Jaded (Rock Star Trilogy) (15 page)

I really need to learn how to mind my own business.

Andrew hasn't contacted me anymore. I know he is looking for Stacy, as well as my birth parents, and it makes me anxious.

Surprisingly, the media hasn't found out about Bridgett. Since I left the party early, everybody thought she was
me
, and we haven't been seen together in public since then. I think we both decided it may be best to wait, and give her time to adjust to the lifestyle.

I haven't heard from my
adoptive
mom and dad either. Not that I expected to hear from my mom, she rarely ever contacts me. But I did expect my dad to continue to beg me to come to my senses and come home. His emails have stopped. I am not sure if that makes me happy or sad.

When I pull into my house Friday after school, there is a shiny, red, convertible mustang sitting in my driveway. Alec is leaning up against the car with sunglasses on. I shut off my car and jump out.

“Alec!” I throw myself into his arms and hug him. “I can't believe you came!”

“
I had to come see my favorite girl.” Alec's smile makes all the girls swoon, so when he smiles at me, I can't help but feel a little light headed. He is gorgeous, and he knows how to work it. It's hard not to love Alec.

I remember Bridgett is inside the house, and I get excited. “Oh my gosh, Alec, you have to come inside! There is somebody I want you to meet!”

“Your boyfriend?” he asks, as he follows me.

“
My
boyfriend
is mad at me.” I sigh. “I'm actually not sure if he's my boyfriend anymore...”

“
Oh, no. What happened? Am I going to have to kill him?”

We get to the front door. “Let's talk about it later.” I open the front door, and lead Alec through the house. I know that Bridgett will be by the pool, where she always is.

He sees the pool. “Are we going to swim? Can I at least change first?”

When I open the door, Bridgett is sitting in a lawn chair with her eyes closed. When she hears the door open, she looks up at me, and smiles... Then she sees Alec. Her mouth drops open, and she quickly gets out of her chair, almost falling.

“Oh my god,” Alec and Bridgett both say at the same time.

“
Alec, I'd like you to meet my twin sister, Bridgett Evans. Bridgett, this is Alec Torch, one of my very best friends.”

Alec looks back and forth between Bridgett and me. “You're identical.”

“Did you not hear the twins part?” I ask.

“
I am a
huge
fan!” Bridgett finally speaks. “Like, seriously, I love you... I mean... your music music. I love your music...”

I can't help but laugh at the two of them, both staring at each other.

The doorbell rings. “I'm going to get that. Maybe you two can talk... get to know each other,” I say, leaving the two of them to stare at each other.

3:25 pm

Starstruck.

When I open the door, I am more than surprised to see Stephan standing on the other side. I'm so stunned that I actually don't know what to say.

“Can I come in?” he asks.

I nod, stepping out of the way. Once he's inside, I close the door behind him.

He quickly turns towards me, and says, “I'm sorry.”

What?
He's apologizing to me
? “I should be the one apologizing, Stephan. I was inconsiderate, and I pushed you. And
you were right
. I shouldn't have asked you to go to the party. It was a terrible, and selfish idea.”

“
No, I just... What you were saying... I've been wondering if it were true for a while. I mean, what if Mona
is
my sister? Will I ever know? It kills me not to.” He runs his hands through his hair in frustration. “And how could my dad do that to my mom? She stayed in bed and cried for three months straight after he died. I didn't think she would ever recover. And then she met Keith. Things turned around. She was happy again. I wasn't ready for her to be married to somebody else, but I couldn't stand seeing her sad anymore. Keith is so good to her. Not that my dad wasn't... I... I don't want to hate my dad.
He's dead
! But I can't help it!
I hate him
so much for what he did to us, and for what he did to Mona's family. I don't blame her for hating me. I would hate me too. But even if Mona was my sister, I don't think I would want to know. I don't want to bring up any of those old emotions for my mom. It would hurt her too much.”

“
It's not your fault,” I tell him. “None of it. Your dad and Mona's mom are the ones who messed up. Not you, and not Mona. You can't blame yourself.”

“
You're right. And my brain knows it, but I can't help but feel bad. Maybe if I was a better son, it wouldn't have happened...”

I stop him. “Do you remember what I told you about my sister Stacy? And how she ran away from home?”

He nods.

“
I know that it's not
my fault
she ran away, but still, I've been carrying this guilt around for
nine years
, Stephan. You
have
to let it go.
I
have to let it go.” My heart feels lighter as I say the words. “I hate her for leaving me. She was selfish for what she did.”

“
She
was selfish
, Scar. You were 10 years old, and she just left you. What kind of sister does that?”

“
Just like your dad was selfish.”

He nods. “I know. I just.. need time.”

I know exactly what he means. “I'm here for you, when you need to talk. Just don't carry it around for nine years like I have.”

“
I won't,” he promises. “Thanks for the heart to heart.”

I know what I need to do now. I have to stop looking for Stacy. She knows where I am. And if she wants to see me, she will.

“Do you want to meet my best friend forever?” I ask him, wanting to talk about something lighter. I'm not going to let anything ruin my weekend with Alec.

He smiles. “I saw a glimpse of the car outside. Can we go check it out?”

“Car later. Right now, you need to meet Alec. Plus I left Bridgett alone with him, and she was a little starstruck.”

When we get back outside, Alec and Bridgett are chatting like old friends. Well, Bridgett may be drooling a little, but who could blame her. If Alec wasn't like my big brother, I'd probably have a crush on him too.

“
So are they coming with us to Miami?” Stephan asks me.

“
Miami?” I question, but then remember. “Oh! The races! I completely forgot!”

“
Races?” Alec's interest is piqued.

“
Stephan races,” I tell him. “And by race, I mean he is into
street racing
.”

“
Isn't that illegal?” Bridgett asks.

“
Yes!” Alec almost sounds angry, but then he smiles. “I love to watch street racing. I got into it a little bit before my music took off. It's a lot of fun. I haven't seen a race in... forever.”

“
So, who is up for a road trip?” I ask.

5:12 pm

Too damn distracting.

An hour later, we are on the road. Alec and Bridgett ride behind us in my Mercedes, and I ride with Stephan. I almost felt bad about leaving them to ride alone, but I have to admit, they both looked pretty excited about the prospect of being together.

“How long is the drive?” I ask Stephan.

“
It's about four hours,” he says. “So, we should be down there around 9:30. We can all just hang out, maybe grab a bite to eat before. The races start around 1am. I usually get a text about 20 minutes before letting me know the location.”

“
So, it is in a different location every week?”

He nods. “Miami is a lot bigger than Hope. They let us know where so we have just enough time to get there. They don't want the word to get out.”

“So what about after the race? Do we just... go home?”

“
Normally, I drive home. I usually get back around six in the morning.”

“
Is it safe to drive so late? Maybe we should just stay in Miami tonight. Then we can hang out here tomorrow, do something fun, and then go home.”

“
Is this your excuse to get me alone in a hotel room?”

I knew that was coming. “Ha, ha. No.
You
can stay with Alec, and
I
will stay with Bridgett.”

He fake pouts. “That doesn't sound as fun.”

I just laugh, and change the subject. “Did Ethan not want to come with us?”

“
He never comes to my races.”

“
Did you
ask
him to come?”

“
No,” he snorts. “Definitely not.”

“
Stephan! How could you leave him out?”

He shrugs. “I think he had a date tonight, so chill. He wouldn't have came if I asked him anyway. We are
stepbrothers,
and we're definitely
not friends.
”

“
You should be friends, because Ethan is awesome. But seriously, he has a date? With Mona?” Now I'm excited.

“
Yeah... Well, sort of. It's like this big group thing. They are having a party or something. I think she invited him to be
nice
, but I think he thinks it's a date.”

“
That's great. Why didn't he tell me?”

“
No offense, but maybe he didn't want you to ruin it for him.” Stephan shakes his head at me. “I mean, you almost ruined the last party.”

I narrow my eyes at him. “Do I need to remind you that
you
are the one who ruined it? If you wouldn't have been there, things would have been fine.”

He laughs. “Maybe. But you invited me, and practically
forced
me to go. Therefore, you are the guilty party.”

“
Now we are
definitely not
staying in the same room,” I joke.

“
Yeah, because if we did, I might see you naked. And I can't
ever
see you naked. Remember?”

“
How could I forget? But I don't have to be naked for us to have sex.” I pull up my already short skirt, showing him more leg. “My skirt makes it easy for us...”

He's watching me, and not the road. When I look up, we are driving on the shoulder of the road.

“Maybe
I
should drive.”

He swerves the car back into the correct lane, and grips the steering wheel so tight that his knuckles are turning white. “Next time we go on a road trip, you're wearing jeans. Your legs are too damn distracting.”

My phone vibrates, and I laugh at the text from Bridgett.

Stop distracting the driver! - B

I quickly reply.

What can I say? We have good genes ;) - S

“So, the races tonight, what do you have to pay to get in?” I ask, curiously.

“
The race that I am in, you have to pay five thousand to race. There are five cars competing. If I win, I can get up to 30 thousand dollars,” he smirks.

“
Can I bet on the race?” I ask. I'm not much of a gambler, but it sounds fun.

“
Yeah,” he nods. “Thinking of betting against me?”

“
No way!” I say quickly. “I will always bet
for
you.”

“
And that is why I like you so much.”

“
Awe, Stephan Montgomery likes
me
. I must be special.”

He winks at me. “More special than you know.”

9:45 pm

Good times.

The drive flies by, and before I know it, we are in Miami. We all decide to eat Chinese food, and pull into the first place we see. It's small, but in my experience, the
hole in the wall restaurants
are usually the best kind.

“
Table for four, please,” Stephan tells the hostess. She still has yet to move. She's standing there, staring at Alec, Bridgett, and me.

“
Oh my god...”

I roll my eyes. “Yes, I'm Scarlett Ryan. This is my sister Bridgett, and this is Alec Torch. I get you're probably not used to seeing celebrities, but
please
, can we have a table?”