The Best Deceptions (Want You Bad sequel)

Chapter 4

Okay, so this chapter isn't as long as I had hoped it would be, but I've covered everything that I wanted to cover. I just want to thank you all so much for your support as we continue on with Natalie's journey, whether you were with me from the very start with Want You Bad all those years ago or if you've just recently come along. Here's to you.

Specifically, here's to sharaud1, thank you so much for commenting on the last chapter!

As it turned out, playing a high energy show with your band after you've just been informed of your own impending divorce is a lot easier than it sounds. I started out strong, and keeping up banter with my bandmates was easy. Around halfway through our set, however, we played one of our more romantic songs, and I felt my armor cracking. By the end of that song, tears were streaming down my face. I was hoping that nobody noticed, but Chase laughed loudly and leaned into his microphone.

"Damn, Natalie, you good?" He had a concerned look on his face, but his jaw was clenched.

I nodded and wiped my face. "Yeah, I think someone's cutting onions in the front row," I chuckled as I held my hand above my eyes pretending to search for the culprit. The audience laughed and Garrett launched into a segue for our next song, saving me from the scrutiny. I made it through the rest of the set without crying, but I stayed quiet in the lulls between songs unless one of my bandmates actually said something to me, for fear that if I started talking, the dam would break and the tears would fall. It wasn't until we reached the green room after our set that all hell broke loose.

Delia rounded on me the second the door was shut behind us. "What in the fuck is wrong with you, Natalie? One of the biggest shows of the fucking tour, and you turn into a babbling mess?"

Garrett stepped in front of me, voice even as he spoke to her. "Deeds, come on. You of all people know that we can't all pretend to be happy all the time."

"I wasn't talking to you, Garrett," Delia snarled at him. "And you're not Natalie's guard dog, so knock it off."

"There are other people in here, can we not do this right now?" Garrett was right—all of Devoted was in the green room, as well as Dashboard Confessional. Unfortunately, neither Rick nor Damian was in the room to work their usual magic at diffusing tension.

"I don't give a fuck who's here, dude. They all probably just watched Natalie have a fucking meltdown on stage and wanna know what the hell is going on, too."

"Delia, stop," Garrett tried again, as I began crying again.

"Gare, Delia's right," Chase spoke. "Whatever happened on stage was not the Nat that we know, and it's definitely not the Natalie that our fans know. Something is going on with her and we deserve to know what it is. You apparently know, and it's kind of fucked up that we don't."

"Kind of?" Delia snorted. "It's more than kind of fucked up. What the fuck is going on with you, Natalie? Whatever happened out there, was not okay, and it better not happen again."

I moved Garrett out of the way so I could see Delia. "Jesus Christ, Delia, I am so fucking sorry that I couldn't put on a show worthy of your adoration! I must have missed the memo that I'm not allowed to have emotions. Next time I have to put on a show immediately after being served divorce papers, I'll be sure to keep that in mind." The room was silent, and I pushed past Delia to go back into the hallway and out the door at the end, breathing in the fresh air. Moments later, I heard the door open and looked over to see Garrett and Sutton standing there.

"Natty," Garrett started. "I-"

I shook my head. "Not right now, guys. I cannot deal with anyone right now."