Heat (11 page)

Chapter Nineteen

Lacey

   The texts and phone calls started about two hours after I had found out the truth about Cole. I knew he would have found out some time, but Ria let it slip that it was my dear best friend that had told Mason, who then told Cole. When Mason rang her not only did she tell him we now knew about them but she also told him how pathetic I was acting. The drinking and moping around included! At least she doesn't know I've been watching his videos on YouTube while I've locked myself in my bedroom. I've also downloaded all his albums to have Cole sing me to sleep. Truly pathetic I know but it is what it is.

   I keep thinking over again and again why I didn't catch on? God I am so stupid!

   We hardly went outside my apartment, but I put that down to thinking Cole wanted me as bad as I wanted him. Now I know better, he just most probably didn't want to risk getting seen. Whenever we did go out he would always wear his cap and shades and I see why now because the pictures that are online are when Cole did not have his accessories on to hide himself. I wonder when or if I would have even found out if his fans hadn't uploaded the pictures and revealed him for the liar that he is.

   Unlike me, Roxie has been more forgiving with Mason. His excuse was that Cole had asked him not to say anything because Cole was scared to tell me. So Mason went along with his brothers’ stupidity. I still think Mason is guilty enough on his part but Roxie has forgiven him so that's that. Roxie assured me that if Mason had told her the truth then she would have come straight to me and told me too. I would have preferred to have found out that way than the way I did but beggars can't be choosers. I know the truth now and that's all that matters, even if I do have a shattered heart because of it.

   These last ten days and nights I've had to listen in to Roxie's side of her mushy phone conversations with Mason while I ignore Cole. I can tell when Mason asks Roxie about me because she answers with one word, her tone of voice is strained and she doesn't smile. Cole tries to get in touch, usually about twenty times a day, maybe more but I ignore him. I don't answer his calls or reply to his texts. Roxie recently told me that he has started dedicating a song to me during his bands shows. As soon as Roxie told me what Mason had told her I looked online and his loyal fans had helped me yet again. The videos were already uploaded to YouTube and I watched them all. Cole was singing to me and I had no idea what song it was but I could feel the lyrics. I looked through the comments to see what song it is and saw it was
I Miss You
by
Incubus
. The song tore at my heart, I felt every lyric. I downloaded the song and added it to my heartbroken playlist but when I listened to it, it wasn't the same. I wanted to listen to Cole singing it, so even though the song made me cry, I continued to listen to Cole singing to me.

   I haven't gone outside of my apartment since that eventful day. I only came out of my room two days ago and that was only because Roxie forced me to. She was shouting and moaning at me, telling me how I'm acting like a teenage fool and I need to snap out of it, blah blah blah! I don't give a shit how I'm acting. She might be able to forgive Mason but I don't think I could do the same for Cole.

   The front door opens and I look up to see Roxie and she’s holding up a big bag for me to see. "I got us some dinner on my way home from work." She disappears into the kitchen and I hear the banging of the dishes. When she places down a pizza on the table in front of where I'm sitting on the sofa, I quickly bring up my work so she doesn’t see what I was really doing. I see she has bought my favorite pizza, barbecue with bacon and chicken, but I still turn my nose at it. I just don't have an appetite anymore and nothing looks appealing to me. Roxie sighs when she sees I'm not going to eat the pizza. "You need to eat Lace."

   "I'm fine."

   I get a scowl from Roxie in return. "No you're not. You're losing weight. You need to eat."

   I roll my eyes. "I do eat."

   "Chocolate and ice cream don't count." I keep quiet because that is all I've been eating. Roxie's face hardens and points to my pizza. "Eat it!" I look down at the pizza and it does look nice and I sniff up the aroma, it sure does smell good. "Now, eat Lacey!" I huff and reach for a slice. My mouth suddenly salivates once I take a bite. Damn this is good. Before I know it, the whole pizza is gone. Roxie smiles at me but she doesn't look happy. She nods at my laptop. "What have you been up to?"

   I look to make sure the video of Cole singing
I Miss You
still isn't up. "I’m working."

   I did manage a little work today but I won't lie, it is hard to read about romance at the minute. I find myself eye rolling when it comes to the mushy shit, hard to believe a short while ago I was comparing myself to these characters.

   Silly little Lacey!

   Roxie raises her eyebrows and nods her head in a way that tells me she doesn't believe me. "I couldn't get a hold of you today."

   "My phone is off." It has been for about a week now. I turn it on once a day to delete Cole's texts and voice mails without listening or reading them.

   "Can't you at least hear him out?"

   "Nope."

   "Not even a text?"

   "And why would I do that?"

   "He's sorry Lace! Please just talk to him, you're a mess."

   "Gee thanks."

   "You know what I mean. Just talk to him please. He's just as miserable as you are."

   "And whose fault is that?"

  "I know this is all on Cole but I hate seeing you so sad Lacey and he really does seem sorry."

   "I'm sorry Rox, are you my friend or Cole's?"

   She frowns at me. "I'm yours and you know that! I think you're making a mistake."

   Her phone vibrates and I see her quickly glance at it then back at me. We both stare at each other as it continues to ring and I continue to chip my nail varnish off when it stops. "I bet he's just fine now anyway, with all those
'ladies'
he seems to love so much." I snicker quietly trying to ignore the ache in my heart.

   Roxie shakes her head at me. "Mason said he goes with Cole straight back to the bus and he listens to his music. He only wants you." I will admit that I like the sound of that. Why should I suffer by myself? Her phone vibrates again and she looks at me. I know who it is before she tells me. "It's Cole." I continue chipping away at my nails. "Please Lace?" I reach out to her and she quickly places her phone in my hand. I answer the phone without saying a word and close my eyes when I hear his voice and it hits me deep in my chest.

   "Roxie?"

   I swallow hard and prepare myself.

   "Rox? Is Lacey OK?"

   "It's me."

   He sounds like he breathes a sigh of relief. "Oh God Lace! It's so good to hear your voice. I'm so sorry baby, please forgive me? I can come and see you in-"

   I cut him off. "Cole. Listen. I'm sorry but I just wanted to tell you to forget me."

   "What?"

   I take a deep breath. "Move on Cole, I am."

   He voice is deep and commanding. "No Lacey I can't because I lo-"

   "Don't Cole, please." I cut him off before he says those words. I really wanted to hear him say those words but I don't want to hear them in these circumstances.

   "Lacey!"

   "Stop ringing me please. Bye Cole." I close my eyes as I hang up as a couple of tears run down my cheeks. Fuck that was hard. The phone starts to ring again in my hand and I stare at Cole's name on the screen. I throw it beside Roxie who now is looking a little angry.

   "How can you do that?" She sounds like she could cry. I don't answer her because I can't. Instead I stand from the sofa and step away. "You're hurting yourself too Lacey!"

   I ignore her and walk towards my bedroom as Roxie answers her phone. I shut the door behind me and slide down it, all my tears releasing down my face. I am hurting myself, really badly but Cole lied to me. I can't be with someone who lied to me about something as big as he did, even though my heart is killing me right now.

Chapter Twenty

Cole

   This girl is fucking killing me right now!

   As soon as Lacey hung up on me I continued to call her over and over until Roxie picked up. Not surprisingly, she's worried about her friend but what can I do? She won't answer my calls or my texts. Now she's telling me to move on from her! I was starting to panic that she had met someone else, but Roxie assured me that this isn’t the case; she said that Lacey hasn't even stepped out of their apartment, which is a little worrying. I couldn't think about her not going outside because I was too relieved that she was still mine, if anyone touches my girl I would fucking kill them and I'd rather not have to do that. I've spent enough time away from Lacey as it is.

   There's a knock on the dressing room door so I shout for whoever it is to come in. It can't be the guys, Booker and Tate have gone to the after party and Mason has gone back to the bus to phone fuck with Roxie. I didn't want to listen to that, so I stayed here in the dressing room, backstage to the venue we have just played at tonight in San Francisco.

   The door opens and in walks a girl that I haven't seen since the last time I was here, Shelly. She's a beautiful girl, slim, long blonde hair with bright blue eyes and the biggest tits I've played with, they're fake but that's beside the point.

   "Hey Cole." She purrs as she shuts the door behind her and saunters over in my direction. I would have thought that she was moving sexually towards me if I had not seen the luscious sway of Lacey's beautiful curves. Until I had set eyes on my gorgeous brunette, girls like Shelly were my type. Not anymore.

   "Shelly." I nod my head and smile at her politely, I've known her for a few years now and whenever the band stops in town, I always spend some time with her. She hunts me down and usually I don't mind but Shelly isn't the girl I want. No, that girl; the one I want, is stubbornly ignoring me and oddly that makes me fall a little more for her. "What are you doing here?"

  She purposely places her bag onto the table behind my chair so that she has to lean over me, shoving her large tits in my face. Nope, my dick hasn't even twitched. She giggles and places her hands onto my shoulders. "Oh you know me Cole, I have to come and see you." She moans as she lets her hands drift down my arms. "I can't resist, knowing you're here."

   Her hands end up on the top of my thighs so I place my hands over hers. "Maybe you should go home Shell."

   Her face scrunches up tightly. "What?"

   "I'm heading over to the bus. You should go home." I remove my hands from hers so that she can grab her shit and leave but she doesn't. Instead she takes the chance to pounce onto my lap and laughs.

   "Oh Cole, I thought you were being serious for a second there." She licks my neck and groans as I place my hands on her sides, she probably thinks I'm into this but I want to throw her off me. I'm about to lift her off when the door opens and I look over to see Mason scowling at me, I realize what this looks like. Mason wants me with Lacey as much as I want to be with her, I'm a better man when I'm with her.

   I lift Shelly from my lap and stand so she can't jump back on. "I wasn't fucking around Shell, I want you gone."