Ultimate Game Changer

by Kira Adams

  “They’re good, aren’t they?” I point out.

  He glances back at me and then back to the band. “What’s their name?”

  “Rebels with a Cause,” I reply with a smile.

  He grins back at me before turning his attention back on the exotic female lead singer. She has dark hair and features, and flawless brown skin. When I met her earlier, I asked her what her nationality was and she said Indian. Her voice sounds like a young Beyoncé.

  Typical Cade, as usual, his wandering eye always gets the best of him.

  He turns his attention back to me. “You haven’t come to check on Puss and Boots one time since you moved out.”

  I gasp offended. “Yes, I have. You’re always asleep or gone when I’ve come. Don’t put that on me.”

  Cade shrugs. “What is going on with you? You’ve been acting differently.”

  Goosebumps rise all over my skin from his words. What does he know? “What are you talking about? I’ve just been busy. It’s called moving and getting a job; look it up.”

  Cade scoffs grabbing the round of shots I’ve just placed in front of him. “You’re hiding something, and I’m going to find out what it is.”

  I shake my head, biting my lip nervously. “You’re delusional.” He doesn’t know anything. Brax and I have been super careful. The only person I’ve told is Breigh, and she definitely isn’t speaking to Cade…

  “Go hang out with your friends, please. Let me get back to work.”

  Cade rolls his eyes at me, grabbing the small glasses of tequila and passing them out one by one. “To Emerson’s new job!” I cringe as all their glasses clink together.

  I need to speak to Braxton.

  Chapter Thirty-Four:

  Braxton

  “Dude, wake the hell up!” I hear an angry voice bark, and then I feel myself being aggressively shaken. Opening my eyes, the room comes back into focus, and I realize that I passed out at our rehearsal space.

  Cade is standing above me, glaring down into my eyes. I’m too hungover for this.

  “What?” I ask annoyed, shielding my eyes from the light. I have a pounding headache.

  He doesn’t even flinch from my harsh tone, just stays firmly planted with his arms crossed. “What the fuck is this?” He brings his hand to eye level, and I notice a silver band on his left ring finger.

  “I don’t know, man. How much did we have to drink last night?” My eyes trail over the rest of the practice space. Red is on the floor in a heap, as usual; Spencer is cuddled up on one of the couches with his girlfriend, and Geo is also in a far corner of the room with an unfamiliar female. The whole band is accounted for.

  Suddenly, the door of the practice space opens, and the gorgeous girl Cade met last night walks in. She is carrying a drink carrier packed with coffee and a bag of what smells like bagels. She is much more put together than the rest of us. I’m surprised she’s so awake and alert considering the heavy drinking we all took part in last night.

  She places the drinks and food on the dirty coffee table, moving empty beer bottles and soda cans to the side. “Good morning, husband,” she says with a smirk and then kisses Cade on the lips.

  Shit. It’s all coming back. The instant chemistry, the copious amounts of shots, and then a shotgun wedding. None of us were even dressed for the occasion, but we didn’t let it deter us. We ended up at the courthouse around the time it opened. Partied all night and then accompanied my best friend to get married. Suddenly, I realize just how terrible the idea was to begin with.

  Cade is having trouble stringing together a full sentence. His eyes are dancing between me, his ring, and his new ‘wife.’

  He rushes to her, grabbing her left hand and examines the ring on her finger. “Where did you get this?”

  She pulls her small hand back, almost offended. “You gave it to me!”

  He reaches for it again, his eyes wide. “That is my grandmother’s ring.”

  She laughs uncomfortably. “Like I said, you gave it to me. Are you okay?” Pressing the back of her hand to his forehead, she checks his temperature.

  “You’re telling me this is real? This isn’t some kind of fucked up prank you all are pulling on me?” Cade’s eyes are manic. I can only imagine what is running through his head.

  The poor girl stares back at him with a sad expression. “Okay, I knew you were drunk, but you didn’t seem that far gone.”

  Cade is breathing heavily, pacing about the room. “Well, you’re about to look at me in an even worse light,” he pauses, gathering his thoughts, “because I don’t even know your name.”

  She shakes her head, frustration building on her face. “Well, you made up a name for me, Bella, which you said meant beautiful in Italian.”

  Cade rubs his hand over his face. “So you’re telling me we were piss-ass drunk, didn’t know a thing about each other, but decided to get married any way?”

  She glances around the room. “Yeah, basically.”

  He groans. “Then why the hell did we get married?”

  She stares back at him, her mouth hanging open. “You honestly don’t remember anything?”

  Cade shakes his head. He’s blacked out a few times before from heavy drinking, but this takes the cake.

  Bella, or whatever her name is, glares back at him. “My name is Pooja; I’m not officially legal here in this country, so you offered to marry me so I could stay permanently.”

  Cade stares back at her, jaw to the floor. “Where are you from?”

  “Dubai,” she answers simply.

  He swallows, staring back at me with a helpless expression. “Does Emerson know?”

  I shake my head. “I don’t think any of us had time to talk.”

  “Good, let’s keep it that way,” he replies.

  Cade is in way over his head. I feel for him, I do. This is something you would see on The Hangover. Not something that happens in real life… or maybe that’s what movies have been based on all along. Small truths and some lies.

  ***

  “Have you spoken to your brother today?” I ask casually, grabbing a glass from the cupboard and turning on the faucet, helping myself to water.

  I take a long gulp, needing to rehydrate after so much alcohol. I have to stop drinking so heavily.

  Emerson is staring back at me concerned. “No, why?”

  I shrug. “No reason. I should let him tell you.”

  “What?” she exclaims, rushing toward me. When it comes to Cade, she has blinders on.

  “It’s not a big deal really.” There is no way in hell I’m going to dive into what happened last night. It’s not my place.

  “Braxton, you can’t just say something like that and then not elaborate. That’s messed up.”

  I sigh. “He probably doesn’t remember, seeing as how obliterated he was last night, but Spencer and Cassi broke the news to the band that they are moving to California soon so she can go to UCLA.” Technically, I’m not lying.

  Emerson’s mouth drops open. “What is Spencer going to do?”

  “You know Spencer; he’s one of the most talented people I know. He’ll have no trouble getting plenty of paid gigs. I don’t think much will change; he’ll still play music every day… just not with us.”

  “But you guys are doing so well right now; you have labels who have been watching your every move. He’s such a big part of ADS. Are you guys going to replace him?” She’s making valid points, asking normal questions, but it’s stressing me out.

  “Can we not talk about this?” I ask, gulping down the rest of the water and then placing the glass in the sink.

  She nods with a sad look on her face. “Okay, but I’m here if you decide you do want to talk about it. I love Spencer too; we all love Spencer.”

  I reach out for her and pull her into me, kissing her deeply. I’m so wrapped up in her that I don’t hear the front door open or the heavy footsteps. Neither of us have a clue what is about to happen until we are literally pried apart, and Cade is u
p in my face.

  “What the fuck, Braxton?” he bellows.

  Emerson is so shaken up that it takes her a moment to register that our secret is out, for good. “Cade!” she screams.

  “How long?” he growls.

  “Dude, it never stopped. I know you tried to keep us apart, but I really care about her,” I say gently. This is my best friend, and although I made my choice long ago, I’m still going to fight to have them both in my life.

  Cade’s eyes grow darker and he steps toward me. His hand is on my throat faster than I can process a clear thought.

  “No!” Emerson shouts frantically, rushing to get in between us. “You’re not going to do this. Not here, not ever.”

  She somehow manages to slip in between us, and she pleads with Cade, “I love him.”

  The second the words leave her lips, his grip releases around my neck, his arm falling to the side. It’s the first time I’ve seen the anger and betrayal leave his eyes. Tears begin trailing down his face. “How do you know?” he asks in a soft voice.

  Emerson pulls him to the couch, sitting down beside him. “He’s not trying to take your place. He would never try to do that. I would never want that. But he makes me happy, Cade.”

  Cade looks at her through teary eyelashes. “What if he hurts you?”

  She shrugs. “It’s a definite possibility, but I know Mom and Dad would want me to be with someone who makes me smile, and makes me laugh. Someone I feel comfortable around and someone who makes me feel safe. Don’t ya think?”

  Her words really hit home with Cade, and he begins sobbing, clutching on to her for support. “I never meant to ruin your life; I was just trying to protect you. I couldn’t lose you too.”

  Now Emerson is crying, and everything is a mix of snot and tears. I’m not one for the waterworks, but I’m having trouble holding it together myself.

  “I know, you’re my big brother and nothing can change that. You will always be my number one.” After a few more moments of loving words, they hug it out for a long while, finally being able to squash the past mistakes.

  Cade looks at me with a fallen face. “Did you tell her, or should I?”

  I throw my hands up in surrender. “That secret wasn’t mine to tell.”

  He nods at me, a show of appreciation. “I’m sorry about the whole…”

  I wave his apology off. “Don’t worry about it. We’re brothers and always will be, blood-related or not.”

  He forces a smile on his face before he turns back to Emerson, ready to spill the beans. I don’t need to hear the story, so I slip outside, allowing them privacy.

  Chapter Thirty-Five:

  Emerson

  I’m late. No not just any kind of late. I’m the important kind of late. The late that could change your entire life. It could be the stress of Cade’s dilemma, or the guilt of having something that is all mine, or a multitude of other reasons. Whatever the case may be, I’m stressing. I haven’t told Braxton yet because I don’t know if there is anything to tell.

  I’m planning on picking up a pregnancy test after work today to ease my mind. Wouldn’t it be just my luck to get pregnant the first time I had sex? Braxton didn’t even come inside me, so I’m not sure how I would be; I’m just overly cautious.

  It’s not like I even have time to worry about such a thing between work, Braxton, and everything Cade. We’ve been trying to talk him into an annulment for days. It’s strange, but he’s deflecting. It’s almost as if somewhere deep down inside he wants to stay married. He wants to face the challenge. Everyone we know says it won’t last, but Cade’s always moved to the beat of his own drum. It wouldn’t surprise me if he shocked everyone and stayed with Pooja. Mischa would flip her shit if she found out what happened, so neither of us has been talking.

  My mind is anywhere else but work when I arrive. I know I’m going to need to get my head in the game because making drinks is all about details. Our guests don’t deserve shitty service or poor drink skills. I need to be focused.

  “You doing okay, girl?” Demi asks from the other side of the bar, a concerned look on her face.

  I shrug. “Yeah, I just have a lot going on at home.”

  “Well, you better shelf that because we have one hundred and forty-five reservations on the books for tonight, so you’re going to need to be fast.”

  I nod. “Got it. I’m here and focused.”

  She gives me a dual thumbs up and then continues making a whiskey ginger for the gentleman in front of her.

  The first few hours are the worst. I can’t get out of my head. Luckily, by the time it hits eleven, I don’t have time to think about anything else other than the task at hand. By the end of the night, I walk out with over two hundred dollars in tips. It feels good to finally be pulling my weight in the world.

  I’m ashamed to say it, but ever since our parents died, both Cade and I have been living off their life insurance money. It was more than either of us could ever want or need, and I’m nowhere near being low on funds, but I’m not twelve anymore. I’m freaking twenty-two years old, and I need to figure out what path I’m going to create for myself.

  The wonderful thing is, we’ve been very fortunate over the past ten years because of the money. Yes, it came from a terrible tragedy, but it helped mold such a beautiful future for both of us. When Mischa was struggling with money and wasn’t sure how she could pay the mortgage, Cade and I were able to pool together enough funds to cover three months worth, rather than just one. It gave us the capability and means to travel internationally and within the states, and Cade was able to put his all into his music.

  The thing I don’t ever want to forget is how all hard work pays off. My mother was the hardest working person I knew. She was a nurse and would spend close to eighteen hours every day on her feet. My father used to call her Superwoman, and I agree. My father worked just as hard for the state, working as a guard in a juvenile detention center. When I get older, I want to inspire someone as much as my parents did for me.

  In some ways, I think Cade is struggling with the decision of an annulment because in his eyes that means he failed. It failed. Neither of us does well with failure, especially Cade. The day our parents died, we were on our way to Cade’s band concert at our middle school. He was at the school already, but it was my parents and me in the car. It was below freezing that night, and our car hit a patch of black ice. I don’t remember much after that until my seatbelt was being cut off me and I was pulled out of the vehicle. It wasn’t until they freed both my parents from the wreckage that I knew nothing was ever going to be the same again. We never made it to the concert that night, and I think Cade has always blamed himself for it. If we hadn’t agreed to go, we would still be a complete family.

  Weeks after the funeral, Cade’s whole attitude and demeanor changed. He started dressing in all black, he was getting in trouble at school, and from the gossip I heard in the halls, he was experimenting with drugs. Our life was literally tipped upside down, and in a matter of weeks we lost our parents, the home we grew up in, and most of our friends. We had to move four hours away to Camden and in with Mischa, who could have never been prepared for the handful we would be; the headaches we would cause her.

  I dealt with my parents passing in a much different way. Not being able to keep anything down, I lost over fifteen pounds and looked hollowed out. I secluded myself and only let my books keep me company. Eventually, Mischa was able to coax me out enough to do fun things together. She will never replace my mother, but she’s done a hell of a job considering.

  I haven’t thought about that night in a very long time. It brings up so many bad memories I’d rather keep buried deep inside. What I wouldn’t give to have my parents back again.

  I know I’ve been hard on Cade, as he has with me… but at the end of the day, I wouldn’t have been able to get through the accident without him.

  ***

  So this is it, the moment of truth. I pull out the pregnancy test which is a
dual one, just in case I need to retest. I’ve never bought anything like this before, so it was a little awkward at the grocery store. I was just hoping the cashier wasn’t judging me.

  My stomach feels like a whirlpool; my nerves at an all-time high.

  The instruction says to pee on this stick and then let it sit for ten minutes, then it will either show me two solid lines or one. If there are two, it’s positive.

  I think I hold my breath the entire time until I see the blue line begin to appear. It’s a slow, gradual process, and as time passes, the line gets more prominent. When I’m about to release the breath, I’ve been holding, I see it. The second blue line. It’s slowly filling in next to the first one, and I think I’m going to be sick. Gripping my stomach, I stare at myself in the mirror. How could this have happened?