Tonight The World Dies

Chapter 18: Matt

The rain echoed out through the speakers as the end of A Little Piece of Heaven played out, indicating the end of our last show of this tour. The crowd erupted into cheer as the five of us bowed to the crowd, holding each others hands and lifting them high into the air. I could see people already filtering out of the venue, either to leave or to wait round the back for us to come out and sign a few things. Brian, Zacky and Johnny began throwing their picks into the crowd as I made my way offstage, grabbing the first towel that I came across before wiping the sweat from my face. One of the technicians handed me a bottle of water, and I took it before absentmindedly unscrewing the lid and taking a drink. As I did, I caught the chocolatey-eyed gaze of Avery. The look of concern etched into her eyes confirmed that I wasn't the only one dreading the reality of what was to come when we left this venue.

Tonight was the night.

Within the next few hours, Val was going to know all about Avery and I, and that notion was honestly terrifying.

I felt a nervous lump form in my throat. I coughed, clearing it before downing the rest of the water.

Brian came offstage then, making his way over to Avery with a smile on his face. She handed him a bottle of water as he leant in, giving her a kiss on the cheek. She forced a smile onto her face, and made a joke about him being all sweaty, but I could tell deep down that it was hurting her to continue acting as if everything was okay. She was ready to tell him last night, but I'd stopped her, and only for my sake.

But it had been the right thing to do, because it gave her one more day of happiness with him before reality came crashing back down and possibly ruined what they had together.

I frowned.

It was all my fault.

We all showered and changed into clean clothes before we sat backstage for a while, talking about the show as all of the technicians got everything packed away and loaded back onto the truck. It took a few hours, and we had a couple of things to deal with before we were finally ready to leave.

The closer we got to the bus, the more my stomach knotted. I knew as soon as I got onto that bus, I'd be sealing my own fate and I'd have to go through with telling Val no matter what.

The hotel we'd chosen to stay in was half an hour away from the venue, and as I sat staring out of the window, I wished that we'd chosen one closer since I'd have less time to dwell in my own mind, imagining various scenarios of how tonight was going to go. None of them were good, of course.

As we checked into the hotel, Brian, Zacky and Johnny all came up with the idea to meet up later and get wasted at the bar. Avery tried to protest, reminding the three of them that we were travelling all day tomorrow, but it didn't deter any of them. Trying my best to act normal, I eventually agreed, suggesting it wasn't such a bad idea, but we should have dinner first, at least, before we went and drank a shit load of alcohol. There were nods all round, and with that, everyone took their keys before heading up to their designated rooms.

Dinner was over way too quickly for my liking. I knew I'd have to tell Val soon otherwise I'd miss the opportunity, and probably the confidence.

"Do you know if any of the others are ready yet?" Val asked, looking up from where she'd been laying across the bed.

"Ah, no." I said. "But, I'll go find out." I added before I slid from the bed, seeing an opportunity to go and get Avery without acting suspicious. I headed out across the hall toward Brian and Avery's room and rapped my knuckles across their door before I stood, anxiously, waiting. To my relief, Avery answered it, but as soon as she caught my eye, I saw the light in hers disappear.