Feuds and Interludes (Rock ‘n’ Romance Legends #1)

Chapter 22

Twenty-Two

B oone

I was grateful the next morning that Shane was gone before I woke up. He left a note saying he’d gone to the gym and to text him when I wanted him to come work on the song. He signed it with a little heart that looked a little squiggly, as if Shane wasn’t used to drawing them. So cute. It was just as well. I needed the space to gather my wits.

The previous night had been a trainwreck.

Our grandparents were shacking up.

They were engaged.

I needed to leave the nest, which had been the only place I’d ever felt safe in my life.

I needed to grow the fuck up about my new normal and stop pretending like it wasn’t happening.

I’d been so afraid once I’d realized in the bathroom at the restaurant that my blood sugar had gone so low I was about to keel over, but then Shane was there with juice and the comfort of his embrace. The doctor had warned me that until we got things under control, I could experience something called dysglycemia, and last night I’d realized that it could hit when I was least prepared to handle it alone.

I had to be ready to ask for and receive help from the people I trusted.

That’s why I decided I needed to let the twins in on what was going on.

“I hate everything.”

Okay, not everything. I loved being with Shane, even when things were falling down around me. My fucking Gran had a new honey, and though I was mature enough to know she still loved me and that I should give her the space to enjoy herself, I was kind of in shock about how quickly she’d jumped into this.

Though I was asked from time to time about my parents and everything that happened when I was a kid, I never allowed myself to go there. I had a prepared statement, one Vera Jean coached me on as a child.

“My parents had their issues. I’m grateful I had my grandparents to take care of me.” I refused to answer questions about what I remembered. I did remember. I remembered every second from the moment I found my mother on the floor in the bathroom to the moment the fire department broke down the door. I remembered holding Mommy’s hand in the dark thinking at least this time she wasn’t crying, or bleeding, as she would be after fights with my father. She’d been so still though. So cold.

So no, I didn’t ever speak about that experience, but it was always lurking close to the surface of my consciousness. It haunted me in my sleep. It drove me to work so hard using the talent I’d been born with to become a master at my craft so people couldn’t ignore me, perform so well that people wouldn’t leave.

I needed to get past the feeling that being with Bruce meant my Gran was leaving me. I didn’t doubt Bruce was head over heels for my Gran, and I knew he would do his best to take care of her, so my discomfort was really my own. I’d become too dependent on her, and it was time I took care of myself.

Which had me worrying about Shane. I had to be careful not to put too much on him. He had his own issues, and I didn’t want this blossoming relationship to get marred by codependent behavior.

Listen to me and my big words. Okay, really I wanted to spend every night in his arms and let him take care of me. He was so good at it. Who’d a thunk?

We were in a bubble up here, though. We both had careers to worry about, and his was at a major crossroads.

I could only control so much, so right now, I was going to go down and meet my bandmates and tell them the truth. And eat, so last night didn’t happen again.

Before I hopped in the shower, I checked my phone and found a lengthy text from Gran.

Dear Boy, I know last night was hard for you in many ways. I hope you are feeling better this morning. It was kind of Shane to take care of you. I’m glad the two of you seem to be getting along better. I love you very much.

P.S. Love bites are tough to cover up. I never found a good concealer that would work. Perhaps a nice scarf next time?

I burst out laughing as my eyes filled with tears. Despite the radical changes in my life, she would still be there to impart her wisdom, and how like her to not embarrass me but to let me know she cared, and that I hadn’t gotten one past her.

I’ll keep that in mind.

Her response came a moment later.

May I assume it was Shane?

Of course she’d know. I was so moony-eyed around him.

You were right. He’s a good one.

I barked out a laugh at her response.

Of course I was right. He comes from good stock. Take care of each other.

I knew she’d be happy for me. I owed it to her to be the same.

I found Annie and Bran sitting in the mess hall, heads bobbing together as they watched a video on Annie’s phone.

“Boone! You gotta see this. It’s video of Blinding Light playing at Rocktoberfest last year. We’ve been doing our research. Come sit.”

“Yeah,” Brandon said. “We’re already making a schedule of who we want to see! Friday is F-Holes and Flightless, and Warrior Black is playing. This is going to be so rad.”

“Let me grab food,” I said, my heart pounding. God, I didn’t want to tell them. We had the perfect thing going. We were best friends. We got along great. Would they start treating me different? Ugh, I hated this.

“Morning, Boone,” Felix said as I approached the counter. “What can I get you? We’ve got waffles, and I made some pastries?—”

Chin and chest up and out, motherfucker . “Whatever would be good for a Type 2 diabetic who’s trying to get his blood sugar under control.” I gave him a smile that didn’t quite make it to my whole face.

“Oh, shit, Boone. I had no idea.”

“Yeah, because I haven’t told people yet. But I’d love some help.”

“Sure, sure. No problem. Okay, let’s get you some eggs…how do you like them? Right, you like them fried. And here’s some fruit, and do you want some sausage? This should give you some good energy to keep you going today.”

My eyes burned, and I blew out a breath. That wasn’t so bad. “Thank you.”

“Yeah, man. Anytime. My parents are diabetic, and I’ve had to overhaul their diet. It’s an adjustment, but eventually you won’t even notice. If you want, I can make up some meal plans for you for when you leave, some ideas based on what I know you like.”

“That would be great. Thank you.”

He grinned. “Sure. Here you go,” he said, sliding the eggs on my plate. “Take care, drink lots of water, and take some of those oatmeal muffins with you for later. They’re not too high in carbs and they’ve got four grams of protein. Oh, and here, take these nuts.”

I’d been so worried about people fussing over me, but Felix was all business. He wasn’t pitying me.

“Thank you, Felix. I’m not good at this.”

He shrugged and gave me a knowing smile. “Of course you’re not. Your lifestyle is the antithesis of taking care of yourself. This is what I do for a living, and I love to feed people what they need to make their bodies work for them rather than against them. I’ll get you those meal plans, okay?”

“I’m so grateful Morrison has you up here. Thank you again.”

“Who do you think got his ass in gear?”

I laughed at his attitude. He’d made it easy for me to accept his help. Maybe I’d been stupid not to tell folks.

I took my tray over and set it down across from the twins. They looked up with raised eyebrows.

“Good morning,” I said, and for the first time ever, I was nervous to talk to my bandmates.

“How did it go last night?” Annie asked. She put a hand over mine. “Was it weird?”

I sighed and picked up my fork. I made myself take a bite of eggs before I spoke. “It was, but probably not for the reasons you think.” Here goes . “I have something I need to tell you both.”

They leaned back together, their hands on the table in the same exact position.

“We went too far with Shane, huh? Damn, I’m sorry,” Bran said.

“It was the Taylor Swift comment, wasn’t it? Or the orgy bus visual. I figured the Metal Menace would be able to take it.”

I grinned at them as I chewed and swallowed more eggs. “No, you were perfect. It’s me that’s not… I fucked up, guys, and I owe you an apology.”

They looked at each other.

“What is it?”

Deep breath. “You guys have been so good about the drinking, and I appreciate that you were willing to?—”

“Are you breaking up with us?” Bran asked.

“What? No! What the fuck!”

Bran shrugged. “I just thought maybe it’s in the air, since Shane’s band broke up with him.”

“No, it’s not you, it’s me?—”

“You are breaking up with us,” Annie said. “Shit, Boone, I thought?—”

“ I’m sick, okay ? And I should have told you, but I didn’t, and I made it weird.”

“You’re sick?” Annie’s voice was quiet. “What…what’s wrong?”

“I saw the doctor when we got home from tour. I hadn’t told you guys, but I’d been feeling really shitty. I passed out a couple of times and?—”

“Are you serious ?” They both shouted over each other. “When? We were with you?—”

“In the bathroom at that pub in Liverpool. And in Boston when we came back from Europe. In my hotel room. I’m diabetic, and I have something called dysglycemia, which makes my sugar drop really low, and since I hate to eat before we perform, and then I don’t drink enough water, it got bad. I’m on medication but it’s not under control yet. I’m trying.”

They both stared at me, not speaking. And staring. And not speaking.

“You’re okay, though? I mean, you’re going to be. Right?” Annie asked, her voice shaky.

“Eventually. I’m not very good at this but I’m trying.”

“But you’re okay though?” Bran asked.

“Yeah, mostly.”

They sat frozen for several beats as I waited for them to say something. Anything.

“Okay.” They looked at each other, Annie nodded, then they turned back to stare at me. Bran threw a piece of potato at me and it pinged off my forehead.

“What the?—!”

Annie threw a grape at my chest.

Bran threw a strawberry that landed in my hair.

“Come on, you guys?—”

“How dare you?” Annie threw a muffin, which was dense, and it hit me in the eye.

“Ow, fuck . I’m sorry!”

“And you didn’t say anything?” Bran threw an ice cube from his juice. “You could have fucking died, asshole!”

“Guys! Wait?—”

And then all I could do was put my hands up as they pelted me with more ice cubes.

“Whoa! What the?—”

Shane came in then and caught me as I nearly fell backward off the bench, trying to get away from the vicious twins.

“I told them,” I said as an ice cube hit me in the lip. “Motherfucker, that hurt?—”

“Wait! Are you saying Shane knew before us? What the actual fuck , Boone!” At that, Annie stopped with the semi-playful throwing and stormed out of the mess hall.

Bran watched her go, and then threw one last piece of pineapple, which hit me in the nose and splashed in my eye. It burned like hell.

“I’m sorry,” I said, as Bran rushed out after his sister.

“That could have gone better,” Shane said. He had a napkin and was trying to clean off my face. I stopped his hand.

“No, they’re right. I have to go after them,” I said, squeezing his hand. “Tell Felix I’ll clean this up.” And I dashed out the door while I shoved the rest of the sausage in my mouth.

Bran and Annie were standing by the fountain outside the lodge, arguing with each other.

“Guys, wait, please. Let me explain.”

“I don’t get how we’re supposed to be your best friends, and you tell your booty call before us,” Annie said, then crossed her arms over her chest.

“He found me in the bathroom our first night here, when I went upstairs? He thought… Shit. He thought I was on drugs. I had to tell him. I needed his help getting the wrapper open on my stupid protein bar.” This was not going well. I knew they’d be upset, but I didn’t think it would be like this.

“Jesus,” Bran said. “Why didn’t you tell us? We could have helped you?—”

“That’s exactly why I didn’t! I hate this, I swear. I hate having anyone know I can’t handle myself. I don’t like it one bit. But I had another close call last night, and I realized it’s not fair, me not telling you. As ridiculous as this has gotten, I might keel over onstage and you won’t have any idea what’s wrong with me.”

“Boone,” Annie said, and her attitude melted away to concern. “If you’re sick, maybe you should be resting. Take some time off?—”

“No! We’re on a roll, Annie. We need to stick to our schedule. Out of sight will mean out of mind, you know? We can’t afford?—”

“For you to get sicker,” Bran said. “Come on, man. This is serious. Should we even be doing Rocktoberfest?”

“Yes, we absolutely should, and we’re finishing this album. We’re halfway done already and Morrison is happy with our progress. Let’s finish it up and then we can rehearse with Shane. I’ll rest, I promise. I told Felix, and he’s going to help me with food?—”

“You told him before us too?” Annie narrowed her eyes. Man, I was in hot water with her.

“Just right now,” I said, gesturing toward the mess hall. “Come on, please? Don’t be mad. I’m trying to do this right, I swear.”

“Doing it right would have been telling your best friends first, but whatever,” Bran said. He tilted his head up and looked at the sky.

“You’re right. I’m sorry.” This was awful. Worse than I thought. “I thought once I got on medication and stopped drinking it would, like, go away. I’ve been exercising…some, not as much as I should, and, well, I try to sleep but it’s hard.” In trying to pretend this wasn’t happening, I’d kept a big deal from my best friends. All I could do was hope they’d forgive me and not decide to leave me.

“Instead, you’ve been letting that hot man in there suck on your neck,” Annie said, rolling her eyes. “Probably other things, too.”

I opened my mouth to answer but all that came out was a snort.

“At least there’s a good reason you quit drinking and smoking,” Bran said with a sigh. “I thought you were just going through a phase or something, like that time you went vegan for a week.” He turned to look at Annie with an eyebrow raised. “Guess we should quit smoking, too. If it can happen to Mr. Perfect Pants over here, it could happen to us.”

She exhaled with a groan. “Fuck, I know. I thought we had at least until we were forty to fuck around. Guess we just found out.”

“I’m sorry, guys. I really thought I could handle it and you’d never have to know.”

“Do you have to give yourself shots and shit?” Bran asked, shuddering.

“No, at least not yet. I’ve got this,” I said, pulling up my shirt to show my glucose monitor that I’d moved to my stomach. My arm was getting itchy. “It’s read by an app on my phone. I’m taking medicine, but I need to call the doctor when we get back to LA because it’s not cutting it. I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I’m going to follow doctor’s orders, I swear.”

Annie finally dropped her arms and she put a hand on mine. “I know it’s scary. I’m sorry you’ve been going through this on your own. Asshole. You should have told us. We’ve always taken care of each other.”

I put my arms around them and they returned the gesture.

“You guys are my world. I love your crazy asses.”

Bran elbowed me in the gut, then apologized. “Guess I have to be careful. No more wrestling, huh?”

“I mean, as long as we’re careful.”

“God, you’re both children,” Annie said. “Is Shane at least being smart about this shit?”

I grinned. “He is. He knows how to take care of me.”

“I bet he does,” Bran said. He started with the bow-chicka-wow-wows and I jumped on his back. He spun me around, and we both went down in the bushes while Annie screamed at us to stop fucking around.

Shane appeared at her side while Bran and I cracked up. The two of them shook their heads at us.

“I hope you know what you’re getting into,” Annie said to him as she took off toward the studio. “Come on, dorks. We’ve got an album to record.”

Bran gave me a double tittie twister and then ran before I could get him back.

“Bran, you butt munch. That’s going to bruise,” I said, rubbing my nipples. Shane reached down to help me up and then pulled some twigs out of my hair. “Great. They’ll match my other ones,” I said, smiling up at him. “By the way, Gran saw. She suggested I wear a scarf next time.”

His eyes widened. “What else did she say?”

“That you’re a good man. That you come from good stock.”

He sighed. “Guess I should reach out to Pops.”

“You probably should. Especially if you plan to leave any more marks on me.” I gave him my most winning smile and he shook his head, but he was smiling.

“What am I getting myself into?”

I wrapped my arms around him. “Me later?”

He licked his lips and bent down to kiss me. “I was hoping you’d ask.”

“At this point, you can assume.”

“Oh.” He seemed surprised by that. “I’ll still ask, though. I’m all about consent. I got a rep to protect.” He held up a paper bag. “I grabbed your muffins and cleaned up the mess from you hooligans.”

He slung his arm around my shoulder as we walked toward the studio.

“Actually,” I said, “your reputation is that you’re the Metal Menace, a stubborn perfectionist control freak. You keep this up, people are going to think you’re a nice guy.”

He sighed. “We can’t have that.”