CHAPTER TWENTY

Where I Come From ~ Passion Pit

Awake My Soul ~ Mumford & Sons

MASON

Life in Austin was good. Ever since I had been back, things seemed to be moving along near perfectly. The guys and I picked up our friendship like I hadn’t been gone and musically we seemed to be clicking like never before. We got back in the studio almost immediately and began working on the songs that I had written while away. It felt so good to be making music with my closest friends again; I knew without a doubt it was what I was supposed to be doing.

It took them a little while to adjust to the new and improved Rat, the one that didn’t care about partying, getting drunk or high, or girls. Okay, that wasn’t completely true. I still was very interested in females, the problem was the one female I truly wanted wasn’t available to me. No matter how hard I tried to tell myself to move on, to leave the past in the past, she always seemed to find her way back in my thoughts and dreams. Even though we didn’t see each other regularly any more, Scarlett and I still texted daily and even talked on the phone occasionally. I knew that the continued conversation made it even harder to let go, but I needed her friendship and support even more.

I did try to go out with a few girls that either Aaron’s girlfriend, Sophie, set me up with or girls I met at the gym, but it always felt so forced. I had made the decision that I wasn’t having anything to do with groupies or any girl that I met at one of our shows. If and when I did find someone, I wanted them to go out with me for me, not because I was the lead singer of a band. Another bit of good news I received when I returned was that Bentley had moved her bitch ass to Los Angeles. I was not looking forward to having to see her on a regular basis, so her being gone made things that much better.

About a month after getting resettled, Jobu’s Rum began to play shows locally again. We were hoping that when Jag returned from the tour he was on with VanderBlue the following month that he would begin lining us up some bigger venues and possibly organizing a tour for us to open for. We wanted to get our new lineup perfected in addition to getting our name back out there, so we were playing any and every thing that came our way. Ever since I had been sober, I had fallen in love with music all over again. It was almost like when I got my first guitar in middle school and I came home and practiced every single day. I just couldn’t get enough to satisfy my hunger for it.

On Saturday of Memorial Day weekend, we were lined up to play at the Lucky Lounge, a pretty well-known live music venue, which was a really big deal for us especially on a holiday weekend that marked the beginning fofsummer. I was happy to have something to keep my mind busy as I knew that Scarlett was moving that weekend, and I really didn’t need to dwell on that. The place was jam packed and the vibe in the air was intoxicating on its own. By the time we took the stage, I was definitely buzzing on adrenaline, and evidently the rest of the guys were too, because we were all spot on. The music from the different instruments bled together in perfect harmony and I was singing from the depths of my soul. We ended our set with Passenger’s Let Her Go, the same song I had sang to Scarlett that night at Empty’s, and the crowd’s reaction when we finished was so powerful that it gave me goose bumps from head to toe.

After the show, all the guys were heading up to the bar for a celebratory drink, and as tempted as I was, I told them I was calling it a night and heading back to the apartment. As I was making my way through the club to the door, arms circled my waist from behind. I turned around to tell whoever it was that I wasn’t interested in any company, but was pleasantly surprised to look down into those stunning blue eyes that I had become familiar with.

“Kiddo! What are you doing here?” I asked as I picked her up, hugging her tightly and kissing her cheek.

Andi giggled as she wrapped her arms around my neck, squeezing back. “We came to see you sing, silly.”

I looked around to see who was with her. “We?” That was when I saw Max standing back a little, waiting while she and I said our hellos. Still holding her, I walked over to him and gave him a man hug. “Max, dude, thank you so much for coming. That’s fucking awesome. I’m shocked,” I said to him.

He smiled warmly and replied, “Of course, the show was amazing. Y’all have come a long way from Empty’s, I’m really impressed.”

“Thanks, I appreciate it.”

Andi tapped at the ring in my lip. “What is this?” Then she ran her palm over my freshly buzzed hair. “And where did all of your hair go?” Finally, she slapped my chest. “And why didn’t you tell me you were a big rock star? I was living with a famous person!”

Laughing hard, I slid her down my body to put her back on the ground. “Aren’t you just full of questions,” I teased her.

She looked up at me with her sassy look. “Well, I made Max drive here so that I can see you, and you look all different and I find out you’re kind of a big deal. I’m just a little shocked.”

I shook my head at her. “I’m just Mase with no hair and my lip ring back in, kiddo. And I’m no big deal, but I wouldn’t mind being one someday.” Turning my attention to Max, I asked him, “Where are you guys staying tonight? If I’d have known you were coming, y’all could’ve stayed with me.”

“Nah, that’s okay. She wanted to surprise you, so we just got a hotel room. We are gonna stay until Monday… ya know, we’re just gonna do a little sightseeing cause she’s never been to Austin before.” She slid up next to his side, and he put his arm around her shoulder as he kissed her temple. “This was a last minute trip. After we dropped them off at the airport this morning, we decided to look online to see if we could find out where y’all were playing… so here we are.”

I knew exactly who he was referring to with them, and I appreciated him not saying their names. I also was very curious about what was going on between Max and Andi. I assumed if anything had happened Scarlett would’ve told me, but all she had said was that Andi spent a lot of time with them and that they had become really close. Pushing away my mental commentary, I told them both. “Well I was just headed to grab a bite to eat before going home. Would y’all like to join me?”

They looked at each other, speaking silently, and then she said, “Actually, we’re both pretty tired from driving and everything, but do you have time to meet us tomorrow afternoon before your next show?”

“Absolutely, kiddo. How’s two o’clock for a late lunch?”

“Perfect.” She stepped towards me to hug me bye, and even with her on her tiptoes, I had to squat down to kiss the top of her head. I shook Max’s hand and told them both that I’d see them the next afternoon before heading out to my bike.

As I laid in bed a little while later, I couldn’t help but think how strange things seemed. Scarlett and Ash were in California, Andi and Max were in a hotel room together in Austin, and I was alone on a Saturday night after a show. Just about that time, my phone began vibrating on the nightstand. I looked at the clock and saw that it was nearly four o’clock in the morning. Who in the hell? I reached across the bed and saw that it was Jag.

“Hello,” I answered.

“Rat, sorry if I woke you up, but I wanted to call you immediately,” he said excitedly.

“Dude, where are you and what time is it there?”

He chuckled, “I’m in London and it’s almost ten here. We’ve got two shows left this weekend and then we are heading home. Thank God, I’m so tired of living out of a suitcase.”

I really didn’t feel bad for him at all. I was supposed to be on that tour, but I had gone and fucked it up. “So what’s up? This better be good for a call at this hour.”

“What? Were you asleep? I figured after your big show tonight, you’d be out celebrating.”

“Sleeping is celebrating for me now, and how did you know about the show?”

“That’s why I’m calling,” he began to explain. “I don’t know what y’all did tonight, but I got a call from an exec at a top tier label company who saw you and he was blown out of the water. He wants to meet with us next week about signing on, and he’s already talking about a late summer tour.”

I was speechless. All I could muster up was a “wow.”

Jag laughed hard on the other end of the line. “No kidding! Look, go back to sleep, old man; we’ll talk about it more when I get back on Tuesday, but let the guys know, and strap your seat belt on cause it looks like we’re about to go for a ride.”

I hung up the phone and just stared at it. That was the phone call I had been waiting for most of my life. It was finally happening.

SCARLETT

The first month or so in California was everything I had thought they would be. Ash didn’t start work until the first of July so we had the entire month of June to spend together, hanging out and discovering northern California. I absolutely fell in love with the scenery and culture that surrounded us, and I enjoyed exploring the Pacific coast with him as he found new surf spots to try out. Several days each week, we would pack up a blanket, a picnic lunch, and his boards and just take off down Highway One. We would stop at small little beaches and he would surf for several hours as I sunbathed and read on the blanket. The climate was surprisingly cooler than I had expected, but it was nice to lay out for a while and not be covered in sweat.

In addition, I got caught up on all of my reading that I had neglected during finals. There were days that I really wished Evie had been there so that I could discuss my undying love for Lucien Knight, my hatred for girls named Bekah and Nan, and my secret desire to have Remington Tate’s babies, but instead I wrote down my thoughts about the books in letters to her. One day when I was at the beach, I had forgotten my journal, where I typically wrote the letters, so I typed up my letter on my iPad instead. That was when I got the idea to start a blog for the letters.

That night I did all kinds of research about different blogging sites and taught myself about widgets, hyperlinks, favicons, and a ton of other different blogging terms. The following day I spent setting up the blog. I titled it Ever Afters for Evie and began entering all of the letters that I had already written. I could’ve cared less if anyone else ever read it; for me, it was how I could stay connected to my best friend that I missed dearly. It was my way of keeping her caught up on all of the books she was missing.

That evening Ash came up behind me as I sat madly entering posts on my laptop. “Hey, butterfly, whatcha been doing all day? You’ve hardly come up for air.”

I stopped typing and smiled at him over my shoulder. “I set up a blog today! Do you want to see it?”

He nodded and sat down on the couch next to me. “It’s a place where I’m doing book reviews for Evie, so that I can tell her all of the things I would’ve told her if she was here,” I explained excitedly. “I’m really loving it! Right now, I’m entering all of the handwritten letters I had already done.”