True Loves (A Collection of Firsts) by Michelle A. Valentine Read Free Book Online

comes from his father. Since I’ve reconnected with him, it seems as though his father’s genes are winning out. He’s pushy, just like him. He always tried to please his father, but something in the last four years has changed, and I’m dying to find out what.
    “Noel, I mean it. We’ve been friends a long time. You can tell me.”
    He lets loose a loud, shaky sigh. “It’s nothing. Forget I even brought it up.”
    I press the pillow tighter against my chest and, for some reason, I wish it was Noel. The need to wrap my arms around him and tell him things will work out grips my heart. I know better than to believe that it’s not a big deal to him. Not being able to see his family, when they meant so much to him, must be crushing. He should talk with someone. If he won’t tell me willingly, I’ll have to force it out of him. “Bullshit.”
    “Excuse me?”
    “You heard me. Bull. Shit. This isn’t nothing . Tell me. I’m your oldest friend, and I want to know what happened that’s so terrible you don’t see your parents anymore.”
    Another heavy breath on the line—he’s wavering. Noel knows how relentless I can be. “He gave me an ultimatum. Go to college or get cut off.”
    My eyes widen. “He threw you out? Your mom let that happen?”
    Noel sighs. “She tried to stop him, but Dad was hell-bent on teaching me a lesson. The only thing he let me leave with was my car. Good thing that old Chevelle has a huge backseat. It was my home for quite a while.”
    “I’m so sorry. Why didn’t you call me? I would’ve let you stay with me at the dorm.” The thought of him getting dumped coupled with getting cut off causes an ache in my soul. He didn’t deserve to be tossed aside as if he didn’t matter.
    “I wanted to prove to you and my dad that I could succeed. That music wasn’t just some hobby for me.”
    “You certainly did that. You should be so proud of your success and tell us both to kiss your ass.”
    “I could never do that. That’s just not the kind of person I am.”
    He’s right. I could never picture him telling me or his father that, but I wouldn’t blame him if he did. I would have deserved it. We both did.
    “Fame’s a lonely life if you don’t have good people around you. People are so fake when fame hits. The only real family I’ve got is my band. These guys are my brothers. They know what all this is like.”
    “When’s the last time you spoke with your folks?” I ask.
    “I haven’t talked with my dad since the night he threw me out four years ago.”
    “That’s awful.” My heart breaks for him. “And your mother?”
    “Mom’s cool. She sneaks around and calls and emails me when she can. If it weren’t for her sneaking me money that first year I was on my own, I probably would have starved to death. Believe me, cheap, shitty noodles are the best meals ever when you’re starving and poor.”
    “I always wondered how rock stars stayed so skinny with all the beer they drink. The starvation diet should be marketed,” I say, trying to lighten his mood.
    He laughs. “You should totally head that up.” The tension in his voice melts away a little with my joke. I want to ask him a million things. So many questions linger in my mind about the possibility of fixing his relationship with his father. Some day I hope he’ll feel comfortable enough to share everything with me again, like he used to. For now, I’ll take whatever intimacies about his life he’s willing to give me without pushing too much.

7
    T he plane touches down smoothly at Columbus International Airport. I’ve never been to Ohio, never had a reason to go before today. Black Falcon is one of the headliners of a huge two-day rock festival. Noel assured me this is the largest rock event in the area. The sellout crowd is right around fifty thousand people. The sheer volume alone is crazy.
    I grab my bag from the overhead bin after I text Noel that I’ve arrived. He insisted on picking me up himself even