Hearts Divided

by Masters, Ellie

  “You’ve got this!” She raises her voice to be heard above the thunderous applause. “You’re meant to be here. Let everyone out there know that this is the day…this is the day the Bayside Beats took over LA.” Her voice rises to sweep over the kids, swallowing their fears and pushing them toward greatness. “Rock your heart’s out!”

  Her exclamation is met with a cheer from her kids. They rise together, taking the stage with rock legends. Lights blind her and she squeezes her lids shut. Sheet music sits in front of her, but she doesn’t need the music to guide her. This is sound she knows, rhythm she breathes. It’s life itself and she’s ready to make this moment something her kids will never forget.

  As Sebastian lays down the beat, she lowers her gaze, unwilling to chance a clashing of their eyes. Bent rolls in, his deep bass setting the tone to Angel Fire’s epic hit Insanity. As he leads Spike into the song, she lifts her arms to bring the Bayside Beats into greatness.

  The crowd is wild. The thumping of their feet rolls over the kids. Their smiles are miles wide and Holly’s heart nearly bursts with their enthusiasm. It’s addictive. Ash moves to the next song, Hate Myself and the Bayside Beats follow along.

  Holly’s heart breaks thinking about Hate Myself and what it means. Is she that girl? The song rolls along until the next one plays. Tears stream down her cheeks as the final song plays for the night. Her kids are killing it, performing with flawless precision. She couldn’t be more proud and can’t wait for Ash to introduce the Bayside Beats and relegate them back to the dungeon. As the last notes of Sunset Rose play, relief washes over her. Her kids were fantastic. Opportunities will follow, and she hopes this translates into brighter futures for them. That’s what’s important. As the last notes fade, it’s time for their portion of the stage to drop.

  Angel Fire needs to close out the show. The crowd isn’t ready for the evening to end. It’s with these thoughts in her head when she realizes nothing is happening. The crowd behind her roars, spiking the air with adrenaline. Her kids silence their instruments, waiting for their cue to disappear, but they are all looking back and forth, confused because they aren’t sinking beneath the stage. Ranger sits placidly at her feet, leaning against her leg. The sound doesn’t affect him, although his ears twitch trying to take everything in.

  To her left, Ash grabs the microphone and gives her a wink.

  “Hello Los Angeles!”

  The roar rolls from the back of the stadium to the front. She can see the crowd pulsing with the energy flowing between them and the band.

  “Give it up for the Bayside Beats!” His call out to the fans results in thunderous applause. It’s more than Holly imagined possible. She’s not sure what to do, but the noise doesn’t stop. It builds and builds. When the noise continues, she gestures for the kids to take to their feet. This is the one and only time they’ll ever be in front of such a large crowd.

  All the kids stand. Ash gives her a nod. Any moment now, the stage will lower and take the kids offstage.

  “Los Angeles!” His voice rises above the crowd. “You know we like to do things big…”

  A roar rushes forward and Holly braces against the power generated by the crowd. She’s never experienced anything like this and feels…small.

  “Well, we have something huge!” His cry stirs up the crowd, turning the roar into a tsunami of sound. He chuckles, drawing out the moment, playing the crowd with expert precision.

  Holly stands mute and numb, not sure what’s happening. This is not something the Bayside Beats is meant to participate in. Ash needs to let them slowly sink into oblivion, but he seems hell bent on not letting that happen. Sebastian emerges from behind the drums. He joins Ash at the front of the stage and bares himself to the fans.

  Ash hands him the microphone, and it shakes in his grip, but there’s no uncertainty in the look he gives when he looks at her. Sebastian grips the microphone and speaks to the crowd.

  “I’ve learned something about love,” he shouts.

  The crowd roars. Bent thrums a low warbling bass note. A synergistic reaction occurs. The crowd roars back, loving the moment, even if no one knows what’s happening.

  “If you told me it was possible to miss someone the moment they left you,” Sebastian huffs into the mic, “I would’ve thought you were crazy. I wouldn’t have believed how much it could hurt. I’m a man who gave up on love.” He gestures to the crowd and they go crazy.

  Holly looks to Ash, confusion etched on her face, but Ash returns her expression of surprise with one which urges her to wait and see where this leads. Sebastian continues to speak to the crowd.

  “Love fails. Love hurts.” The mass of humanity eats out of his hand, echoing the loss of his words. “I’ve heard all the clichés, and believed them too. Trust in fate and all that shit?” The crowd roars. “But here’s the rub. When love comes knocking on your door, none of us are prepared for what comes next. I wasn’t. Were you?” The crowd quiets down as they hang on his every word.

  “Love,” Sebastian proclaims, “when it hits you, when it grabs hold of you, when you can’t escape it…” He pauses to let his words sink in. “It turns everything upside down, inside out, you can’t think about anything else. You can’t feel anything else.”

  The crowd roars its approval.

  “All the truths in my life…all the things I knew for certain…they all melted away when I met you.” He turns to Holly and the bottom drops out of her world. He’s no longer speaking to the crowd. “Everything I thought I knew was replaced by something much deeper and stronger than me. I’d like to say you cross my mind at least a thousand times a day, but that would be a lie. The truth is you never leave my mind. You’re always in my thoughts. From the moment I wake, to the moment I sleep, every thought in my head is about you. And the truth is that I wouldn’t have it any other way. Sunrise to sunset and all the moments in between, to say that I love you doesn’t begin to describe how I feel. I’m crazy about you.” He gestures to the crowd. “I’m crazy enough to do this. I’m deeply, passionately, and madly in love with this woman. A thousand, a million words doesn’t come close enough to say how much I love you. I guess I’ll have to start with one simple thing.”

  He bends to one knee.

  “Holly, I swear to tell you every day how much I love you, and how I’ll spend the rest of my days proving the depths of my love. You’ve shown me what my forever can be, every sunrise and sunset is one I intend to spend with you. Let me show you how much you mean to me and how you make my future a place I want to be. You’re the fire that consumes me, the light that drives me, you’re my everything and my in-between. Holly…please, will you do me the honor of being my wife?”

  If she thought the roar from the crowd had been insane before it is nothing like the powerful wave racing toward her now. She should say no. She needs to say no. There are so many unanswered questions in her head, but she can’t deny the passion brimming in Sebastian’s eyes.

  She gulps and presses her fist to her mouth, speechless before her kids, overwhelmed by tens of thousands looking on, a sea of humanity stomping their feet who demand only one answer. Sebastian did this. He placed himself at the mercy of the crowd, knowing she could say no, but believing she might just say yes.

  It’s the answer she feels deep in her heart. There are many things they need to sort out, but an inevitability stretches before them. She can’t help but nod. Can’t help but say the one word he wants to hear. She knows nothing about what transpired between him and Valerie, except he made a choice.

  It’s a choice of forever and always, and all the moments in between.

  With her.

  As she gives a nod, lights flash overhead. It’s a coordinated attack, and then Bent lays into the bass track of the wedding march. Noodles joins in, playing the melody with Spike backing him up. There’s no drumline, not that one is needed. With Sebastian on one knee, she walks toward him, feeling the pumping energy of the crowd as she accepts the inevitability of the moment.


  Ash turns to the crowd. “Please, join me, in this epic event.”

  Holly’s eyes pinch and her brows scrunch together. Sebastian stands and pulls her to the front of the stage, saying nothing, as Forest walks out.

  Ash calls out. “Los Angeles, we are honored for you to be official wedding guests as Sebastian and his bride exchange their vows.”

  Holly’s eyes widen and she parts her mouth.

  Sebastian presses a finger to her lips. “You can’t stop fate.”

  Forest takes the microphone from Ash and clears his throat. “Los Angeles, let’s just assume they both say Yes!”

  The crowd roars with this epic event.

  “With the power invested in me, I pronounce Bash and Holly, husband and wife. And if you ask me, it’s about fucking time!”

  45

  Holly

  It’s been nearly a month and Holly still can’t believe she married a rock star. Insanity is her home and she can’t imagine wanting anything more than what she has. Duke and Ranger splash in the infinity pool perched over the edge of the seaside cliffs, and she enjoys a late afternoon with the girls.

  Angel is with them and swims to the far end of the pool. She drapes her arms over the edge and stares out toward the ocean. Skye lounges beside Holly, violating bed rest orders long enough to waddle out to the pool to join Holly and Piper as they watch another amazing sunset. At eight months, the threat of a premature birth is almost past.

  Holly is a newlywed, but except for that first amazing night, she’s spent less than a handful of nights with her husband twisting the sheets.

  “What’s that grin for?” Piper leans back and crosses her arms behind her head.

  “Nothing.” But she remembers the last night she spent with Sebastian and misses him terribly.

  “Nothing my ass,” Skye says. “Don’t worry, the boys will be home tomorrow and we’ll have our men back for a couple weeks before the tour continues across the country.”

  Angel props herself on the edge of the pool and Holly’s stomach drops as images of Sebastian’s daughter tumbling over the edge runs through her mind. She wants to tell the girl to get back from the edge, but holds her tongue.

  It’s been a week since Valerie’s passing. Angel came to live at Insanity after the funeral. Holly gives a wistful smile, thinking back on the short afternoon she spent with Valerie. The call came as a surprise and Holly went with a stomach full of knots, not sure what to expect. To her surprise, they talked, laughed, and Valerie gave her blessing, explaining what she did and why. They parted as friends. Valerie told Holly to take care of Angel, and she’s determined to honor Valerie’s dying wish.

  “How do they do it?” She asks the girls.

  “Do what?” Piper replies.

  “Stay on the road like that. It’s exhausting.”

  “They feed on the adrenaline of their fans.” Skye rubs coconut oil over her belly. “I hate stretch marks.”

  “I thought I could handle it, but after a couple days, I was done.” She lasted four days with the band before calling it quits. “I miss him.”

  “Miss who?” The deep bass of Sebastian’s voice is a surprise. “Me?”

  She launches out of the lounge chair and into Sebastian’s arms. “You’re back! We weren’t expecting you until tomorrow.”

  Duke gives a woof and bounds out of the pool, eager to greet his master.

  “Shit!” He dances away, knowing Duke is going to wait to shake until he gets right beside Sebastian. Piper squeaks and holds up a towel. Skye simply shakes her head.

  “How’d you manage getting here a day early?” Holly holds up a hand and gives it a waggle. Duke stops in his tracks and shakes off the water.

  “How did you get him to do that?” Sebastian cocks his head. “That’s amazing.” Once Duke sheds most of the water, Sebastian pats the side of his leg. “Come here boy.”

  “I thought you couldn’t wait to see me?” Holly teases.

  “I can’t, but if I don’t say hello to Duke, he’ll never leave us alone, and he’s most definitely not invited for what I have in mind.”

  Holly’s cheeks heat and she turns away from the girls. Piper snickers and Skye says nothing, but they all know exactly what she’ll be doing with Sebastian.

  He glances out toward the ocean. “I plan on being buried balls deep in you before that sun sets. Come, we’re headed to the beach.”

  “You two are adorable,” Skye says.

  Bent comes up behind Piper and leans down to give her a kiss. He whispers in her ear and she gets up. “See you guys later.” Her tiny hand grips Bent’s, but then she gives a shriek as he lifts her and tosses her over his shoulder. Bent’s hand lands with a loud smack on her ass as he saunters away.

  Ash gives Skye a kiss to her cheek, then rubs her neck. “Doing okay?”

  “We’re great.” Skye pats her belly. “Last checkup went well.” Ash slides in beside his wife and she moves over to give him room. They thread their fingers together and stare out toward the horizon.

  Spike walks to the edge of the pool and takes a look at the dogs. Duke is back in the water, playing with Ranger as they chase a floaty toy. Spike tugs off his shirt and kicks off his shoes. He turns to Holly. “How is she?”

  “She’s quiet, cries a lot, but she smiles too. It’s going to take time, and patience, but she’ll get there.”

  “Hmm.” He dives into the pool, surfaces, and takes long sure strokes toward Angel, joining her at the edge of the pool. Whatever he says makes the girl laugh, and the two of them turn back to watch the sun dip toward the horizon.

  “It’s a beautiful day,” Holly says.

  “And soon it’s going to be an amazing night. Come on, let’s hurry. I don’t want to miss the sunset.”

  “And I can’t wait to share it with you.”

  His eyes crinkle with his smile. “All the sunrises and sunsets…”

  “And all the moments in-between.” She grips his hand as he pulls her toward the gondola. “Forever.”

  “My love.” His step quickens and she picks up her pace until they’re both running for the gondola which will take them to the beach below.

  Their forever isn’t yet written. It’s barely begun, but she can’t wait to spend all of her days and nights with Sebastian by her side.

  * * *

  THE END

  * * *

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  SNEAK PEAK of REAP WHAT YOU SOW

  an Ellie Masters DARK ROMANCE

  I bounced with excitement as I neared the thick doors of the palatial monstrosity which had been my prison for the past twenty-one years. Z was out on a business trip. I’d be in and out, then gone, and would never again have to face the darkness in my father’s eyes.

  I had plans to pub crawl from Scotland to Germany in one long summer of debauchery with my girlfriends before hitting the books and beginning my new life. All I had to do was stuff my backpack with a couple pairs of jeans, T-shirts, and one naughty black dress.

  At twenty-one, I had a B.S. in Computer Science from MIT which set me free. No longer would I be a slave to Z’s money or his insufferable rules.

  I put my weight behind the heavy, ornate door and pushed. This would be the last time I entered this house. I stepped across the threshold and lurched to a stop.

  Z stood in the middle of the sweeping foyer. His coal dark eyes bore down on me beneath thick bushy brows. Heavy shadows gathered in his stormy gaze and a scowl framed his face. Two men stood with him; two large, intimidating men.

  Years of rejection and emotional manipulation left no love lost between me and Z. In my head, he wasn’t father, or daddy. He was simply Z. I had long since whittled my father’s name down to a single letter. I hated him, only because I craved the love he denied me with the irrational need of a child. In front of others, I maintained a civil facade, however, and called him Papa. I did that now.

  “Papa? I did
n’t think you would be home.” My sandals slapped against Italian marble as I pulled up short.

  “Raven.” His harsh, clipped tones made my heart lurch. There was no tenderness for me in his greeting. Disapproval tugged at the corners of his mouth and his displeasure radiated in the flare of his nostrils and the pinch of his eyes as he surveyed my state of dress.

  His women wore their hair in tightly wound buns or French twists. I kept mine loose because it irritated him and it hung down to my waist. But his eyes skipped over my hair, made no mention of my lack of makeup, and moved to my summer tank top and cut off shorts. That’s when his eyes widened, showing white around inky blackness.

  “Papa…” My throat constricted and I subconsciously wrapped an arm across my chest, covering my unsupported breasts.

  Z demanded perfection in his female companions. Seeing his daughter in cut-off jeans, and a spaghetti tank top without a bra garnered more reaction in three seconds than I’d gotten out of him in twenty-one years.

  “You’re dressed like a whore.” His teeth ground out a horrible sound as his jaw clenched.

  My gaze flew to the men. Surprise fluttered in my belly that he would speak so crudely in front of company.

  “Papa?” The word hung between us as he came at me.

  His fingers latched around my wrist, biting into the tender flesh. My free hand pulled at him, trying to loosen his grip, but my efforts were useless against the steel band of his fingers. He yanked me toward the men.

  “As promised.” He thrust me at the largest man. “Debt paid.”

  An impossibly huge man pulled me from Z's grip.

  “Papa!” I turned wild eyes to Z.