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

  “Annie, tell us what’s going on, right now,” Dad raises his voice and I swallow hard looking up at Caleb.

  He nods and gently squeezes my shoulder to let me know he’s here for me. I take a deep breath and look down at the ground. I can’t look at them when I tell them.

  “Annie!” Dad yells and I jump slightly.

  “Caleb took me to the hospital because I was drunk,” I say quietly and really quickly, without a pause, hoping they didn’t actually hear me.

  Silence fills the room as my breathing intensifies and my heart pounds so fast I can’t control it. I glance up to see Mum shaking her head and then I look at Dad. His nostrils are flaring and his face has turned beetroot red. I wince as I know that face. He’s about to explode and wake up Ella, but more likely the whole of Oxfordshire.

  “Colt, take a breath,” Mum states and he glares at her but is still deathly silent.

  “Dad, I’m sorry, but I—”

  “You’re sorry?” he yells so loud it scares me.

  “Babe, just take a breath,” Mum says grabbing his arm.

  “No Lia, I will not take a breath. Our seventeen-year-old daughter decided to get drunk… to get drunk! Were you the one giving her the alcohol, Caleb?” Dad asks moving fast across to Caleb like he’s going to hit him. I step in front of Caleb and put my hand out to stop Dad.

  “No Dad, it wasn’t Caleb. It was all me. I stole the drinks from people when they weren’t looking. Caleb just helped me when I was sick and took me to the hospital. Indi put a drip in me and it helped me feel a little better. I swear, Dad, Caleb was only trying to help,” I say and Dad stops and glares at me.

  “I’ll deal with you later, Caleb, but as for you missy what the hell we’re you thinking? You could have killed yourself, Annie. Could you be any more irresponsible?” Dad yells and my eyes start to well with tears at the sheer volume of his voice.

  “I’m sorry,” I say as I look down at the floor.

  “Sorry doesn’t cut it, Annie. What if photographers took photos of you, huh? Did you even think of the ramifications of that? Do you want to fuck up your band’s chance at making it? Drinking illegally Annie is not something the world takes kindly too, especially when it’s the daughter of an ex-addict. God, you infuriate me. I can’t believe that you have done this,” he says and he turns his back to me running his hand through his hair.

  “Why did you do it, Annie?” Mum asks in a much calmer and quieter tone.

  I look up at her and the built up tears start falling from my eyes, running in little streams down my face and falling to the floor. “Because I was uncomfortable at the party, and I just wanted to escape from it all. I hear alcohol helps you escape so I chose that option.”

  Dad scoffs. “Annie if you were uncomfortable come and talk to us. One of us could’ve taken you home. You don’t always need to make bad decisions and fuck up all the time. And this… this is a big fuck up young lady! How do you think your mother, sister and I would feel if you had poisoned yourself, huh? What about if you’d collapsed in a bathroom stall and no one found you until it was too late? You don’t think about this stuff Annie, and that’s what makes you dangerous. Well, it stops right now. Do you hear me?” Dad yells again as he looks right at me, well actually right through me. I can feel his eyes bearing down, but I can’t look up at him. I’m too ashamed.

  “Do. You. Hear. Me?” he yells out the words making me jump and get a little angry.

  “Well, I didn’t even want the fucking party in the first place. All you care about is what the public will think. You don’t care about me at all!” I yell and Dad glares at me.

  “I don’t care about you? What a load of bullshit, Annie. Would I be this fucking angry if I didn’t care about you?” he yells louder than ever before as his face turns bright red.

  I huff and fold my arms over my chest not having a comeback for that one.

  “Right, no more parties or outings for you until I can learn to trust you, and God knows how long that will be. You did this to yourself, Annie, and don’t forget that when you’re in the public eye like this, you have to act how people expect of you. Otherwise, the media could’ve turned this into a shit storm. Did you even think that child services could come and take you from us if they think we’re treating you irresponsibly? We worked too damn hard and went through too much, to have you as our daughter Annie, and for you to jeopardise staying with us because you felt… uncomfortable? Well, did you even think about your mother and what that would do to her if you got taken away, huh? What about what it would do to your sister, or even me, Annie! I love you for fuck’s sake and you threaten everything by being a spoilt brat. No more Annie. You’re grounded… for life!” Dad yells and Mum takes his hand and I can see him physically shaking. “I can’t lose you, Annie,” he whispers. He turns away from me seeming more upset than angry.

  “I’m so sorry, I didn’t think—”

  “You’re right, you didn’t. Now go to your room. I can’t look at you right now,” Dad says with his back still to me. I bite my bottom lip as I gaze across at Mum, who frowns and gestures with her head for me to go upstairs as she rubs Dad’s back.

  “I’m sorry,” I whisper again and look up at Caleb.

  He half-smiles and rubs my shoulder for comfort. I exhale and walk out of the kitchen into the hallway. I stop and lean my back against the wall and close my eyes as the tears fall freely down my face.

  “We could have lost her, Lia,” I hear Dad say and it sounds like he’s crying.

  I open my eyes as my heart constricts because Dad’s anger I can handle, but upsetting him is something I cannot stomach.

  “I know, babe, but Caleb looked after her. You saw her, she is fine. Our baby is fine, Colt,” Mum comforts him and I exhale and slap my hand against my forehead at my stupidity.

  “Thank you, Caleb, for taking her to the hospital. Was she really bad?” Dad asks and I hear him sniff.

  “She wasn’t good, but Indi helped her with a drip so now the alcohol should be out of her system. She’ll still have a headache in the morning though,” he says and I hear the chairs scrape on the floor, they’re obviously sitting down at the dining table.

  “Why didn’t you come and get me? Or tell us that you had taken her to the hospital?” Dad asks sounding more defeated and calm than when he was yelling at me.

  “Because I didn’t want what just happened, happening at a hospital with people and their mobile phones. Anyone who saw you at the hospital would’ve made a scene, so I thought I’d take care of her and then bring her home, so no one would even know what was going on. No one in the public, I mean. I don’t want this to get out as much as you don’t, Colt. Staked means too much to me to let Annie kill us before we’ve even really started,” Caleb states and I bring my hands up to my face and cry, really cry.

  I can’t hear the rest of the conversation through the ringing in my ears. Plus, I feel completely weak and I’m emotionally and physically exhausted and I just need to get to bed. So I run upstairs and to my room. As I open the door, Ella’s door opens.

  “Are you okay? Dad sounded pretty angry,” she asks looking sleepy.

  “I’m fine, Elle’s Bells, just go back to sleep,” I say and walk into my room.

  “If you need me, I’m here,” she calls out quietly.

  I nod and exhale. “Thanks Ella, but I just need to be alone right now,” I say and she smiles at me and closes her door.

  I close mine behind me and kick off my combat boots, dragging myself toward my bed. I pull my phone out of my bra and place it on charge. I notice a few missed calls from Aston and I frown deleting the messages that are there too. I climb into my bed, fully clothed. I can’t be bothered getting changed. I really don’t have the strength or willpower to stay awake for another minute. So, I cuddle into my purple sheets and close my eyes. Willing sleep to come quickly.

  I dream of music, but it’s all wrong. The notes don’t fit well together and I can’t seem to get rid of this unea
sy feeling that’s washing over my entire being. An image of Aston flashes into my mind and suddenly the music makes sense again. But, I push him out and the music is all muddled once more.

  I don’t like this dream. My sleep is restless and the dream is on repeat every time I fall back asleep and then it wakes me right back up.

  I’m never drinking again!

  I hear my door open as I wake from the same dream for the fifth time since I went to bed. I groan, my head is pounding and I really don’t want to deal with reality just yet. I hear my door close again and I breathe a sigh of relief and relax my body, but then I feel a weight shift on my bed and a hand touch my back. I jump slightly and turn my head to see Mum sitting next to me with a water bottle and some painkillers.

  “Sorry honey, I didn’t mean to wake you,” she says and places the bottle and tablets on the bedside table.

  “It’s okay. I’m not sleeping very well anyway,” I admit and she half-smiles.

  “How are you feeling?”

  I sit up and face her. “Not very good.”

  “Well, drink this water over the next hour… the whole bottle and take two painkillers. That might ease it slightly. Hangovers are the worst,” she says with a slight smile and I smile back at her and then my thoughts turn to my dad and then I frown.

  “How’s Dad?” I ask and she exhales and shakes her head.

  “Angry, hurt, worried, everything I am feeling too,” she explains and I look down at my hands as I pull my knees up to my chest.

  “I’m really sorry, Mum.”

  “I know honey. But what I don’t know is why you did it?” she asks.

  I want to confide in her, but if I do, I know she’ll tell Dad and if that happens Aston will never be allowed back over. “I just felt out of place. No one was talking to me and I was sitting all alone and not having a good time, at all. I just wondered what it would be like to have a drink and then once I started I just kept going. I wanted to not care anymore, so I drank until I found Caleb. Then he took me to the hospital and well you know the rest,” I say and she sighs and I can see the disappointment in her eyes. Which only makes me feel worse.

  “Annie, you should have come to me. I would’ve taken you home. I don’t like big parties either and I would’ve much rather have stayed at home with you if you were feeling uncomfortable. I don’t think we’ll be having any more parties anytime soon. Your father will make sure of that. But when we do go out, if you ever feel uneasy or like you don’t want to be there, please talk to me. I thought we had an honest and open relationship, Annie? I thought I always made it clear that you can talk to me about anything, at any time.”

  “You did and we do. It’s just… I got overwhelmed so quickly, and the drink was right there in front of me. It was a split-second decision and I honestly didn’t plan it. I swear.”

  “I know you didn’t honey, but you need to be more responsible. Otherwise, your father will never let you leave the house unless he is with you. Trust me, I know how overbearing he can be, but it’s only out of love. He loves you so much, he doesn’t know how to deal with it sometimes, you know?”

  “He got upset last night after I went to bed, didn’t he?” I ask and she opens her eyes wide.

  “How do you know that?”

  “I heard from the hallway. Was he crying?”

  She hesitates and takes my hand. “He was, but it’s only because he was so scared that something bad could’ve happened. He loves you, Annie. He loves all of us, and when your father loves something or someone he’s all in. Sure, it can be a bit overbearing sometimes, but that’s him and we have to love him for all his positives and for all his flaws. Just like we love you no matter what you do. Although we would prefer for you to make the right choices.”

  I bite my bottom lip. “Do you think Dad will ever forgive me?”

  “Oh sweetheart, it’s not a matter of forgiving you. He’s just caught up on the ‘what if she died’ aspect of it all. Once he gets over that, then he’ll be fine. You know he has a great fear of losing us, you, me and Ella. He couldn’t stand it if anything happened to any of us. So, you just need to think of how your actions affect others, okay?”

  I nod and she exhales. “I love you, Annie, and I’m sorry you felt the need to drink to escape. I wish I would have noticed that you were hurting. I feel sorry that I wasn’t there for you—”

  I shake my head quickly from side to side. “Oh no Mum, this wasn’t your fault—”

  “No, but I should’ve kept an eye on you rather than socialising. Those people last night don’t matter to me… you do! You, your sister and your father. We’re a team and I need to take better care of you,” she says wiping a tear from her face.

  “Mum, please don’t think that you failed because you didn’t! This is all on me, okay?” I say and she takes my chin in her hand and smiles at me.

  “Let’s agree to disagree, and right now you need to take those painkillers and rehydrate yourself. It will make you feel better. And I’ll go and make you something to eat, that will help too.”

  “Okay,” I say and she kisses my forehead.

  “Now, don’t do anything stupid like that again. You worried the hell out of us,” she says standing and handing me the water bottle.

  “I promise Mum, no more fuck-ups from now on,” I say and she rolls her eyes and tutts at me.

  “Annie, it’s not nice to swear. Normal teenagers don’t swear like you do,” she says.

  “Well I’ve grown up with rock stars. I’m not exactly a normal teenager now am I?” I chuckle and then grasp my head in pain.

  “Have your painkillers, it will help,” Mum says with a smirk and I nod picking up the box and popping out two capsules.

  “I love you, Mum. Can you tell Dad I love him too?” I ask quietly and she looks back at me and smiles.

  “I love you too, honey, but I think you should tell him yourself when you’ve both had time to settle down.”

  I nod and bite the inside of my cheek. “Can I stay in here for a while?” I ask not ready to face my dad just yet.

  “Sure, sleep and drink the water, and I’ll bring some food up here when it’s ready.”

  “Thanks Mum, for everything.”

  “You’re welcome. Now swallow those tablets and drink the water,” she demands and I giggle slightly at her bossy tone.

  She walks out of my room closing the door behind her. I swallow down the pills with a few gulps of water and lay back on my soft, comfortable bed, hoping for some decent sleep. Just as I close my eyes, my phone vibrates. I turn over and look at the screen to see Aston calling.

  I exhale and stare at the screen for the entire time it vibrates on silent. I want to answer, but the weirdness I felt from him last night is what got me into this in the first place. So, I ignore his call and roll back over to go to sleep.

  This time I dream of Aston and me at the party and instead of me stepping back and slapping him, I lean in and kiss him. And I haven’t slept this good in days.

  I’ve been holed up in my room all day and even though Mum has been checking in on me and bringing in food and drinks, I feel bad that I haven’t seen Dad. And knowing that he’s downstairs and in the music room for the last few hours proves to me that he’s upset. He typically spends his free days with Mum, or Ella and me, and he usually goes into the music room for hours only when he’s upset or worried about something.

  And the slow, sombre music that’s still filtering up from downstairs makes me feel worse and worse by the second. I get up and decide to get changed. I’m still in my short black lace dress from last night and to be honest I really need to get out of it and away from the awful memory of my stupid behaviour.

  My phone vibrates… again. Aston is still calling me, even though I haven’t picked up the last twenty-seven times he’s called, not that I’m counting or anything. I get changed into my grey joggers and a vest and decide I may as well bite the proverbial bullet and head down to talk to Dad. I walk down the hall and to th
e stairs. Sassy and Snaggy bark at me from the bottom of the stairs and I shush them as I travel the endless staircase. Why it seems so long today, I’m not sure, but I still feel gross so I’m taking it slow. The music stops and I pause on the stairway and then it starts again so I continue walking. I get to the bottom and move around and walk the hallway toward the music room and to Dad.

  I wonder briefly where Mum and Ella are, but we all know when Dad’s in his music room, not to interrupt. But I’m a rebel and I really need to make sure we’re okay, so interruption is my goal right now. I walk toward the music room and pause just outside the door. My heart is thumping in my chest because I don’t know if I’ll get an angry, sad, or disappointed Dad right now. And honestly, none of those options sound better than the other. I take a deep breath and round the doorway to see Dad sitting on a stool playing my guitar. My body slumps at the sight of Dad getting lost in his music. Normally his eyes are full of light when he plays, right now though, they’re closed tight and I know that he’s sad because of me.

  “Dad,” I whisper quietly and he opens his eyes and looks right at me.

  He swallows and stops playing. “How are you feeling?” he asks and I shrug.

  “Okay, I suppose. A little tired still,” I admit and he stands up turning his back and walking my guitar over to its stand.

  I pause in the doorway, not knowing whether he’s actually ready to see me or not. He turns around and moves across to the white lounge sitting down and then patting the seat for me to sit next to him. I smile slightly and shuffle over sitting right next to him. He wraps his arm around my shoulders and leans me in kissing my hair and then releasing me.

  “I’m glad you’re okay. Annie if anything had happened to you—”

  “I’m fine, Dad. I’m so sorry I scared you, that was never my intention,” I say honestly and he leans back into the lounge and exhales.

  “I know sweetheart, but you have to remember to be more responsible. Anything could have happened to you. You could’ve choked on your own vomit… you could’ve been taken advantage of by some creep… you could have died, Annie,” he says and now I understand his outburst last night. It’s like a light has been switched on in my brain and I’m seeing things for the first time. Even though I know he was worried about me, I guess what I didn’t realise was, he just doesn’t want to lose me.