Ember

16 - Selfish prick!

Marco

“Sign here,” Matt orders rather than asks Ember.

Nevertheless, Ember signs the contract laid before her with a smile on her face. Ember spent twenty minutes going over the contract with a fine-tooth comb. She then left for almost an hour before she returned. Ember explained that she’d taken the contract to a lawyer friend of hers. She wanted to ensure everything was as she expected. She explained how her ‘friend’ reassured her that the contract had no hidden clauses, and it was safe for her to sign.

“Welcome to Dun’s Dungeon,” Colin hugs Ember, and she giggles.

“Let’s hope you can handle what’s to come.”

Ember looks at Matt. “I get the feeling you don’t like me much.”

“Ignore him,” Colin takes Ember’s arm, but she pulls away from him.

“I’m not here to like you, Ember. I’m here to make sure this band gets to the top.”

I note the look of realization that spreads across Ember’s face. She’s a lot smarter than she looks, and she knows that Matt has been giving us a hard time about her joining. Ember looks incredibly uncomfortable.

“Don’t worry about him, Ember,” Both Ember and Matt look at me. “He hasn’t been laid in three years.”

Matt’s mouth hangs open as he stares at me.

“It’s okay, Marco,” Ember shakes her head slightly.

I take a deep breath and nod at her. Bob’s eyes widen in shock. He’s shocked because no one has ever been able to stop me in my tracks and have me agree the way Ember just did. I can’t explain it, and I’m sure as shi.t not going to analyze it.

“Whatever,” Matt rolls his eyes. “Just get on the damn bus. We’ve got places to be.”

I’ve got to admit that Matt did well when it came to the tour bus he hired for us. Christ knows how much the damn thing cost, but it has to have been a large sum. I do know that the price will eventually come out of our pockets. I’m not going to sweat the small stuff right now. I’m just going to enjoy the ride.

“Wow,” Saint’s eyes widen when we walk onto the bus and see just how top of the range it is.

The living room section has a large leather couch, three leather chairs, and a large TV with a game console. There’s also a kitchen area with all the amenities we’ll need. There’s a small bathroom with a toilet, washbasin, and a working shower. Then there are three small bedrooms, hopefully with room for all of us.

“How much did this cost?” Bob asks as his eyes scan the bus.

“Enough,” Is the only answer Matt is going to give. “I thought two to a room,”

“Not gonna work,” Colin smirks as Hannah walks onto the bus and drops her bag on the floor. She smiles when Colin kisses her softly.

Fuckin.g great!

That’s all we need on this trip, Hannah, the bitc.h. I don’t hate the woman, but I certainly can’t stand her much.

“When the hell was this decided?”

“She’s my wife, Matt. Of course, she’s coming with me.”

Matt frustratedly runs his hand through his hair. “Fine. Hannah and Ember can share,”

“I don’t think so,” Hannah scoffs. “I’m not sharing with anyone other than my husband. One of you guys,” Hannah wafts her hand between Saint, Bob, and me. “Can share with Ember.”

Everyone starts bickering between themselves, and Ember is shaking her head. She must feel so unwanted because of the way everyone is demanding that they don’t share a room with her.

“It’s fine,” Ember snaps. “I’ll sleep out here.” She points to the couch. “You guys take the rooms. Problem solved.”

“No,” I shake my head. “That’s not right. You should be in a bed, not on the damn couch.”

Ember opens her mouth to reply, but Hannah cuts her off. “If Ember wants to sleep out here, then let her. Which one is our room?”

I’m so annoyed as I watch everyone walk away. Colin and Hannah take the room to the left. Bob and Saint take the room next to it, leaving Matt to take the room next to that. Great, I guess I’m sharing with that asshole.

Fuc.k this!

I make my way to the middle room. The second I open the door, I shake my head. There are four cots, two built into the right wall, and two to the left. There’s not enough room to swing a cat, but we’ll make this work.

“Something you wanted?” Saint raises an eyebrow.

“Yeah, Matt and I will be bunking in with you two.” Both men stare at me. “It’s not right that Ember sleeps on the couch. There are four cots in here, plenty of room for the four of us.”

“You don’t think it’ll be a squeeze?”

I nod my head at Bob. Of course, it’s going to be a squeeze. However, we’ll make do in order for Ember to be comfortable. She’s a member of this band now. That means she has every right to a room like the rest of us. Besides, it’s the decent thing to do. I would be a dic.k to anyone who was traveling with us.

“It will, but it’s the right thing to do.”

“To be honest, we were just saying the same thing.” Saint runs his hand over his face. “I mentioned it to Matt, but he didn’t seem too keen.”

Selfish prick!

I walk away from Saint and Bob and into the next room. Matt is on the phone, but his conversation halts when he sees me standing there.

“I’ll call you back,” He ends the call. “You shouldn’t creep up on people like that.”

“We’re moving into the room next door. There’s space for all four of us. Ember needs to sleep in a bed, not out there on a damn couch.”

Matt raises his eyebrow and folds his arms around himself. “You share with the others; I’ve made other arrangements.” He picks up his bag and slings it over his shoulder.

“What arrangements?”

“None of your business, arrangements,” I roll my eyes at the prick. “All you need to know is that I won’t be traveling with you. I’ll meet you in Oklahoma tomorrow. Have fun,” He sing-songs as he walks past me and off the bus.

He didn’t even tell the others that he was leaving!

“What’s that all about?”

I smile while looking at Ember. “Matt decided not to travel with us, which means,” I take her hand in mine and lead her to the now spare bedroom. “This is all yours.”

Ember throws me a confused look.

I smirk, leave to retrieve her case, and take it to the room Ember will sleep in. I dump it on the top bunk. “There’s room for me with Bob and Saint.”

“You don’t have to do this, Marco. I would have been fine on the couch.”

I shake my head, kiss Ember’s cheek, and leave.

* * *

I shouldn’t be doing this, but I can’t help myself. Ember left another one of her notebooks on the couch, and I picked it up. I had no intention of looking through it; I was going to take it to her room and drop it on the bed.

However, while everyone else is sleeping, I’m drinking beer and reading Ember’s lyrics. I swore that I’d never do that again without her permission, but I couldn’t stop myself. I’m a terrible person for doing that.

Some of these songs are so emotional. I have to wonder who hurt Ember and why. No one could write songs like this without experiencing heartbreak. It has to have been Toby. He’s the one who hurt Ember. I don’t know what he did, nor why, but I know he broke Ember.

Why else would she have walked away from him and not mentioned him since?

Okay, this is only the first night, but from the way Colin told it, Ember was deeply in love with Toby.

Why do you even care, Marco? If Ember left Toby, then the way is clear for you to make your move.

I care because Ember is my friend, and I don’t want her hurting.

I’m lost in reading and don’t hear anyone enter the room. Traveling on a tour bus with the engine purring will do that to a person.

“Wanna tell me what the hell you think you’re doing reading another of my notebooks?”

“Ember,” I snap the notebook shut and hand it to the beauty in front of me. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to read it.”

“Then, why did you?”

I sigh and shift in my seat. All I’ve done since we picked Ember up is annoy her. I’m not sure what it is about me that’s pissing her off, but it’s not my intention to do so.

I run my hand through my hair and look at Ember. “Curiosity,” I shrug my shoulders. “Look, I don’t know what I’ve done to upset you, but I’m sorry that I have.”

“You haven’t.” Ember cuts me off with a shake of her head. She sits down on the couch beside me. “Marco, I’m sorry if I’ve given you that impression. I’m just having a bad day, and I’ve taken that out on you. That was so unfair of me,”

I chuckle and take her hand in mine. Maybe I shouldn’t have, but she doesn’t pull away. “It’s okay, Ember, I understand.” She smiles sweetly at me. “The lyrics you wrote are amazing, Ember. Some of them are heartbreaking.”

Ember lowers her head. “No one was meant to see them.”

“The most painful things in life, make the greatest songs.”

She laughs and nods her head. “Is that how you write songs? Do you draw from painful experiences?”

I nod my head and take a deep breath. “I’ve done many things to block out pain, Ember, including writing song lyrics.” I don’t elaborate, and neither does she.

“Maybe we could write something together?”

I smirk because that’s not a bad idea.

“Maybe we should.” I wink in Ember’s direction.

I can see the start of a beautiful friendship forming between the two of us.

Keep it that way, Marco. Don’t mess things up by going after this woman. For the love of God, try not to fall in love with her.

* * *

This morning, we arrived at the hotel we’ll be staying at for the next three days. We only got the damn hotel because Saint wasn’t keen on sleeping on the tour bus when we didn’t have to. Matt seemed to be okay with it and went ahead and booked rooms for everyone.

The idea of sharing a room with Bob and Saint did not appeal to me, especially as we were sharing on the bus. Matt gave me a lecture about there being no money for extra rooms. I politely told Matt to go fuc.k himself and paid for my own damn room. I’m not sharing with Bob and Saint on and off the road; I’d end up killing one of them.

We have a lot to get through, as tomorrow, we need to get to the venue and practice our set for our first live show. I’ve got to admit that the excitement is starting to boil over. Canyons Reef is one of the biggest rock bands in the world right now, and we’re two days away from supporting them.

This is massive, but I don’t think it will hit me just how big a deal this is until I’m on that stage. It will be crazy, but we’ll smash it with Ember by my side.

As soon as the show is over, we’re heading to Colorado. Tonight, however, there’s a party with our names on it. It’s been a while since I had some fun, though I won’t be looking for a woman or drugs tonight. I’m going to try having fun without any of that.

Good luck with that, Marco.

I didn’t plan it, but Ember’s room is next to mine. I asked for another room, but the hotel was fully booked, and I was lucky to get the room that I did. Ember wasn’t too pleased when I told her, even though she said it was fine. I think that had more to do with the fact we have an adjoining door to which we both have a key. Ember said she’d keep her key in the lock to stop me from walking in on her when she came out of the shower. I laughed because that was beyond offensive, but she laughed also.

I check myself in the mirror and run my hand through my unruly hair. The black jeans I’m wearing with the black button-down shirt, the top three buttons open, look good. I’m a vain motherfucke.r at the best of times, but I have to admit that I’d do myself looking like this.

Vanity on the level you’ve acquired is not attractive, Marco.

I chuckle to myself while splashing on a bit of cologne. Time to party!