More than Music

35

“No, I’m not injured,” I muttered into his shoulder, which was pressed against my face. I tried to pull away, but he had me in a death grip. “Really, I’m fine!”

“Are you sure?” Jared asked, when I finally broke apart from his brother. “Does it hurt anywhere?”

“I can’t feel anything, but that might be the adrenaline. Tomorrow I might wake up with a broken leg or something, but at the moment, I feel great.”

Hector thumped me on the back, knocking all the air out of me. “That was hardcore, Maddie. Not sure I could have done that.”

“Um, thanks.”

The show had a medic check me out before they let me do anything else. She said one of my ankles was twisted and told me to ice it and stay off my feet for a day or two. Someone found me some flip flops, and then we had another interview with Ray about how we felt about the performance. He said I was really brave, but I replied that I just didn’t want to let the other guys down. When he asked them what they thought, Jared leaned into the mic and said, “I nearly had a heart attack when she fell off stage, so I’m just happy she’s okay.”

We had to return to the stage with all the other bands on Team Dan one more time to wave while Ray reminded everyone at home how to vote, and the other musicians all patted me on the back and asked if I was okay. I may have fallen, but this felt like a victory.

By the time we got back to the hotel, I didn’t think I could keep my eyes open even a second longer. Plus my ankle had started to throb now that the buzz from the performance had worn off. Even breathing seemed tough. Maybe I was more beat up from the fall than I’d thought.

I wanted to crawl right into bed, but the guys said we should check the Internet and see what people were saying about us. I was too tired to argue and soon found myself in their room again, sitting beside Jared on the bed while he opened up his laptop.

“Don’t forget to vote for us, too,” Kyle said. “And remind everyone to vote by 10 AM tomorrow.”

I checked my phone and saw that Carla and Julie had been sending me panicked texts for the last hour or so. I texted them back that I was okay and reminded them to vote for us. I’d call them both tomorrow and give them the full scoop when I wasn’t so tired. That reminded me: I’d never called my mom like I’d promised Julie I would. I’d meant to do it, but things had been so busy these past few days and I’d completely forgotten. Yet another thing to add to my to-do list.

“Holy s**t,” Jared said, staring at his screen. “Our Twitter account shot up to thirty thousand followers tonight.”

“Thirty thousand?” I asked, choking out the words. Last I’d heard, we were at ten thousand. Kyle and Hector crowded around us to see the screen, and Hector whistled.

“That’s good, right?” Kyle asked. “That means we’re going to get enough votes to stay this week?”

“Maybe,” Jared said. “Some of the other bands have fifty thousand. We should post more photos on i********: and Tumblr. That might bring in more fans.”

“I can ask Alexis to take photos of us rehearsing one day,” Kyle said.

“Good idea.”

“Thirty thousand,” I repeated, still in shock. “We have thirty thousand fans?”

“Probably more actually,” Jared said. “There’s a huge segment of older people who watch the show who aren’t on Twitter. I’ll make sure our f*******: page is updated, too, and the website…” He rubbed his face, looking tired, and for the first time, I appreciated how Jared ran the entire business side of the band by himself. I had no idea how he kept up with it all on top of the rehearsals and other things we had to do for the show. I could barely find time to eat, sleep, and shower.

“What are people saying about tonight?” Kyle asked.

“I don’t want to know,” I said, biting my nails. “Unless it’s good. No, don’t tell me. Oh, god, it’s probably all over YouTube already.”

“Some people seem to think what happened was cool,” Jared said. “One girl tweeted, ‘I love how she kept playing, she’s so fierce!’”

“I don’t feel very fierce, but that’s nice of her to say. What else?” I leaned over again, trying to get a glimpse of his screen. “Nothing.” He quickly yanked the laptop away, but not before I saw “four-eyed cow” and “she only did that to get attention.”

“Is that what people really think of me?” I tried to reach for the laptop, but he passed it to Hector on the other bed.

“Only stupid people who shouldn’t be allowed on the Internet,” Jared said. “Besides, we’re trending on Twitter, so I think your fall off the stage might end up being a good thing.”

“The world is full of haters,” Hector said. “Don’t let them get to you.”

“I guess so.” Those comments stung, but I was too tired to stress about them right now. I yawned and checked the time. “I should get to bed.”

As soon as I stood up, my ankle went out from under me with a sharp pain. I yelped and slammed into the side of the bed, bracing against it for support.

Jared was at my side instantly. “Do you need help?”

Kyle jumped up, too. “Should I get some ice?”

Talk about embarrassing. I didn’t need both brothers hovering over me like this. I stood up a little slower this time, balancing on one foot. “I’m okay. I just got up too fast. I’ll be fine after I get some sleep.”