Chapter 47

After Christmas, a month or so after Carlisle blew through town, promising to keep in touch and making sure I knew I could call him for anything, Emmett booked his biggest gig yet, now that he had a good amount of original songs.

It was truly a dream of his come true, opening for the headliner at The Ogden Theater. It was a much bigger space than he'd ever played before, so the hunt was on for backing musicians.

We held auditions for two days at the coffee shop and ended up with a bass player and drummer.

I was super nervous about the gig, and pored over every detail of the contract and the venue specs making sure everything was settled and perfect for him. I did not want to fuck this up.

Rosalie volunteered her cousin and his van to help the guys setup and breakdown. That made me extremely happy as it was the thing I hated most to help with.

We agonized over his set list for weeks, cutting, adding, trying to get it right. It was well known that a few bands had been discovered there, and I was hoping that maybe someone would be at the theater to discover him.

He was ready.

The night of the show, he was nervous but excited. We hung out in the green room, which was really just a small, dingy room covered in graffiti with dim lighting. Someday, he'd be in the big show green rooms like the ones we'd experienced, with nervous girls spilling water and fumbling to wait on him.

I couldn't help but smile at the idea, scrapbook pages of Edward flipping through my mind, but exiting quickly as they'd begun to do.

The crowd was somewhat thin, but that was to be expected when not headlining. We were still pleased to see it was a lot more than we ever saw at the little shops and bars he'd been playing. Several of Emmett's groupies were there, and they stood on the floor in front of him cheering loudly.

The euphoria of being in a venue that size brought forth all my emotions. Ones that I wasn't sure I'd ever get back. The feeling of being in the middle of something. Something that was bigger than you and sucked you in and took you for the ride.

Rosalie and I held onto each other's arms in a death grip, adrenaline flowing and our smiles so big watching our boy out there. I might've squealed at one point, like the groupie I was born to be. He filled the stage with his presence, dimples amplified under the lights as he talked to the crowd and I'd never seen Emmett so 'on'.

In my gut, in my soul, there was a feeling. I knew that when I looked back in my old age, that I'd remember this as being the moment our lives changed.

Again, I couldn't help but think of Edward. Wondered just what that moment was for him.

Tried to envision an early version of him, in a small place that felt so big because it was new. I wanted to know if he was ever that awed musician and humble human being just starting out.

Where had he turned? What or where or who was it that made him The Dragon? Was it fame or just simply him? Watching Emmett up on stage, I vowed I'd do my best to make sure Emmett never got to that point.

When his set ended, we celebrated. Loud and late and loaded. Watched the main band and joined them at the bar when they were done.

I woke to a pounding head and my body half laying on the couch the next afternoon. I groaned, trying to think of how many cocktails I'd consumed. Despite the jackhammer headache, a smile materialized across my face, the emotions of the night before still present.

"Hey, Bella?" Emmett whispered from the kitchen. "You up?"

"Obviously you see my eyes open so I think that's a yes." I sat up, yawned, made sure my top was straight. "Hey, superstar!"

He practically jumped on me, smiling like a schoolboy before settling next to me and rubbing his stubbly chin. "Sorry, I'm still on a high."

"Me too. Good job, Em. Truly a great show."

We made small talk about the backup musicians and the hopes that this was going to lead to something big. We knew reviews would be hitting the underground local music rags soon.

"Oh my God!" Rosalie stood up from her kitchen chair, excitedly looking at her phone and squealing. "You'll never guess!"

"What?" Emmett demanded. "Reviews?"

"Better." She looked at us with a gleam in her eye, held up her phone and waved it excitedly. "Your old boss was there last night."

I looked at Emmett, confused. Why would Carlisle not let us know he was there? And then she continued.

"THE Edward Cullen was at your show!"