The Real Score

Chapter 12: Try

"Are you coming?"

Issa came into her guestroom where I had been staying the past few days—with Gi following behind her. Her daughter hobbled onto my bed, where I was lying on my tummy.

"Horsie!" Gi squealed, and before I knew it, she was on my back, bouncing, her tiny hands on my shoulders. I laughed, grabbing her waist so that she wouldn't fall down.

It has been a week since my big fight with Marcus. A week since he stormed out of Insider, apologized to Carina, asked her if she had enough material to work on, and that if she has any other questions, she could email us. When I talked to Carina, she gave me the biggest hug, comforting me.

"I have to run this, you know that, right?" she said, still holding me in her arms, and I nodded. "Let's just...keep the fight out of the article. I'm going to patch things up with him. I hope I could," I told her with a sad smile. "Hopefully before that article comes out."

Carina released me, a knowing smile on her face. "You guys can fix this," she said. "He's hurt, and he just needs time to heal."

It has been a week, and Gezellig's 1000th show at the O2 Arena was tomorrow night. My pass for the concert was couriered a few days ago, with a note from Tom and Laurence that I should 'show your sexiness (and bangs).'

The pass was slung over my dresser.

I sighed as Issa lifted Gi off my back, hitching the baby on her hips. "I don't know. Marcus doesn't want me there," I answered, sitting up on the bed.

"That's not what he said."

At the door stood the rest of Gezellig—Daniel, Tom, Laurence, and Nigel—in full force. It was Tom who spoke, and they filed into the room, one after the other. Laurence pulled me up and gathered me in his arms. The other guys joined in, and I was a happy Gezer stuck in the middle of a Gezellig group hug.

"Wow, did you guys really drive here to see me?" I said, and Nigel winked at me.

"Nah, we're just tired of Marcus sulking around."

I laughed, and they released me from the hug. Issa stood at the door, watching the boys with a glint in her eyes, like she was proud of how these boys turned out. They remained grounded, the same people as they were when they started. Daniel and Nigel stayed near the dresser, and Tom and Laurence sat on either side of me.

Laurence leaned in and said in a low voice, "Dried mangoes?" I smiled and pointed to my suitcase, and he stood up to get his treats.

Tom turned to me. "So I heard there was a big fight."

"Who doesn't know about this?" I said, frustrated. "I am actually surprised it was kept out of the media. It seems everyone on your side knows we fought."

"Well, Fletch knows people who talked to people to shut up first," Daniel commented, mentioning the band's manager. That comment made me grimace, because I never liked it when their management had to do cover-ups, but it worked to my advantage now.

"But he's our buddy, too, and we've been together for more than six years. We know when something's wrong," said Laurence, who popped open one of the packs of dried mangoes and offered them around.

"So he's brooding again, is he?" I asked, and Nigel nodded. "I'm thinking he'd run off to the mountains and stay there."

"He didn't wanna tell us what happened, so you're gonna have to," Tom said, and I told them the story, interrupted by some dried mangoes. By the time I was finished, Daniel was already seated at the foot of the bed, a frown on his face.