Ruby Riot grips the crowd by the throat and drags them into a place that nobody in the room can escape from. This is the kind of performance people will talk about in years to come because this band is killing it.
I leave before the encore and head to the Green Room; Bryn is already back here drinking a beer.
“You okay?” He swaps the beer for water as I walk in, and sets the bottle out of sight by the brown sofa. “You look bloody pissed off for someone whose pet project just raised the roof.”
“You can drink around me, Bryn.”
“Doesn’t feel supportive when I do.” He throws me a bottle of water and I catch it. “So, what’s up?”
I flop next to him. “Missing the guys. Watching the band tonight reminded me of the other high—the legal one that was good for me. That’s the thing I crave.”
“I get that. A few months and we’re back on tour, yeah? This isn’t over, Blue Phoenix aren’t done.”
But we’re not Ruby Riot. We don’t have the thrill of striving to make it—the high of the electric connection to the crowd you can only make in small venues. Sure, we’re not done but Blue Phoenix will still be a machine.
“Yeah, I guess.” I prop my feet on the plastic chair opposite.
“Ever thought of getting the Riot into the studio?”
“Yeah, I’m arranging that.”
“Cool. You could offer to session for the band.”
“No. They need to establish their own sound. I don’t want to be part of them—they find success on their own terms not because Jem Jones played on their debut.”
Bryn sits forward and peers at me from under his fringe. “You’re edgy again, man. Is Ruby Riotreallyhelping? If this starts to stress you, back off. You know what your counsellor said—”
“Okay, Auntie Bryn, I know. I’ve been here three times, yeah? This time I’m done for good, no more drugs. I know my triggers and music isn’t one of them.”
The door opens and Ruby walks in, perspiration gleaming on her body, face glowing with heat and happiness. She runs a hand through her damp hair and turns a smile on me, which blows my mind—a smile where her eyes are alive and focused. A smile for me. Ruby is back in the world and that world is a brighter place because of her. When I don’t return her smile, she approaches me. Ruby doesn’t get far because Jax appears behind and wraps his arms around her waist, spinning Ruby around and off the floor.
Ruby laughs at him, the sound as powerful to me as her singing. Ruby from a week ago would’ve slapped Jax; this one joins in. He hugs her tight and kisses the top of her head and my stomach drops.
What the hell?
Bryn kicks me and I look around sharply. “You’ve a trigger right there, Jem.”
Will and Nate appear, straight to the fridge for beers. A whirlwind of activity swirls around my dazed head as they pour drinks and talk excitedly, Will constantly trying to pull me into the conversation, desperate for reassurance I still think Ruby Riot is awesome. I join in as much as someone drinking water in a room full of alcohol-fuelled people can. Ruby and Jax continue to talk, squashed together on the sofa. Where her leg meets his and their heads touch imprinting images on my brain.
I shouldn’t feel like this. Jax is doing me a favour. He’s saving me from myself by stopping me trying to save Ruby.