Keeping the Beat

by Marie Powell

  “Going to blow every other Project Next competitor out of the water?” Jason said, smirking. “You bet you are. You girls are going to work harder than you even thought was possible in the next three weeks campaigning for YWI, and when you’re done, the world is going to know just how amazing Crush is. Especially after the benefit.”

  “Benefit?” Lucy asked, letting the excitement that was starting to buzz in her belly grow.

  “Oh, did I forget to mention that Crush is throwing the party of the year in three weeks’ time, right here in Crush House?” Jason said with deliberate casualness. “You’re going to raise a million dollars for YWI, and you’re going to have the best damn headlining debut in history while you’re at it. That is your miracle. You ready to help me make it happen?”

  10. It's a Miracle

  Three weeks later, Robyn tried to look casually sexy as she waited for Tomas to hand his cherry red, classic 1972 Jag over to the valet.

  She couldn’t believe how fancy Jason’s party planner had managed to do up Crush House for the YWI benefit. There was valet parking, a full bar by the pool and a juice bar in the kitchen. Not to mention food trucks from the three hottest restaurants in town parked in the driveway. It was fantastic.

  When Jason had promised them a miracle, he’d meant it. The past three weeks had been a blur. Crush had played all over Southern California, and once in New York. They’d been on every talk show there was. They’d even made a commercial for Young Women International with Eva St. Marie herself.

  While their music had improved, they still weren’t as good as they’d once been. But that was hardly a surprise — Harper and Toni still weren’t speaking to each other in more than one-word sentences and Iza was always off with Luke when Crush wasn’t practicing, gigging or at an appearance. They were just a band now, and they’d been more than that before. A lot more. If the online polls on the Project Next website were to be believed, being “just a band” might not be enough, no matter how many TV spots they’d had or how many times “I’ll Cross the World” played on The Eva Show. Crush had risen from last place to second, but second wasn’t enough — unless a miracle happened, they weren’t going to win.

  But Robyn forgot all about Crush as Tomas strode across the porch and lifted her off her feet, swinging her around into a full-blown kiss before finally putting her back on the ground.

  “When did you get so hot, girl?” he demanded.

  She felt a bit dizzy, and not just from being swung about. Tomas had kissed her before but tonight he was looking at her as though she were something edible and he was starving. He’d never looked at her quite in that way before. No one had ever looked at her in quite that way before.

  Tomas had been totally MIA for weeks, ever since that night at Darkroom. Even so, Crush had been so busy she’d hardly missed him. In fact, it had been a bit of a relief to be out with the girls and not have to worry about Tomas tagging along. But Robyn had run out of pills. She supposed she didn’t technically need them anymore. She fit into her clothes now. That had been the goal, after all. But … Robyn just wanted her pills. She wasn’t addicted or anything … they just made her feel better. Besides, Harper would hardly notice him tonight.

  “It was easy with your help!” Robyn said, grabbing Tomas’s hand and pulling him into the house. “We should run through the camera blind spots before things get really crazy in here.”

  “You’ve got quite a crowd already,” Tomas said, pulling her closer and wrapping his arm around her shoulders as they walked. “I’m impressed.”

  “This is just the beginning,” Robyn crowed. “You should see the guest list. It’s going to be epic.”

  “Good,” he said. “My supplier wouldn’t be pleased if this was a dud.”

  He sounds a bit worried, Robyn thought, surprised. He never sounds worried.

  “What’s wrong?” she asked.

  “Oh, it’s nothing. I just pulled in more product than I could pay for upfront on this one,” Tomas said, a nervous edge to his voice. “It’ll be totally worth it, but my supplier just called again on the way over, making menacing noises.”

  “What do you mean by menacing?” Robyn tried not to let the panic show in her voice. It was one thing to have Tomas quietly do a little business at the party, but what if his supplier turned up? She hadn’t a clue where Tomas got his drugs, but she could guess that whoever he bought them from wasn’t someone Crush wanted turning up at their house.

  “No, no.” Tomas put a finger under her chin, lifting her eyes to his. “Not to worry, my sweet little Robyn. He just likes to protect his investments. All I have to do is see to it that he gets paid, which should be easy thanks to Crush.”

  Lucy stood at the mirror that Paulina and the makeup team had set up in the den, now converted into a temporary green room. The others were buzzing about, getting ready, but Lucy couldn’t quite seem to tap into their pre-show excitement. She shoved, fruitlessly, at the explosive ponytail that Debra Z had taught her to tie her curls into for shows. Why did Lucy’s hair always insist on being just a bit lopsided?

  “Lucille!”

  It was Alexander. He was back! She couldn’t decide if she was relieved or terrified.

  “I turn my back on you for a few weeks and you girls decide you have the burning need to become mediocre?” Alexander bellowed as he crossed the den to her corner. “What happened, Lucille?”

  Terrified. Definitely terrified.

  “I …” Lucy tried to find a way to explain it that wasn’t going to get Jason fired and ruin his life. He didn’t deserve that, not after working so hard to fix things for them. Finally she gave up. “It’s complicated. But I’m glad you’re back.”

  Alexander shook his head. “Why didn’t you call me when Jason decided to take his little vacation from sanity and turn you over to Ash?”

  “I didn’t even think of it, honestly,” Lucy confessed. “I just assumed … I mean, your job with us is over. I wasn’t sure you’d still …”

  “Care?” Alexander snapped. “You weren’t sure I’d care? Well, you’ve got another think coming, Lucille. I put a lot of time and effort into you, and I’m not going to let whatever little feud you girls are indulging in ruin it. You are too special to blow your career on teenage melodrama, young lady. What is it? Boys? Drugs? Booze? I’ve seen too many good musicians go down that way, Lucille. Don’t disappoint me and become one of them.”

  “No, I’d never …” Lucy stuttered. “I mean, there are no drugs. I swear. We’re okay, it’s just … there’s just …”

  “Fine.” Alexander held up a hand to cut her off. “You don’t have to tell me, but you do have to do something about it. Every band has a leader, Lucille. You may sit at the back of the stage, but for Crush that leader is you, whether you know it or not. Harper thinks she’s the boss, but that’s not what I see when I watch you girls work. If you want to win Project Next then you’d better fix whatever it is that’s broken, you hear me?”

  Then he turned and stomped out of the den.

  Lucy looked around at her friends. Toni was standing at the window alone, brooding as usual. Robyn was bouncing at the mirror, messing with her hair and guzzling something clear from a water bottle, but Lucy was willing to bet it was vodka, not water. Harper was in the corner, chatting with Rafe and Skye, completely oblivious to the look of exhausted annoyance on Skye’s face. And Iza was in the corner, talking to Luke and ignoring them all. Alexander was right. She had to do something about this. But what?

  “Five minutes!” Ash called from the doorway. “We go live in five minutes!”

  Whatever she was going to do, she needed to do it now.

  “HEY!” Lucy said, as loudly as she dared with a house full of guests just outside the door. “Hey, Crush. Huddle up. NOW!”

  “Lucy?” Robyn said, her green eyes puzzled. The others were staring at her as well.

 
She resisted the urge to dive under the nearest table and hide. Now that she finally had their attention, she had to use it. Alexander was right. Jason might have got them back into the spotlight, but it wouldn’t do them any good unless they could be Crush again, rather than the pale imitation of themselves that they’d become.

  “This show is either going to set us up to win in Vegas or completely ruin us,” Lucy said, trying to keep her voice from shaking as hard as her hands were trembling. “And we’re going to blow it if we go out there like this. Jason messed up but he’s done his best to fix his mistake. We haven’t. We play and we’re fine, but we’re not great. And we were great. We were amazing.

  “We can’t keep blaming each other for the fact that we aren’t anymore, because we’re all guilty. I’ve been stressed out and snippy, which isn’t putting anyone in a better mood. Robyn, you have to eat more and drink less. Iza, we’re all happy for you and Luke, but we need your head back in the band! Harper, I know that you’re mad at Toni, but it’s over. She did something stupid over a guy … who hasn’t done that?”

  Lucy looked pointedly at Harper who avoided Lucy’s eyes, instead staring down at her killer metallic-gold heels. She knew exactly what Lucy was talking about.

  “This isn’t a game for me,” Lucy said, “and it shouldn’t be for any of you either. We can do this, if we do it together.”

  Lucy couldn’t think of anything else to say so she stopped talking. For a long beat, there was nothing but silence. Lucy could almost hear her own heart sinking.

  Then Harper reached out and took Toni’s hand. Toni stared down at their linked fingers for a long time, and then she reached out with her free hand and twined her fingers through Robyn’s. Lucy felt a hand slipping into her own and found that Iza had silently crossed the room to stand at her side. Iza held her other hand out to Robyn, and Harper reached out to take Lucy’s free hand. The circle was complete and so, for the first time in a long time, was Crush.

  “Sixty seconds, Crush,” Ash called.

  “Are we ready?” Harper asked.

  “Yes,” Toni said. “I think we are.”

  This is the real miracle, Lucy thought, looking at her friends as they clustered together at the door that would lead them out onto the stage Jason’s crew had built for them at the center of the house. The question was, would it be enough?

  Lucy couldn’t believe that so many people were crowded around the stage, which was a perfect circle, built in the middle of the open-plan ground floor. There were even people hanging over the balcony that lined the upstairs landing. Lucy settled in behind her drum kit as Toni bounced around the edge of the stage, stirring up the audience. Was it Lucy’s imagination or was there just a little bit more energy to Toni than there’d been yesterday? A little extra sauciness in the toss of her hair than there’d been in the last show? Or even ten minutes before?

  Lucy thought that she’d hardly have to play; her heart was pounding so hard. Her heartbeat alone had to be loud enough to keep time for Crush. This was it. The TV finale might still be days away, but this was the show that would make or break the band, and they all knew it.

  Harper strode out into the center of the stage, looking just as though she owned every single pair of eyes that was pointed her way. She always did. Harper loved nothing more than being dead center of everything, in the heart of the spotlight.

  So why wasn’t she saying anything?

  Harper always began their performances by chatting to the audience a bit. With just a quick flirt or two she could have the crowd eating out of the palm of her hand before Crush even struck their first chord. But when Harper had leaned into the microphone just now, she’d just stood there. Like she’d lost her voice.

  Was the mic turned off? Lucy wondered. Was the benefit going to make headlines for technical difficulties rather than musical awesomeness? Or, even worse, had Harper ACTUALLY lost her voice in some kind of freak episode of instantaneous laryngitis? That was silly. It couldn’t be … could it?

  “Oi,” Toni hissed through a frozen smile. “Harper! What’s up?”

  “I …” Harper started, but then spun abruptly away from the microphone and stalked back toward Lucy.

  Lucy desperately hoped this was some kind of dramatic new opening routine, but something told her it wasn’t. She’d never seen that stricken look on Harper’s face before.

  “What are you doing, Harper?” Lucy asked, starting a low rumble on the kick drums to cover their whispers.

  “I can’t remember the words,” Harper replied.

  “What?” Lucy said, struggling to keep her voice low. “Harper!”

  “I know! I don’t know what’s wrong with me!” Harper whispered. She sounded on the verge of tears.

  “Okay, okay, don’t panic,” Lucy said. “Nothing’s wrong with you — you’re just nervous.”

  “I don’t get nervous,” Harper snapped.

  “No,” Lucy agreed. “You don’t.”

  “I’m so sorry, Luce,” Harper whispered. “I know how much this means to you. I know how much you gave up to be here … and now I’m ruining it all.”

  How could this be happening, after everything they’d been through? Could it really just be over, just like that?

  Every band has a leader, Lucille. You may sit at the back of the stage, but for Crush that leader is you.

  Alexander was right. This wasn’t over until Lucy said it was over. She could keep them on beat. She had to.

  “You’re right,” Lucy said, squaring her shoulders and lifting her sticks. “We’ve all given a lot to be here and we’re not giving up now. You are Harper McKenzie and you don’t get nervous. You own this stage and now you’re going to bloody well sing on it. Get back to your microphone. I’m going to beat you in and then we are going to rock. You got me?”

  “I don’t know, Lucy,” Harper said.

  “I think you do,” Lucy shot back. Then she raised her drumsticks and snapped them down on the drums. She wasn’t giving Harper a choice. It was now or never.

  “ONE … TWO … ONE, TWO, THREE, FOUR!” Lucy shouted.

  Harper turned back to her microphone, opened her mouth and sang.

  As Harper blasted into the third chorus of “I’ll Cross the World,” the entire audience sang along, filling the air so completely that Robyn could almost feel the tidal wave of sound picking her up and carrying her away with it.

  “I’ll smash it to bits if I have to,” Harper sang. “I’ll burn it all down just to show you, you belong with me.”

  The audience was singing along. Five hundred people singing a melody Robyn had made up, just messing about on her guitar one afternoon. Five hundred people singing a song that Crush had bled and sweated and cried over for months. Robyn felt … small and enormous and terrified and happier than it seemed possible to be, all at once. She felt … invincible.

  “I’ll cross the world to be with you,” Harper crooned. “Oh yes, I’ll cross the world to be with you.”

  Robyn picked her way through the last few chords as Lucy smashed down the final beat and then reached up to quiet her cymbal so that Harper’s voice could float out over the crowd without anything else getting in its way.

  Harper leaned into her mic and called, “We’re Crush, and we love you just as much as you love us!”

  The house actually shook with the applause. They’d played three encores already, and if it kept up like this they’d have to play another. Of course, they’d already played every song they’d written plus pretty much all of the covers they knew, so that could be a problem, but Robyn didn’t care. She could keep playing all night if that’s what the crowd wanted.

  Robyn was so happy she thought she might burst. Just drift into the air like a soap bubble and float away. She barely felt Harper’s hand on her arm, dragging her back through the kitchen door they’d chosen as their route off the stage.
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br />   They had done it. They’d starred in a show, in their very own home, and the audience hadn’t just loved it — they’d wanted more. They were Crush again and they were better than ever.

  Once they were off stage, Harper threw her arms around Robyn’s neck in a bubbling bear hug.

  “We did it!” Harper crowed.

  “We absolutely did,” Robyn agreed, still struggling to keep her head and her body together. “I can’t believe it.”

  “Believe it.”

  It was Tomas’s rich, chocolate voice. Robyn’s stomach spun as he wrapped his arms around her waist from behind.

  “You ladies are stars. Nobody can argue with that now,” Tomas continued, leaning down to drop a kiss on Robyn’s bare shoulder.

  “Tomas,” Harper said. “You’re here.”

  “Yep,” Robyn said. “I invited him. Is that an issue?”

  Harper didn’t drop her gaze from Tomas’s face. “No, Robs. Tomas and I have just had a bit of a misunderstanding, I think.” She turned her icy blue eyes on Tomas. “I’m surprised though, Tomas. I thought I was extremely clear.”

  “You were clear, Harper,” Tomas said coolly, his arm tightening around Robyn’s waist, “but a beautiful woman invited me to a party. I accepted. How does that surprise you?”

  “What are you two talking about?” Robyn demanded.

  “We’re just discussing a little promise Harper made me when we met at Darkroom,” Tomas said.

  “A promise I’ll keep,” Harper said grimly.

  “We’ll see,” Tomas replied.

  “Yes, we will,” Harper shot back. Then she flashed a sunny serial-killer smile. “I always keep my promises, right, Robs?”

  Then she swept away into the crowd.

  Robyn turned into Tomas’s arms. “What was that about?” she asked. “Did something happen at Darkroom? I know you haven’t been around much since then, but I didn’t think … Is she going to cause trouble for you?”

  Instead of answering, he leaned down and kissed her, hard, until the world dipped and spun.