Page 52 of The Masks We Wear (Satan’s Angels #1)
Harvey
Selene texted me thirty minutes ago that the show was starting.
I got off the plane and into an Uber in record timing, having the Uber take me straight to the concert venue.
I’m cutting it close on time but as long as I can make it there, as long as I can see her and tell her everything I need to tell her, the rest will work out on its own.
The Uber parks outside the back of the venue, security having gotten the “okay” from Selene to let me through.
I enter through the back, rushing down the long hallways connecting to the stage.
I hear music blaring, Brody’s voice singing and I have goosebumps on my skin from being in the same building as her.
Hearing her voice but not yet seeing her is setting my chest alight and I need to set my eyes on her before my whole body bursts aflame.
I push past the stage crew, rushing to the VIP section. A hand grabs my arm and stops me and I turn to find Selene Stone with a suspicious look on her face. She drops her hand and raises her chin, “So you made it after all. With thirty minutes left in the show.”
That’s all that’s left? I take a step closer to the stage, “I have to see her.”
She nods and I turn completely, sprinting towards the VIP section. She yells to my back, “You should be proud of her. She just saved all of our careers.” I don’t respond, I only continue to run but a smile curves my lips upward. I knew Brody was capable of so much. I never doubted her.
I make it to the VIP section and look up at the stage.
My eyes hone in on Brody at her drumset, singing with her eyes closed as she plays a song.
I freeze when I take her in. She looks ethereal, like a goddess sent from the heavens of the night.
Her hair is styled to perfection, her usual messy curls brushed out with chains and stars woven into the gold and black strands.
Her makeup is done beautifully, her eyes lined in a sultry black shadow with stars of all different sizes on her eyelids and cheekbones.
Her clothing, if you can even call it that, makes her look naked almost, covered only by stars of various sizes.
She looks perfect and my heart tugs in my chest, desperate to be close to her.
A small figure appears before me, a daring expression on her face. She brushes strands of platinum hair behind her ear and radiates confidence. So much so that this girl who can’t be taller than five feet almost seems taller than me. “You must be Harvey Taylor.”
I give her a confused look, “Yes. Who are you?”
“A friend of Brody’s. I hear you broke her heart,” she leans in close to me, shouting over the sound of the music.
“I’m very protective of the people I love.
You hurt my friend which means you hurt me, but you showed up after leaving her behind so I’ll give you one shot to fix it or I’ll show you why they call me Viper on the streets. ”
A man about my height, but more lean appears at her back and gives me a threatening glare. “Everything okay, over here?” He asks the woman but stares only at me.
She pats his chest and softens at the sound of his voice, “Everything’s fine.”
Another man who looks strikingly like the one who stands at her back appears at her side. He looks older than the first, more mature in a way. “What’s going on?” He asks.
“Nothing. This is just the guy that broke Brody’s heart. I was giving him a warning,” the blond explains.
A brunette appears next and I sigh to myself.
I’m here for Brody and I can’t even watch her because these people are acting like a pack of wild dogs.
The only thing stopping me from going berserk on them is the fact that they care about her and are obviously protecting her.
“Threatening people again, Ivy?” The brunette shakes her head, a smile on her face.
The blond, Ivy, shrugs, “You know it’s what I’m good at.”
“Look, I’m here to fix things. I made a mistake and it took hurting us both to realize I’m willing to give everything up to be with her,” I look at Ivy but she doesn’t look sold yet. “I love her,” I admit, my face cracking with the raw emotions in my chest.
Ivy’s eyes narrow and she pauses before nodding. “Good,” she steps aside, allowing me to enter completely into the VIP section. I walk closer to the stage, to Brody, and Ivy yells behind me, “Remember what I said. You have one chance to fix it.”
I ignore her, too focused on Brody. The girls play their hit songs, the ones they’re known for and the whole time, Brody doesn’t notice me.
She focuses on her fans, on her music, on her friends.
I’m glad she doesn’t see me just yet. I don’t want to ruin her show or upset her by catching her off guard.
I’m keen on watching her lose herself in her music the way she always does.
They finish another song and the stage goes black.
The audience cheers and that’s it. The show is over.
I start walking toward the exit to get back to her dressing room but her voice stops me.
Brody speaks into the microphone, “Thank you all for being here tonight. It means so much to us that you’ve loved and supported us through our many faults and many run-ins with the law. ”
Laughs ensue from all over the venue and I can’t help but smile at her playful tone.
She continues, “The truth is, we got ourselves into a boatload of shit.” The stage lights flip on, revealing her as she stands close to the edge of the stage, looking out at the audience.
The lights encase her in a blanket of blue and pink lights.
There’s a red light over her drum set. Aria and Ivory are behind her, drinking straight from a bottle of whiskey, though they don’t appear to be drunk.
“And most of it was my fault,” Brody laughs to herself.
“A couple of months ago I started working on something and I had no intention of sharing it with anyone else. It was only for my ears and the ears of one other person.” I know without her having to say anything that the person she’s talking about is me.
“I realized while I was working on it, my song, that I was keeping so much from all my fans, from my friends.” She looks over her shoulder at Ivory and Aria.
She turns back to the audience, a stiff smile on her face, “I was pretending to be someone I wasn’t for so long, I forgot who I really was.
” She turns around, the mic still wrapped in her hand as she saunters over to her drum set.
She props the mic back into place and sits, “It took a very special person for me to realize it and then the song slowly started to get easier and easier to write. So, we’re gonna play the song for you and you’ll be the first ears to hear it.
” The fans cheer so loud, Brody and the girls grin from ear to ear.
“This is a song I call, ‘The Masks We Wear,’” Brody shouts before Aria starts playing a chord on her guitar. It goes on for about ten seconds, repeating itself until Brody changes it by hitting the drums.
The two play their melodies in sync with each other and I know just from Brody’s part that this is the song I heard.
That the person she was talking about, the special person, is me.
Ivory hits a bass note that adds to Brody and Aria’s rhythms. And the three play the ominous, yet playful beat.
The audience goes crazy for it and they haven’t even hit the first verse yet.
Ivory changes up her chord, changing the beat and Brody makes a darker, more dramatic sound.
Then she raises her chin and sings her first verse;
The red and blue lights shine right in my eyes
Aria plays the darkest, guitar riff of all time. The audience screams and my jaw drops.
She stops and demands I say my goodbyes
Aria repeats the riff.
Anger arises as I learn I’ll never be coming back
The Devil sends temptation as a form of attack
They told you I’m the serpent in disguise
But you know you’re not in danger when you look in my eyes
Brody loses herself in her song, her friends getting lost with her. She hits the drums with her whole body, and sings the words she wrote with everything in her. She then sings the chorus;
The masks we wear
The masks we wear
The masks we wear
She has the audience completely wrapped around her finger, myself included. Everyone’s jaws are wide open with shock, with anticipation. They repeat the same melodies, riffs, all of it while Brody sings the second verse and the chorus.
Another curtain closes and the drugs funnel in
The darkness is our only sign it’s time to begin
I see him, temptation of his own watching me, is he real?
Just one look from him and I know I’ve lost
The masks we wear
The masks we wear
The masks we wear
The melodies slow, the sound of Brody’s drums fading out as she stops playing completely.
The stage goes black and everyone goes silent.
A chill runs up my spine in anticipation of what she’ll do next.
A second later, Aria starts playing a gentle chord on her guitar.
A dim, red light appears on the stage, revealing Brody standing there with her mic in hand.
Fog wraps around the entire stage, hiding Aria and Ivory from sight along with Brody’s drum set.
A piano is pushed onto the stage before Brody, all while Aria still plays her same chord.
Ivory’s hand reaches out to Brody through the fog with a bottle of whiskey.
My stomach drops as she grabs it in acceptance.
Is she going to drink it? Did she start drinking again?
Brody grins as she marches over to the piano.
She pours the bottle of whiskey out in a circle around the piano, dumping the last of the amber liquid on the piano’s lid.
Aria’s guitar chord grows darker, the sound heavier, building up to whatever it is Brody’s about to do.
Ivory reaches out another hand, something small in it and Brody grabs it, smiling.
A second later, a spark appears at the tips of her fingers and I know Ivory gave her a match book.
Brody steps into the circle of whiskey she made and drops the lit match right on the liquid, setting the piano and the whole stage ablaze.
I worry for a second that she may burn herself but based on the devilish smile on her face, I know she planned to keep the liquid and the flames far enough away from her from the start so that she wouldn’t get burned.
I grin as I watch the flames grow. It wasn’t just a special effect to get the fans going, while it did get them excited.
No, it was a message. It was Brody’s way of telling the world she doesn’t need alcohol to be a good musician, to be herself.
She seats herself at the bench as Aria’s chord dies.
Brody places her fingers on the piano keys and starts playing a melancholy tune, the one she played in the studio the night she and I were alone in Nashville.
She plays the repetitive notes a few times before she brings her other hand into it, hitting all the deeper keys, making the sound dangerous and threatening.
It pairs nicely with the lighthearted notes she’s making.
While Brody plays her notes, Ivory hits a note on her guitar, and suddenly she plays a guitar solo of her own as Brody’s piano keys fade.
Brody rises, still lightly pressing the keys as the audience falls captive to Ivory’s playing.
Brody removes herself from the piano, stepping through the flames, highlighting her features in golden light just as the stage crew quietly puts the fire out and removes the piano.
The blue light shines on Aria who plays a low melody while Ivory loses herself in her solo.
Ivory is swathed completely in pink light and Brody walks to her drum set as the guitar sound speeds up, hitting its crescendo.
Brody sits in her stool, picking up her sticks.
She grins wickedly as she twirls the sticks in her hands before slamming them down on the cymbals.
The three lose themselves in the song, Aria playing a guitar solo of her own before the entire song seems to start all over again.
It’s what I imagine Alice must’ve felt like when she fell down the rabbit hole and found herself in Wonderland.
The audience goes crazy for it, loving the song as much as I knew they would.
Brody sings the third verse and then the chorus;
The mask is removed, leaving me bare to your eyes
You’ve seen all that I am and I don’t want to say goodbyes
Just one last kiss to remember you this way
No sounds come when I open my mouth to beg you to stay
You’re the only one who’s seen me without the mask my love, my darling
I mean it when I tell you, in love, I am with you
The masks we wear
The masks we wear
The masks we wear
My eyes zero in on her and her only. Her words, her song, the emotion in her voice as she sings her heart out.
My heart beats rapidly in my chest as I know her words are for me.
She just told me she loved me in front of thousands of people and she doesn’t even know I’m here, that I came back for her and I’m never leaving again.
I heard her play the instrumental parts of the song but never the lyrics.
The song is our story from start to finish and she just shared it with the world.
The song ends on a broken chord by Aria and just before the lights go out, signaling the show’s end, Brody’s eyes flick down to mine and her jaw drops.
I mouth to her I love you, but she doesn’t see it because the lights cut out, cutting off our connection.