Where Happiness Begins (Evermore #3)

10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

T he venue almost filled out for the first official show of the tour.

I wasn’t sure what to expect before coming tonight, but this wasn’t it. I’ve done my research on the band during the past few weeks, and while I’ve seen they have a decent amount of regular followers and listeners, I did not think it’d be enough to fill a concert venue, no matter how small. Shows how little I know about this industry.

I’m up to the challenge, though. I’ve looked up what other influencers have done to blow up smaller artists, which of my posts surrounding music lead to the highest engagement, what people like to know about musicians that will make them buy tickets for their shows. I’ll obviously let their music speak for itself, but I’ll also show everyone’s personality so that listeners feel close to them in a way. Tonight’s the first time I’ll share snippets of an official show, and I plan on giving enough to pique interest without showing too much. I want my followers to be curious, to want more.

I’m nursing a soda while standing at the back of the room. As much as I’d love to be in the front row, this will allow for the best shots. The venue is one large room without assigned seats, which has already led to a bunch of people huddling in front of the stage.

Even if I’m not the one going on stage in a few minutes, adrenaline pumps in my veins, the way it does every time I attend a concert. There’s nothing like the feeling of a crowd singing along to a song everyone loves, a feeling of familiarity instantly being built between all these strangers for a few minutes. Everyone’s energy seems to be high, and when the background music cuts off and the room suddenly darkens, the tension in the room increases tenfold. I whistle with my fingers as Crash they’re loving every second.

I am too. My hair is a tangled mess around my shoulders, sweat drips under my black corset-like tank top from all the body heat around me, and I realize I haven’t felt this alive in a long while. My smile is wide as I sing out to every song.

At some point, I realize I’m no longer filming straight, so I give up and discard my phone in my pocket, then squeeze myself through the crowd so I can get closer to the stage. The room is warm and smells of liquor and sweat, the floor is sticky under my block heels, and I couldn’t care one bit. I forget about every single worry I have as I dance, sometimes by myself and sometimes with strangers. I don’t have to keep up any pretenses here, where no one knows me, so when a guy comes close behind me, his hips brushing my back and his blue eyes twinkling with wicked delight, I don’t push him away and share the song with him.

As the band leaves the stage and quickly comes back for their first out of three encore songs, there’s another tingle at the base of my neck, and sure enough, when I glance behind me, I find Carter’s body in the crowd, his gaze on me. The eye contact only lasts a nanosecond, but it feels much longer and makes me feel out of sorts. When I return my attention to the stage, I’m out of breath.

I try to enjoy the song, but soon, I overheat, like a sudden wave of steam has been dumped on me. The room also begins to blur, a key sign that I’m about to pass out.

Not wasting a second, I start pushing my way out of the crowd. Faintly, I hear someone calling after me, but I can’t turn around to answer. I need air.

Sounds blast left and right as flashes of light slash through the room, dizzying me even more. I blink deeply, the stars in my vision blending with the strobes. Nausea rumbles in my stomach as I try and try to catch my breath, to no avail. Voices shout and sing everywhere, sounding both close and far.

After what feels like an eternity, I finally cross the venue’s doors and walk into the May air, a warm breeze brushing my hair out of my face.

I only have time to sit on the sidewalk before everything goes dark.

“Fireball? Wake up. Come on, Lilianne, wake up.”

I weakly shake my head against the brushes of fingers against my damp forehead, the world still fuzzy.

The moment I open my eyes, though, everything comes back to me, clear as crystal water.

The pavement is cold against my back as I pull away from Carter’s touch. “What are you doing?”

“Jesus! What are you doing? You scared the fuck out of me,” he says, sounding breathless. For the first time since we met, I think I see something other than boredom, annoyance, or perfect neutrality in his gaze. “Did you take anything from one of those guys? Did someone slip you something?”

I frown. Since when does he care?

I try to sit up, but he quickly pushes me back down. “No, wait here. I’m calling an ambulance.”

Oh, hell no, he isn’t. I don’t need that extra bill, especially for something as small as this .

Pushing his hand, I lift myself into a seating position, then push my hair away from my forehead.

“Thanks, but I’m fine.” I might have overdone it, but I’ll go eat something and drink some water and should be fine.

“The hell you are.” Carter looks genuinely shocked that I’m suggesting this. “You just passed out.”

“My blood pressure drops sometimes.” I slowly get to my feet, only needing to close my eyes briefly to stabilize myself. “It’s not a big deal.”

“We’re going to the hospital,” he says, not listening to a word I’ve just said.

“No, we’re not. This is nothing. Happens all the time,” I say, not even lying.

“I don’t care. I don’t like it.”

“Well, you don’t have to like it, do you?” I cock my head, chest tight. “We’re nothing to each other, remember?”

He sighs, so deep it seems to hollow out his chest.

“I’m going back inside,” I say, not feeling like rejoining the crowd just yet but wanting to stay here with him even less. As if he has any right to act worried about me now when he’s dismissed me time and time again. “You do whatever the hell you want.” The emotions enveloping my voice surprise me. I thought I was getting over it, but apparently, I’m still very much on edge.

“Lilianne, come on—”

“Have a great rest of your night,” I say, not even looking at him before I walk back inside, hoping he won’t follow.