me to bed and I was asleep before I could even thank him.
When I woke up it was dark in my room and just a hint of light was coming through the window. I rolled over and groaned. Too many hours in the same position left me aching. My throat was parched, my stomach was angrily empty and my head hurt like crazy.
I sat up slowly and flicked on the light. There was a bottle of water on the bedside table and a note scrawled on hotel stationary.
After chugging half the bottle I paused to read. The note was from Matthew. He'd left the water when they had to go to the meet and greet, and told me to call him when I woke up, whatever the time.
Glancing at the clock I realized it wasn't late, it was early morning. I'd slept through the whole night. I groaned again and climbed out of bed. On my way to the bathroom I saw the little desk was covered in more bottles of water and a giant pile of snacks from the vending machine.
When I came back out of the bathroom a few minutes later, I was still smiling. I drank some more water and turned on the television just for some noise. Flipping channels while I sampled some of the snacks Matthew had left me, I leaned back against the headboard.
I settled on one of the local stations who were running a ridiculously early news show and watched the headlines scroll across the bottom of the screen. It didn't seem like the world had ended while I slept, which was good to know. But then I wondered if I'd spoken too soon when a picture of the members of Dream Defiled came up on the screen. I fumbled with the remote to turn the sound higher and held my breath.
"And in entertainment news, bad luck rock band Dream Defiled seems to be turning things around. Only a few days into their new tour, the group is selling out stadiums and reminding fans why they've put up with the internal drama for so long." The female anchor smiled. "It's nice to see them getting back to work, and from what we're hearing, they're sounding better than ever."
Her male counterpart nodded. "Yes, but if you pay attention to the internet – which I do – there are rumors of trouble still brewing."
"Is that right, Ken? Do tell. Have you been reading gossip blogs again during commercial breaks?"
He chuckled. "Guilty as charged, Barbara."
Ken and Barbara? Seriously? A couple of jerks named after toys shouldn't talk shit about anyone else.
Barbara patted his arm. "It's all right. Tell us what you're hearing."
"Well, word on the web is that someone in the band went to the hospital yesterday. Now, all members were present at the show last night, but who knows. Overdose? Stomach pumping? Maybe antibiotics? Could be anything, but with these young guys, anything is possible."
"Well, that is interesting." Barbara said, flicking her hair over her shoulder. "Hopefully everything is all right and fans across the country don't have to worry about more cancelled dates."
I groaned and put down the bag of chips I'd been devouring. Obviously someone had spotted Matthew at the ER for me and now it was going to cause more doubt. More trouble I was responsible for.
My first thought was to tell Steven, but then I remembered, he'd started all of this in the first place. He was the last person I wanted to talk to at the moment. But, if I didn't have my brother, then I had no one. He was my only family, and really my only friend.
I was still furious with him and unsure if we could get past this. It wasn't just him going behind my back, breaking a promise I made, but the fact that he wasn't sorry. That he thought he was justified. It made me wonder what kind of person he was. And that scared me. We'd always been so in sync. So united by our plans and desires. Losing that felt like a death.
Disgusted, I turned off the television and pulled the covers over myself. I thought back to one of the many therapists I'd talked to as a kid. One of the only ones I hadn't hated completely. She'd been a tiny blonde with a booming, brash voice that was at odds
When I woke up it was dark in my room and just a hint of light was coming through the window. I rolled over and groaned. Too many hours in the same position left me aching. My throat was parched, my stomach was angrily empty and my head hurt like crazy.
I sat up slowly and flicked on the light. There was a bottle of water on the bedside table and a note scrawled on hotel stationary.
After chugging half the bottle I paused to read. The note was from Matthew. He'd left the water when they had to go to the meet and greet, and told me to call him when I woke up, whatever the time.
Glancing at the clock I realized it wasn't late, it was early morning. I'd slept through the whole night. I groaned again and climbed out of bed. On my way to the bathroom I saw the little desk was covered in more bottles of water and a giant pile of snacks from the vending machine.
When I came back out of the bathroom a few minutes later, I was still smiling. I drank some more water and turned on the television just for some noise. Flipping channels while I sampled some of the snacks Matthew had left me, I leaned back against the headboard.
I settled on one of the local stations who were running a ridiculously early news show and watched the headlines scroll across the bottom of the screen. It didn't seem like the world had ended while I slept, which was good to know. But then I wondered if I'd spoken too soon when a picture of the members of Dream Defiled came up on the screen. I fumbled with the remote to turn the sound higher and held my breath.
"And in entertainment news, bad luck rock band Dream Defiled seems to be turning things around. Only a few days into their new tour, the group is selling out stadiums and reminding fans why they've put up with the internal drama for so long." The female anchor smiled. "It's nice to see them getting back to work, and from what we're hearing, they're sounding better than ever."
Her male counterpart nodded. "Yes, but if you pay attention to the internet – which I do – there are rumors of trouble still brewing."
"Is that right, Ken? Do tell. Have you been reading gossip blogs again during commercial breaks?"
He chuckled. "Guilty as charged, Barbara."
Ken and Barbara? Seriously? A couple of jerks named after toys shouldn't talk shit about anyone else.
Barbara patted his arm. "It's all right. Tell us what you're hearing."
"Well, word on the web is that someone in the band went to the hospital yesterday. Now, all members were present at the show last night, but who knows. Overdose? Stomach pumping? Maybe antibiotics? Could be anything, but with these young guys, anything is possible."
"Well, that is interesting." Barbara said, flicking her hair over her shoulder. "Hopefully everything is all right and fans across the country don't have to worry about more cancelled dates."
I groaned and put down the bag of chips I'd been devouring. Obviously someone had spotted Matthew at the ER for me and now it was going to cause more doubt. More trouble I was responsible for.
My first thought was to tell Steven, but then I remembered, he'd started all of this in the first place. He was the last person I wanted to talk to at the moment. But, if I didn't have my brother, then I had no one. He was my only family, and really my only friend.
I was still furious with him and unsure if we could get past this. It wasn't just him going behind my back, breaking a promise I made, but the fact that he wasn't sorry. That he thought he was justified. It made me wonder what kind of person he was. And that scared me. We'd always been so in sync. So united by our plans and desires. Losing that felt like a death.
Disgusted, I turned off the television and pulled the covers over myself. I thought back to one of the many therapists I'd talked to as a kid. One of the only ones I hadn't hated completely. She'd been a tiny blonde with a booming, brash voice that was at odds
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