Pick (Recoil Rock #1)

by K E Osborn

  “Stuart, no,” I call out as Mum runs up behind him.

  His arms reach out for me and I rush up to Stuart, wrapping him to me tightly, trying to shield his eyes from the inevitable camera flashes.

  “Alise, you home. I miss you, sissy,” he says.

  My chest tightens and I can’t stop the tears from cascading down my cheeks as the cameras all turn flashing like crazy.

  “No, stop!” I scream as Stuart starts to moan grabbing a hold of me tightly. “Please stop! He has autism. This is frightening him,” I beg.

  He screams out and starts lashing out. I grab his hands trying to hold him back while Mum rushes up. We try to restrain him as he yells and screams crying hard while the cameras force up into his face.

  “You fools, can’t you see he’s disabled?” Mum yells.

  Stuart drops to the floor kicking and screaming while clawing at his eyes and ears, as the paparazzi continue taking photos and yelling at us.

  “This is gold! Your brother is just a looney as you are, Lunar!” one of the assholes says.

  I look at Mum, and she shakes her head glaring at me in a warning as she comforts Stuart, but my rage is too far gone. I stand up clenching my fist and throw it forward connecting with his jaw. He slumps to the side dropping his camera, and I stomp on it and yell loudly in frustration as I pound forcefully on the camera endlessly until it’s nothing but mess.

  “You fucking psycho, I’m going to have you charged!”

  “I don’t care! Just think of the psychological damage you’re doing to my brother, and then see if I care about being charged! All I care about is getting him out of here and calming him down after you lot have put him into this state, you fucking assholes. I hope you’re proud of yourselves!”

  They all look down at Stuart who’s on the floor rocking back and forth crying into Mum’s chest. His ear muffs are broken and his ears are bleeding. He has scratches on his face, and I can’t help but let out a small sob as I look down at him.

  “Fucking bastards,” I murmur, as they all slowly put their cameras down and security finally decides to come over and intervene. They pull the paparazzi away from us as another man helps Mum lift up an inconsolable Stuart.

  I wipe the tears from my cheeks as I look at Mum. “I’m so sorry.”

  She pats my shoulder. “Not your fault, honey. Let’s get your bag and get him home.”

  I quickly grab the last remaining bag from the carousel, which is of course mine, and run outside with Mum and the nice man carrying Stuart. Luckily he’s a big bloke because Stuart although skinny, is not short considering he’s sixteen years old. We put Stuart in the car and he’s calmed down enough to be in the sleepy phase now of his meltdown. We buckle him in, and his head falls to the side in his sleep coma and I relax knowing he’s a lot calmer now than he was inside the airport.

  “Thank you. I don’t know what I would have done if you weren’t there to help us,” Mum says to the nice guy.

  “My pleasure. My five-year-old daughter has autism, so I know all about it. When I saw what was happening I knew how to help.”

  “Well, thank you again. Can I give you some money or something for your trouble?” Mum asks, and I smile.

  He shakes his head. “No, of course not. He’s had a hard day, poor kid. Just get him home and look after him, that’s payment enough.”

  I smile at him and he smiles back. “Thank you,” I say and he nods then turns to walk away.

  Mum and I slide into the car, I turn back looking at Stuart with his mouth agape and soft snores echoing from his throat. I smile knowing at least now he’s not in pain. Turning back as Mum starts the car, I slide down in my seat.

  “I wish I’d never met Steel,” I murmur, and Mum exhales and pats my leg.

  “Honey, you can’t say that. The club was a big part of your life. And while it may feel like they fucked things up for you right now, if you weren’t in the club you wouldn’t have met Danger in the first place.”

  Tilting my head, I nod. She’s right, if I wasn’t working at Strapless as a stripper our paths would never have crossed, and I would just be another girl listening to him on the radio wishing I knew him.

  “I was having so much fun on tour with the band. I guess I’ll need to focus all my energy into the gala now… that’s if the foundation is still alive after everything. I’ve already had countless emails of businesses pulling out since the news went live about my past. So I’ll have to work doubly hard on finding new investors and donors if that’s even possible at this stage. My advisors have informed me that it would be best to appoint an interim director of my foundation until all the drama surrounding me being associated with the Savages has subsided. Once that settles and we have investors back on board, then I can step back up into the director’s role. Technically, I am still the director, just a silent one but this could all still fall in a heap, Mum.”

  She glances at me and exhales. “It might fall in a heap, but you have to try everything in your power, honey, to keep this thing going. You’ve put too much effort into this foundation to let it fall to the wayside now. You can do this, Annalise. I believe in you. You’re stronger than you know.”

  Nodding, I grab her hand and she squeezes mine in comfort then pulls out of the parking space and heads for home. I turn facing the window and watch as the streets of Adelaide pass me by. The summer sky is bright blue littered with fluffy white clouds. The sun shines so brightly the rays of sunlight sparkle down on the crisp green trees with their leaf tips slightly burnt. Everything looks so fucking beautiful and like the world should be a happy place. And yet, I feel like a haze of ominous black clouds are hovering around me. Surrounding me in darkness, consuming me from the outside in, swirling around all my organs, squeezing them so tight that everything feels like it’s struggling to function. My heart is battling to function, to beat, to pump blood to supply my lifeforce which makes me feel like I’m fading, fading into obscurity and I hate it and it’s swallowing me whole. It makes me think of Danger and how he’s coping. I just hope things between him and Nate don’t escalate now I’m gone.

  The last three weeks without Lunar by my side have been hell. I’ve been drinking more, fighting with Nate more, and I feel like my performance is lacking. We said we would talk when she left, but we’ve hardly spoken at all. I feel like she’s been distancing herself from me for the good of the band, but she doesn’t need to do that.

  I still need her, but I am wondering if she needs me anymore?

  Well, hopefully, I’ll find out soon, because I’m on my way to her gala. Recoil is playing, so I’m bound to see her there. I’m so glad that I’m finally going to be in the same room as her. I have a feeling things might be a little awkward, but even just being near her will give me a rush. I miss her so fucking much and the tension has been weird. When I do manage to talk to her she’s distant. I fucking hate it. I hate that she feels like she has to protect me from herself. I wish there were something I could do, I wish I knew what to do, but no one is helping besides maybe Effa who I’ve been spending more and more time with over the three-week break.

  We’ve been working on the duet, and with Lunar gone all I could think about was her. It opened the lyrical floodgate and the words came easier knowing how I feel. But it isn’t easy to write about someone you’re not sure cares about you the same way anymore. Either way, this song is bound to be a hit once we finalize it properly.

  “You know she’s going to be there, right?” Ryan asks sitting beside me.

  Nodding, I take a deep breath and rub the back of my neck. “Yeah.”

  “And how are you going to cope with seeing her?”

  Wincing, I clench my eyes tight and sigh. “I have no fucking idea.” Opening my eyes, I look at Ryan, and he’s frowning at me.

  “Just don’t drink okay? You’ve been hitting the bottle hard and I don’t want you to make a dick of yourself if she doesn’t talk to you. She’s only trying to protect the band. You’d do good to remember th
at, D.”

  Furrowing my brows, I tilt my head. “Have you been talking to her?”

  His face tells me he’s been busted, then he clears his throat awkwardly.

  “Ryan?”

  “Shit! Yes, okay. We talk, not often, maybe once or twice a week. She just rings to check on you.”

  Slumping into my seat, I rest my head back on the headrest. “Fucking hell, she does care.”

  Ryan scoffs. “Of course she cares, dick, she just doesn’t want you to get your hopes up when all the shit is still hitting the proverbial fan. Sure it’s died down some, but she feels bad. Some shit went down with her brother at the airport, and she doesn’t want anything else to happen because of her. She feels terrible, man.”

  I turn to look at Ryan and furrow my brows. “What happened to Stuart?”

  “The paps got snap happy and he reacted, had a meltdown in the airport, and Lunar punched a pap and smashed his camera.”

  I sit up taller and gasp. “What the fuck? Why didn’t anyone tell me?”

  He shrugs. “It was all over the tabloids. If you watched it, you’d have seen.”

  “That’s not the point, Ryan. You know I don’t watch that shit for a reason. Why didn’t you tell me, or more importantly why didn’t she tell me?”

  “She told me not to worry you.”

  I sink back down into the seat and rub my face. “Fuck!”

  Ryan exhales and pats my shoulder in comfort as we pull into the Doltone House at Hyde Park parking lot.

  Kane opens the door, and I step out onto the red carpet with my heart pounding in my chest. A barrier of ropes holds back a barrage of screaming fans as Ryan, Matt, and Nate all step out of the car and follow with me down the red carpet. We smile and stop along the way to pose for some photos with the official photographers of the event, and wave to the crowd as they scream at us. I look over at one girl who’s crying hard, but then she smiles at me and quickly lifts up her top revealing very perky braless tits. I chuckle as they bounce along with her, and Ryan cheers taking a photo with his cell. Rolling my eyes, I turn to him and smack him upside the head.

  “Dude, she’s probably underage!”

  “True, might delete that one then. I have plenty more.”

  Shaking my head, I walk into the open expanse and follow the crowd as we enter into the giant ballroom. It really is extravagant and not what I was expecting. For some reason, I was expecting reds and silvers, but this place is really opulent, decked out in black and gold with sparkling chandeliers hanging from the ceilings giving an elegant but almost masculine feel to the room. It’s very stylish and now that I look at it, it’s completely Lunar. Nothing like the normal galas and events I see people attending, this has her flair all over it and I love that I can see her in this place.

  Ryan looks at me and nods his head. “This place is fucking epic, dude. It screams Recoil.”

  “Yeah, it really does.” I glance around and think it does have a rock and roll vibe, and I like that she’s chosen something that fits the entertainment and not just something that suits the normal gala atmosphere. This is why Lunar is one of a kind. She thinks outside the box, and that’s why this foundation of hers is going to go places. I’m going to make sure of that. I’m as proud as a pig in shit of Lunar right now, and I just hope I get to see her tonight.

  We walk in and are ushered to our seats right at the front of the ballroom. I had a feeling we’d have the best seats in the house. We are the special guests and all. The guys sit down grabbing their complimentary alcohol as I scan the room. Everyone is dressed their best, including us. I’ve even gone all out and worn my black slacks, black shirt, leather jacket, and I’m even wearing a thin black fucking tie.

  The things I do for my woman.

  If she still is my woman?

  I have no idea.

  My eyes shift around the buzzing room taking in the women wearing their elegant ball gowns in colors of blacks, purples, and reds, everyone looks the same. Pretty and overworked. Then my eyes catch a glimpse of what can only be described as a heart pounding, jaw dropping, cock twitching, body tingling, soul shaking, beauty. My stomach twists as I look at her dressed in hot pink. The dress has a v-neck, the plunge going down right between her tits, but not in a slutty way. It’s tasteful and doesn’t show off anything. The top of the straps are covered in jewels and it comes in tight around her waist, which is also covered in jewels and then her skirt flows out in a beautiful flowing effect. She looks like a mother fucking princess. I want to be her prince, and whisk her away and kiss her all night long. She takes my goddamned breath away just from one simple look, and I shake my head subtly as I stare at her. Her head falls back slightly while she laughs talking to an older lady, and I’m assuming by the similarities in looks it must be her mother.

  “I’ll be back,” I murmur at Ryan, and he looks my way then toward the direction I’m looking and sighs.

  “Don’t be a dick,” he calls out as I head off through the crowd of people to get to her.

  Her beauty is stunning tonight, as her pink and yellow hair is pulled back into some messy do on her head, but she looks amazing. I absolutely want to ravish her on top of one of these tables, but I know I have to behave myself.

  She’s still talking to her mom and hasn’t seen my approach, so I figure I’ll just make myself known to her as her back is to me.

  “Hey,” I simply say, and she stills like she knows my voice and is taking a second before she turns. Her mother looks at me and smiles as Lunar turns and our eyes meet. Sparks rush around the room, and every part of me wants to reach out and thrust my body against hers then kiss her until there’s no air left in my lungs. I’m not sure if she wants that, so I stay where I am, heart bursting out of my chest at the sight of her big doe eyes staring at me while she licks her lips and half smiles.

  “Hey,” she whispers back breathlessly and chews on her bottom lip.

  Not the jumping into my arms like I was hoping for, but at least it’s not a slap in the face.

  An awkward tension fills the air as we continue to look at each other, and her mother clears her throat which makes us both look to her.

  “Shit, sorry! Mum, this is Danger. Danger… this is Mum or Jackie.”

  I put out my hand to Jackie and smile my dashing smile and her cheeks turn a slight shade of red. Seems Lunar’s mom is affected by my smile too. “Nice to meet you, Jackie. Stuart isn’t here?” I ask and Lunar frowns.

  “As much as I would love him to be here, ‘cause this is all for him, it would be too much. The people, the noise… it just wouldn’t work. He’s at home with a carer.”

  Nodding, I smile. “Shame… would’ve loved to have met him. But so glad to have finally met the woman who made Annalise into the amazing person she is today.”

  Jackie nods and tilts her head. “Well, I think Alise made herself into the person she is today.”

  “Alise? Is that your nickname?” I ask, and she smiles.

  “It’s what Stuart calls me, he can’t say Annalise.”

  “I like it.”

  She grins and swallows hard looking down at my clothes. “You scrub up well.”

  Shaking my head, I look her up and down. “I should have said that to you first… you are utterly stunning, babe. I can’t take my eyes off you.”

  She looks away from me, her cheeks flushing a bright shade of pink.

  “Annalise, there’s a problem with the vegetarian orders in the kitchen. Can we talk to you?” a man asks interrupting our moment.

  She looks up and nods. “Sure, I’ll be right there.” She turns back to me and takes a deep breath looking in my eyes. “It was so good to see you.”

  I open my mouth to tell her that I’ve missed her like crazy, but she scurries off before I can even say the first word. I close it and exhale, slumping my body that I didn’t get to talk to her about us.

  “She hasn’t stopped talking about you, you know?” Jackie says breaking through my tension.

  I l
ook to her and raise an eyebrow. “She hasn’t?”

  She smiles placing her hand on my arm. “She misses the band and being on tour, and you should make things right with her.”

  I inhale sharply. “I’m going to try.”

  “That’s all I ask. She’s a good girl, and all she’s doing is trying to protect you. But if you push hard enough she might come back. She misses you so much. Annalise has had the preparations for tonight to keep her busy, but I worry once this is all over that she’ll fall apart without you in her life. She needs you like I suspect you need her, by the way you look at her.”

  I look over at Lunar as she talks with a guy dressed as a chef, and she seems calm and relaxed. She inspires me.

  “I do need her, every inch of me needs her.”

  “Then fight for her, Danger, because she wants you so bad it’s killing her on the inside.” She squeezes my arm and then walks off.

  I take a deep breath and nod knowing by the end of tonight, I will have my woman back! I take one last look at Lunar before I turn and head back to my table to sit down next to Ryan.

  “So how’d it go?” he asks.

  “Strange, but I need to get it through to her that we need her back with us. I need her back with me.”

  Ryan nods. “Good, ‘cause you suck without her.”

  I scowl at him. “Do not.”

  Shit! What sort of comeback was that? I sound like a school boy.

  “Yeah, you kinda do. Just get her back on tour with us. Fuck, what Luke says. The dust has blown over on her past for the most part anyway. And honestly, the merch stands are totally lacking without her expertise.”

  “So all you care about is the money?”

  “What? No. I care about you. I care about her. I miss her, too. You know what I mean?”

  Nodding, I sigh. I do know what he means. I know it all too well.

  We performed at the gala after the main course was served and the charity auction went underway. The crowd loved us and we performed three songs. Lunar’s favorite three of course. I chose them on purpose and watched her as I sung the lyrics making sure to pay very special attention to her as I sung them. She was fidgeting in her seat, and I could tell I was working her up with my sensual performance.