“Of course I remember you, Chet! It’s good to see you again.” Katie shook Chet’s hand and hid her confusion behind a bright smile. Since when did her band hang out with Chet Wilson? Chet pulled a chair over to their table and sat down right next to Katie. He offered her a friendly, easy smile, one that surely meant to reassure her that he was just here for the fun. Someone pushed a tequila shot towards Chet, and Jeff offered a toast.
“Here’s to you, my friends,” Jeff held up his shot glass. “May every day be happier than the last!” Jeff licked salt off his hand and drank his tequila in one swallow. Katie and the men raised their glasses in toast and took their shots after Jeff. Katie sucked in a breath after swallowing her shot.
“Maybe I should slow down,” she admitted before sucking on a wedge of lime.
Charles laughed and nudged Katie’s shoulder with his own. “Pace yourself, kiddo. We’re just getting started.”
The waitress approached their table and set down mugs of beer. Katie put her empty shot glasses on the waitress’s tray and slid her mug closer. The tequila was already hitting her pretty hard, but she enjoyed the warm, loose feeling that was spreading through her muscles. She liked how little losing Blake bothered her right now.
She took a long pull of her frothy beer and sat back, looking around the table. The familiar faces should soothe her, should make her feel like she had made the right choice, but she couldn’t help but notice how happy they all were, so completely oblivious to her heartbreak. True, she hadn’t told anyone about her disastrous night with Blake, but did they really not notice that her world had crashed down around her? She took another drink of the beer and mentally shook away the negative thoughts. The alcohol was probably making her maudlin and she was determined to get over herself. Tonight was for fun, for getting back into the band’s good graces and reaffirming that she belonged with them, not for wallowing in self-pity. She leaned in to hear Jeff finish a joke, one she had heard him tell dozens of times, and forced herself to laugh heartily with the group. With a few more big swallows, Katie finished her beer and set the mug down.
“Next round’s on me,” she announced to the table. The guys raised their mugs and cheered. Katie signaled for the waitress and said, “Beers and tequila shots all around, please. And see this handsome guy here? Bring him whatever he wants.” She set a hand on Chet’s shoulder as she spoke to the waitress, her words starting to slur.
Knowing that the guys had been spending time with Chet made her worried that they were looking to replace her, but she couldn’t think that way. If it were any other guy from Blake’s band, she wouldn’t have given it a second thought.
“Hey, before I left, I heard that they found the guy who slashed the tires on your bus,” Chet announced.
“Oh yeah? What’s the story?” Charles asked as everyone leaned in to hear.
“As far as anyone can tell, it was just random vandalism. Some security guard caught a guy keying a car in a parking lot and when the police hauled him in, they ran his prints. They matched some found on the gate at the venue, so he actually ended up confessing. Everyone’s still keeping their eyes open, but it looks like it’s not something we have to worry about too much.” Chet took a drink of his beer. “I imagine you’ll be free to finish the tour without your bodyguard,” he said to Katie.
“Aw, I’m going to miss him. My hair and makeup girls are crazy about Jonathan, and he makes great coffee.” Katie giggled and took a sip of her own beer. Now that the danger had passed, she felt very foolish for assuming that she had anything to do with it. Like someone would go out of their way to target her, as if she was so special.
She leaned over and whispered in Charles’s ear, “I need to go to the ladies’ room. Save my seat, and make sure there’s a drink waiting for me when I get back.” She giggled as she swayed a bit in her chair.
Charles rose from his seat and held Katie’s elbow steady as she stood. “Do you need me to help you?”
Katie shook her head seriously, though the alcohol had taken the edge off of her serious mood and made everything seem a bit silly. “No sir, I’m perfectly fine. See?” She walked to the ladies’ room, standing perfectly straight, careful not to sway. She looked back and gave Charles what she thought was a jaunty little salute and was relieved to see him smiling at her indulgently.
Katie smiled brightly at other bar patrons as she walked past, as much to convince herself that she was having a great time without Blake as anything else. She doubted anyone recognized her, but she felt like everyone in the place was watching her.
• • •
Katie washed her hands and looked around the filthy bathroom. The mirror was cloudy and the walls were covered in graffiti, probably years’ worth, where girls had come in and left their mark in permanent ink. She noticed a note scrawled close to an old scratched-up metal paper towel dispenser that proudly proclaimed, “I LOVE BLAKE”.
You and me both, sister.
She hoped that the other girl had better luck with her Blake.
There were no paper towels, so Katie wiped her hands on her jeans and set her purse on the sink’s edge. She pulled out a tube of lip gloss and concentrated on her lips in the mirror while she applied a fresh coat.
Satisfied, she made her way back into the bar and was halfway to the band’s table when she heard angry, menacing shouting to her right. She turned her head just in time to see a pair of large men push up out of their chairs and tear into each other, fists pounding on one another as people around them scrambled to move out of the fray. A passing waitress was pushed into Katie, and they both hit the floor with a sickening thud as Katie took the brunt of the fall. The waitress had been carrying a full tray, but it went flying, sending mugs crashing to the ground, shards of glass pinging off the hard concrete of the floor as cold beer splashed all around them. Katie had slipped in the beer as the waitress hit her, making it impossible to keep her balance. Her head bounced off the smooth floor, giving her a brief flash of stars in her eyes, and the waitress landed on her, knocking the wind right out of her. She vaguely noticed the wetness surrounding her and wasn’t sure if it was beer or if the glass had cut her.
Katie tried to lift her head but darkness bloomed in her vision, closing in from the outside and moving to the center as the ringing in her ears got louder and louder. Faces peered over her, faces that she could almost make out, and voices made noise that sounded like words, but Katie didn’t resist when her body slipped into a buzzing, heavy sleep.
Chapter Eleven
Katie looked around the unfamiliar room, her eyes blinking against the harsh fluorescent light, her nose stinging with the antiseptic smell of the place before remembering where she was. She stretched in the small bed, wincing in pain and searching the bedside table for water. Her mouth was dry, her head was pounding, and her body was weak with fatigue. A nurse bustled in, smiling brightly as though Katie were a child.
“How are we doing this morning, hon?” The nurse strapped a cuff to Katie’s arm and checked her blood pressure. She clipped a sensor to Katie’s fingertip, and then she took her temperature with an ear thermometer. She looked over her clipboard down at Katie.
“I’m okay. My head hurts and I’m really thirsty. I guess I’m achy, too. Other than that I’m doing all right.”
“You poor thing. I’ll get you some water and see about some pain medication in just a minute. On a scale of one to ten, how would you rate your pain?”
Katie moved a bit in her bed, evaluating. “I’d say about a seven.”
“I’m not surprised. You’ve been through an awful lot. The doctor will be in to see you shortly. Is there anything I can do for you besides get the water?”
“The light is really bothering me. If you could turn that off, I would really appreciate it.”
“Sure thing, hon. You try to get some rest and the doctor will be in soon.” The nurse refilled Katie’s water pitcher and poured her a glass before turning off the overhead lights and leaving Katie alone, quietly closing the door behind her.
Katie squirmed and stretched in the hospital bed, careful not to pull out any of the monitor wires surrounding her. Her limbs were heavy with exhaustion, and her head was fuzzy beneath the pounding headache. She felt like she had run a marathon the night before, but it was not exercise that had her in this condition. She considered her arms and legs, evaluating, wondering how long it would take before she felt normal again.
She hadn’t broken anything, hadn’t even so much as sprained an ankle. She had fallen straight back, though, with nothing to slow her down, and when her head cracked against the unforgiving concrete floor at the bar, she had sustained painful bruising and what she thought was a mild concussion. She had been awake when they took her to the hospital, but it was difficult to remember the details amid all the chaos. The emergency room doctor who had evaluated her last night wanted her to stay overnight for observation, but if Katie remembered correctly she could expect to be fine with a little rest. Good thing, too, because rest was exactly what she wanted.
Katie was drifting off to sleep when a soft knock on her door roused her. A pretty young doctor entered the room, picked up Katie’s chart, and said, “Good morning, I’m Dr. Patterson. How are you doing today?”
“I’m doing all right. I feel weak and achy, my head is pounding, and I’m still very tired. I think it could be a lot worse, though,” Katie offered.
“That’s true, Miss McCoy. You were pretty lucky. I’ve reviewed your test results, and you should be okay. You have a concussion, and there’s the bruising and pain, but it doesn’t look like anything is broken and we couldn’t find any further injury. I’d say you are well enough to be released if you have someone who can keep an eye on you, just to make sure that you’re safe. I understand that you’re in a lot of pain this morning?”
Katie nodded. “My body feels like it’s been hit by a truck, and I have the worst headache of my life.”
“That’s probably just bruising and strain from your fall, and I can order some pain meds for you. Today I’d like you to get plenty of rest, and I’d recommend that you follow up with your physician when you get home. I’ll make sure that you get a list of symptoms and things to watch for. Do you have any questions?”
“I guess not. I’ll let you know if I think of anything.”
“All right then, Miss McCoy. I’ll get your discharge orders started, and you can just relax in the meantime. While you’re still here, use your call button if you need anything, even if you just want to get out of bed. That way, someone will be nearby to help if you feel faint or fall down. When you go home, be sure that someone is nearby to help just in case.” With that, Dr. Patterson smiled and left Katie alone in her room again.
Katie took a sip of her water and laid back on her pillow, her eyelids heavy and her battered body begging for rest. The nurse bustled back into her room before Katie could slip into sleep again, a sympathetic smile on her face and a plastic cup holding tablets in her hand.
“Here you go, sweetie. Take these and we’ll see if that helps.” She offered the pain medication to Katie and helped her reach the cup of water. “You need anything else?”
Katie shook her head and fell back onto the pillow. “Thank you. I’m fine for now.”
“All right, hon. You get some rest while you wait. It can take a while to get discharged. Do you have someone coming to pick you up?”
“Gosh I don’t know. I’ll have to make some calls.”
“Okay. You do that, and I’ll bring in your paperwork in as soon as it’s ready.” The nurse moved the call button closer to Katie and patted her hand. “Just press this button if you need anything in the meantime.”
• • •
Katie didn’t know how long she had been asleep, if it had been minutes, hours, or even days. She awoke to the sound of gentle snoring at her bedside and felt a hand covering hers, warm, gentle, familiar. Her eyes blinked against the soft light filtering in between the slats of the window blinds, and she stretched and moved in her bed, testing her body, checking for changes. Her movements woke Blake, who had fallen asleep sitting up at her bedside.
“Hey,” he said softly, his voice heavy with sleep and emotion. “You’re awake.”
“You’re here,” Katie responded. “You came.” She smiled weakly and squeezed his hand.
“Of course I came. Charles called me when they brought you in last night. I’m sorry, sweetheart, just so sorry about everything,” Blake whispered. Tears welled in his eyes as he looked down at her.
“Me too,” Katie answered in a raspy whisper.
“I can’t help but think that this is my fault.”
“I’m going to be fine. I’ve got a concussion, but nothing is even broken or anything. I’ll get out of here soon, and all I need is some rest. I’m just disappointed about the tour. There’s no way I can do the Georgia shows, and I hate to let the guys down.”
Blake shifted in his chair and looked uncomfortable. Without meeting her eyes, he said, “You know Chet Wilson, the guy who has been playing fiddle for me? He’s agreed to fill in for you so Sterling can stay on the tour.”
“They’ve already replaced me? That was fast.” Tears sprang to Katie’s eyes.
“You haven’t been replaced, he’s just filling in for you so Sterling can stay on the tour. We cancelled tonight’s show, but we’re going to have to go on and get back on schedule tomorrow.”
“The show must go on, right?” Katie was surprised by how bitter she felt. The biggest thing to ever happen to her career, and she had to miss it because of one stupid night at a bar.
“Please don’t be like that. We can’t cancel any more shows. It’s too expensive.” Blake looked pained and guilty.
“Yeah, can’t let a little thing like a concussion get in the way of the tour. Good thing I didn’t get really hurt. You might have had to cancel more than one show.”
“Sweetheart, it’s not just for me. When we cancel a show, we have to refund thousands of tickets. I have to think of the crew, the venue staff, the other musicians,” he trailed off.
“I get it. It just hurts. I feel like I’m being left behind, and I worked as hard as anybody to get here. This is all I’ve ever wanted, and it hurts to get knocked out of the game just like that.”