Buried Castles

by Monica Alexander

  I looked back and forth between her and Zack. He was grinning, and she was looking at me in anticipation.

  “Doesn’t Adam need to interview me or something?” I asked, wondering how the hell I was being offered a job when the head of the label hadn’t met me. “Does he want to see my resume?”

  “He trusts me,” Molly said, “And I think you’re perfect for the job. It’s yours if you want it.”

  “Please take it,” Zack said, his lips so close to my ear.

  I closed my eyes for a few seconds, smiling and savoring this moment. This was the best solution to my problem. Not only would I get to promote a band that I loved, but I’d get to go on tour with them. Zack and I wouldn’t have to be apart.

  “I’ll take it,” I said, the grin spreading across my face. I couldn’t help it.

  “Yes!” Zack grabbed me and pulling me up against him. I kissed him before he could say anything else. “I knew you’d say yes,” he said against my lips, and I just smiled.

  “Okay, okay, enough you too,” Molly said after a few minutes. “I swear I will get a bucket of water and douse you with it. This is a child’s birthday party after all.”

  “Yeah, and we’re about to open presents, so get your butts back inside,” Jen said then from the doorway.

  Zack turned and grinned at her, and she shrieked. He just laughed.

  “You took the job?” she asked me, and I just nodded.

  “Yea!” she said, hugging me. “Now Zack won’t have to kill himself.”

  “Jen!” I admonished.

  “What?” she asked, all innocence in her tone. “He was mopey without you around for three days. I was scared to see how he’d react to you living across the country. My daughter needs her father, you know.”

  Zack rolled his eyes. “Yeah, and right now, your daughter also needs to open her presents.”

  He moved to walk past Jen into the apartment, his hand pulling me along. I knew he hated when his friends called him out for being emotional. It wasn’t his style, but I secretly loved it.

  “What did you get her?” I asked Zack, as we settled down next to Lily and a monster pile of presents. Jen settled down on her other side and handed her a present.

  Zack smiled as he pulled me back against him. “I got her like twenty presents. She’s so spoiled, but I can’t even help it.”

  I laughed.

  “What did you get her?” he asked, kissing my temple as Lily ripped into my present.

  I grinned. “A princess dress. I want her to believe that princesses do exist and fairytales do come true, even if it’s not the truth.”

  “I think that is the truth,” Zack whispered.

  “Nah,” I said, “sometimes it’s better to just bury the castle. Besides, reality is so much better than any fairytale.”

  “You’re my fairytale,” he said.

  I turned to look at him. “And you’re my reality.”

  “Ooh,” Lily said, as Jen held up the ice blue Cinderella dress for her to see. “Pwetty!”

  “Look, Lily,” Jen said. “There’s something else in the box.”

  “What else did you get her?” Zack asked, as Lily reached back in for the second half of her present.

  I grinned. “The complete works of Taylor Swift,” I said, and Zack just groaned.

  Epilogue

  Emily

  “Hey you guys, thanks for coming out to support us tonight,” Zack said, as Andrew played a random riff in the background.

  They’d just played Jump and were going to end with Without You like they had for the past few months. Zack knew it was my new favorite song, so he always closed out the set with it. They’d been traveling around the state a bit for shows, and their fan base was growing, but they always drew the biggest crowds when they played at Devil’s Hangout, which they did a few times a month.

  This was their last show before they left to start touring with The Claws. Their first show was in a few days in Maine, so they’d decided to come back to Devil’s Hangout for one last show with their hometown fans.

  “As always we’re so grateful for our fans and love when we get to play in Durham where it all started for us more than six years ago,” Zack continued. “These guys up here with me have been through a lot since then, but the one thing we’ve always come back to is music. It’s what we love, and I think I speak for everyone when I say we’re goddam lucky we get to do this for a living.”

  In response, Leo nodded, Andrew amped up his riff and Derrick pounded out a rhythm on the drums. Cheers simultaneously went up from the crowd, and beside me Rachel whistled. I was glad she was with me. She’d been spending so much time with Chase, flying to and from New York, and I’d been with Zack most nights, that it felt like we didn’t even live together anymore. I missed her. Taryn had also come along to see the band I’d raved about for months.

  “And speaking of living, you guys all know that there are times in your life when you should play it safe, and then there are times when you should jump in with both feet. That last song was about doing just that. This next song is one I wrote a few months ago when I was going through a pretty tough time. You see, I should have jumped, but I didn’t. I ran the other way, and it was a huge mistake. You probably know this song since we’ve played it before, but tonight we’re debuting a new verse I added last night. This song is called Without You, and Emily, I want your answer when our set’s over.”

  With that he winked at me, and all I could do was look confused.

  “What is he talking about?” Taryn asked, leaning toward me.

  “I have no idea,” I said, watching Zack start to strum out the first few bars before he started singing. He was being cryptic, as usual. The guy literally couldn’t straightforward with his messages.

  I just shook my head, smiled and sat back to watch him. I never got tired of watching him play, and now that he was mine, it made it all the more special, because I knew he was going home with me after the show. I wouldn’t be able to see him play for a while, so I wanted soak it in while I could.

  Without you, I’m lost, fumbling and falling

  Missing so much of who you were

  If I could change the past, I’d take it all back

  I’d turn back time, I’d take away the pain

  I’d make sure I didn’t leave without you

  I sang along with the chorus, knowing now exactly how Zack had felt when he’d wrote it so many months ago. Since we’d been back together, he’d written a few more songs for me, and I loved being his muse. However, he hadn’t told me about this added verse to Without You, so I held my breath with the rest of the audience when he ended the last chorus and played for a few minutes without singing. I was practically sitting on the edge of my seat when he stepped back up to the microphone.

  There was a time when I knew what it was like

  To live without you, to share your pain

  But time moved on, and you came back

  Loving me like you’d never left

  You’re where I want to be, now and forever

  And all I can hope is that you might

  Just maybe, say yes to me tonight

  Okay, seriously! I literally had no idea what that meant. What exactly did he want me to say yes to? Then I thought I knew, and my heart started pounding.

  Around me, the crowd went nuts as Zack finished out the song with a few last strums of his guitar, and I sat there in stunned silence. He didn’t look at me. He just mouthed ‘thank you’ and raised his hand to the crowd as Liar’s Edge left the stage.

  “Um, did he just propose to you?” Rachel asked, leaning toward me.

  “I think she’s in shock,” Taryn said, poking me in the shoulder.

  I brushed her off. “I’m not in shock,” I said, shaking my head a few times to focus on what had just happened. I looked up at Rachel. “He did not propose just now, on stage in front of all these people. Tell me he didn’t just propose!”

  Rachel looked at me with empathy, but I cou
ld tell she was holding back a smile. “I think he might have.”

  “Holy shit,” I said, leaning back in my chair.

  “Well, he’ll be out here soon, so you’d better have your answer ready,” Taryn said, scanning the crowd for Zack. “Didn’t you say he always hangs out after his shows?”

  I nodded slowly. Apparently I was in shock.

  After ten minutes, when Zack didn’t appear, I got nervous. Where was he?

  “Hey,” Kristin said, sliding into the empty chair across from me. She’d been watching the show from backstage, where I usually watched, but since Rachel and Taryn were with me, we’d gotten a table.

  Kristin and I had surprisingly become good friends. I’d spent many a morning sipping coffee in the kitchen with her before I left for class and she left for work, our significant others still sleeping upstairs. And we always traveled together when the guys were playing in another city. It was nice to have her around, and I found out we actually had quite bit in common.

  “Good show, right?” she said, reaching across the table to take a sip of my beer. She didn’t say anything about the new verse to Without You, and I wondered why that was. Had she not realized what Zack had said?

  “Really good show,” Rachel said when I didn’t respond.

  “Is Zack coming out?” I asked her, suddenly on edge.

  She shook her head. “He asked me to see if you could meet him backstage. He’s in the lounge.”

  The lounge was a backstage room where the band hung out before and after their shows. There were couches and a refrigerator filled with drinks, and it allowed them to not have to mingle with the crowd if they didn’t want to. I knew Derrick sometimes brought girls back there after the shows, but Zack must have kicked him out that night since he was talking to a blond by the bar.

  “Okay, I’ll meet him back there,” I said tentatively.

  I got up from my barstool, feeling the butterflies in my stomach take flight. I was halfway to the bar when someone called my name. I turned around to see Shelby standing there, tentatively smiling at me.

  “Hey Shelby,” I said, trying to be polite, but inside I really just wanted to get backstage.

  “How are you?” she asked, as she reached forward and hugged me, taking me by surprise.

  After that day in the library, she’d been much friendlier to me, almost as if she’d realized that I really was just as human as she was. We’d finished our presentation in Mass Comm, getting and A, and afterward the four of us had gone out for beers to celebrate. Noah and Taryn had left, but Shelby and I had closed down the bar. I hadn’t seen her much since that night, but when I did, she was always friendly to me.

  “I’m good. How are you?”

  She smiled. “Great. I’m just here with some friends. We heard this band was really good, so we decided to check them out.”

  I grinned. I couldn’t help it. I got all giddy when someone complimented Liar’s Edge. I was so happy for Zack and the guys, and I knew they were going to make it big.

  “What did you think?”

  “They totally rocked,” she said, grinning at me. “Hey, you’re not the Emily the lead singer was talking to in that song, are you?”

  I grinned sheepishly. “Um, yeah, I was. He’s my boyfriend.”

  And he might have possibly just asked me to be more than that.

  “He’s really cute.”

  “I know,” I said, grinning. “He’s amazing. I was just heading backstage to see him.”

  “Well, I won’t keep you,” she said. “I just wanted to come over and say hi.”

  “It was good seeing you, Shelby.”

  “You too,” she said, turning away before she glanced over her shoulder. “I’ll see you at graduation.”

  “See ya,” I said, wishing the next month would fly by. Graduation couldn’t come soon enough. The day after I walked across that stage, I’d be joining Zack and the guys on tour, and I couldn’t have been more excited about my new job.

  I suddenly felt like my feet weighed fifty pounds as I started to make my way backstage. The door to the lounge was closed, and part of me imagined Zack on the other side, down on one knee with an open ring box in his hand. I froze a few seconds before knocking, making sure I was ready for this. I was.

  “Come in,” he called from the other side, and I was relieved when I walked in and saw him on the couch tuning his acoustic guitar.

  “Hi,” I said, suddenly shy. I was pretty sure my cheeks were bright red.

  “Hey,” he said, leaning his guitar up against the couch.

  I went and sat next to him, angling my body, so I was facing him. “Good show,” I said, leaning over to chastely kiss him.

  “Yeah?”

  I nodded. “You’re always good.”

  “Then why do you look like you’re afraid to touch me? Is there something I should know? Did we screw up or something?”

  I knew what he was doing, and I appreciated it. He was attempting to calm me down with humor, which meant he’d been literal when he’d sung those lyrics.

  “No, you didn’t screw up,” I said, biting my lip.

  “Uh, don’t do that,” he said, pinching my chin between his thumb and forefinger, pulling my lips to his. “You’re sexy enough when you’re not biting your lip. It makes me lose focus, and I need to stay in the moment right now.”

  “Why?” I asked, feeling like I was playing games. We both knew why.

  He raised his eyebrow at me. “Was it too much?”

  “Zack, are you serious?”

  He nodded. “Yeah, I kind of am. Are you mad?”

  I shook my head. “No, I’m not mad. I am surprised, though, so if you were going for shock value, it worked.”

  He smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “Listen,” he said. “I know what you’re thinking – we haven’t been together that long, we have a choppy history, you’re still in college, etcetera, etcetera. I know there are a million reasons for you to say no, but there’s one reason for you to say yes, and that’s that you love me. It’s that simple.”

  “Zack, it’s not simple,” I said, and I wasn’t sure why I was protesting. I didn’t even have a solid argument, outside of the things he’d already mentioned.

  He reached forward and smoothed back a lock of hair that had fallen into my face. “Do any of the things I mentioned change the way you feel about me? Please say no.”

  No. Not in a million years.

  “Well no, but Zack this is a big step. Are you sure you want this? What about Lily? Have you thought about how this will affect her?”

  He smiled. “I know exactly what I want, and I know my daughter is on the same page as me. She adores you. But the question is, what do you want, Emily Cole? What would you do right now if there were no consequences, no regrets? What would your answer be?”

  I looked at him, so afraid to answer, but at the same time I didn’t want to hold back.

  “No thinking,” he warned. “Just go with your gut. Will you marry me?”

  “Yes,” I said quickly, surprising myself, but knowing it was what I’d wanted all along.

  Somehow, through all we’d been through, and the ups and downs and the uncertainty, there was one thing I knew for sure. I knew that I was unconditionally in love with Zack Easton. And somehow that was enough for me to make the biggest decision of my life, because at the end of it all, I got to be with him. And that in itself was a fairytale ending.

  About the Author

  Thanks so much for reading Buried Castles. I really hope you enjoyed it as much as I loved writing it, developing the characters that helped bring the story to life and ultimately, giving Emily and Zack their happily ever after. It is my fourth novel. My other novels, Just Watch the Fireworks, Aftershocks and Broken Fairytales are also available in e-book format online.

  Books have always had a big part in my life, and I probably spend way more time reading that I should, engrossed in the stories that keep me captivated. In addition to books, I have a serio
us love for the Florida Gators and the Boston Red Sox, I am addicted to fashion, and I never go anywhere without my iPod. Give me a grande non-fat vanilla latte from Starbucks and chips and queso from Tijuana Flats, and I am a happy girl.

  I am a total sucker for romantic comedies in all forms, because at the end of the day I just want to laugh and see some really great people fall in love. When those stories are mixed with an awesome soundtrack, it just doesn’t get much better than that.

  You can read more about me online at: http://www.goodreads.com/monicaalexander

  Playlist

  I listen to music constantly, so inevitably songs have a way of working themselves into my stories, but this was even truer with Buried Castles since music was an central theme all throughout the book. Below is a playlist of the songs I hear when I read the book. Of course, I had to leave out the Liar’s Edge songs because, as much as I wish they were a real band with real songs, they’re completely fictional. I can’t write music to save my life, and my guitar skills are even worse, so imagination will have to suffice for those songs, but all others are below are real. Some songs I referenced in the book itself, some Zack played, and others are just ones that I felt fit in nicely with story. Enjoy!

  Love Bites (So Do I) – Halestorm

  One Day Too Late – Skillet

  Paranoia In B Major – The Avett Brothers

  Last Kiss – Taylor Swift

  Numb – Linkin Park

  A Place Only You Can Go – Needtobreathe

  Sandcastles – Kate Voegele

  Slow Burn – Atreyu

  Royal Blue – Cold War Kids

  Better Way – Sister Hazel

  The Dirt Whispered – Rise Against

  Wine After Whiskey – Carrie Underwood

  Undertow – Warpaint

  Get Me Right – Dashboard Confessional

  Use Somebody – Kings of Leon

  Some Nights – Fun.

  Enchanted – Taylor Swift

  Everybody’s Fool – Evanescence