Love Songs (Secret Songbook #1) (23 page)

Chapter 26

Kaley had never snuck out of her house before. She had seen it done a million times in movies and on television. But to actually attempt it herself was something entirely different.

She couldn’t sneak out of her bedroom window, it had screens on it. Unless she could pop it out and then figure out how to replace it later, the window wasn’t going to be an option.

That only left the front door.

The problem with that plan was that her parents were sitting in the living room, located right next to the door. The back door could be an option, but then she would have to open the fence to get around to the front. The gate was squeaky at best. Risk was apparent in any of her plans.

As she looked in the mirror, she considered at least she looked the part. She had fished out a black top with a check skirt from her closet. She had previously put it to the back of the wardrobe as the skirt was deemed too short.

It wasn’t as short as all the cheerleaders wore, but it still showed more skin than she would have liked. Normally, anyway. Tonight she was feeling reckless. They were sneaking out, after all. Wearing a short skirt wasn’t going to be her biggest crime of the night.

Peeking her head out her bedroom door, Kaley saw her parents on the lounge watching television. They didn’t look like they were going to be moving any time soon.

Summing up her three options, the one least likely to get her caught was going to be through her bedroom window. If she pressed on the screen enough, surely it would pop out? She slid open the window to test her theory.

Glancing up, she saw Harvey watching. He shook his head disapprovingly, she gave him a shrug in return. She didn’t quite know what his problem was, they had asked him whether he wanted to go and he had refused.

It wasn’t like they were doing anything too terrible. They were just going to a club to see a band perform. They weren’t planning on drinking or doing drugs. It was a bit of harmless fun, nothing more sinister.

She leaned her full weight against the window, hoping when it finally did give way that it would be silent. She pushed and pushed, trying all different spots to apply the pressure.

She looked at Harvey again, distracted by his arms waving. He was pointing behind her, she suddenly had a very bad feeling as she turned around.

Georgie was leaning against the doorway, her arms crossed. “What do you think you’re doing?”

Kaley grappled to find an answer. She didn’t want to admit she was sneaking out, but it was difficult to find another reason for the clothes, hair, and make up.

“I was getting ready for bed,” she said lamely. She wouldn’t even believe herself if the roles were reversed.

“Ready for bed? Really? It looks to me like you’re trying to sneak out and go somewhere fancy.” Georgie wasn’t buying it. Slowly, her grimace turned into a smile. “My baby is sneaking out! You’re growing up, I’m so proud of you.”

Confused didn’t even begin to describe what was running through Kaley’s head. “Are you seriously happy I’m trying to sneak out?”

Georgie crossed the room and gave her a big hug, holding her daughter tight before letting her go. “I’m not happy about you lying to me, but it’s proving you’re a normal teenager. I’ve been waiting for you to do something silly like this. And here you are. You’re actually living.”

“So I can go then?” She didn’t want to get her hopes up, but Kaley figured she had enough surprises for one night, perhaps they would continue. Plus, the idea of leaving Harper hanging was incomprehensible.

“I need full disclosure before I can answer that.”

“Harper and I are going to a club. The Ravens are playing and the guy she’s in love with, that doesn’t know she exists, is the lead singer. She wants to watch them play and hopefully get him to notice her.”

“What kind of club is it?”

“A regular club.”

“With alcohol? How are you planning on getting in?”

“Yes with alcohol, but we’re not going to be drinking. We have fake IDs to get in.”

“Show me.” Georgie held her hand out, waiting. Kaley reluctantly pulled her purse from her handbag and slid out the fake ID Harper had made for her. Georgie examined it, holding it up to the light for a closer inspection. “This is actually pretty good. It should work.”

“So I can go then?”

“How are you getting there?”

“A taxi. Harper’s organized one.”

Georgie eyed her daughter, thinking. She was torn between being a good parent and the type of mother she always wanted to be.

At the end of the day, she trusted her daughter. But the rest of the world she wasn’t so sure of. “Is anyone else going with you? Eli, perhaps? Harvey?”

“It’s just Harper and me. I promise we’ll be safe and careful. As soon as the band has finished, we’ll get a taxi and come straight home. We won’t talk to anyone and we won’t drink anything. Please?” Kaley pleaded, trying her best to look innocent and pathetic. She knew the decision could swing either way, Mother Barbie was too unpredictable to guess.

Georgie sighed. “Fine. But I am going to take you both there and you must call me to pick you up when you’re ready. You will not drink, you will not do drugs, you will not look at or talk to any boys except this singer guy, and you will wait inside until I pull up directly outside the club. Do we have a deal?”

“Deal.” Kaley gave her a hug, silently thanking her for being the cool mom. “I’ll call Harper and let her know we’ll be picking her up.”

“You do that. I’ll grab my handbag and meet you outside. Don’t let your father see you like that, put a coat on or he’ll have a heart attack.”

Kaley nodded, grabbing her phone and coat simultaneously. She called Harper and gave her the good news before heading outside. Mother Barbie might have been really annoying and embarrassing at times, but Kaley still thought she wouldn’t replace her for anything.

They made their way over to Harper’s house and then off to the club. Harper wasn’t kidding when she said she would be wearing something slinky and sexy. She had on a red dress, made out of sequins, that was both low cut and short. Kaley had tops that had more material to them than her entire dress.

She couldn’t deny she looked good though, great even. If Cooper Sutton didn’t notice her tonight, then he was a complete fool.

Georgie dropped them a discreet distance away from the club doors, lingering until they were safely inside. The bouncers at the entrance didn’t look too hard at their IDs, a sweeping glance was all he deemed necessary. They were permitted in and he moved onto the next underage delinquents.

“This is so cool,” Harper said excitedly as she took in the club. The Ravens were playing on stage already, Cooper rocking out with the microphone at the front. He was supported by the rest of his band – a drummer and two guitarists.

The club was nearly packed to capacity. Bodies writhed on the dance floor, jumping in time to the music. Those that weren’t caught up in the band were standing around the bar, drink in hand and trying to hold conversations over the loud din of the place.

The average age was young – most people looked to be in their early twenties. Kaley recognized a few people from her school, all would have been underage. Everyone seemed to be having a good time.

“Come on, we need to get closer.” Harper grabbed her hand and started pulling Kaley through the crowd. She gripped her tight. If one of them was lost in the mass of people, they would probably spend the rest of the night trying to find each other. Either that, or have to wait until the place closed to be reunited.

They wove their way through the bodies until they were at the front, receiving discreet pushes and elbows as they went. They joined the crowd and danced to the beat.

Kaley laughed as she caught a glimpse of Harper, she was completely rapt in watching Cooper perform. There could have been a war going on around her and she wouldn’t have noticed, he was the only one in the room.

Kaley let herself go, switching off her mind. Eli and Abigail didn’t exist for the night, all she had to think of was the music and keeping herself dancing. It wasn’t hard, for once.

Looking up at The Ravens as they performed, she was mesmerized. They were putting everything they had into the music, playing the instruments like there was no tomorrow.

She imagined they didn’t care what others thought about their music.
They
believed in it so they simply let it speak for itself. If people didn’t like it, then tough, they weren’t fussed.

She turned her attention to Cooper, singing into the microphone while playing the guitar. He belted out the lyrics, strumming away at the same time. Like the others, he didn’t seem to have any doubts. He exuded a confidence that was envy-worthy. Kaley wished she could have even half the amount of confidence.

He had something else too, some may call it the X factor, others would refer to it as moxie. Whatever it was, he had it in abundance. You couldn’t not fall in love with him while he was performing.

The difference was Harper loved him even offstage when he was just a regular guy playing the cello in the school band.

For a moment, and only a moment, Kaley let herself imagine what it would be like on the stage in front of the band. She wondered what it would feel like to be playing her music and having the crowd cheering for her, demanding more because she was so good.

She felt the energy of the audience, imagining it powering her to continue for hours. She heard them screaming for her, wanting to hear more of her songs because they couldn’t get enough. She closed her eyes, exchanging places with Cooper, playing her own guitar and letting her voice fill the speakers.

It was a nice thought, one that brought a smile to her lips. However, it was just a dream, something nice to think about but that’s it.

She brushed aside the thought, never believing it could actually come true. Cooper Sutton and The Ravens were born to perform, they lived for it. She was neither meant to be on stage or be heard. She was invisible for a reason.

“This is great,” Harper yelled through the noise, never stopping her dancing.

“Fantastic,” Kaley agreed, doubting whether she could be heard even though she was shouting.

They continued dancing to the rock music, watching the band as they started to wind up for the evening. They weren’t the only band performing that night, another would follow them. They had to stick to their set, despite the audience’s demands for more and more.

At almost eleven o’clock, The Ravens played their last bar and said goodnight to the crowd. They didn’t disappear behind the red curtain at the back of the stage, instead they left their instruments and walked into the crowd. They were instantly mobbed by people that wanted to talk with them.

While the next band set up, the club played recorded music, mixed by the resident DJ. It was quieter than the live band, but only marginally so. They still had to shout to be heard.

“Go talk to him.” Kaley pushed Harper through the crowd, not waiting to hear her protests.

“I can’t, he’s busy.”

“So? Do you think any of the other girls care?”

They looked through the crowd at Cooper. From what they could tell, he was talking to a girl. They could only see the back of her head, but it looked familiar.

Realization hit Harper – hard.

“Oh my god, that’s Willow McGrady.”

Kaley tried to see through all the heads bobbing in front of her. It was definitely Willow. “You have to go talk to him. Now.”

“But I can’t.”

“You have to. Go and get your man. Fight for him.”

“He’ll choose her.”

“So go and prove that he shouldn’t.”

“I can’t.”

“You are Harper Monroe, you can do anything.”

She didn’t let up, pushing her best friend right through the throng of people. She felt like anything was possible that night, the music pumped through to her soul.

In the unfamiliar atmosphere of the club, it didn’t seem like reality. It was like they had stepped into a magical world where there were no consequences and anything could happen.

If she could imagine herself on stage, living out her fantasy, then Harper could talk to the guy she was in love in.

Pure and simple.

They weaved their way through the bodies until they were close enough to Cooper to touch him. Kaley tapped him on the shoulder, not stopping until he turned around to face them. Willow McGrady did not look happy.

“Great show,” she said. Cooper nodded in reply, however she couldn’t tell if he had actually heard her or not. She put her hand on Harper’s shoulder. “You know Harper, right? You’re in the school band together.”

“Oh, Harper, right,” Cooper yelled, giving Harper a flick of the head to get his fringe out of his eyes. She stood there, smiling like a startled mannequin. “You play the violin, right?”

“She does,” Kaley answered for Harper when it was clear she couldn’t talk for herself. She noticed Willow again as she turned her attention to the bass guitarist, the small win fuelled her confidence.