Rise: A Second Chance Rockstar Romance (Rock God Book 1) Read online

  I can’t wait to graduate and get the fuck out of here. Hit the road and play my music. But right now, I need to know what damage the Brat has done.

  “Gia? Did you say anything about the baby?” It comes out harsh, but surprisingly she looks right back, not even affected by my tone.

  Her green cat eyes narrow as she puts a dirty hand on her hip. “No, Rhys, I’m not a rat, and since I’m gonna marry you anyway… I’m the only one who’s gonna have your babies.” She tosses her hair over her shoulder as if she’s mimicking some of our groupies.

  “Christ,” I mumble. This is screwed up. Gia’s a kid. She shouldn’t be hanging around with seventeen-year-olds. I need to talk to Axel. Doesn’t she have friends her own age who play with dolls or shit? Thank fuck she hasn’t said anything. Wait, did she just say she’s gonna marry me and have babies?

  “Gia,” I say, my voice tight.

  She turns and snaps another picture of me as she walks backward. She’s a fucking mess. Her dark hair hangs down past her butt in wild curls that are in need of a good brushing. I have no idea what she does with her shoes because she seems to be barefoot all the time. And her shorts and shirt are stained with what looks like chocolate milk and dirt. I saw her this morning and she didn’t look like this. Axel and I usually take her to school since Mrs. Fontaine leaves early to teach. Traffic is crap in Los Angeles, especially in the mornings.

  “What?” She spins and starts to skip across the street.

  “Stop spinning.” Again, sharper than it needs to be, but this is fucked up. “You’re seven and I’m seventeen. We’re never getting married.”

  Her big eyes blink at me and she giggles. “Not now, but when I grow up.” She twirls again and I shake my head. Fucking Gia. She’s a brat. Been a thorn in my side from the day she was born.

  Axel and I were nine when Gia came along. All I remember was chaos in that house, but it was still better than mine.

  My mom has bipolar disorder. So, she’s either really high, believing that she can conquer the world.

  Or low.

  So low she’s in bed and I’m searching the bathroom for razor blades. When my grandfather was alive, it was easier, maybe because I was younger. I don’t know or care anymore. She’s a train wreck. I love her and would like to believe she’s done the best she can. Although, given her issues, it would be nice if she’d stay on her medication.

  And my dad… I barely remember him. Only that he was an ass to my mom. As a child I hated him for that. Today, I’d like to take a baseball bat to his head. This is why Steph must take care of this. I’m not father material, but I’m also not the kind of person who would fuck her over either.

  That’s what my old man did. Just left and never came back. If my grandfather hadn’t taken us in, we’d have been homeless.

  At least I would have been.

  My mom would have gone off on one of her manic spells and left me. One time she decided to go to Vegas. You know, to become a millionaire. She was gone a week, and me and my grandfather had to bring her back and put her in the hospital.

  This is why I loved Axel’s house.

  At Axel’s house, I was allowed to play my music. They had food, and even though his parents worked all the time, it still felt like a family.

  Until the Brat.

  From the first time I saw Gia, she was loud and constantly moving. She also cried if Axel and I played our guitars too loud, which is how we ended up in the garage.

  That was actually the best thing to happen. I’ve spent more time in that garage than my own room. Sometimes I pass out in there. We have an old mattress in the corner loaded up with blankets.

  It was supposed to be a no-Gia zone. But somehow that went out the window. I think Axel’s parents’ divorce probably instigated it, but as soon as Gia found the garage, it seemed to be her favorite place too.

  I can’t help but grin. She was our first fan. She’d dance and sing and go wild with all our stuff: our equipment, posters, amps, Nuke’s drum set. You name it, it’s in the garage and it’s fucking awesome.

  We even have a minibar. A neighbor was giving away a cabinet and some old barstools. He offered them to us since he digs our music.

  I frown as I smell marijuana. It’s so pungent I can smell it thirty feet away.

  Jason and David are sharing a pipe with Axel as Nuke twirls his sticks in between pounding on his drums.

  “’Bout fucking time.” Axel inhales, his eyes narrowing on me as he holds, then releases. “Everything okay, man?” He motions with his head to the couch in the corner. “How much longer do we have to deal with this?”

  I look over at our sad excuse of a couch that’s being held together mostly by silver duct tape. Stephanie’s sitting there, still crying and looking like a wreck, surrounded by some of her girlfriends.

  “Christ. I thought she was going home.” I rub the back of my neck and motion for him to hand me the pipe.

  “Sucks, brother, but at least she’s gonna take care of it,” Jason says all this while staring at one of the girls who’s comforting Steph. He’s good friends with Axel. His dad is the president of a biker club called the Disciples. I can’t remember how we started hanging out with them, but they’re cool as fuck.

  “Snatch. All of them nothing but liars.” I arch a brow at David, Jason’s cousin, as he slurs slightly and brings a bottle of Jack Daniel’s to his lips. I’m actually better friends with him than Jason. David writes poetry, so we have a lot in common.

  “Granger,” Skylar purrs as she sashays by us. She leans over to open the minifridge, her dress so short we all stare at her ass. David shakes his head and tosses himself onto the mattress.

  “Fucking snatch. Although, you might like that one, dude. She’s pierced in special places.” He snickers, pointing the bottle at Skylar. He brings the bottle of Jack to his mouth but spills a good portion down his chin and onto the mattress.

  “Christ, David.” I grab the bottle from him.

  He grins. “Go get her, Granger. But wrap up your dick.” He shakes a finger at me then passes out, the smell of spicy bourbon coming from the mattress.

  We probably need to think about getting a plastic cover for it. It has to be crawling with all sorts of dried fluids, most of them bodily.

  “We gonna rehearse or just talk about Granger and his dick?” Nuke pounds the drums and sits back staring at us. Stephanie starts to cry louder, and I feel like punching Nuke. He’s been kind of a dick throughout all of this. I know he’s had a rough life, but who hasn’t? His lack of patience is making me want to leave, because without me, the Dicks don’t really exist. I’m the lead singer. Axel and I create all the songs. He needs to give me some space to at least try to get Steph and her girlfriends out of here.

  “Heyyy, that’s not nice, Nuke,” Gia yells.

  I turn to Axel. “Gia should not be hanging out with these girls. She’s starting to understand things.”

  Axel frowns and takes the pipe back. “What do you mean?”

  “I mean, she knows that I knocked up Stephanie. She needs to be playing with kids her own age.”

  “She’s seven,” he growls and looks over at Gia who’s sitting on the end of the couch talking to Jenny, one of the girls Jason likes to fuck. Her small hand twirls her dark mess of hair as if she’s twenty instead of a child.

  “Gia?” Axel scowls at her. In return, she rolls her eyes dramatically at him and turns back to Jenny.

  “What the…?” Axel says and looks at me as if I can explain why the brat is the Brat. “Get over here.”

  She stares at him, then mimes that she’s talking to the groupies.

  “Christ.” I shake my head, ready to grab her by the hair and drag her over here.

  Jason cracks up. “Gia kills me. Fucking kid’s got balls.” He crosses his arms and smirks at both of us.

  “Are you kidding me?” Axel roars, causing Gia to finally move and the girls to scream.

  She stomps over as if she’s missing out on a ch
ance for a million dollars. “What?” she huffs and stands with her hands on her hips. “I’m comforting Stephanie.” She stares up at us, her big green eyes defiant, and for a second I almost grab her and put her over my knee.

  “I don’t want you hanging out with them anymore,” Axel states, then turns for his guitar.

  I almost choke on the swig of bourbon I just took because that can’t be it.

  “Why?” she whines and stomps a foot. “Is this because they all said Rhys is a dick and that he will never be happy because he’s not capable of feeling true—”

  “Gia, watch your fucking mouth.” Axel glares down at her.

  Jason just stares at her as if she’s some sort of genius. I look at her smug face and then at Axel who starts strumming his guitar.

  “You kidding me? That’s it? That’s all you’re saying to her?” I ignore Jason who’s laughing.

  Axel grabs the baby powder for his hands. “Dude, relax. She’s seven. She doesn’t understand what those gashes are talking about.”

  My hands clench because this is fucked up. “Axel. She needs friends her own age, not this shit.” I motion to the crying mess of Stephanie and her posse.

  Axel looks at me and Gia who is sticking her tongue out at me. “Knock it off, Gia. What happened to your blond-haired friend… Katie?”

  “You mean Kelly. Her mom won’t let her come over if Mommy isn’t here. Apparently, she thinks you’re scary.” She rolls her eyes.

  Axel frowns as if this is a shock to him. It dawns on me that there is a reason Axel is Axel. He’s completely out of touch. Either that or he doesn’t care. Which is fine for him, but he’s allowing Gia to become exactly like him.

  He does one loud strum, nodding his head as he smirks. “Well, fuck her then.”

  “Christ.” I shake my head and glance down at Gia who stares at me victorious. “Go play in your room,” I snarl.

  “You’re not the boss of me, and I’ll never be like those girls, crying because you don’t love them. When I grow up, I know you’re gonna love me the best,” she announces, spins around, and walks back to the girls.

  “Fucking Brat.” I take another deep swig of Jack.

  “Granger, you did this, man.” Axel glides his hand up and down the neck of his guitar. “Wrap. It. Up. That’s what we all do. That’s what you didn’t do.” He stares at me as I fight the urge to throw the bottle against one of the walls.

  “And leave Gia out of this. My sister is fine.” He starts to strum and tune his guitar.

  I nod, the blood pumping in my temples. “Fuck this.” Just one day it would be nice if I could play my music and not have drama. As long as I can remember, drama has followed me. My mom, and then the girls, and now this. I look around the garage and take a deep breath. Everything seems to be pressing down on my chest like a fucking heart attack that takes away your breath.

  “Skylar?” I bark at the one David says has piercings. She looks up and smiles as she pushes off the wall.

  I’m done trying to be good, or even trying to be understanding. I’m not perfect, but I don’t deserve all this shit either. I take her hand, ignoring the shriek from Stephanie. Her loud cursing in my direction is lost on me.

  Stephanie’s right. I’m bad luck, but I don’t care. I drag Skylar across the street, my head swimming with music. It starts soft, and by the time I have Skylar pushed up against the back door of my house, it’s pounding and vibrating through my head.

  I take her lips. This is what I am, and I’m done feeling guilty about it.

  I might be the worst, but at least I own my shit. I should have a warning tattooed on me. Because they all deserve better.

  I thrust my tongue into Skylar’s willing mouth and groan at the large barbell that twirls and fucks my mouth.

  I pull back and look at her flushed face. “What?” She cocks her head and smiles.

  I lean down to murmur in her ear. “I’m gonna fuck you.”

  “Okay.” She shudders, excitement radiating off her.

  “Then after I’ve blown my load…” Her chest is rising and falling in somewhat of a pant. “You’re gonna pierce my cock.” She puffs out some air and looks down at my erection. Reaching to grab it, she rubs it hard.

  “Absolutely.”

  GIA

  Past – Eighteen years old

  UC Berkeley, California

  “Are you sure you want to do this?” Julianna, my roommate and bestie, flops down on her bed and looks at me.

  “What are you talking about? This is the opportunity of a lifetime.” I pivot and reach up for a pile of jeans, then toss them into my suitcase.

  “I can’t believe you actually pulled this off.” She lies down, resting her head on her hand as she watches me pack.

  “Jul, I’m kind of insulted that you doubted me.” I shoot her a glare as she laughs, falls onto her back, and stares up at the ceiling.

  “Rhys Granger. The Stuffed Muffins. This is crazy.” Her long blond hair covers most of the pillow, and for one small second, I’m grateful that I’m the only one going. Not that I think Rhys would be into her, but Julianna is beautiful. What’s wrong with me? I never feel like this.

  “Hello? Gia?” My eyes focus and I realize she’s holding my cell phone, which is playing “Lost in You,” the Stuffed Muffins’ latest hit.

  Dread flows through me as I snatch it out of her hand. “Don’t answer it.” Her horrified face should make me pull myself together, but I’m slightly off right now.

  “Geez, Gia.” Julianna shakes her head at me as I frantically decline the call. I look at her and back at my phone before sinking down to sit on the edge of my bed.

  I need to think. This might be nothing—just my mom wanting to tell me to be careful and that she’s excited for me.

  “You okay? You’re starting to worry me.” Julianna’s big blue eyes show concern. I must look as bad as I feel. And I feel like I want to puke.

  “I thought you said your mom was fine with you going on tour with them over winter break.” She cocks her head, and the kindness in her voice makes me want to cry because I’ve worked so hard, and if this phone call is what I think it is…

  “I did.” I jump up and pace in our tiny dorm room, which is so limited on space that my giant suitcase takes up a big portion of the floor.

  “Shit.” I make my brain think. Julianna was right. It’s a miracle I’ve pulled this off. It all boils down to the fact that both my photography and English professors are giant Stuffed Muffins fans. So much so that I was pretty much given a guaranteed A. All I have to do is an exclusive interview that my professor, Mr. Berry, can submit to Rolling Stone for me and provide some recent pictures, and it’ll probably put me on the map. Over the years, I’ve stayed in touch with Nuke, their drummer, and if his drunken phone calls complaining about how the band is not in sync are any indication, Rhys absolutely needs me. I mean, who else knows him like I do?

  The time is now. I’m already late—this is the tail end of their tour.

  Six weeks.

  Six weeks to make Rhys realize what I have always known. That we’re soulmates. It doesn’t matter that I haven’t seen him in years. Or that he has become one of the biggest stars in the world. What matters is us. He needs me. It’s why I’m so determined to get out of here. They’re playing tonight in Seattle. Nuke was a bit fuzzy on how long they were staying.

  My phone starts singing again and I take a deep breath. Might as well deal with it because I’m absolutely going to do this.

  Exhaling, I toss my hair off my left shoulder. “Hey, Mom, what’s up? I’m super busy, so if it’s not an emergency, I really need—”

  “Gia, you need to stop and listen to me,” my mom yells through the phone, halting my rant. Damn it, I had hoped I could talk right over her.

  “You need to call your brother.” And those are the last words I ever want to hear out of my mom’s mouth.

  “Why?” I almost explode at her. Why the hell did she tell him?

 
“He’s not happy,” she says flatly.

  I huff. “Axel’s never happy.” Taking a deep breath, it’s hard not to go off on my mom, but I hold back. I glance over at Julianna who sits at the end of her bed looking like a Disney princess, except for her gross and annoying habit of picking her nail polish off. I almost swat her hand, but I need to focus.

  “Look, sweetheart, I know this is through the university, but Axel has some concerns.”

  I go to open my mouth but she continues. “Call him. You know he’s only looking out for you. If he says yes, then by all means go, and do the best job in the world.” She says the last part as if she’s on a talk show. She’s so phony and completely see-through. God, I can’t believe I felt guilty because technically this has nothing to do with Berkeley. But now I don’t. Of course, she’s trying to make Axel happy. That’s what everyone does. It’s all about not upsetting Axel.

  Pathetic.

  All but me—screw that. He’s my brother but I can see his flaws. I take another deep breath.

  “Fine.” I huff. “I’ll call Mitchell, but just for the record, I’m eighteen, so I don’t need permission from either of you.”

  The line goes silent. “Hello?”

  “I’m here.” Her voice is loud and clear. “Call your brother, young lady, if you want to continue using your credit card.” And then the line really does go dead.

  “Goddammit.” I toss my phone on the pillow. “Goddammit.” I jump up and pace.

  “What?” Julianna tries to follow, her blond hair slapping me in the face as I turn quickly.

  Sighing, I look up at the dull white ceiling. “I have to call freakin’ Mitchell.” I clench and unclench my hands.

  “Who’s Mitchell?” Julianna’s voice goes up. She gets flustered easily.

  “Axel. Mitchell is Axel,” My eyes flash at her. “Never mind.” I wave my hand, already rehearsing what I need to say.

  Hey, big brother. I’m going to spend my whole winter break with the Stuffed Muffins. Why? Because I need to convince Rhys Granger that we are destined to be together. So, deal with it and don’t stand in my way. Somehow that’s not going to fly. In fact, he might lock me up. He and Rhys are not close anymore.