Rock Solid? (The Next Generation #1) Read online

  I know that I’m lying down, but I feel like I’m spinning. My mouth is dry and my head is pounding and honestly I have no idea what’s happening to my body right now. My eyes stay closed as I bring my hand up to rest on my pounding head when something drops on my face. I open my eyes slightly trying to escape the lighting above me, but I open them enough to see a cord coming out of my hand.

  My eyes open wide while I look at the drip in the back of my hand. The only reason I know what it is is because it’s the same thing I had when I was in the hospital having my tonsils out.

  Is that where I am? In a hospital?

  I glance around the room and notice that I am indeed in a hospital room, by myself and I feel God awful. I move to sit up in the bed and as I do Caleb comes in with a really attractive nurse. I’ve seen her before, but I can’t quite remember when or why. She’s short and has wavy shoulder length blonde hair and I can’t help but think how pretty she is and that she kind of looks like a pixie.

  “Oh, good you’re awake,” Caleb says and walks over while shaking his head. “What were you thinking, Annie? Your dad is going to kill me for this,” he says as the pretty pixie adjusts the amount of liquid dripping through the bag and into my hand.

  “I think Dad’s more likely to kill me for this than you,” I reply and it only makes my head pound more. I wince and raise my hand to support my head again.

  “Indi, is she going to be okay?” he asks and I vaguely recall her name. She must be an old friend of Caleb’s.

  “She will be fine, but she’ll have one hell of a hangover by the looks of it. I’m giving you some fluids to rehydrate you. Hopefully, it will make you feel better, but it won’t fix you completely sweetie. I’m sorry. You know I really should call your parents, but Caleb has assured me that he will be discussing this with Colt and Lia as soon as you get home. I’ve talked this over with the hospital administration and they’re happy to release you to Caleb in this instance. Should it ever happen again, Annie, I’m sure they won’t be so lenient,” she states.

  “Thank you, I know I’m never doing this again. Alcohol is evil!” I admit.

  Caleb exhales and looks right at me. “Annie, how did you get the alcohol?” he asks and I bite my bottom lip trying to remember, but it’s all a bit of a haze.

  “I think I was stealing them from people when they weren’t looking,” I say honestly as I rest back into the pillows.

  “Why?”

  I shrug. “Felt uncomfortable and wanted to escape.”

  Indi subtly shakes her head to which Caleb and I both notice.

  “Indica—”

  “Don’t call me that, I’ve told you so many times Caleb—”

  He brings his hands up in surrender. “Okay sorry, Indi. I know what you’re thinking, but this isn’t a common occurrence, is it Annie?”

  I shake my head.

  “Not common? So it does happen, just not often then, right?” she says sounding pissed.

  “No, this is the first time I’ve done this, and the way I feel it will be the last time I’ll ever drink again. Why the hell do people do this shit?” I ask and Caleb smirks and looks at Indi, who’s frowning.

  “How old are you Annie?” Indi asks.

  “Seventeen today,” I say and she glares at Caleb.

  “What? I told you it was her birthday party—”

  “Not her seventeenth, Caleb. Can’t you see how bad this looks?” she says shocking me as Caleb runs his hand through his shoulder length hair.

  “Indi, I swear it’s not like this all the time,” he says and she shakes her head.

  “I have other patients I need to tend to. She can leave in an hour or so when the drip finishes. I’ll talk to you then,” she says and goes to walk out.

  Caleb grabs her elbow and she turns to face him, her eyes a cold hard glare.

  “Don’t Caleb,” she says and he lets her go with an exhale. She turns and walks toward the door.

  “Indi,” Caleb calls, but she continues to walk out of my room.

  Caleb sighs and runs his hands through his hair again seeming agitated. I lay here in bed feeling terrible and completely confused about what just happened between my cousin and his friend.

  “Well, that was intense,” I say and he turns to face me shaking his head and biting his bottom lip forcefully like he’s trying to stop himself from talking. “What was that all about?” I ask and he walks over to the window and the moonlight is shining through.

  “That’s none of your business, but thank you so much for making things harder for me,” he says and I wince at his loud, harsh tone.

  “I’m sorry,” I say quietly.

  He puffs his cheeks out and blows air out his mouth and he walks over to me. “No, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have yelled at you. It’s not your fault my life is so complicated,” he says and I furrow my brows in confusion.

  “Your life… complicated? I don’t think so. You’re the most laid back, easy going guy I know, besides Aston that is,” I say and he chuckles.

  “Oh, if only you knew, little Annie,” he says and I bite the side of my cheek.

  “So, does Dad know I’m here?” I ask and Caleb shakes his head.

  “No, he knows you’re with me, but he doesn’t know why. But I’m going to have to tell him though Annie,” Caleb says and my eyes instantly water.

  “You don’t have to. You can tell him I fell over and hurt my arm and that’s why we came to the hospital? He doesn’t have to know Caleb… please?” I beg and he shakes his head.

  “I can’t Annie. As much as I wanna be the cousin you turn to when you need support, I also need to be the responsible one here, and what you did tonight Annie, well… it was stupid. What if you had so much to drink that you had poisoning and were really sick, huh? Did you even think about the consequences when you were stealing people’s drinks?” And suddenly he doesn’t feel like my awesome cousin, but more like my nagging father. I guess that’s because they actually are related by blood.

  I close my eyes and the tears fall down my cheeks and drip onto my arm.

  “Oh, shit Annie, don’t cry. I know this sucks and what you did was wrong, but Colt will calm down after a while. But you need to take responsibility for your actions—”

  “Is this all because I stopped you from getting laid with that heiress?” I ask loudly, annoyed that he won’t help me out.

  “No Annie, don’t be a brat,” he says walking over to the chair and sitting down.

  “I am not a brat! It was my fucking birthday, and shit happened that made me feel uncomfortable. It was my right to have a drink if I wanted to.”

  “Always thinking you’re entitled. Well, news flash, Annie. Just because you’re the daughter of a famous rock star doesn’t mean that you can get whatever you want, whenever you want. Life is shit. Bad things happen and you just have to learn to cope and deal with it like a normal person—”

  “I am normal, ass head—”

  “No Annie, you’re not. You have access to things normal people don’t. You live in a mansion and have a teacher come to you. You live and breathe music and that’s fine because so do I, but you’re guaranteed a career that you love, just because you have a rock star father. I’m not stupid, I have all that too, but I never went around drinking before I was allowed to and taking advantage of everything around me—”

  “You couldn’t drink, you were too scared to because of your kidney transplant. News flash dickhead, the liver is what’s affected by alcohol, not the kidneys—”

  “Jesus Christ Annie, do you even pay attention to Susan when she teaches you? Or are you just stupid?” Caleb asks and my anger surfaces and boils to the top.

  “Fuck you arsehole. I am not stupid! Just because I don’t know about anatomy doesn’t mean I’m dumb,” I yell at him.

  “I didn’t say you we’re dumb, Annie, I said you were stupid. There’s a difference. You make bad choices and you get all uppity when things don’t go your way – that makes you stupid,” he s
ays and I huff and sit up, starting to try to remove the drip out from my arm.

  “See that’s what I’m talking about, right there. Things are getting serious for you in here, so you’d rather run than get better… stupid, yet again,” he says and I stop and fold my arms across my chest and fall back into the pillows with a huff.

  “Shut up,” I rebut and he shakes his head and folds his leg up so his ankle is resting on his knee.

  “Annie, just stop! Take a breath and realise that you’re in deep shit, and you did this to yourself. Stop blaming me or anyone else, and just prepare yourself for what your dad is going to say. So rest because you still look like shit and if Colt sees you like this, then he will be even angrier. You’re quite pale and green still,” he says and I can feel my anger subsiding and turning into a depression instead.

  My eyes brim with tears as my heart races just thinking about how Dad is going to take this news. I wish Aston were here, he makes everything better. But I guess he is the reason I am in this mess in the first place. So even though I want to talk to him, I know I won’t because I’m still angry for what he did to me at the party.

  “Caleb…” I say and he looks up at me.

  “Yeah?”

  “Thank you,” I say and he smiles brightly.

  “That’s more like it. See you can be normal when you try—”

  “Don’t start that shit again, you—”

  “You’re welcome, Annie,” he says stopping me from yet another uncontrolled outburst.

  I clear my throat and exhale and nod letting him know I understand where he’s coming from. My moods are so volatile that no one knows when I’m going to burst. I don’t even know, which sucks because even though as I’m yelling and making a fuss, afterward is always followed by guilt and embarrassment that I reacted that way. And I just wish I knew where it all comes from.

  He pulls out his phone from his pocket and then proceeds to ignore me. I’d ignore me too. I know what I did was stupid. Trust me I’m paying for it already with the way I feel right now. If this is what a hangover feels like, then I don’t want to drink again. I’m really not looking forward to Dad’s yelling and Mum’s disappointed eyes. Plus, I really can’t stand the yelling from Dad with my head pounding like this.

  All the energy I exerted arguing with Caleb has made me feel weak as my mind flicks over to Aston while I lay back on the bed and just rest. I think of the way his hand felt against my cheek. The way I looked into his eyes and saw right into his beautiful soul. I know he wasn’t purposely trying to upset me, but he did, and I don’t know what this means for our friendship now.

  Does it mean we can’t be friends anymore?

  At the moment, that’s how it’s looking. I can’t lead him on if he thinks there is something between us. We have to think of the band first, and relationships don’t even matter. I mean I’m seventeen for crying out loud and I’m too young to be thinking about having a boyfriend. I don’t want one anyway. Music is all that matters to me right now and if Aston doesn’t understand that then I’m gonna have to avoid him. That’s the only option I see. It might make things awkward in rehearsals, but I’ll stand on the other side of Caleb and Ella can stand next to Aston, that’s just how it will have to be.

  I’m lost in my thoughts when Indi walks back in. “How are you feeling, Annie?” she asks and I realise I do feel a little better. Still awfully seedy and headachy, but I don’t feel utterly dead anymore.

  “A bit better thanks, Pixie,” I say and then shoot my hand to my mouth as she smiles at me.

  “Pixie?” she asks and I shrug.

  “You look like one. A cute little pixie,” I say and Caleb laughs.

  “Is she still drunk?” he asks and I scowl at him.

  “No, she shouldn’t be. Do you still feel drunk, Annie?” she asks while she detaches the drip.

  “No, I didn’t actually mean to say that out loud, it just kinda slipped out… sorry,” I say and she giggles.

  “No, it’s okay I kind of like being a pixie,” she says as she takes my blood pressure.

  I wince as the band around my arm gets so tight I feel like my arm is going to cave in.

  “Geez, a master of pain type of pixie, right?” I say and she smiles and chuckles.

  “Sorry, I know this sucks, but you seem to be doing much better. You’ve been here for three hours and I think you’ve sobered up enough to go home,” she says and I tense my body and look over at Caleb.

  He half-smiles at me and walks over to Indi taking her hand in his. I open my eyes wide at his display of affection toward her.

  “Indi, we need to talk, but not now. Will you give me a moment to talk to you, say over lunch tomorrow?” he asks quietly. I think he’s trying to make it so I can’t hear.

  “I’m working tomorrow, and anyway it’s not a good idea. It won’t change anything, so what’s the point?”

  I look at her eyes and she looks like she’s going to cry. She pulls her hand from Caleb’s and looks back over at me with a smile.

  “No offense Annie, but I hope I don’t see you in here again. Take care of yourself, okay? And no more drinking,” she scolds with a smile that makes me all warm inside. She seems like an amazing person, so caring.

  I wonder what the deal is with her and Caleb?

  “No offense taken. Thanks for looking after me, I really appreciate whatever it is you did for me,” I say and she nods and looks back to Caleb who’s pleading at her with his eyes.

  She turns to walk out and Caleb exhales. “Indi, please—”

  “Take her home, Caleb. She needs to recover,” she says and walks out of the room.

  Caleb rubs the back of his neck and shakes his head watching her walk away.

  I bite the side of my cheek and watch as I see Caleb actually looking a little upset.

  “You okay, cuz?” I ask and he turns back toward me.

  “Yeah, just wasn’t expecting to see her today that’s all,” he says and I stand up from the bed and walk over to him.

  “Who is she?” I ask and he exhales looking out the door.

  “No one… she’s no one,” he says and I don’t believe him for a second. Indi the pixie means something to him, and it’s obvious by the hurt in his eyes.

  “You can talk to me you know… if you want to?” I say and then he looks back at me.

  “There’s nothing to say. C’mon lets get you home. It’s an hour and a half drive and it’s getting close to one o’clock in the morning,” he says and I tense up and exhale as we walk out of the hospital room and toward the screaming match that’s bound to happen in a little over an hour and a half. I am really not looking forward to this.

  Caleb pulls up his black Lexus LFA, it’s such an awesome car and I love riding in it. I briefly forget about the onslaught of hell I’m about to walk into.

  “Are you coming in with me?” I ask Caleb wanting a little bit of support.

  “Yeah Annie, of course, I know you’ll need me. We’re family, plus someone needs to calm Colt down when you go to bed. And even though I know Lia could do it, she might need some backup,” he says and I nod knowing he’s right.

  This is not going to be any kind of fun!

  It’s two-thirty in the morning and everyone is tired, especially me. I really just wanna sneak inside and crawl into bed and deal with this tomorrow, but I know that won’t happen.

  “Will you explain to Dad what happened?” I ask and he frowns and looks at me sideways.

  “I don’t know Annie, shouldn’t it come from you? Plus, you’re the only one who knows why you did it.”

  I frown and unbuckle my seatbelt. “Dad can’t know why, he’d kill him,” I say and Caleb looks at me furrowing his eyebrows and pursing his lips.

  “He’d kill him? Did someone do something to you Annie?”

  “No, nothing like that. It’s just, well… Aston tried to kiss me,” I admit and he smiles brightly and chuckles to himself.

  “Kid finally grew some balls,” he murmu
rs to himself.

  “This isn’t funny, Caleb, it could ruin everything.”

  Caleb smirks and shakes his head. “So you didn’t kiss him back?”

  I scrunch my face up. “What? God no. I don’t want that!” I yell and then grab my head because it’s reminding me full-force that I have a screaming headache.

  He chuckles again and unbuckles his belt then opens his car door. “I think you should leave out the part about Aston. That won’t end well for anyone,” he says with a dirty big grin that I just want to slap off his face. He gets out of the car and I hesitate and start to wonder how long I could stay here before Dad figures out we’re home. Caleb opens my door and I frown but get out slowly as I still feel weak. Better than I did, but I still have the mother of all headaches.

  “Okay, let’s get this over with,” I say closing the car door and walking with Caleb toward the front of my house. Caleb rings the doorbell and a few moments later Mum answers the door.

  “Oh, thank God! We were so worried about you, Annie. Caleb, where did you take her? And why do you look sick? Are you okay, baby girl?” she says pulling me into a tight as hell hug.

  “I’m okay, Mum, I promise,” I reply and she pulls me inside and Caleb follows.

  “I think I’ll wait till Colt’s here and then we can discuss where I took her,” Caleb says and Mum furrows her brows in confusion.

  “You're very cryptic, Caleb,” Mum laughs and walks us into the kitchen where Dad is making a pot of coffee.

  “She’s home, Colt,” Mum announces as we walk into the kitchen and Dad turns to face us and the concern and worry is etched across his face.

  “Jesus Caleb, why the hell did you take her away from her own party? And why does she look like she has food poisoning?” Dad asks rushing across to me making a fuss by running his hand over my forehead to check my temperature.

  I look up at Caleb and wince while he swallows hard.

  “I… ah—”

  “Spit it out, Caleb! Why did you take her?”

  “I took her to the hospital—”

  “What? Why? Are you okay?” Mum asks making a fuss over me too.

  “I’m fine, stop fussing,” I say and break free from them and walk over to Caleb for some moral support.