Free Backstage Pass: Behind the Music by Elizabeth Nelson Page A

lie to you about how I feel. Is that what you want?”
    No, what I wanted was for her t o be happy for me. “It’s fine, Mom.”
    “ What about a wedding?”
    “ He didn’t propose.”
    She sighed heavily and might as well have called me a moron for all that I heard in that one sound. She wasn’t even trying to be happy for me. At least Rocker Dad had been kind of happy, if not cautious.
    “ This isn’t you and Dad.”
    “ No, but the ending will be the same.”
    I gasped in utter shock and disbelief. She’d met Jesse, she knew what a great guy he was. I couldn’t believe that my being pregnant was enough for her to lose her shit over this and project her own failed marriage onto mine, especially when she’d found an awesome guy and knew that good marriages were out there. “Why can’t you just be happy?”
    “ Because you’re being a fool about this and I know that you’re going to regret it.”
    “Do you regret me, M om?”
    ***
    Sasha’s phone went to voicemail again. I’d been trying for an hour and I was really hoping she was taking a nap since we hadn’t gotten much sleep last night but an uneasiness was starting to creep into my worry.
    We hadn’t really talked about emergencies, or the pregnancy. I didn’t even know if she had a doctor she saw for that kind of thing. We were going to have to get a serious protocol in place before I left the house again. For all I knew she’d fallen and knocked her head on the counter and was lying in a pool of blood.
    “Jesse!”
    I jerked and looked up to see Tate scowling at me.
    “What the hell, man?”
    “Sorry.” I shook my head. “Wasn’t listening.”
    “Yeah, got that part. You okay?”
    I checked my phone one last time, then shoved it in my pocket. “Yeah. What else?”
    Tate ran through the rest of the details we needed to get knocked out, and most of them were pretty simple. We had a couple signings at local record stores, three interviews on the radio, and a few appearances at night club openings and one bizarre one that Scout had set up at his cousin’s tire store. But other than that, we’d tackled a good portion of Ainsley’s housekeeping stuff.
    “Is that it?” I asked as my phone vibrated in my pocket.
    As Tate started to answer, I held up my hand and fumbled for my phone, relieved to see Sasha’s number. I stepped away from the guys and answered. “Hey babe.”
    Nothing but sobbing came from Sasha’s end. Worry flooded me and I gripped the phone tighter. “Sasha? Sasha! What’s wrong?”
    She tearfully recounted most of the conversation she’d just had with her mom but I could only understand bits and pieces through the hysterical crying. I was a little surprised that her mom hadn’t been a better support, but I’d only thought about how my mom was probably going to react. Right now, I just wanted to make things better for Sasha. “What can I do? Do I need to come home right now?”
    “No.” I almost thought she’d pulled herself together and then she started sobbing again.
    “ I’m on my way.”
    She sniffled and took a shaky breath. “No. I’ll be fine. I shouldn’t have called, I was just so overwhelmed that she of all people couldn’t just be happy for me.” She drew another deep breath. “Take care of your stuff and then just come home when you’re done. I’m fine, really.”
    “You don’t sound fine.” We didn’t have much left to do today, and nothing that couldn’t be done without me. And even if there was, I could tackle it in the morning, or tonight after I got Sasha calmed down and we figured out a way to talk to her mom—and mine. “I’ll hurry.”
    “Okay.”
    We hung up and I felt a huge lump form in my stomach. I needed to go and be with her.
    Tate came over and chucked me on the shoulder. “Everything okay?”
    “No. Sasha’s a mess. I gotta go.”
    “Cool.”
    “Not cool,” Scout yelled from across the room. “This is what I was talking about. She’s going to fuck up