Dedicated to kaffyTheVirgo
I can safely say that with family comes a whole lot of drama.
-THEO
Caleb Parks' POV
"In five, four, three, two, one... ACTION!"
"Ladies and Gentlemen! I am your host, the one and only Ken south and welcome to K-entertainment." The very perky man says into the camera without flinching as the lights got brighter by the second.
"Tonight, our guest star is the upcoming musician, who literally started from the bottom. The one and only Caleb Parks!"
I don't know which one was worse, the blinding lights that pointed in my direction or the screaming fans on the set which serve as the live audience. I try my best not to squint my eyes while I give the camera a dazzling smile.
"How do you feel, Caleb?" he turns his attention to me.
"Great as ever, Ken. How about you?" I grinned.
"Fine, but I could go for a," he pauses midway in his reply, and his face breaks into an amused grin, "Nice try, Caleb. But I do the questions here."
I raised my hands in mock surrender and smile slyly.
"So tell me what inspired you to go into the music business."
"Honestly, I just love to sing and dance. I find it easier to express myself this way."
Ken would pretend that he wouldn't know much about me. And he would grill me, hoping that I slip up right on camera. Welcome to the press, who manage to both annoy me and amaze me at how crafty they get by the day.
"Interesting. What kind of music do you make and like?" he went on with his interrogation.
"I make mostly pop, but I want to try other genres. And as for what I like, I really don't have any favourites."
He strokes his beard. "Be transparent, Caleb. Are you used to being a celebrity?"
"Not quite. I'm only popular around these parts of the world, but once I start off my world tour. I think I will get the hang of it."
"So, no stray fans in your dressing room?" he grins while I let laugh.
"As handsome as you are, you can't possibly be single?"
"Believe it or not, I am. But I know she is out there," I smirk at the camera while lying through my teeth.
"And here I was thinking you were a ladies' man?" he jokes. "So you don't have a celebrity crush?"
He wants a slip, and I'll give him one.
"No, but," I pause and try in vain to stop the sly grin creeping along my lips as Ken moves slightly further out of his seat; his attention trained on my mouth or most likely the words that would come out of it, "I admire Billie Eilish. I think she's cool."
"Nice. Do you wish to collaborate with her one day?"
"Yea, I would love to."
"If you had the chance to open for anyone, who would it be?"
Well, that's random.
"Honestly, either Chris Brown or Faith Marie." I was a sucker for the infamous pianist.
He leans into his chair, which signals that it's time for things to get spicy. He asks, "What is that one habit that you can't seem to shake off?"
"I'm not sure I have one, Ken," I answer with a relaxed demeanour.
I could see a scowl trying to make its way to his face, but he quickly masks it.
"What is the most useless talent you have?"
I couldn't just help myself. "I have no clue how to play sports."
"So, in high school, you weren't on any athletic-related team?" He catches on to my drift and goes with it, a playful glint in his eyes.
"Nope, just school work and I. What were your high school days like, Ken?"
"As normal as it could be, what do you like doing in your free time?"
"Spending it with my sister," I reply honestly, no matter how annoying Gail can be; I love her anyway.
"Apart from English, what other language can you speak?"
"Only English, but I was thinking of learning Spanish."
"To charm, mi Amor?"
'He doesn't quit, does he?' I thought, as I let out a sly smile.
"How about a quick performance for us?" he asks.
"An offer to sing? I thought you would never ask," I say cockily.
I get up and grab a guitar from one of the set managers. I sit back down and strum the guitar while singing my first ever song on the empatía album.
It's more of a cowboy theme song with a hint about family. My mom would sing it to Abigail and me all the time before the accident.
"Amazing," Ken's loud voice booms, successfully knocking me out of my trance. I didn't even know that I was already done.
I remove the guitar from my neck, place it on the floor, and then adjust my sleeves.
"Before we end the show for tonight, do you have anything to say to your fans?"
I nod before turning to face the camera. "Treasure your family, be them blood or not, because you are both lucky to have each other."
"So I'll see you all next week in the Bahamas; as Caleb begins his world tour. See y'all in the next show right here in K-entertainment." Ken claps his hands as I follow suit.
"And clear!" One of the crew members announces.
The stage lights go dim while the room brightens up more.
Ken and I stand up and shake hands. "You're a smartass kid Caleb," Ken says.
I did a light bow with an amused grin. "Right back at you, Ken."
"Save me a ticket to your concert, alright?"
"It's already booked."
My attention and lungs are knocked away when a small but painful force lands on me. My vision is full of black braids which were intent on making me go blind, and I think they were winning.
"Caleb, that was amaze-balls!" Gail screeches, taking on a new mission to make me go deaf.
I let out a light laugh as I place her back on the ground. Before I can fully stand, a hand clamps on my back so aggressively that I almost fall to the ground.
"Boy, you did well." Marcel claps my back once more before making me stand up. Sure, I was taller than him by an inch, but his attitude would never allow me to look down on him literally.
"For now, just practice your songs and dance routines. Leave the rest to Jack and me, okay?"
I nodded in reply.
"Speaking of Jack, my pal back at a club called and said he's been there for about a day. And he is stinking up the whole place. Take Jacob and fix it."
Marcel walks away with a jumpy Abigail and a quiet Shawn.
"Rock, paper, scissors for who carries him in case; he's passed out?" Jacob says as we make our way to the limo.
We arrived at the empty club. Jacob sulks because I won the game too many times.
I scan the club to find my brother from another mother while blocking out Jacob's grumbling. I find Jack by the edge of the club, a drink in one hand and a girl in the other.
"I still say you cheated," Jacob continues as we walk towards Jack.
"Do I even want to know?" Jacob says, making himself comfortable in the chair across from Jack.
Jack narrowed his eyes at Jacob. "Of all the people Marcel could send, he sent Patrick's long-lost twin brother." He snorts.
Jacob simply rolled his eyes. "First, I'd watch my mouth if I were you. Taryn sure did watch hers while she unzipped my pants," A wicked smile spreads across his face.
I don't know what Jacob was playing at when those words left his mouth. Jack launch forward, the slut beside him forgotten as he reaches forward and grabs Jacob by the collar of his dress shirt.
"What did you just say?" Jack said quietly, with an icy look on his face.
Not to be a bad best friend, but imagine an octopus trying to strangle a gorilla. That is what the sight before me looked like, and I couldn't help the laugh that escaped my lips.
Jack turned his head, finally acknowledging my presence. "Caleb, my man, tell me it's not true."
His eyes remain on me with a frown. In doing so, Jack doesn't notice the slight movement in Jacob's eye. "I don't know, man. The moans in the house were more intense last night, and the maid wasn't around."
Jack let out a type of growl. I don't know what animal he was trying to imitate, but if Taryn was here. I have a feeling she would have, said Alpha. He slams Jacob onto the table and makes his way towards the exit. If he were a character in a cartoon, you would see the steam coming out of his ears.
"Think it worked?" Jacob came to stand beside me as he rubs his slightly red jaw.
"It seems we should tell Marci to put popcorn in the microwave," I grin.
"Are you guys coming or not?" Jack hollers from the exit of the club.
Immediately as we walk into the penthouse, we see Taryn was doing her nails on the couch. I was hoping against hope that Marci ran to put the popcorn on as we asked her during our ride here.
Jack stalks toward her, grip her forearm, and drags her towards him. Before Taryn could make a sailor blush, Jack covers her mouth with his and demands entrance.
"Dang it! They are already at it!" Marci said as she rushed into the room and sandwiched herself between Jacob and me. A large bowl of popcorn sits on her lap.
Of course, Taryn didn't forget to do justice after their not-so-little argument back in the orphanage.
"Please tell me it's not true," Jack says once the kiss was over. Their heavy breathing with the crunchy popcorn fills the room.
"If you mean me getting with Jacob. It was very tempting, but I decided just because I am dating a child doesn't mean I have to become one."
Jack scowls. Taryn moved away from him to get her point across, "Jack, I hope you know I am still going back home."
Jack releases an exasperated breath at this. "I know I am not your ideal husband, but can you stop rubbing it in my face that you are going home to play Cinderella?"
"Okay, what crawled up in your head and died because I know that the pea-sized brain of yours walked the plank long ago," Taryn responds calmly, but her clenched fists tell me otherwise.
"For the sake of Zeus, what do you take me for?!"
"A court jester that the king kicked out because he wasn't funny,"
"I'm going to imagine you have a filter for a second." Jack pauses and rubs his temples. "You're only going back to get married because you're lost cause parents need money."
The popcorn I was about to put in my mouth fell to the carpet. The maid would have a fit, but my attention went to the spitfire who had all eyes on her.
"Well then," she chuckles as she eats the distance between her and Jack and says so quietly that if the room wasn't so quiet, I doubt we would have heard it.
"This relationship is as dead as my lost cause of a mother." A lone tear slides down her face. She wipes it quickly and uses that same hand to slap Jack right across the face.
"Trish..." Jack grips her forearm to keep her from going away, his expression crumbling. He just made our very stubborn ghetto friend shed a tear. Taryn never cries, even when she sliced her arm while dodging stray bullets at a crime scene. That's another story for another time.
"Just leave it. I hate you more than I hate my daddy." She spits, her eyes getting redder from the tears she tries to keep in. Hurt, betrayal, sadness and many emotions were swimming through it.
"You don't mean that?" Jack's face crumbles.
Taryn rolls her eyes and goes up the stairs.
"Am I the only one who wants a coming next here?" Marci breaks the silence that engulfs the room as soon as Taryn left.
"Preach it, sister," Jacob said.
I get up from the couch and went up to Jack, who remain in the same spot. I grip his shoulder, "I suggest you swallow your damn pride and go apologies..."
He cuts me off. "She won't forgive me. She hates me more than her own sperm donor."
"Yes. But in all honesty, you deserve it. Don't make the mistake of letting her go without fixing this." Before I could finish my statement, he was already up the stairs.
A door slams open, as the sound of shattered glass filled the room.
"Do you think we should go up there?" Marci points her index finger heavenward as we all look up.
"Do you think we would come back alive if we did?" Jacob cocks a brow.
"I think we all know that I would," she grins. "I feel they are toxic for each other."
"Yes," I say as I sit back down beside her, "But there is no one out there that can put up with Jack's arrogance and Taryn's Taryn."
She nods. "But they make one hell of a TV show," Jacob says.
"True that," Marci says.
The elevator doors open and in come Marcel, Abigail and Shawn.
"I hope you've got Jack," Marcel announces his arrival as he walks in with Abigail and Shawn.
He pauses when he hears wood breaking, with a string of colourful words. On instinct, he puts his hands over Abigail's ears, which makes her giggle.
"Should I even ask?" he looks around the room.
"Trust me, dad, you don't want to know," Marci says as she makes her way toward Marcel and gives him a warm hug.
-
"So, how does it feel to be back in the clouds?" I ask Marci as she gazes out the window.
"Depends. Everywhere is boring."
I join her to survey the room. Abigail had got Shawn to read her a book, and Jacob was asleep while Taryn and Jack were in their own bubble.
"Isn't it weird how they made up pretty quickly?"
"Isn't it weird that you are stalking us?" Jack asks with a playful grin as he strokes Taryn's hair.
"All it took was the complete destruction of their room." I chuckle.
"I bet you a fifty that she will cry when we land in the Bahamas," Marci says as she leans over to me.
"I bet you on that, and if I know these two well, I can double it that Jack will cry as well."
The said people glare at us. "Do we look like Oprah fucking Winfrey, or did we sign up for a soap opera?!"
Marci snorts at Taryn's comment, which made her narrow her eyes with slight evil hidden within its dept.
"Hey Mar, how did you sleep last week?"
"Like I always do peachy," Marci says as she avoids eye contact.
"Right, but last time I checked," Taryn says as she rubs her chin with her freshly sharp nails, "A cute redhead with a Scotland accent wasn't among your stuffed toys."
Despite her skin tone, Marci's face was bright red as she turns to escape my glare. "Taryn." She whines.
"I love you too," Taryn says as she focuses on playing with Jack's slight stumble on his face.
"So that's why you went to bed early?" I raise a brow.
"Please tell me you're not gonna tell Dad." she dares to look at me.
I grin. "We will talk about this when we get back. You better thank your lucky stars that Marcel hates heights."
Neither of us won the bet because we never thought that Jack and Taryn would have farewell sex in the cockpit. Sure, she'll be gone for roughly six months, and Jack will have to become a temporary nun. Marci and I did not see that happening, but then again, it's Jack and Taryn we're talking about.
"You ready?" Marci said as she squeezes me into a hug and holds Gail in a firm grip as she let go.
"As I'll ever be," I grin at her. Giving Marci and Gail a kiss on their foreheads, I make my way to the stage.
"And Caleb?" I turn to face an amused Jacob, "Knock 'em dead, but not into a coma."
I roll my eyes and finally faced the start of the end.
Don't you guys just love Caleb😍😅
Then am I the only one wondering what Caleb means by that?
Danmmm, Taryn and Jack will be the end of me😅.
Please vote, share and don't forget to comment.
I wonder what you guys think of the start of the book so far and please don't be shy to ask anything or correct my typing.
Peace out oldies✌