I worked for a little while longer when muffled laughs and footsteps trickled up from the door. I held my breath, anxiously waiting to see if Jax was coming up the stairs. Chewie, Sky, and then Kev burst in from the stairwell. Kev looked a little irritated. I was guessing that Jax still hadn’t made up with Kev because I knew he hadn’t apologized yesterday. I wanted to ask about it, but I also didn’t want to open up any closed up wounds.

"Hey guys, ready for the show?" I asked, keeping my eye on the door. When Jax didn’t appear behind them, I realized that he must’ve stayed behind in the venue, maybe to keep practicing.

Chewie smiled. "Wait 'til you see how hard we're gonna rock The Roman." He started headbanging for a second, and then stopped and said, "Man, I'm probably gonna win an Oscar once they release the DVD."

I couldn't help but smile at Chewie's exuberance. "Can't wait to take it all in from the sidelines. So what have you guys been up to all day? Practicing for tonight?"

"Nah, this entire tour's been one long practice sesh," Chewie replied with a blasé wave. "They’ve got this badass arcade in there and I've been wasting these two in videogames all day."

Kev rolled his eyes. "You won one game, Chew. One."

"Yeah, the final winner-takes-all game," Chewie said, confidently crossing his arms.

Sky shook her head at the two of them. "How's your day going, Riley? Thought you'd be off spending it with Jax before the show."

The sound of his name made me sigh. I wished things were good enough between us to be on a date right now, I'd much rather be laughing and drinking with Jax than working and lamenting here on the bus by myself. "Nope. I've been working all day keeping your wallets stuffed." I paused. "Actually, I thought Jax was with you guys . . . "

Sky's usual perky smile withered away and she furrowed her brow. "He's not here? That's odd. He wasn't answering his texts so we came back, hoping to find him here."

Jax isn’t with the band? Was he avoiding me? Was he avoiding everyone? I suddenly worried that yesterday’s conversation had upset him so much that he went out to brood with his phone turned off. My stomach began to twist.

"Um, yeah," I said, "he's not here. I haven’t seen him all day, and I haven't talked to him since last night."

"Yeah," Kev said, crossing his arms. "I haven’t heard from him after pushed me into the pool either."

"Well he did tell me he overreacted about that," I said. "And I’m sure he’ll make it up to you next time you see him."

"We’ll see," Kev said, with a hint of disbelief.

I felt a little embarrassed admitting that I didn’t know where my boyfriend had been all day long. What kind of girlfriend goes an entire day without knowing her boyfriend’s whereabouts? I didn’t like being so out of the loop. I couldn’t help feeling like this had shades of Connor written all over it—me sitting around twiddling my thumbs waiting until he decides I’m worth his time. I could feel myself getting flustered, and I realized I needed to clear my head.

Sky glanced at her watch and then scrunched up her face. "Fuck. We need to do a soundcheck, and we need to do it like right now."

"Yeah, this is a huge show tonight." Kev raked his fingers through his blonde hair. "Our set has to be pitch perfect."

I’d told myself I was intent on letting Jax contact me first, but since he hadn’t been with the band and he hadn’t called me all day, I decided that it’d be a good idea to check in with him. "I'll call him and see if he answers for me." I pulled out my phone and dialed his number. My nose wrinkled when it went straight to voicemail. "Hey Jax, just here with the band. You're needed for soundcheck. Either give me a call or I guess you can just meet up with them inside. Okay. Bye."

I hung up, dismayed by how weird my voice sounded in my ears. I tried being as nonchalant as possible, but I couldn't help sounding a little rattled.

Sky tilted her head quizzically. "That's not good. This is our first outdoor gig of the tour, so he knows we need him for a soundcheck."

"I have faith he'll turn up," I said, unsure of the words as they left my mouth.

"Let's hope so," Sky said with a calmness in her voice that belied her visible irritation. "Well, Jax or no Jax, we need to do a soundcheck now. It'd be nice if he graced us with his presence." She paused. "Riley, would you have time to search The Roman to see if he’s off hiding anywhere?"

"Will do."

"Thanks!" Sky said as they hopped off the bus, all of them mumbling concerns about Jax's whereabouts.

Slightly troubled, I packed up my work and left the bus shortly after them to seek out Jax. I had no luck asking the roadies, and a hopeful search of the venue turned up squat. It was getting close to showtime, so I had no choice but to reluctantly inform the band of the bad news.

I clenched up my fists and headed toward the stage, rueing this feeling of failure. Jax’s disappearing act upset me, and this prolonged silence was starting to cut into me deeply. How would we ever be able to resolve our issues together if his immediate reaction was to run away? If this was how he dealt with all of his problems, I didn’t know how long I could endure it.

As I grudgingly approached the stage, I heard the disjointed music from the soundcheck along with the band’s grumblings into the mics as they voiced their frustrations about Jax not being around to offer up his input and expertise. A roadie sang and played guitar in Jax’s stead, but he was woefully underwhelming in every aspect. At the same time, the film crew prepped their cameras and lighting equipment to record the concert video and the director cursed up a storm about having to guess the camera angle positioning for Jax's towering physique.

I grimaced listening to the band struggle, but the first opportunity I had, I waved to get their attention. They all stopped playing and looked at me with high expectations written all over their faces.

"Any luck?" Sky asked, her brow raised optimistically.

I wrung my fingers and shook my head slightly. "Sorry, I couldn’t find him anywhere. He just vanished."

Glowering, Kev tossed his guitar down and stormed off the stage.

"Thanks anyway, Riley," Sky said, as she and Chewie called it quits a bit more gracefully and disappeared backstage.

I gnashed my teeth together. Jax's absence was getting even more disturbing. Him not being here for soundcheck was already interfering with tonight's performance, and it wasn't like him to put the band on the backburner.

The second they left the stage, the audience started piling in and I decided to follow the band backstage to sweat it out with them.

I flashed my VIP badge at the security guard and headed past the darkened wings of the sidestage. At the green room door, I knocked on it and then peeked my head through. They were all moping around on black leather couches.

I felt like apologizing to them for Jax’s disappearance since I had made him more upset when I tried talking to him. Still, I wasn't ready to share the intimate details of our relationship with the band.

"Anybody get a call from him?" I asked.

"Nope," Kev said, idly strumming an acoustic guitar.