Just What I Needed

Just What I Needed (67)

“C’mon, rebel, you’ve got to wake up.”

Although she would have liked to do something like dramatic shouting, Keely just gave a groan into the mattress, wishing fleetingly to float back into sleep.

However she resisted the temptation. Raising her head, she rolled over awkwardly, rubbing her forehead as it already started its pulsing headache. “What?” she grumbled, her voice coming out in a croak, half from her as of late chronic sore throat and the other husky from just awaking.

“You’re on stage in ten minutes,” Seth answered.

Confused she finally focused on her surroundings. Contrary to her belief, she wasn’t in the tour bus, though the couch she was sleeping on was equally punishing. It was a fairly large room with mirrors and the objects she needed for the show spread around.

Eventually turning her gaze to him, Keely found Seth crouching down beside the couch, a slight frown gracing his lips as his eyes study her seriously with a line between his brows.

“When did we even get to a stadium?” she asked blankly.

“Only about two hours ago,” he replied, reaching out to gently brush her bangs away from her eyes.

Groaning she pushed herself up, knocking his hand away as she swung her legs over the side of the couch. “What about sound check?” she mumbled, leaning her head tiredly into her hands. “What about me warming up?”

“You’re really tired, aren’t you?” Seth chuckled, standing up.

Rubbing her eyelids, she just gave a half-hearted snort, but it jarred her throat awkwardly, making her wince. Suddenly thankful that her hands were hiding her face, she shrugged. “I don’t even know. It feels like in the past months I’ve been half awake for most of it.”

“This tour is insane, it’s not just you. We’ve never done one like it, feels like we’re doing a different stadium every night. But you didn’t get a sound check today, none of us did, we just got into town two hours ago. You warmed up with your band when we did, but went and passed out in here.”

Keeping her eyes closed for just a moment, Keely drew in a deep sigh, her throat protesting at even that. “Okay, well, I’ll see you later,” she mumbled hoarsely, standing up.

Without a glance at him, she pushed out of her dressing room, rubbing her throat when she was out of sight.

The pain of her sore throat used to go away after a particularly hard session in the studio or after a show; it would be gone by the next day usually. Then as the tour progressed, it had taken a day or two to get to that point. And now it didn’t go away, just left her to sing through a throat that felt as if it was on fire every show they did.

Frowning at the thought, she just made her way through the dark halls without windows towards the stage. She was now beginning to hear the evidence of a concert being played, her soundproof change room blocking out all sounds of The Cavern Jets. But as she neared the stage, Aaron’s voice – which she found a little on the bo

ring side, but who was she to talk these days? – flew down the halls at her, the guitar and bass throbbing with Will’s drumming that was much too soft.

She stood at the side of the stage, singing along to the songs she’d memorized from them over the tour to warm up as she ignored her protesting throat. It was only minutes until her band reached her while the other band left the stage.

The sound of the crowd swelling in anticipation for their arrival, Keely squeezed her eyes shut, telling herself that all pain was in her head. After all, isn’t that what people say? But her burning throat stayed the same. Taking her worn in Stratocaster from one of the sound guys named Doug, she slung it over her shoulder, waiting to go on stage.