Page 29 of Pretty When It Burns (When The Lights Go Down #1)

Chapter twenty-six

"Medicate Me" - Rain City Drive/Dayseeker

Grayson

We arrive in Charlotte mid-afternoon with plenty of time to do our pre-show rituals and settle in at the new venue.

The tour bus rolls up to the backstage entrance and the crew begins unloading our equipment and taking it inside.

I’m hopeful this show will go smoothly and that after the success in Philly, we can continue to ride the high we’re on.

I make it halfway through soundcheck before I feel it creeping in again. The feeling of fire burning in my chest, the tightness in my throat, the way the lights seem too bright. I miss a chord, fumble the lyrics, and stop mid-verse.

“Fuck!” I curse into the mic, pulling my guitar strap over my head and putting it on the stand before stepping back from center stage.

All eyes are on me, and I’m well aware of it. Eric, Brandon, Tony, and the crew all watch me closely but say nothing, waiting to see what happens next.

I need to breathe.

I need Mia.

I slip offstage and head towards the media booth where I know she’ll be tucked away with her laptop, camera, and to-do lists, keeping everything in line like she always does. Just seeing her in her element helps. She’s like the oxygen I didn’t know I needed.

Sure enough, she’s behind the booth, headset hanging around her neck, her long hair pulled into a messy bun. She’s the chaos and the calm all in one.

“Mia,” I say, my voice barely above a whisper.

She looks up instantly, her eyes softening the moment she sees me.

I don’t say anything else—I just walk over, sit beside her, and let my head fall into her lap after she places her laptop on the desk in front of her.

Her fingers move methodically through my hair, slow and intentional.

I close my eyes and release a breath I don’t know I’m holding onto.

“Is it happening again?” she asks gently, as if she already knew the answer.

“Yeah,” I reply.

“Want me to go over the setlist with you?” she offers.

I shake my head, turning my head to be able to look up at her. “I just wanted… this.”

She smiles and leans down to kiss me. “You’ve got this, baby,” she murmurs. “But if you don’t, I’ll be waiting in the wings. I’ve got you.”

God, how does she always know the exact thing I need to hear?

I sit up and pull her into me, kissing her again—deeper this time, slow and warm like we have hours rather than minutes. She tucks her face into my neck and holds on like she isn’t planning on letting me go anytime soon.

Neither am I.

“I’m going to go get dressed,” she says, pulling away slightly and pressing a kiss to my cheek. “Just in case you need me. I’m so proud of you, Grayson.”

The house lights drop and the crowd roars to life. Showtime.

I stand at center stage, exhale, and tighten my grip on the mic stand, letting the sound of the intro to Shatter Me Louder take over.

The spotlight comes up on me and I belt the first line:

I only feel real when I’m breaking in front of you.

Confident, gritty, real, and completely steady. The crowd goes wild.

My heart is still hammering from the soundcheck, but I see Mia in the wings backstage, smiling at me like I’m the only thing worth looking at in a room full of flashing lights and chaos.

I get through the first song, then the second without incident. But as the crowd gets wilder, my heartbeat gets more erratic. I turn fully to face Mia and hold my mic away from me.

“One song,” I mouth to her. “With me?”

She hesitates for a moment, then nods. I see her motion to Jake and the crew to get her mics and monitors on.

She steps on stage, and this time, there are no nerves.

As the crowd spots her walking into the spotlight, they completely lose it.

The intro to Collapse Into You, our unofficial duet, begins and the second Mia’s voice hits the mic, everything else fades away.

Our voices melt into each other, completely in sync.

She stands close to me, grounding me like she always does, our eyes locked on each other like we’re the only two people in the room.

The only reminder that we aren’t alone is the noise of the crowd just a few feet away, their cheers reverberating against the walls of the venue in full force.

That’s when I notice something just past the barricade, near the side of the stage. Two familiar silhouettes who look completely out of place are watching the scene between me and Mia unfolding on stage.

Then it hits me: Mia’s older sisters, Makenna and Macy. They’ve arrived, and Mia has no idea.