Unstoppable (Fierce) by Ginger Voight

should be sorry,” he muttered as he helped me toward the bedroom. “Be sorry that you ever did this to yourself in the first place.” He eased me onto the bed, yanking the covers back over my legs. “You want to know why I can’t love you, Jordi? Because you don’t love yourself. And one of these days, Bionic Boy is going to come to the same conclusion. You see how easy it was for Shelby to fill your shoes on stage. What happens when she fills his arms next?”
    He let that hang in the air as he departed. I took my phone out of my pocket, re-reading all the loving, concerned texts that Jace had sent me over the last day. “He loves me,” I kept saying to myself, clutching my phone, and fading once again into a painless, black oblivion.
    It was dark by the time I awoke again. I checked my cell phone. It was nearly eleven o’clock. The house was dark and quiet, which meant that Eddie had probably gone to retrieve our houseguest.
    I scrolled through text after text I had received while blissfully unconscious. Vanni, Andy, Graham, Maggie and of course, Corey and Jace, had all left messages to check in and give me encouragement. I was so lonely without all of them.
    I had to join them on tour. I had to.
    I eased back out from under the covers and out of bed.
    I made the disheartening discovery that most of the food Eddie had brought in were packed full of preservatives and sugar. He had microwave meals – diet, but microwave nonetheless, he brought bags of snacks and crackers and cookies that all claimed to be low-calorie.
    At least he was trying, I guessed. I still reached for the bag of trail mix that Corey had packed in his bag. A handful of yogurt covered raisins, chocolate-covered edamame, almonds, cashews, dried fruit and honey-sesame sticks sounded much better than a bag full of twelve, super-thin chocolate wafers.
    I’d get more nutrients if I ate the bag.
    I ate my snack, took my pills and was just settling back into bed when Shelby and Eddie made it home. They didn’t stay for the after-party since they didn’t want to leave me alone for that long. At least, that’s what Shelby told me after she came prancing into the bedroom, her arms full of flowers she wanted me to have.
    “I was so nervous doing your song!” she confessed as she snuggled up to me on the other side of the bed. “But Jace was wonderful. He walked me through everything. He was so patient, even when I screwed up. I don’t have your voice, obviously, so we had to make some changes. But he would just have us do that part over until I was comfortable, and then we’d move on to the next part. I almost pissed myself when the number started, but he gave me a wink and a thumbs up, so I knew I could do anything. Then, when the night was over, he gave me these for a job well done,” she said as she caressed a silky rose petal between her fingers. “Isn’t he wonderful, Jordi?”
    I nodded, but said nothing.
    “We missed you, though,” she added with a pout. “When are you going to join us on the road?”
    My wide eyes met hers. Had she heard something I hadn’t? “I just supposed I would go with you guys to Phoenix next week.”
    Her brow knit with concern. “Are you sure you’re going to be on your feet? Eddie said you were unconscious all day.”
    “That’s because of the pills,” I shrugged away. “I just won’t take them before I perform.”
    “Won’t that be painful?” she probed.
    I gave her a false smile of bravado – the one I had perfected my whole fucking life. “The show must go on.”
    She just patted my hand. “Don’t rush yourself. Nothing is more important than your health. We got it covered either way.”
    Eddie heated up a can of soup for me with some toast, and then thankfully left me alone for the rest of the night. Because of my condition, he took refuge on the couch, even though I wouldn’t have known he was beside me or not in the narcotic-induced coma I fell into just around twelve-thirty that