Chapter 40

CHAPTER FORTY

MARGO

The day I've been waiting months for is here. I'm finally going to the concert with Annie. She drives while I sit in the passenger seat. She wears the top she's been gushing over with cute wide-legged jeans. She even let me do her hair. I chose to do two dramatic space buns with bangs framing her face.

I'm wearing a glittery pink shirt that's bright enough to compete with the lights from the stage. My makeup is very bright and sparkly to match.

In the back seat are our giant poster boards that are decked out in big colorful words. Annie spent ages on hers. I didn't spend quite as long, but I don't have the same level of obsession that Annie does. Annie's sign is practically a marriage proposal while mine says Broken Sage and then I doodled all around the letters to make them pretty.

We have to park ten minutes away from the venue because there are so many people here. We lock our purses in the trunk and only take our phones, some cash, and our posters .

"I'm so excited!" Annie says. She's giddy, bouncing up and down with every step.

I loop my arm around hers to keep her from running off. "You're minutes away from seeing Broken Sage."

She blushes. "I know!"

We practically skip the whole way to the VIP line. We make it through security and follow directions to the area for the VIP meet and greet. The area is packed with thousands of people, and I'm surprised Annie is okay with it. Normally this many people would send her into a panic attack, but she's smiling widely. This girl loves these boys a little too much if you ask me.

When we get to the backstage entrance where we were told to go, there's no VIP line. The only person there is a security guard blocking the entrance.

I pull out my phone to show him our tickets. "Hi, they told us to come here for the meet and greet."

He checks his watch. "You were supposed to be here an hour ago."

My heart plummets. No, this can't be happening. This night is supposed to be everything Annie's ever dreamed of.

"Couldn't we just go in really quick?" I ask.

He shakes his head. "I'm sorry."

"Are you sure?"

Annie's face falls, and she tugs on my arm. "Margo, it's okay."

I stagger back and we start walking away just as someone rounds the corner and runs into Annie, knocking her off her feet and spilling a large soda all over her shirt.

I gasp as she falls to the ground.

"I'm so sorry," he says. He's tall with dark hair and wears a jean jacket over a white T-shirt. He reaches for her and helps her up. He looks her over. "You aren't hurt, are you?"

She shakes her head. "I'm fine." But then she frowns looking at her Broken Sage sign lying on the floor. There's a tear down the middle.

His cheeks flush, and he picks it up. "I'm so sorry." He hands the sign to her. "Is there anything I can do to make this up to you? Can I get you another shirt?"

"Were you headed backstage?" I blurt out.

He nods.

"Take us with you!" I say. I stand next to Annie, gesturing to her. "This is Broken Sage's biggest fan. Not in a creepy way, I swear."

"Margo," she hisses, elbowing me in the side.

I continue, "We missed the VIP meet and greet."

He looks at the poster again. There's a hint of a smile on his lips as he reads it. Then his gaze falls on Annie. "What's your name?"

"Her name is Annie," I say.

Her eyes lock on his.

"Okay, Annie. Today's your day. Follow me," he says, hurrying toward the security guard.

Her jaw drops.

"Do you know who he is?" I whisper.

She shakes her head. "I've never seen him before."

He marches up to the security guard and shows him a pass. Then he points to us. "They're with me."

As we walk past the guard, I smile and shrug. "We're with him."

The security guard sighs. "Two minutes. That's it."

That's more than enough time. We scurry to follow Mr. Jean Jacket as he leads us to a room with a label that reads "Broken Sage" in big bold letters.

Even my heart is pounding, so I imagine Annie is on the verge of passing out.

He's about to knock when Annie grabs his hand. "Wait!" She immediately lets go of his hand.

"What's wrong?"

Her jaw drops. "What's wrong ?" She looks down at herself. "I can't meet them like this. Look at me. There's a brown stain all over my shirt. They're going to think I'm a disgusting person. I can't have them thinking that."

He smiles and nods. "You're right. We can't have them thinking that."

She bites her lip and glances around her. Her eyes roam over my outfit, then backstage, and finally lands on him again. "Let me borrow your jacket."

He points to himself and raises an eyebrow. "My jacket?"

She nods. "You said you'd make it up to me."

"I did say that." He slides it off and hands it to her.

She slips into it and pulls it closed in the front to hide the stain. "How do I look?" she asks, turning in a circle. "It's not too big, is it?"

"Let me just—" He adjusts the collar. "Perfect."

She looks in my direction. "Good?"

I chuckle. She's so obsessed with this band that she doesn't realize she's having a movie-worthy moment right now with Mr. Jean Jacket.

"Good," I say.

"Can I knock now?" he asks.

"Yes."

He knocks and a security guard opens the door. "Hey, man. Are the guys back here? These two girls were supposed to be at the meet and greet."

The security guard glances behind him and then back at us nodding.

Mr. Jean Jacket leans into the room. "This is Annie."

We walk in. One of the band members is sitting in a chair in front of a mirror, and the other two are sitting on a couch in the corner of the room. The lead singer asks Annie what her favorite song is, and I swear she almost faints. She's so stunned she can't speak.

"She's obsessed with your latest album," I chime in.

Annie nods. "Especially ‘Sunrise Love.'"

He smiles. "Well, it's a good thing we're playing it tonight."

The whole band is nice, briefly letting us take photos and get their autographs. I wish we could visit longer, but the concert is about to start.

The whole interaction happens so fast I don't notice that Mr. Jean Jacket wandered off until we leave that room. Annie's face is the darkest shade of red I've ever seen. She's ecstatic, eyes sparkling. She's practically floating.

Our seats are close to the stage, and by the time we make it to them, the venue lights dim and the stage lights up blue, getting ready for the opening act. Seconds later a guy in a white T-shirt runs on to the stage with a guitar strapped to his back. "How are we doing tonight?" he says and the crowd goes wild.

I grip Annie's arm. "Is that who I think it is?"

She covers her mouth and nods.

On stage is Mr. Jean Jacket. "My name is Tucker West, and I'll be opening for Broken Sage!"

The crowd screams again .

Annie grimaces. "Did I just steal a famous guy's jacket?"

I nod. "It appears so."

He starts playing his first song. He's good too. I've never heard of him before, but a quick online search tells me he's a local artist who's gained a lot of traction lately.

Every time he looks in our direction, Annie covers her face, trying to hide.

Then partway through his song, he stops singing and the music continues. Without missing a beat he looks directly at us and says, "Annie, where's my sign? Did you forget to make me one too?"

I scream.

Annie's mouth is on the floor.

"And I'm going to need my jacket back," he says, winking. Then he jumps right back into singing the song while everyone around us loses their minds. Everyone including me.

Broken Sage comes on next, and they do in fact play Annie's favorite song. We sing all of the songs at the top of our lungs and dance until our feet hurt. Annie won't stop smiling, and I can't stop staring at the joy that lights up her face. During the last song we sway to the music while holding our phones in the air. Everyone in the event center has their flashlights on, and we become a sky full of stars.

When it finishes, Annie squeezes me tight. "Thank you! It was perfect."

"As good as you hoped?"

She nods. "Even better."

We don't see Mr. Jean Jacket again, but the pink hue in her cheeks every time I mention him tells me she doesn't need my help to fall in love. She'll be okay on her own. She'll meet someone one day that'll give her the perfect love story. Who knows, maybe Tucker West will come looking for his jacket.

I'm exhausted, and every breath is like breathing in nails. My nose bled again last night after the concert, but I hid in the bathroom until it stopped. I didn't want to worry anyone. I also didn't want anyone to talk me out of going to the wedding. I worked so hard to find Daniel's father, and I want to see this through.

Mama and Papa are doing the dishes when I step into the kitchen. Mama is scrubbing and Papa is drying them with a towel before putting them away.

Mama gasps.

I twirl, holding the skirt of my blue dress. "Like it?"

She runs over and kisses my forehead. "My sweet baby girl, you're gorgeous."

I smile. I feel pretty. I curled my hair and dusted my eyes with shimmer eye shadow, enough to make them sparkle, but nothing too drastic because I'm not trying to stand out. I'm trying to blend in.

Papa hugs me next. "You look beautiful, Bug." He squints. "Make sure that boy behaves."

I laugh. "Always."

Annie comes into the room. "Are you ready?" She's not going to the wedding, but she's my ride.

I nod. I kiss Papa's cheek and run to the door.

Annie strolls to the car much slower than me. Her hair is in a messy bun, and she's wearing sweats. She also slept in till eleven. I'm honestly impressed she woke up at all. She was out.

She yawns as she starts the car. Then she turns on the music .

"What song is this?" I ask. This isn't Broken Sage.

She chuckles. "Tucker West."

"No."

"Yes."

I can't help but laugh.

"He's not bad," she says.

"His face doesn't hurt either."

She rolls her eyes. "Whatever."

I rest my head back, picturing what Annie's life could look like in the future. It's going to be colorful and full of happiness. I know it. I believe it with my whole soul.

She hums along to the song because she doesn't know the words yet, and I drift off to sleep. When we reach the venue, Annie wakes me up by shaking my hand.

"We're here," she says.

I sit up. "Wow, that was fast."

"Are you sure you're okay?"

"Mm-hmm," I say, smiling big to mask my pain. "Thank you for the ride."

She studies my face looking for my lie. "Call me if you need to be picked up early."

"I will," I say.

She waves me off. "Okay, get in there before you're late."

I hop out of the car and walk into the hotel, pinching my cheeks the entire way to bring color into my face.

Daniel is waiting for me by the entrance. His hair is styled back, and he wears a dark suit with a crisp white shirt and black tie. I've never seen him dress up this much, but it's like he stepped out of a fashion magazine.

My heart skips when he smiles at me.

He wraps his arms around me and kisses my lips. "Hey. "

"Hey."

"You look beautiful," he says.

"So do you—I mean, handsome, that is. You look handsome."

He chuckles.

We walk into the ballroom where the ceremony is being held. I'm not going to lie, I'm a little disappointed no one asks us who we are because I wanted a chance to use my bizarre backstory. I decided I was a cousin of a family friend. I stalked their social accounts enough to know names if I needed them. Unfortunately, there are at least three hundred people here and no one cares about us.

The ballroom has tall ceilings and large windows. There are rows and rows of white chairs with tulle tied to the back of them and purple flowers everywhere.

We sit in the back row just as the music starts.

Daniel's father stands next to the officiant. He's a spitting image of Daniel, just older.

I take Daniel's hand. "Are you nervous?" I whisper.

He squeezes my hand, and I take that as a yes.

"It's okay," I say. "I'm right here."

A smile pulls at his lips.

The flower girl walks first. She's cute with a purple puffy dress that bounces as she makes her way down the aisle. Then a bridal party so big I lose count follows. Finally, the music changes and the bride walks down.

She's beautiful with her elegant white gown and slicked-back bun. When she stands next to Daniel's dad, they look like wedding cake toppers.

"Hey, Daniel," I whisper.

"What? "

"Just for the record, I found your father."

"I hadn't noticed," he whispers back.

I control the urge to laugh. I love it when he jokes. He's always so serious, but every once in a while, he surprises me.