Shannon licked over his lips and looked away. My eyes traveled down his sweaty torso, but quickly darted away when I noticed that Jared turned his attention back to me. "Well, what's going on? Let's hear it."
"Nothing." I tried to sound convincing, but a fake smile wouldn't work this time. He was really angry and I glanced down at my fingers. Mindlessly, I picked at the nail polish that was just beginning to peel.
"What was that whole fucking thing about your phone? You guys fought on the bus?" I avoided his eyes and he grew impatient, peeling his sweaty shirt off and gathering his long hair up in a bun. "What did you do Shannon?!" His eyes flashed with anger. It must suck to be in the middle of an argument between two people you love.
"We just had a little disagreement, that's all." The last thing I wanted was for them to fight over this. I knew that with the shows Shannon missed and his little disappearing act, he was probably on thin ice with Jared. No need to get him any more angry than he already was. However, Shannon took it upon himself to blurt out the truth.
"A little disagreement?" His eyes flickered and his lips curled upward. "I was fucking Madison on the bus and Carrie popped in to grab her phone." No matter how hard I tried to get the vision of Shannon and that woman out of my head, I just couldn't. The expression on her face and the anger in Shannon's just stuck with me and I wanted to scream in frustration.
"On the bus? Jesus, I'm gonna take a guess and say it wasn't in your bunk." Jared sighed, rolling his eyes.
"You're right, I had her over the table, but don't worry Jared, I cleaned it afterward."
"Couldn't just leave it as a disagreement, could you?" I glared at Shannon, grinding my teeth in anger. I refused to look away even as my lips trembled and my eyes brimmed heavy with tears.
"Oh, and I invited Carrie to join in, but knew that would never happen, so then I told her to get the fuck out. I also made a comment about how much she loves having threesomes with two men." He stared me down, cocking his head to the side as he tattled on himself. Shifting toward Jared, he spoke again. "What are you gonna do, ground me? Can I go now dad, I have shit to do?"
"Why the hell would you say that shit? And in front of Maddie? Come on Shannon, what the fuck?" Jared asked, looking completely dumbfounded.
"Because this is who I am and she needs to know it. Have a great fucking night lovebirds."
"Way to go genius, I was trying to save him the dirty details and keep him from becoming even more angry with you," my voice cracked and I hate how weak I sounded at that moment.
"Whatever, don't do me any favors Carrie." He exited, slamming the door behind him.
Slipping a clean shirt over his head, Jared looked at me. "Are you alright?" He sat down next to me, rubbing his hand up and down my back. "Look, maybe we should get a hotel room tonight. I know I said we'd have to stay on the bus, but fuck it, maybe we need some space."
Hiding my emotions was impossible and as I wiped the tear from my eye, I nodded. "Thank you, I appreciate that. A break would be good for all of us."
"You're welcome. Let me make a call and we can get out of here."
Before he could get up, I wrapped my arm around him. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you what happened before, but I just didn't want to start a fight before the show."
Cupping my face, Jared leaned forward, pressing his head against mine. Immediately, I parted my lips and accepted his tongue into my mouth. He put my mind at ease and only confirmed what I already knew. His love was pure and undemanding and I felt cherished when I was with him. "I love you."
"You better, I'm giving up a night in an uncomfortable bunk, sleeping near my moody ass brother for you." He winked as he got up and grabbed his phone. "Be back in a few." He left the room and I got up and started gathering all of our things.
One night away from the bus wasn't the answer to the problems, but it was a quick solution, and it helped me clear my head. The next day, we all met up for lunch at a cute little cafe. Jared and I still hadn't spoken to Shannon and as we sat in the restaurant, I sat quietly, watching him flirt with a fan who noticed them right away. They sparked up a conversation and I cringed, watching the calamity unfold right in front of us. He called her sweetheart, just like he used to call me. I can't lie, it stung worse than I expected, and I lost my appetite after just a few bites, but I refused to let it get to me.
Shannon was quite the charmer, but it really didn't take much to woo this one. She ditched her friends at the first mention of hanging out. When we left the little diner, Shannon and his new friend went one way, and we went another.
Later, I lay in the bunk listening to Jared pace back and forth. He called Shannon endlessly, leaving message after message, but got no response. At some point, I must have dozed off because I realized we were moving when Jared crawled into the bunk. He wrapped an arm around me and gave a tight squeeze. "What happened?" I whispered.
"He's gonna fly out to the next show. Don't worry, everything is gonna be fine." I wasn't sure who he was trying to convince, himself or me.
