“You’re coming with me right?” she asks.
“Yup!” I say with a nod, popping my p. “I have a hotel sorted out for us already, and it’s only a few hours drive away, soroad trip!We just need to make it through to lunch because Smithy and your mom have already let the school know we won’t be around this afternoon.” I might need a 4.0 GPA but bringing her this joy is so worth missing class. Plus, I already spoke to East directly, and he’s not going to penalize us for missing one class. I’m caught up on everything else, having gotten straight As on all of my assignments so far. Except for the project I have with Lincoln. That class I’m worried about, especially considering Mr. Peters being a grade A pervert, but I’m hoping I can work on Lincoln to actually work with me since I’m pretty sure he doesn’t want a bad grade either. I can afford to skip a little, because Business is going to hang in the balance either way.
“I’m so fucking excited. Oh my God. I’m going to meet Jenna B. What if I fangirl too hard and make a total ass out of myself? Oh shit, that’s definitely going to happen. This is going to be so good and so terrible, and I don’t even care. I’m too excited.” The babble continues to fall from her lips, and I can’t help but laugh a little. It brings me so much joy seeing how happy she is.
“You’ll be fine, she’s excited to hang out too. I spoke to one of my friends earlier, since he’s on her team now. Jenna basically hired my dad’s entire road team and I love her for that, so we have All Access Passes for the entire thing.”
She stills and blinks at me for a second before whispering, “You spoke with Jenna B?”
I nod, and she covers her mouth with her hands. “Holy. Fucking. Shit.”
“Are you okay?” I ask, a little worried about her. I don’t care about everyone watching us, they can fuck right off. This is Indi’s day, and if she wants to be crazy and loud, then so be it.
She nods, looking back down at the tickets with wide eyes. “My bestie just got me the best present ever and told me she talks to my ultimate girl crush on the regular. I’m just having a moment.”
She grins up at me, and I burst out laughing. “I love you.”
“I love you too,” she says, linking her arm with mine, practically skipping as we head toward the main entrance of the school. “So where are we staying?”
I run through the details with her as we hit our lockers before heading to English.
The day passes quickly, with Raleigh finally back to being his usual laid-back, cheerful self during Music. He’s been understandably distant the last few weeks, but it’s nice having him back to how he was before the world’s most unfortunate date.
By the time the bell rings to signal lunch, I'm beyond excited to get out on the road with Indi for the gig tonight. Her squeal reaches me before she does as I head down the hall toward her. I grab my shit from my locker, and then we head straight out to the parking lot. “Head home, pack yourself a bag, and I’ll be there in less than an hour to get you.”
“Holy shit, I’m too excited, my heart is racing.” She grins and hugs me. “Okay, I’ll see you soon.”
I head over to my newly repaired Impala, checking to make sure every inch is safe before I jump in and drive home. I already packed my overnight bag, but I still need to get ready for tonight. I say a quick hello to Smithy as I climb the stairs to my room to shower and get my shit together.
Opening the door to my room, I freeze. The balcony door is open again and there’s a note lying on my bed. Fuck, that’s so creepy.
I pick the thick cream paper up, taking a deep breath before opening it.
I told you to leave. You didn’t listen. You’re going to regret that.
Fuck this, I’m not letting whoever this is ruin my weekend. I should probably be a little more concerned after the car crash and everything else that’s happened, especially when the note is on my bed; but today is Indi’s birthday, and I refuse to be rattled. I drop the note back onto the bed and head for my bathroom. I’ll let Smithy know about it before I leave and ask him to look into it, since we’re still waiting on his security guy.
I take extra care getting ready and pep talk myself into not breaking down on Indi’s birthday. Going back to the stadium I was at last with my dad has me all kinds of fucked up. Tonight isn’t about me, though, so I’m shoving all of my bullshit in a box to deal with another day.
Once I’m ready, I grab my bag and head down to find Smithy. He’s waiting for me in the kitchen. “Oh good, Miss Octavia, I’m glad I caught you. I got a call while you were upstairs. My sister is in the hospital. Since I know you’re away tonight, I was wondering if you would mind terribly if I flew home to be with my family?”
“Smithy, of course not! Go, family comes first, always!” Fuck the note, we can deal with that when his sister isn’t in the fucking hospital.
“Thank you, Miss Octavia. I’ve made a call to a friend at the security company, he’s going to come and check on the house a few times while we’re gone to ensure nothing untoward happens in our absence. He’ll also be upgrading the system to a new state of the art system, so I’ll ask him to leave instructions for you.”
“You don’t need to thank me, Smithy, she’s your family. Can I have your friend’s details? Just so I can let him know when I’m home. That way I won’t get freaked out by people I don’t know being in the house when I’m back.”
“Yes of course. I’ll send the contact over to you. I need to organize a flight, and then I’ll sort it out.”
“Take the jet,” I tell him, and his eyes go wide.
“I couldn’t.”
“You could. It’s just sitting there doing nothing, and it’s way better than flying commercially. It’s not like I need it.” I shrug because I’m not wrong. Why pay for a drop hat staff if you don’t use it?
“If you’re sure,” he says, looking uneasy, so I smile and nod.
“Beyond sure. I don’t need it, and you do. It’ll get you there faster too. Then you can come back whenever you’re ready without having to worry about flights.”