Page 67 of When the Stars Rise

She sags against my chest, and I kiss her on the cheek and gently lift her out of my lap onto the seat next to me, fastening her seat belt before fastening my own.

When we’re all buckled in, I take her hand in mine and squeeze it to reassure her while using my free hand to text Jules and Liam to make sure everyone is okay.

“Oh my god, I left the girls behind,” Hayley says. “Are they okay?” she asks Chris. “The girls I brought with me?”

He nods. “They’re fine. We sent them home in a car.”

Jules finally responds to my text when we reach the tour bus parked in one of the lots near the concert venue.

Jules: I missed most of it but we’re on the way to the hospital. Sounds as if someone posted it and tagged the boyfriend.

Liam: My brother is a dumb fuck. Pretty sure he instigated the whole thing. He was trying to be a big man. Dumb shit.

Liam: He just had to go for Nick Amato’s girl, didn’t he? Dude messed him up pretty bad though. I think his nose is broken.

Fuck. I slide my phone into my pocket and look at Hayley as we walk from the car to the bus. Worry is etched on her brow, eyes downcast, and her shoulders sag in dejection as she makes her way onto the bus.

Dean intercepts us as soon as we step onto the bus. “Good. You’re back. I want you and Hayley to go on to Nashville.”

Hayley shakes her head and opens her mouth to protest.

He holds up his hand. “You have a radio show tomorrow afternoon, sweetheart, and a show tomorrow night. I want you to get some rest.” He hooks two fingers under her chin and lifts her face to his. “Are you okay?”

She nods, her eyes not meeting his. “Yeah. I’m okay. I’m just worried about Aiden.” He searches her face for a moment before releasing her and nodding, but I don’t miss the genuine concern on his face.

“I’ll deal with this,” Dean says, grabbing his duffel bag and heading for the door. “Get some sleep,” he tells Hayley. “I’ll see you in Nashville tomorrow.”

She nods, all the fight drained out of her, and slowly walks toward her bedroom, her head bowed like she’s too tired to lift it. I think the alcohol and tonight’s events have finally hit her.

I make a move to follow her, but Dean grabs my arm and jerks his chin toward the door, so I follow him outside and lean against the side of the bus.

“Did you see what happened?”

I push my hand through my hair. “Not really, no.” Which is true. I don’t know how the fight started. “It was all happening behind me, and I was more focused on getting Hayley to the car.”

Dean lets out a heavy sigh and looks up at the sky. “Aiden is a hell of a good drummer, but he’s a loose cannon. Not the first time I’ve had to bail him out of trouble.” Dean looks at me and I get the feeling he’s trying to make a point like somehow this is just as much about me as it is about Aiden. “This was his last chance, and he was well aware of that, but the dumb shit blew it.” With a shake of his head, Dean walks away.

“Maybe it wasn’t his fault. Or maybe he just made a mistake,” I call after him. “Doesn’t everyone deserve as many second chances as you’ve been given?”

Maybe it was out of line but fuck it. I know some of the shit Dean used to do when he was on tour, and it was a whole hell of a lot worse than a fistfight in a club.

Dean pauses, his hand on the door of the SUV, and turns to face me. He points his finger at the bus. “Did you see her face, Noah?”

I press my lips together and say nothing because yeah, I saw her face and I know it really shook her up to watch Aiden getting the shit beat out of him.

It will kill Hayley to lose Aiden, but Dean has to put her first. Just like I’ve always done and always will. So I can’t even argue with him, and he knows it.

“I rest my case,” Dean says. “Take care of her. I think spending time with your family will be good for her. Give her a bit of normalcy.”

I nod. You can always count on my family for that. Or, at least, my mom and Jude. They love Hayley like one of their own and tomorrow we’ll be seeing them in Nashville. Gracie has been messaging me non-stop, her excitement levels through the roof.

God help Hayley. My sister is her biggest superfan and will probably be glued to her side for the entire weekend.

When Dean takes off, I climb back onto the bus and thank the driver as I walk past him to the bedroom in the back. Hayley’s clothes from tonight are strewn across the bed, her boots on the floor right inside the door as if she just stepped out of them before stripping off her clothes and as always, music is pouring from the Bluetooth speaker.

The first thing Hayley does whenever she enters a room is turn on the music. Tonight it’s The National and Matt Berninger’s brooding baritone.

I move to the threshold of the bathroom and lean my shoulder against the doorframe watching Hayley remove her makeup. Chestnut waves fall down her back and she’s dressed in a thin white tank top and little cotton shorts she sleeps in.