at the arena he just wanted to enjoy a few moments in the game room before
starting the tedious job of getting ready for another show.
Nick walked along side AJ,
on their way to their dressing room, when he saw their drummer striding towards
them. Nick said a quick hello, his hand frozen in mid-air as the drummer
ignored him, not giving Nick a second glance. Nick noticed their lead guitar
guy right behind the drummer and called out to him.
"Hey, seen Bri
anywhere around?" asked Nick hopefully, wanting to see if Brian would go a
couple of rounds with him. It seemed like forever since they had played against
each other. The guitarist gave the blond singer 'a what-planet-are-you-from
look' and walked away with a disgusted wave of his hand. Nick turned to AJ in
amazement.
"Damn! All I wanted
to know is if he knew where Bri was. What the hell is the matter with
him?" AJ shook his head tiredly as they rounded the corner to enter the
dressing room. Irritated, Nick whacked the door open then slumped down
dejectedly on the couch. "Get the feeling that everyone is ignoring
me?" he questioned. He gazed up to see AJ not listening, his hip hitched
over the edge of a chair, punching a few numbers on his cell phone. Nick
sighed. "Yep."
***