A Mess to Be Made

The next morning, I was woken up by Kian shaking my shoulder telling me that we had to be at the record store in under an hour. I groaned, not wanting to leave my bed, but drug myself out and stumbled towards my en suite bathroom. I took a quick shower, allowing the water to wake me up, before stepping out and walking to my closet. I picked out some dark jeans, an oversized white tank, and a teal bandeau to wear over my bra. I slid everything on, before going into the bathroom to get ready.

I did my make-up lightly, and half dried my hair, before spraying some spray in it and combing it out. I slid the necklace I wore everyday around my neck, before spraying on my perfume and heading back into my bedroom. I slid on a pair of teal flip-flops, and grabbed my purse and phone before heading into the main room where Kian was waiting.

He pushed himself off of the plush, red couch and smoothed out his shorts before following me out of the apartment. I heard him lock the door behind us, and we patiently waited for the elevator to reach our floor. While we waited, I checked my phone and noticed I had one new message. I opened it, and smiled when I saw it was from Stephen. The smile on my face quickly faded as I read ’Who is this? over and over.

“You okay Sadie babe?” Kian asked as we stepped into the elevator.

“I took your advice and tried contacting them last night,” I said looking up at him, “And this was the response I got when I told him I missed him and for him to call me sometime. I almost think it’s pointless for me to still wear these dog tags.”

I brought my phone up to his face, and I watched his eyes scan over the three simple words. I dropped the phone to my side, and he instantly pulled me into a hug. I hugged him back, and he rubbed my hair in a comforting manner. When we separated, I smiled slowly and thanked him. He smiled back as we reached the lobby, and we both walked quickly into the summer heat.

When we made it to the record store, I could already hear the music flowing from upstairs. I cursed, knowing Katie would think we were no-shows, and grabbed Kian’s hand pulling him up into the loft. It was packed with fans, and I felt my heart stop as I heard a voice I knew all too well.

My eyes widened as they landed on the guys and Jess on the opposite side of the room. While in my gaze, I stumbled, and knocked my shin into one of the bins lining the wall. I cursed at the noise it made, and turned my face away as John’s head snapped up. I looked at Kian with pleading eyes, but he was busy flagging Katie or AJ over.

“You know the bands up there, right Sadie?” AJ asked as he appeared next to Kian.

“Oh I’m quite aware,” I said in a harsh whisper, “I’m not looking because that band just so happens to be the one that made me leave Arizona.”

“You’re kidding, right?” Kian asked with wide eyes.

“I wish I was,” I said still whispering, “The singer was my boyfriend, and the blonde one was who I cheated on him with. The other two boys were my best friends, and the reason I wear the dog tags.”

They both moved their mouths into an “o” shape, and I heard the music stop. The two of them clapped along with the crowd, and I heard Brian introduce what he said would be their last song. I allowed myself to listen to the music, while keeping my back to the band, and listened to the voice that used to be my favorite.

“Stuck in the sand with the waves at my feet, and I wish you’d come crash into me. ‘Cause where you are is where I wanna be now. Where are you now?”

I took in a sharp intake of breath, and excused myself before practically running down the stairs into the main selling area. I kept my head down, and felt myself bump into someone.

“Oh jeez, I’m sorry,” I said looking up to see who I ran into, “Miranda?”

“Sadie!” she said hugging me quickly, “I tried calling you last night, but you didn’t answer!”

“I can’t believe you guys are in the one record store my friends work at,” I said returning her hug, “And I’m sorry, I was cooking, and figured it was a mistake you had called me.”

“Oh,” she said seeming down at my comment, “I would never call you if I didn’t want to! I was calling to tell you that we were going to be here today, and invite you out. I guess fate worked it out though.”

“Yeah, something like that,” I said as we sat on the old couch AJ kept in the store, “So how have you been? It’s been a few months.”

“I’ve been good, just touring with the guys,” she said with a small smile, “How have you been.”

“Not too bad,” I said with a shrug, “Kind of bummed that when I sent Stephen a text last night he didn’t know who I was.”

“Brian went through everyone’s phone, minus mine, and deleted your number,” she said sadly, “John only got yours from me, and made sure to delete it again.”

“It’s safe to assume they all hate me then, right?” I asked looking up through my eyelashes.

“They did, for quite a while,” she said in a soft voice, “Stephen and Brian were extremely upset with you, and Josh, but they eventually forgave Josh realizing it would tear the band apart if they didn’t. Jess was more upset that you left without a goodbye, and John didn’t know what to think.”

I nodded sadly, and we continued to catch up on everything that had been going on in our lives. We stayed on the couch and watched as the slew of fans walked down the stairs and exited the shop. A few of them told Miranda hi, recognizing her from previous tours, and looked at me skeptically. I rolled my eyes, and smiled as I saw Kian walk down the stairs to look for me.

“Next time, don’t just run out, okay?” he said standing in front of us.

“I’m sorry, that song just hit a nerve,” I said sheepishly, “Oh, Miranda this is my roommate Kian. Kian this was my best friend in Arizona, Miranda. She does merch for the guys now.”

The two exchanged a quick hello, and I started mentally preparing myself for what was sure to come. I heard footsteps on the stairs, and looked up to see Katie bounding down them smiling.

“You two did make it!” she said hugging Kian and I, “I want to introduce you guys to the band. Guys this is—.”

“Sadie!?” Brian asked with wide eyes, “What the hell are you doing here?”

“I came here to murder you,” I said with an awkward smile, “Kidding. This is my friends record store.”

I scratched my neck nervously, and watched as Katie kept staring between the two of us. The rest of the band stood awkwardly, especially Josh, and Katie finally got a look of realization on her face.

“This is, oh my god Sadie,” she said covering her mouth with her hand, “Uhm, tonight might be awkward.”

“Why? We aren’t going to the show anymore,” I said shaking my head.

“I may have offered them a place to stay,” she said sheepishly, “It was before I knew who they were though! I mean, who knows if they’ll even still stay. Will you guys?”

“We’d really appreciate it,” Jess said shooting me a smile, “And it would give us time to catch up Sadie.”

“You get cleaning duties the next two weeks,” I told Katie slowly.

“Done!” she said hugging me, “Thanks you Sadie.”

I just nodded, and the band informed us that they needed to get to the venue for sound check and such. I just nodded, and waved as I watched them head outside to the van parked on the curb. As soon as the van pulled away, I fell back onto the couch and let out a groan.

“It’ll be okay Sadie,” AJ said puttig his arm around my shoulder, “If not, you know that I’m only a few minutes away and you can crash at my place.”

“Thanks AJ,” I said leaning into his hug, “Well, I guess Kian and I should go clean the house and make sure we have enough space for everyone to sleep.”

“Are you going to go to the show tonight?” Katie asked as I stood up.

“Nah, I figure I’ll see enough of them when they get to the place.”

She just nodded, and we bid them goodbye as we started on our way home.