Dark Dream (Love in Illyria Book 1) Read online

  "It shouldn't matter," he said.

  "It shouldn't," David agreed. "But after you guys make the hard choices and kept only the best, it's a popularity contest. I'm a little surprised Carter picked her, when he must have known the audience wouldn't root for the rich girl. Hell, I felt a little sorry for her when I saw her anti-sobstory."

  "You felt sorry because she's rich?"

  David let out a bark of laughter. "Yeah. How fucked up is that?"

  Very. The media circus skewed the value system. He had fought hard to keep his life away from that media circus. Maybe he should meet Vy's father to see if he could extricate himself from the three years contract with IBC.

  "I hope she's strong enough," David said more soberly.

  "What do you mean?"

  "Carter will need to make a statement that he was the best. He will probably show her off to the extent that no one will even remember who won this year."

  He hoped that was all Carter had in store for Vy. He feared he was going to take her to his bed. To feed on her for inspiration, as he'd done so many times over the years. The only exception had been Christine. Carter's unrequited love for Andrew's wife had fueled more Waves songs than any other woman.

  "Marvin's voice is too suave. He doesn't mesh well with their style," he said.

  David continued his thought. "But I know who does."

  "Bryce Meisner," they said at the same time.

  "Do they have an agent or anything?" David asked.

  "No," he said smiling. "They're just a bunch of kids who play together. I asked Mickey Spencer how they got to sing to the Summer Festival. They emailed recordings of themselves."

  "Then? What do we do? Wanna talk to Vy about it? You can probably find her with Carter."

  The smile froze on his face. Even if Vy was in Carter's studio and not in his bed, she was out of his life. If David's assumption was correct, and he believe it was, Vy was going to be on the radio, on television and on billboards all over the country thanks to Carter's publicity machine.

  "We can email them," he said. "I talked to Bryce about working with him when the season ended."

  "He never sang in a band," David said.

  "Let's ask him. Before we email the kids."

  "We should stop referring to them as kids," David said. "We hated when people called us that."

  He remembered well. He hadn't wanted Lilah to think of him as a kid. But he was a kid back then, and they were kids for him now.

  David laughed, and he shared the thought. "They don't have an agent, but I bet we're going to deal with Paul Cesara before signing them."

  Of course they would. Vy was no longer in the band, but there was another Cesara still there. Meeting her younger brother would be just as interesting as meeting her father. He was tempted to back off, but Diane's picture smiled at him from the desk again. He had promised her Vanilla Velvet for Christmas, and he was going to deliver.

  Chapter 17

  Andrew

  He let David take them to the recording booth. Bryce and the Vanilla Velvet kids had a serious case of hero worship. His presence there would affect their performance. He was curious to hear their new sound, as raw and uninhibited as possible. They had had a few sessions together, but that was going to be their first time recording in that configuration.

  Sebastian Cesara had the swagger of an experienced drummer. He could see his own drummer look fondly at the goth kid who made himself comfortable, checking the drum kit. The others found their places more awkwardly, even Bryce who had already recorded in that studio.

  The girl was almost invisible in her corner. Alice's ability to blend into the background didn't match the others' attitude.

  When they started playing, his concern faded away. They were still rough around the edges, but they sounded well together. He sat at the back of the control room, in a corner of shadow and listened to them in silence, talking to David when the microphone was off.

  Two hours later, David put an end to their session.

  "That's enough for now, guys," David said. "Let's have a break."

  He went into the recording booth to meet them. Their reaction confirmed he had made the right call not to tell them he was there. Most musicians who loved his music had this awed look on their face when he walked into a room. The younger they were, the more visible the reverence.

  "Hey, this is a nice surprise," Bryce said shaking his hand.

  "I wanted to hear the new sound," he said. "Good session, guys."

  "Thank you, Mr. King," Sebastian said. "It means a lot coming from you."

  The admiration in the young man's voice made him uncomfortable. After all these years, he hadn't gotten used to being an icon.

  "Call me Andrew," he told them.

  Bryce made the presentations, and he shook hands with James, Bruno, Sebastian and Alice. The respect in their eyes was unanimous. Not that he had any doubts, but it made him retreat back into himself. Working with him for a while should tone it down, but at that moment it was difficult to deal with it.

  "I wish Vy was here," Sebastian said.

  His heart stopped for a moment, and he had to voluntarily relax his facial muscles.

  "Because she loves your music," Alice said. "Not instead of Bryce," she added with a gently reprimanding glance at Sebastian.

  "Oh, shit," Sebastian said looking at Bryce. "I didn't mean instead of you, of course."

  "No worries, man," Bryce said. "Your sister was the same way in the House."

  He forced his lips into a vague smile. Bryce was right. Vy was the speak-first-think-later type.

  "How are you getting along with your new lead vocal?" he asked.

  "If he lets his hair grow a little more and shaves his beard it's like she never left," Sebastian said, slapping his hand on Bryce's shoulder.

  The burst of laughter from the band dispelled the tension.

  "And I thought she was the funny one," Bryce said.

  "Did she say that?" Sebastian exclaimed. "I am the funny and the attractive one."

  For all his chipper attitude, Andrew could sense that Sebastian missed his sister and he would have preferred her to be there, instead of Bryce.

  "Any advice for us?" James Castellano asked.

  Talking about music calmed him down. He didn't need Sebastian's slip-ups to remind him of Vy.

  Vy

  Sebastian tried to sound cool on the phone when he told her about recording in King's studio.

  "Andrew is so amazing," he said. "And that was just the first session. I can't wait to go to the studio again. I can't believe he takes so much time with us!"

  "He does because you're good, dummy," she said.

  "I know we're good, Viola," he said. "But he is Andrew King. The King. I mean… I can't believe it! He's… real!"

  The knock on the door gave her a good pretext to end the call.

  "Gotta go," she said. "Alice is here."

  She ran to the door to welcome her best friend in her tiny apartment.

  "This whole studio could fit in your room," Alice said at the end of the tour.

  "You're exaggerating."

  Alice gave her that patient grownup look and shook her head slightly.

  "Of course I am," Alice said. "It's fine, Vy. Why are you so stressed out?"

  "I feel weird. Being in the city every day. It doesn't feel like my place is here."

  "So? Come back. Your parents would be happy to have you back."

  "I'm not so sure about that. They seemed kind of hurt when I left."

  "If that's all that's keeping you here, I can guarantee you that they'll be ha-"

  "It's not the only thing" she said. "I couldn't do this to Carter."

  "A-ha! We're getting somewhere."

  Vy rolled her eyes. "It's not what you think."

  "What do I think?" Alice asked.

  "I don't like him that way," Vy said. "Sometimes I think I don't like him at all."

  "You think you owe him something," Alice said.

/>   "I do owe him something. Besides, we have a contract."

  "How long do you think it would take your father to tear through whatever contract you have with Carter? He wrote the damn things to begin with. It's not a piece of paper holding you there. It's your own sense of duty. You gave him your word and you're going to stick to it."

  Her friend was right. She wasn't afraid of TC. She owed him loyalty.

  "Will you come to the see me when I sing at Dusk?" Vy asked.

  She had to talk to the club's manager that afternoon, but TC had told her it was a done deal.

  "Of course. How could I miss a night out in one of Orsino's finest clubs?"

  "One of the finest... is a matter of taste."

  "Don't spoil it for me. I've been legally allowed to drink for two years and that will be my first time at a night club. I think it's about time to enjoy the right to get drunk."

  "And vote."

  "Of course!" Alice said. "That's what I'm looking for the most. Next year's elections, I'll be the first in line express my vote."

  "You know you will, " she said laughing. "Come on, let's go to the studio. TC is recording with the Waves today."

  "You sure you want me there?" Alice asked, with an unexpected tremor in her voice.

  She turned to look at her curiously.

  "Why would you even ask that?"

  Alice shrugged. "It's your new life there. I'm part of your old life."

  "Don't be silly. You're my best friend and that's not going to change whatever life I'm in. Don't you want to come?"

  "Of course," Alice said unconvincingly.

  Vy had an odd feeling in the pit of her stomach. These few months spent apart had put an unexpected distance between her and Alice.

  "I promised you that I'm going to introduce you to TC ever since the audition," she said. "Let me make good on my word."

  "You and your word! They say never meet your heroes. You handled meeting yours damn well but I-"

  A blush crept over her cheeks, and Alice picked up on it immediately.

  "Vy?" Alice asked. "Is there anything you haven't told me?"

  She ignored the question, and sat down to lace up her trainers.

  "Come on," she said. "We'll be late."

  #

  Sebastian had described the gorgeous old building that housed King's music studio, but Alice didn't say anything about the awkwardly modern building where was Carter's studio. She didn't much like the bright neon or the smell of whitewash, but they were now part of her life with Carter. They renovations they were doing to a part of the building meant that they had to avoid piles of building materials stacked more or less safely along the walls.

  She couldn't wait to finally introduce Alice to TC. He had been Alice's favorite singer and actor for years.

  Carter was usually in the control room before she got to the studio, but when she yanked on the handle she found it locked. She jiggled the handle and scowled.

  "Weird," she said. "It's never locked."

  She went to the next door "I hope the recording booth is unlocked or we'll have to wait for him to show up."

  "Yay, it's open," Vy said opening another door. "Come on in."

  She opened the door and hit the switch by the door to turn on the lights. She held the door open for Alice.

  "This is the world beyond the looking glass," she said.

  Alice smiled, and went inside, looking at the soundproofed walls. Her friend's eyes rested on the glass that made up half of the wall separating the recording booth from the mixing room. The lights were usually off in the control room, making it look like a dark mirror. TC believed in full immersion, and he never spoke while she sang.

  "Want to give it a try?" she asked, pointing to the microphone.

  "No, thank you," Alice said. "That's your thing."

  She sat on her usual stool in front of the mic, while Alice walked around the small room, touching the musical instruments strewn about. She rapped her nails on each of the cymbals of the drum kit in rapid succession.

  "Take your pick," she said when Alice stopped in front of the six guitars neatly stored in the stand.

  She barely contained her excitement to witness Alice's reverence when she ran her fingers along their edges. No one in the world could appreciate those instruments better than Alice. She stopped before touching the last one. The acoustic guitar which Carter rarely used to accompany himself while singing. They had only seen him use it a few times on fan made recordings of his more bohemian Viaverde concerts.

  "You've always been generous with your toys," Alice said without picking up any of them.

  "What else is there to do with toys?" she asked.

  Alice shrugged. "Collect them?"

  "Mint in box? No, thanks. Toys are for playing.

  She started to sing, and habit compelled Alice to pick up a guitar and accompany her. She smiled to see Alice cradle the neck of the acoustic guitar in her left hand. She hadn't realized how much she missed to hear Alice's soul on the chords of a guitar. They were like two pieces of a whole, and they clicked again, as so many times over the years.

  She sang Layla, the song with which they had discovered the Unplugged sessions many years earlier.

  Alice's fingers moved lightly on the beautiful instrument. She would always love the high octane electric versions of their songs, but she knew that Alice's real love were the acoustic versions.

  "Another one?" She asked when the last notes faded away, unwilling to let go of their reunion.

  "Sure," Alice said and the first notes of Free Fallin' filled the room.

  She smiled while she sang another of the first songs they had mastered together.

  She's a good girl…

  When the song ended, Alice stood up. She sat the guitar reverently back in its stand. They both jumped when they heard TC's voice coming through the room's sound system.

  "You're early."

  Alice seemed to freeze with her back to the dark window. She decided to bicker with Carter a little to give her friend time to collect herself.

  "It's not even half past ten!" she said peering into the mirror-like surface. "You said to be here at 11!"

  "I didn't say I'll come here at 11," Carter said. "I just told you to be here at 11."

  "We finished at 3 in the morning," Vy said and she stood up. "Is the door still locked?"

  He answered after a long pause. "No."

  She rolled her eyes and opened the door. Alice hurried out, leaving her to turn off the lights.

  "Ready?" Vy asked, with her hand on the handle again.

  Alice nodded with a frozen grin on her face and looking just a little bit like she wanted to run away.

  The door opened with a loud squeak. Going from the bright yellow light to the dimness of the control room blinded her for a moment. The only light came from a lamp affixed to the mixing table. Under that faint light, TC's hands were flying over sheet music. Alice averted her eyes as if she didn't want to spy on him creating one of the very songs she loved.

  There were three empty chairs in the room. On the small table on the far side of the room the stack of pizza boxes from the night before were piled up next to many cardboard coffee cups.

  Vy turned on the light, and TC squinted up at them.

  He seemed surprised to notice that she wasn't alone. He looked Alice up and down and seemed oddly impressed. He usually went into flirt mode pretty quickly, but there was nothing light and flirty in the way he stared at Alice.

  "This is my best friend, Alice Lewis," she said. "She's a big fan."

  "Nice to meet you," Alice said.

  Carter shook Alice's hand, and Vy watched the rest of the dialog with the weird feeling that something was off, but she couldn't pinpoint what it was.

  "Were you in her band?" Carter asked.

  "Yes," Alice answered.

  Alice was looking at TC with an unexpected lack of admiration. Vy had expected her 30-year-old friend trapped in a 20-year-old body to be at least a little sta
r struck around a man whose songs she adored.

  "Do you want me to sign something for you?" he asked in one of the most annoying tones of voice Vy had ever heard from him. Not to mention he always offered to get a selfie with pretty girls.

  "Oh, no," Alice said. "I already have Vy's autograph."

  Vy closed her eyes and expected Carter to blow a fuse. She saw that vein in his temple begin to throb. It usually took her at least an hour of not improving as much as he wanted to get him in that state and Alice had done it in under a minute.

  She opened one eye when Carter dismissed them in a far more decent tone than she had expected.

  "Since she got here early, the superstar can give you a tour of the studio," he told Alice, and then he turned to her with a scowl. "Be back here at 11."

  "Sorry," she said when they were back in the hallway. "He's usually more user-friendly with new people."

  "How can someone like him write White T-shirt?" Alice asked, shaking her head.

  Vy looked back at the closed door. Sometimes she wondered where did Carter get all that love out and infuse his songs?

  Chapter 18

  Vy-

  Jeanne Trell, the manager of Dusk, wore a long black dress. Vy recognized a Pellerin creation. She and Alice had gone dress shopping with Leonie the month before at House Pellerin. They had both found the dress gorgeous, but too dramatic for either of them.

  "When I first contacted you about a set here," Jeanne said, "I hadn't realized that TC was going to be so involved in the project."

  What the hell did that mean?

  "Is this good or bad?" she asked directly

  "I'm not sure yet," Jeanne replied. "I liked your voice, and I was very curious to see you with Vanilla Velvet. Your old videos became very popular while you were on the show."

  She straightened her back. Carter had signed her alone, and even if he hadn't, her friends were on a new path.

  "You can still ask them," she said. "The band is reforming."

  "Good to know. I will keep an eye out for them. The band was fine, but you were the reason for my interest."

  "Here I am," she said.

  "TC demanded that you are the main event at least once a month, for three months. At New Year's you will open for the Waves, but January to March, you will have one night to yourself."