Darling Melody (The Muse Series) by Addison Carter

Author:Addison Carter [Carter, Addison]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-05-03T16:00:00+00:00

14

There was a wrinkle in my shirt, a deep one running from the hem to just below my right pec. The shirt should have been steamed this morning, but I had deliberately waited until the last possible moment to get myself dressed, so I hadn’t noticed, not until I had fastened the final button and attempted to smooth the tight white fabric down my body.

“It’ll settle,” Bea assured me as she came up behind me and splayed her hand across my stomach, hiding the worst of the wrinkle with her dainty tattooed fingers. “And if it doesn’t no one will know.”

“I’ll know,” I grumbled, spreading my hand over hers, covering it entirely with ease.

“I could go at it with my straighteners if you want, but we’re running short on time.” Bea’s hold tightened, her body pressing even closer to my back, warm, but not yet comforting, no matter how badly I wanted it to be.

Shaking my head, I laced my fingers with hers and turned, facing her but not dropping my head, refusing to meet her eye. I couldn’t look at anyone. I hadn’t looked at Cole when he had come in to find his own shirt, or Jordan when he had brought me a drink. Ro was the only one who had kept his distance from me this morning, and I was glad of it. It was nice, I supposed, that my bandmates cared about me and my uncle, but it didn’t help me. They cared too much, and every time I thought about how sad they all seemed, I wanted to break.

But more than that, I wanted to be strong. I wanted to get through his funeral without falling apart.

So I kept my head high, eyes never drifting down to Bea’s face, and guided her out of the bedroom. I looked straight past Cole as he got up from the table where we usually ate, wobbling as the bus swayed over a bump in the road.

“Mum’s outside the church now, want me to start the call?” he asked, then cleared his throat. “Or do you need a minute?”

“I need a drink,” I said, emotionless and flat.

“On it,” Cole said cheerily. I could tell it was forced, fake, and I wasn’t sure if I preferred it to the sadness I heard in his voice when I had first emerged from the bedroom.

Before I could decide, he was placing a cold glass in my hand. The scent of bourbon hit me as I raised the glass and I paused, glancing down into the dark liquid and swallowing hard before I pressed the rim to my lips and threw the contents back in one long, burning mouthful.

I slammed the glass down on the table, then sat, ignoring the atmosphere on the bus. It felt as though everyone had collectively been holding their breath, but then I looked across the table, past the iPad propped on a stand before me, and met Ronan’s dark gaze. He didn’t blink, didn’t move, just stared at me with a harshness to his face that filled me with unexpected strength.

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