Truth

Rod rolled his eyes as he exited my room. I glanced down at my phone, hoping by some miracle I’d gain enough balls to call her, just to hear her voice, to remember what being around her felt like, but I told myself no.

She’ll find you when she’s ready.

But would she ever truly be ready?

???

I yelled into the microphone as the crowd roared with excitement. The lights along the stage were glistening onto my sweaty skin. The brief thought of looking like Edward Cullen under sunlight made me chuckle for a second before I shook my head and brought myself back to reality. This was the first show since the tour had ended, and I was more than ready to be in front of fans again.

The show was actually a make-up show due to a wicked snowstorm earlier in the tour, but hey, we couldn’t control the weather in New York, so a fall show was the best we could do, given the circumstances. And at least New York would be the first to hear the new single.

“Do you wanna hear our latest single?” I yelled before pulling the microphone away and angling it toward the abundance of fans.

They went crazy, squealing and screaming.

I laughed and turned my head to glance at Jackson and Finn. They nodded, and I turned around, placing the microphone back onto the stand before adjusting my guitar strap on my shoulder.

“Before I sing the last and final song, I wanted to remind you all

that whatever merchandise you purchase after the show, the proceeds go directly to a charity that I’ve set up. It helps out those with mental health disorders, and I’d love you all—even more than I do now—if you could help this charity out. It means a great deal to me.”

The crowd went crazy again, the girls eagerly turning to their boyfriends or whomever to beg them to take them to buy something. I started the charity as soon as I fully processed everything Phil had told me of Angelina. The money raised for the charity goes to several psychiatric institutes all over the United States, Bloomsdale included. It was the least I could do. It made me feel a little better about Angelina disappearing from my mind and heart.

I began to fiddle with some strings on my guitar, signaling to Jackson and Finn that I was ready to play the last song. The background music started up, and Brooklyn’s face was all that I pictured when the words began to move effortlessly out of my mouth.

That was how I knew the song was authentic. That was how I knew the song was real. I focused on the feeling I put into writing it. I took all my emotion building and bubbling up inside of me and flung it into the song—so much so that I didn’t realize that the background music from Jackson and Finn had stopped all together.

It was only my voice and my guitar, playing alone up on the stage with thousands of people staring at me. They all had their glow sticks waving back and forth, but they weren’t squealing or screaming like usual.

The arena was almost at a dead silence.

I continued to sing the last bits of the chorus, eyeing the side of the stage where Rod usually stood. I crinkled my brow as I saw my bandmates standing there with huge, shit-eating grins on their faces.

What the fuck?

Then, my heart went soaring when they moved out of the way.

My fingers stilled on my guitar; my head was still angled down to the microphone, but nothing was coming out. I was left speechless.

There she was.

Brooklyn. My Brooklyn. The girl that healed me without even meaning to do so.

Her pretty auburn hair fell around her face in curly waves, her sparkling emerald eyes standing out among her fair skin and high cheekbones. She was wearing one of those silly dresses that somehow always made me smile. Her long, lean legs ended with a pair of white Chucks. She gave me a timid smile as she took a tiny step out onto the stage. The crowd was still hushed, whispering murmurs of what the hell was happening.

I finally released my hands from my guitar and stood up a little straighter. I swallowed loudly as I briskly walked over to Brooklyn, her meeting me halfway. Everything melted away the second I was in front of her. I was no longer standing on a stage in front of thousands of fans. I was no longer Reid King, the King of Music. I was just a man completely enthralled by a woman who I thought I’d lost forever.

Brooklyn went to say something, but I didn’t give her a chance. My mouth was on hers instantly, and in that moment, it felt like I was finally complete. My lips roamed over her soft ones as I threw my guitar over my back. My hands went directly to her cheeks as I cupped her face, bringing her as close as humanly possible. Her warm mouth parted, and her tongue met mine in sync. She whimpered as my grip tightened.

I couldn’t hear a single thing except her.

And I didn’t want to hear a single thing except her.

She was all I wanted.

She was all I needed.

Brooklyn finally took her lips off mine, and that was when reality came back to us. The crowd was screaming, hooting and hollering for us to kiss again. I was certain that some people were fainting in the crowd. Brooklyn’s face turned bright red as she peeked up to meet my eyes.