EPIC (Book 1 of the Soundcrush series)

Chapter 39: Rock Stars Leave You For Dead

Kat

"Kat," the voice at my ear is warm and familiar, as are the hands gently pressed on my shoulders, shaking me. "Kat, can you hear me? Kat, wake up, Sweetheart."

I roll over moaning. The light streaming in the room tells me it's probably noon or later. I alternate wincing and blinking. My vision was blurry. I try to focus on the owner of the voice. For a second I can't remember where I am, but I have the feeling the voice and its owner don't belong here.

My head is pounding and I feel like I haven't slept in days, but yet I just woke up. This is a hangover like I've never had. The owner of the voice pulls me to a sitting position, and I start to cry. I think it's because I know the familiar clean-soap scent and bulk of the guy whose kneeling beside me, and it's not him. It's not Trace. It's never going to be Trace, again.

Colin sits on the bed beside me and pulls me to him gently, and I let him. I'm just too limp with sadness to stop him. I sob and sob and Colin holds me, letting me cry over Trace like I never cried over him.

"Kat, I think you need a doctor."

"No." I sob some more.

"At least let me call my dad. He's an ER doctor, he's seen everything. No judgment. Do you know what kind of drugs you took?" he asks gently.

"Nothing." I lie. I don't want to admit to my perfect, straight-laced ex-boyfriend that it only took three days being a rock star's girlfriend before I was clubbing and drugging. I take a deep shaky breath and try to calm down.

"Kat," his voice is gentle but disbelieving. "You were out of your mind when you called me last night."

Now, I am able to stop sobbing, mostly because I am surprised. "I called you?"

"You don't remember?"

I shake my head.

"Yeah, you called me," he said, "but only because I sent you a five alarm fire text."

"You did?" I ask confused, pulling away from him. Five fire emoji's was always our text code for a serious situation. Colin's whole family uses that code, and he extended it to me, too. We only ever used it twice—once when I had a fender-bender and once when he was sent to the ER with a concussion during a practice. "What's wrong?"

He shakes his head, smoothing my hair. "It can wait. Kat, what you said on the phone last night. You don't remember what you told me, do you?"

I swallow. My mouth feels like sandpaper and my throat aches, and saying the words is almost impossible but it has nothing to do with my throat and everything to do with the fact that I don't want them to be real. "I can guess. Did I tell you that Trace is married?"

He nods. "That's what you said. Are you...sure? I googled...there's nothing about him being married."

I laugh. "Well, since he got tripped up in his own lies and admitted it himself, yeah, I'm sure." I cover my face with my hands, trying to control the contortions of pain going on there.

Colin rubs my back. "Jesus, Kat. I'm sorry." I start to cry, because I know Colin means it. He's sorry that I'm hurting. I stomped all over his heart, and he still cares about, and that makes me feel like a complete bitch, on top of being a complete idiot.

"Colin, you shouldn't be here. This is not your problem," I gasp between sobs.

"I know," he says gently. "But I can't help that I still care about you. Just let me help you. Are you sure you don't have any idea what you took?"

I sigh. "Ecstasy."

Colin's jaw goes tense, like it does when he's annoyed, but he nods and says, his voice very even. "Do you remember how much?"