Girl in Love(79)
Pauly must’ve noticed because he stepped between the two of them. “Tell you what. Why don’t you run to the bus and grab her some water and crackers or something,” he told Trace. “And you,” he began telling Mike, but Trace didn’t hear the rest.
He was busy mentally berating himself for being such a complete idiot. All he’d seen her eat the day before was two s’mores. Claire Ann had offered to cook for everyone and he’d just figured she knew she’d been invited and hadn’t wanted to go. Which was mostly true.
Well, I wasn’t invited to the farm last I checked…It hurts being there, in that place…
Her words—her honest, heartbreaking words—filled his head as he searched the cabinets on the bus for some damn crackers. He found peanut butter granola bars and grabbed a Gatorade and a bottle of water as well.
He really hoped her fainting spell wasn’t a result of the fact that she wasn’t eating or sleeping. Because if she wasn’t taking care of herself—and if her not taking care of herself had anything to do with him or being on tour with someone who’d hurt her like he had—then he’d call the whole damn thing off.
He nearly dropped everything he was carrying when he stepped off the bus just in time to see the ambulance pulling away.
Pauly waved an arm in his direction. He jogged over to where he could see her being led by Hannah and Lulu and Mike back toward the bus.
“What’d they say?”
His manager’s expression turned grim and his stomach turned.
“Tell me what’s going on, Pauly.”
“Relax. She’s fine. Slight dehydration they said. We’re going to stay in a hotel tonight. Show’s been moved to tomorrow.”
Trace watched as his manager tapped a few things out on his phone.
“I should—”
“Trace, maybe you should ride with me,” Pauly said, bracing him back with a hand on his chest. “I think this has been a lot for her to deal with. The fight, the guitar player leaving...And her manager mentioned that her mom wrote a tell-all that’s recently been published. You know firsthand how messy those situations can be. You going in there all worked up like this isn’t going to be good for anyone right now.”
He frowned. “I care about her, Pauly.”
The man nodded. “I know. I know you do. I just don’t want this to start being a trend. I’d like nothing more than for the two of you to finish this tour amicably and for everything to go smoothly. But times like this, I really think it’s best if you just keep your distance. The last thing you need is for it to hit the press that you’re the cause of her stress or something.”
An icy cold wave of dread slammed into him. That was his biggest fear. That this was his fault. He handed Pauly the snacks and drinks he’d been holding.
“Here. Take those to her. I’m going for a walk.”
“WELL THAT’S the last time I tell you anything,” Lulu said.
Kylie sat up and sipped more water. “Very funny. I should’ve eaten breakfast. I just didn’t feel hungry this morning.”
Mike rode with them to the hotel. He was quietly watching SportsCenter on the flat screen while Lulu sat by Kylie’s makeshift bed on the couch.
“Any idea where Trace went?” she asked him.
He looked over at her and shrugged. “Dunno. I guess he got a ride on one of the other buses. He was feeling a little out of it himself I think.”
“So y’all just ate s’mores last night, huh?” Lulu arched a brow.
Kylie thwacked her with a pillow. “Shut up. This is embarrassing enough. I can’t believe they postponed the show. Tabloids will probably all say I’m pregnant tomorrow.”
“Or anorexic,” Lulu offered helpfully.
“Or a drama queen making a desperate play for attention,” Mike said, waggling his eyebrows at her.
“Nice. Both of you. Thanks a lot.”
“Who cares what they say?” Lulu rolled her eyes. “I’m about to Tweet that you were really tired from the orgy you had with your band and needed a day to recover.”
Kylie snorted. “No one would believe it. My band hates me.”
“No they don’t,” Lulu reassured her.
“Yeah. Actually they do,” Mike informed them. “Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but they think she’s a slave driver who needs to get a life.”
Kylie tried not to let either one of them see how much that hurt to hear. Not that it was surprising, but it still didn’t feel good.
“Okay, Bass Boy, you’re like two seconds from being tossed off this bus.”
“It’s fine. He’s just being honest,” Kylie told Lulu. “And they have every right to feel that way. I never take breaks, they have to beg for holidays off, and I’m a perfectionist. They pretty much all hate my guts.”