Rocked in the Light (3 page)

He groaned and stiffened under my fingers. “Fuck it.”

I woke up the next morning to the sound of my phone ringing. I grumbled and slipped out of bed gracelessly to find and silence the damn thing. But as I reached it, I saw it was evil publicity robot, Christine.

I rolled my eyes and answered, keeping my voice low so I didn’t wake Rick up.

“Hello?”

“Julia, great. I’m so glad you’re awake.”

“I wasn’t until you called. I don’t even know what time it is.”

“Six-thirty.”

“Oh god. I just went to bed. What do you want?” I tried to be cordial to her most of the time, even though she seemed genetically modified to annoy me, but I wouldn’t be nice to anyone who woke me up at what might as well be the middle of the night.

“I have some great news for you,” she chirped.

“What?”

“A radio station in the city wants to book you for a short set today.”

“Huh? Christine we have another show tonight, in case you forgot.”

“I know, but it’s just two songs. And they’re getting a ton of attention for this new thing they do, Flash Concerts.”

“I don’t know what that is.” Nor did I care. My gaze drifted over to the bed. Rick was sprawled out on his stomach, snoring softly, his big strong body fully relaxed. He looked sexy and inviting and I wanted nothing more than to climb back in and pull the covers over our heads.

“…Like a pop-up restaurant, I guess. Everything is top secret until right before the show. Fans love it and they’re getting a lot of press coverage for this. It’s all very cutting edge.”

I’d missed most of what Christine was saying, but I got the gist. “Okay, okay. Stop selling it to me. I’m too tired to remember anyway. I agree it’s a great opportunity, if we can make the timing work.”

“Let me worry about that. I’ll call your manager next and we’ll set everything up.”

“Okay, fine. But I’m shutting my phone off for at least three hours. I need some sleep if I’m doing two shows today.”

“Great. Oh, I’m so pleased. I’ll send you an email with some info and…”

I trudged back over to the bed and got in. Even with the phone away from my ear I could hear her voice coming through the speaker, quiet and tinny. I grimaced and pushed to end the call and then switched the phone off. I was fast asleep again before my head hit the pillow.

During the rest of that crazy day I thought back to when I’d been sitting around with nothing to do but write songs I didn’t think anyone would ever hear, and feel sorry for myself. The “Flash Concert” was actually a lot of fun, and I was surprised how much press there was about the event. By the time I made it to the arena for the night’s show I was tired, but knew the crowd would re-energize me. Besides, it was our last night in Vegas and after everything that had happened here, I was equal parts sad to leave and excited to get the tour actually on the road.

I didn’t get a chance to see Rick alone after the show, unfortunately. By the time we’d all finished signing autographs and posing for pictures with fans, the buses were loaded and we had to head north to Reno – our first overnight drive. First of many, from what I remembered of the itinerary.

This was everything I’d been waiting for. Crashing on my bus, falling asleep to the sound of Janine and the rest of my backing band laughing up front. From being a kid in the business I’d learned how to fall asleep in any situation. When I worked on King of Hearts there were tons of laws and rules about times and number of hours I could work, but between the show, homework, acting classes and practicing instruments, I became princess of napping. I could probably nap onstage in the middle of a show if I had somewhere comfortable to sit.

The next few days were a blur. I desperately wanted to remember every minute, but it was impossible. Every minute we weren’t onstage we were traveling or talking to reporters or doing photo shoots or whatever other bullshit the suits could come up with to fill the days.

But even the annoying things were fun for me. I hadn’t argued with my mother in days. True, I barely saw her, but still. While she was busy making sure every person in the country knew my name and my music, I got to just have fun.

Being on the road with Dream Defiled and Playology was weird. Like summer camp on wheels. But with a lot more booze. Between coffee to wake me up for radio station interviews and the gallons of alcohol I ingested after shows, my body was constantly on the edge, but I loved it. And when everything got a little too crazy, I could always grab Rick and run off to hide together.

The once terrifying camera crew became just another part of the familiar insanity. They were everywhere, sure. But once I saw most of the things they shot were just short videos online documenting some silly moments, I calmed down a lot around them. And finding ways to duck them was kind of fun. One afternoon before our Seattle show I was finishing up a call in the parking lot where our buses were and spotted Rick and Matthew doing an impromptu workout. The cameras were there, of course. And from the effect watching Rick, shirtless and sweaty, doing push-ups on the asphalt, had on me, I figured that video would be a record-breaker.

I stopped and stared as long as I dared, but got caught by Vincent, the team’s producer. He waved and beckoned me over. We walked far enough away that the boom mic wouldn’t pick up our voices before saying anything.

“Hey, Julia, I’m glad you’re here. Do you have a few minutes for us today?”

“Um…maybe later? I’ve got to go check on wardrobe and then start warming up.”

He cocked his head to the side. “Bullshit.”

I gaped. “What?”

“I know you don’t dig the whole videography thing. But it’s working. Getting more attention for all of you guys. Selling merch and records.”

“I know.”

“Look, you don’t have to love it. But give me ten minutes. We’ll do a couple sound bites and I can use them for weeks with footage. Then you can go back to trying to pretend we don’t exist.”

“Damn, cameras do catch everything,” I said wryly.

“Pretty much.” He grinned and looked over at Rick and Matthew.

My stomach twisted into a knot. Was that a pointed comment? Did he know about me and Rick?

“So, uh…what kind of things do you want me to talk about?”

“Huh?” He blinked a few times and turned his attention back to me. “Oh, sorry. Nothing big. I have a list of general questions. Just smile and don’t curse and it’ll be over before you know it.”

“Okay. Where?”

“Your bus?”

“All right. Give me ten minutes to freshen up?”

“Sure. We’ll be over soon.”

I smiled. “Can’t wait.”

Vincent laughed, but before I could say anything else he was walking back over to the camera guys.

On my way back to my bus I ran into Janine. She had sent me a cryptic text about an emergency appointment but now I saw what she’d meant.

“Holy shit,” I said, grinning broadly. “You look amazing.”

“Thanks, hon.” She twirled around so I could get a better look at her new hair. What had once been straight ordinary brown was now a golden blond that suited her pale skin and delicate features perfectly.

“You never said anything about changing your hair. What happened?”

“I had a crazy dream last night, and in it I had this hair. The dream was kind of scary but I looked really fabulous, so I went for it.”

I laughed. “You’re a freak.”

“You know it, girl,” she replied. “Now buzz off, I have to go show my new hotness to the rest of the world.”

“Go, go. But I want more details later.”

She wiggled her fingers and strutted off. Man, I loved that girl.

I continued on the way over to my bus and climbed the stairs. Most of my stuff was inside in my dressing room, but I had enough hair products and makeup on the bus to get presentable.

And as if on cue, ten minutes later, Vincent knocked on the side of the door and boarded with his crew in tow.

“Ready, gorgeous?”

“Of course. Where do you want me?”

He looked around, gesturing to the crew silently. “Sit over here by the window and let me see how it lights.”

I obeyed without argument. A rare and wonderful occurrence. The crew placed a few lights around me and worked with the camera guy to make minor adjustments for a few minutes while Vincent mumbled into his phone. The secret to knowing who is important in the entertainment business is whoever spends the most time working in person while talking on a phone. Multitasking equals success and he was a master at it.

Finally we were ready. Vincent ended his call and smiled. “Okay, let’s do this. I’ll feed you the questions, but answer them like you’re just thinking aloud. Does that make sense?”

I fluffed my hair. “Not really.”

He laughed. “We won’t use my voice in the clips, so pretend there wasn’t a question. Like if I ask you how the weather is, don’t just answer gray and chilly. Say something like, ‘The weather is really gray and chilly up here, but I don’t mind.’ Okay?”

“Got it.”

“Great. Let’s begin.” He paused for a moment and then asked his first question. “How long have you been on the road so far, and how is it going?”

I straightened my back and looked into the camera. “We’ve only been on the road for a week or so, but everything is going great. I’m having a ball. There’s so much work and time leading up to something like this and it’s amazing to see it all come together.”

Vincent made sure I was finished and then nodded. “Tell me more about what pieces have to work together to make a tour a success.”

“So many people and things have to happen to do a single show. Multiply that times fifty and you’re looking at a small army of hard workers to make sure we can give fans the best shows possible for months at a time. Stage crews, support staff, logistics people, wardrobe, food, lawyers, techs, I could go on forever. There’s so much done and coordinated and it all happens behind the scenes so all the fans see is us on the stage. But we’d never – I’d never sing a note or play a chord without everything they do. It’s really…” I trailed off as I heard some kind of commotion outside. “Should I keep going?”

“Hang on,” Vincent said. In a second he was back on the phone and leaning out the front of the bus. “Julia, we’ve got to catch this. Rain check?”

“What? I-” But he was already gone. The crew broke down the lights and were off the bus in a flash. I peered out the window but the only thing I could see was Joe standing next to their bus, waving his arms and talking to someone. I could hear both of their voices but not well enough to know what they were saying, or who the other person in the conversation was, invisible around the side of the bus.

“Okay, then.” I headed down, wondering what could possibly be so exciting. Vincent and the camera crew had set up their customary distance away, but every camera was trained on Joe. I slipped around behind them and saw he was talking to Matthew. And now that I was outside, I could hear them clearly, arguing. I’d never actually heard Matthew be that loud. I was intrigued, if a little embarrassed to be skulking around like this.

But then my phone buzzed in my pocket and I checked it. A message from Rick.

Tired of band bullshit. Drinking in my dressing room. Come distract me.

I smiled and shoved the phone away. Whatever drama was going on had nothing to do with me for a change and I wasn’t going to get involved. Besides, it seemed like progress that Rick was staying out of it too. Usually he’d feel obliged to get in the middle of things. And I could think of plenty of ways to keep his mind and body occupied.

Right before the buses were leaving the next morning, Becca appeared on mine.

“Hey,” I said, getting up to greet her. “Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, sure. I just thought I’d ride down with you today. Is that cool?”

“Of course. Don’t the guys need you?”

She shook her head and fidgeted with her ponytail. “Not today. They’re all…it doesn’t matter. I just need a little break from them.”

She was trying to be casual, but I could tell she was upset. “Come in the back with me. Janine is doing yoga or something, but we can talk.”

“Okay. It’s not a big deal.”

“I know. But these idiots are in the middle of a horrible cartoon marathon.” I gestured at the members of my backing band, lounging around the space. “Trust me; you don’t want to be in the middle of it. Fred does all the voices – terribly.”