by Amiee Louise
“I’m a woman; you need to learn that we definitely don’t play fair, rock star.”
I wink and nip his earlobe. He swats my bottom as I walk over to the bathroom door, strips off his clothes, and follows me in. Twenty minutes later—after a mind-blowing quickie in the bathroom—we are both dressed and satisfied. We go out into the garden, and Dexter hands us both bottles of beer. My dad beckons Sam over; he kisses me on the cheek and walks over to my dad.
“Eden is being her usual dramatic self, banging on about her and that pompous twat of a fiancé.” Dexter lowers his voice and pulls a face, “Sometimes I think she must be fucking adopted!”
I almost choke on my beer and slap Dexter playfully.
“That’s our sister, Dexter James Harper, how very dare you!” I say mockingly. We both laugh, and Eden bounces over to us.
“Sis!”
She throws her arms around me and air kisses me, enveloping me in her Chanel scent.
“You look fab, that dress really suits you. I can’t believe I had to find out about you and Sam from the internet. Why didn’t you call me?”
Straight for the jugular. Typical Eden. I take a sip of my beer before I give her my answer, “I’ve been so busy at the shop. Lately, it’s been non-stop.”
She narrows her eyes as I mention the shop. “I can’t believe you’re still working for Seb in that grotty shop. Yeah, he is fit and all, but now you’re with Sam. You could totally use your celeb connection, and you could so work somewhere more upmarket.”
“How many times, Eden? I’m happy working with Seb, he is like a brother to me. I could never let him down like that, we make a good team.”
Eden rolls her eyes. “Yeah because he wants to get in your knickers, Peyton.”
I clench my fist at my side, and Dexter touches my arm in warning.
“Why do you insist on being such a bitch, Eden? She said she is happy where she is. I told you before not everyone can afford holidays on yachts in St Tropez and diamond encrusted engagement rings.”
Eden narrows her eyes at Dexter and stomps off in a strop.
“Thanks, Dex,” I say.
He smiles. “No need to thank me, I just hate the way she talks to you, that’s all.”
I look over to where my dad and Sam are, chatting easily and bonding over the barbeque. Sam smiles shyly in my direction, and I get butterflies in my stomach just looking at him. Eden goes over to him and stands uncomfortably close to him. I can tell Sam is trying to be polite, but the way she is brushing his arm and flicking her hair over her shoulder is beginning to bug me.
“Don’t let her see that she is getting to you, sis.”
I take a deep breath. “She’s done this with every boyfriend I’ve had. She can’t just be happy for me, she has to try and take what’s mine every single fucking time, Dex. You would think she would have grown out of it by now. She is exactly the reason why I don’t come home more often,” I say through clenched teeth as my mum comes over to us.
“Is everything all right, sweetheart?”
I put on my best fake smile and nod, not wanting to cause a scene. “Yeah, everything’s fine, Mum.”
She smiles. “Have you and Sam had a good day?”
I nod. “Yeah, it was perfect, thanks, Mum. It’s so good being back here. I miss you guys.”
She hugs me tightly and says in a shaky voice, “We miss you too, darling.” She pulls away from our embrace. “Can I get you another bottle? Maybe a glass of wine?”
“Yeah, wine would be great, please, Mum.”
She puts on a smile and walks away from us.
“She really misses you, Peyton. God, I miss you being here. Yeah, it’s peaceful, but now that we’ve all moved out, it lacks heart. We should definitely make more of an effort to come home more often.”
Dexter smiles a genuine smile, and I am reminded of how much I miss my baby brother and being back in my family home.
Coming over to us, Dad says, “Hey, sweetheart, the food is almost done. I bought some of those steaks you love so much. Dex, could you come and give me a hand, please, son?”
Dexter nods, and my dad kisses me on the cheek. They both walk over to the barbeque area. I go inside and use the toilet, and as I flush the toilet, I hear voices outside.
“Eden, what the fuck? I’m with Peyton, I love her.”
“Come on, Sam, rock stars always cheat on their girlfriends with groupies. What makes my sister so special?”
I open the door as Eden leans in and tries to kiss Sam. Sam grabs her wrists and pushes her away. I am shocked at the sight in front of me.
“Eden, what the fuck do you think you’re doing?”
She pretends to look shocked.
“Peyton, he-he-came onto me. He tried to kiss me.”
I shake my head. “No, he didn’t. I saw exactly what happened. How fucking dare you? Keep your filthy hands off my boyfriend. You’ve always been jealous of me, Eden; you’ve always wanted what’s mine ever since we were kids. You hate seeing me happy, you’re jealous, and you’re shallow. You are only with Jonah because he has money. You don’t love him, because you’re always on the lookout for something better, something that’s mine. You’ve done it with every boyfriend I’ve had, you can’t stand that someone like Sam actually wants to be with me and not you. You’re trying to ruin what we have just because your life is such a train wreck, and you do it every single fucking time, Eden,” I shout. Mum and Dexter come rushing in from outside.
“What’s going on here, girls? What’s all the shouting about?”
Eden is about to speak, and I hold my finger up.
“I just walked in to find her trying to kiss Sam.”
My mum looks open-mouthed at Eden. “How could you do that to your sister, Eden? After everything she has been through.”
Eden laughs bitterly. “After everything she has been through? She was with a complete psycho for three years, she got knocked up, and tried to commit suicide for attention. Big bloody deal.”
I slap Eden hard ‘round the face. I go to hit her again, but Sam and Dexter both hold me back.
“Eden, sometimes I think you must be adopted. You’ve really fucking excelled yourself today, trying to kiss Sam, being a complete bitch, and you’ve just managed to alienate the rest of your family. Well done.” Dexter claps sarcastically, and mum slaps his arm.
“Watch your mouth, Dexter. Go and help your dad plate up the food outside, please, I’ll deal with this.”
Dexter looks at me, concern marring his boyish features. “Will you be OK, sis?”
I nod, and Eden rolls her eyes.
“Oh, please, she loves playing the role of the victim in all this. As if a guy like Sam is really in this because he loves her. He just wants the publicity of a relationship.”
Sam steps in front of me, shielding me from Eden.
“I’m in this because I’m in love with Peyton. It might be hard for you to believe, but your sister is everything to me. She is everything you’re not: she is beautiful, funny, and intelligent, she is genuinely nice, and the kindest person I have ever met. What you see is what you get, and I hope to spend the rest of my life with her. If you think I’m with her for publicity, then so be it. Believe what you want to believe. I know the truth, and Peyton knows the truth, that’s all that matters.”
My eyes glaze over at Sam’s words, and I squeeze his hand.
“Fine! Take her side. I’m going!” Eden shouts childishly. She grabs her things and leaves in a huff.
“I’m so sorry for all that, Mum.”
My mum shakes her head “Don’t be silly, sweetheart.” Mum hugs me quickly and leaves to go out into the garden.
“Thank you so much for standing up for me back there, honey.”
Sam smiles warmly. “I meant every word, baby. I would never cheat on you or ever do anything to betray you. You mean too much to me.”
He strokes my face and kisses me gently on the lips before we go back out into the garden. We spend the
rest of the night eating, chatting, laughing, reminiscing, and catching up like a proper family. I am really enjoying being back here, and I will be sad to go back to London. Halfway through the evening, my mobile starts ringing. I excuse myself and get up to take it, expecting it to be Ruby.
“Hey, babe, I wondered how long it would take you to call me!”
There is a pause on the other end, and I am shocked at the voice who replies.
“I’m flattered, baby cakes.”
My eyes widen. Fucking Callum.
“I thought you were Ruby.”
He laughs. “It’s OK, please don’t hang up. I wanted to apologise about the other day. I was bang out of order. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about everything that was said.”
It’s my turn to pause. “I can’t believe you’ve got the cheek to actually call me after everything you said.”
“You broke my fucking nose, Peyton; I had to lie to Sav about how it happened.”
I stifle my laughter before saying, “The lies come easy to you, Callum; it runs in your family. Once a liar, always a liar.”
“How can you say that? Look, we need to meet up again. I know you’re at your parents’ house, but when you get back to London. It’s about time I started being honest with you about the way I acted when I found out you were pregnant.”
I sigh. “I’m bored of this now. It’s in the past, and I’ve got nothing more to say to you.”
“No, you’re going to fucking listen to me for once instead of shooting me down constantly. Yeah, I cheated, but I need to make amends for it Peyton, just give me one final chance. Please, that’s all I’m asking.”
I look up to the sky, let out a loud sigh, and say, “OK, I’ll meet you for lunch on Monday.”
He clears his throat. “OK, that was easy enough, our usual spot? In Finsbury Square?”
I smile involuntarily at the memory. “Yeah, around twelve thirty on Monday? This is your last and final chance, Callum. I mean it.”
“Thanks, Peyton. I’ll look forward to seeing you, bye.”
Exasperated, I hang up the phone. I go back over to Sam and sit on his lap.
“Is everything all right, babe?”
I nod and plaster on a fake smile. “Just … I’ll explain later.”
I wrap my arms tightly around his neck and breathe in his scent. He smells of mint, Joop aftershave, and his familiar Sam smell, which I love the most. It is comforting and calms me like nothing else before. Dexter makes a vomiting sound.
“Someone pass me the sick bucket!”
Laughter breaks out all around. We resume our family chat, and before I know it, the sun has gone down. Mum and Dad go inside, and Dexter takes a call from Grace, leaving Sam and me in the garden. I lead him over to the decking area, and we relax into a hammock at the bottom of the garden. I am comfortable lying in Sam’s arms with him subconsciously stroking my arm and a blanket pulled up over us.
“Today has been … eventful!” I say with a sigh, and we both chuckle softly.
“Dexter and I had a heart to heart last night. I miss him so much being in London.”
Sam looks down at me. “Then I’m going to make it my mission to make sure you come back home at least once a month,”
I smile at his thoughtfulness.
“Have you been in touch with the boys since you came here?”
He shakes his head. “No, I switched my phone off because of J.D, babe; it’s just you and me. I’ve enjoyed the peace and quiet, if I’m honest.”
I look at him, and my curiosity gets the better of me.
“Tell me more about the boys; I feel like I hardly know anything about them.”
“OK, where do I start? Brody is definitely the dark side of the band. If it’s female, got tits, and a pulse—although we joke around that, a pulse is optional sometimes with him—he’ll try to put his dick in it, photographers, interviewers, TV presenters. I’m actually surprised he didn’t try it on with you at the shop the day you tattooed us, you fit his criteria! You name it, Brody’s done it. He is also the biggest junkie of the band too. He has snorted lines of coke off stripper’s arses, and he has popped so many pills I’m surprised he doesn’t rattle when he walks, it’s a shock that he is still functioning.”
I am shocked at Sam’s honesty about the dark side of fame, and it sends an unwelcome shiver down my spine.
“You see, Brody was born an addict, literally. His mum was a total fuck up, and she took drugs the whole time she was pregnant with him.”
My eyes widen. “What do you mean was?”
He pauses before continuing, “She was a prostitute and died with a needle in her arm. She overdosed on heroin; Brody found her when he was ten. It fucked him up for years. It ate away at him. He would lose himself in the music, but he was so hurt and broken, he was just a frightened little kid. He started taking drugs at fifteen and spent his life in and out of children’s homes, always having to look out for himself, but he is … Brody. He is clever, so talented, has a photographic memory, and an IQ of one hundred and fifty-four. Watching him play guitar is fascinating, it’s so effortless and something that comes so easily to him. He hardly has to practice, which is why he doesn’t do rehearsals with us the majority of the time. One of the roadies sound checks for him, all he has to do is turn up on time. He has been in and out of rehab for the past ten years or so, and he has a sober sponsor called Lenny who is like a dad to him. He is an amazing person, he tries to keep Brody clean and on the straight and narrow, but J.D just makes it so God damn easy for him to get hold of the drugs. Brody asks for coke, his drug of choice, anytime of the day and like an idiot, J.D sources it and gets it for him. There’s been nights where he has gone missing, literally just disappeared. He once was so fucked up on coke, we locked him in the dressing room and played a show without him. We made up some bullshit excuse that he was ill. He hides behind the bravado, the jokes, and his flamboyant dress sense. But deep down he is still that frightened, terrified, little kid who found his mum dead.”
I lie in Sam’s arms listening to him tell Brody’s story, and my heart clenches in my chest. I can’t imagine what it must have been like for a child to find his parent dead.
“Now Jax, he is my best friend—my wingman, my brother. We lived next door to each other when we were growing up. We were always causing trouble, but we always had each other’s back. I spent my early years up until the age of four or five on a tour bus with my mum and dad, moving from place to place, but when the touring dried up, we moved into a house. Jax and me clicked straight away, we hung around together, we sat next to each other in school, and we shared everything. But we drew the line at girls. I briefly dated his sister Shay for a few years, which to this day he still doesn’t know about. His family was an extension of my own. I trust him with my life, and I can tell him anything. We share hotel rooms when we’re on the road. I’d do anything for that boy, and he has saved me so many times, I owe Jax my life.”
My heart lurches.
“He saved you?” I will him to elaborate, and he clears his throat.
“That’s a story for another time, babe.”
He doesn’t say any more about it, and I vow not to push him, so I don’t say any more on the subject.
“Lucas came over from America when he was seven. He was an odd kid with an odd accent. He found it hard to fit in being the new kid; we saw him struggling, so we took him under our wing and welcomed him into our friendship fold. When we were fourteen or fifteen, we formed a band, like I told you before, and I’d never seen anyone play the drums like Lucas before—the way his face lights up when he has his sticks in his hands, the stick spinning trick he does before he goes on stage. He doesn’t talk about his past at all, not even to us; he is extremely private and guarded. He is the quietest member of the band but also a total ladies’ man and a massive party animal. The fans seem to like that he is the dark horse of the band. He brings an air of mystery to what he is about.”
Sam smiles as he
tells of his bandmates and I can tell there is a strong bond between the four of them.
“I could tell you so many stories of drunken debauchery and tour bus shenanigans, but I really don’t want to scare you off!”
We both laugh, and Sam nuzzles his face in my hair. I feel the most relaxed I have felt all weekend and snuggle closer to him. He wraps his arms tighter around me.
“You could never scare me off, baby.” I feel him relax underneath me. “What about Cole, what’s the story with him? How did you meet?”
I let my curiosity get the better of me and take full advantage of the alcohol making him chatty.
“Cole is a good bloke. He’s ex-military and an ex-cop. In the early days, we didn’t need security, but when we started to get more and more well-known, it was harder for us to even leave the venues without protection. He was the doorman at a nightclub where we went to celebrate our first album going straight to number one in the rock charts. Brody was drunk and off his face on pills, and he spilled a drink on this guy’s girlfriend by accident. He copped a feel of her tits, and the guy started going crazy. He smashed a glass and was about to push it in Brody’s face until Cole stepped in. He totally disarmed the situation, cooled everyone down—I had never seen anyone handle a situation as calmly as he did that night. I told J.D that we could use a guy like him and hired him on the spot. He owns his own security firm: C.B Security Corps—we’re his biggest clients. He has around six or seven men working for him at the moment. They are all the best at what they do. We’ve become really close, and I consider him one of my best friends. He has a fiancée called Amy, who works for a magazine; she is Milo Lightman’s stepdaughter from my dad’s band. They have a four-year-old daughter called Addison—she is my goddaughter, and I love her to bits. He is tough and would give his life to protect us, but he is total mush around both of them.”
