“Is he okay? How do you know him?”
Did it matter? I didn’t have to explain anything to him.
“He needs something to eat, and like he told you earlier, we don’t know each other. Not really.”
“So why does he want you to look after him and not me?” His friend took a step towards me.
“Hey, calm the fuck down. You’d have to ask him that, but he needs some space, and he needs sugar. So, if you’ll excuse me.”
He grabbed my arm as I turned to leave. “He’s not your friend.”
I shrugged out of his grasp. “Don’t fucking touch me. I’ve done nothing to upset him, but if you don’t take a step back...”
I left the sentence unfinished. He could draw his own conclusions, and he backed off. Guess I still had it in me, although I’d not been in a brawl for years.
Not that I’d have hit him, but I’d done nothing wrong. I was just trying to help.
“Killian. You need to be up on stage,” the bartender reminded me.
Fuck. I really didn’t want to leave him. I was torn, but I was there to do a job, not be a nursemaid.
“Give me a minute.” With his friend now seated, I found the chocolate bar I was looking for. Fuck knows how long it had been in there, but it’d do the job.
I headed back to Harvey, pleased to see him still there. I knelt in front of him and handed him the chocolate. “Look, I have to go sing now. Will you stick around? I’d like to make sure you get home safe. Can you do that for me?”
I tilted his chin so I could look at him, but he shrank back against the sofa, a terrified look on his face.
“Hey, I’m not going to hurt you. Please wait here. For me.”
Relief swarmed me when he nodded. I went to pat him on the knee but decided against it and walked to the bar.
“Keep an eye on him for me, will you?” I asked one of the staff members. “He took a fall earlier.”
“Yeah, no problem, Killian. I’ll make sure he’s okay.”
Relieved, I headed to the stage.
“Good evening, ladies and gents. Tonight’s set will be a little shorter than usual, so I’ll just get to singing.”
I’d usually have been there for a couple of hours. I’d sing a couple of songs, take a break, and then sing a few more, but tonight, I’d leave after my first set.
I started with my usual:Breakeven. I always held the crowd in the palm of my hand when I sang that, and this evening was no different. I sang a couple more, then handed over to the guy who ran the karaoke.
“I’ll not be coming back later,” I shouted above the noise.
Jesus fucking Christ, some people shouldn’t be handed a microphone, I thought as I watched a man butcher a Queen song.
“I can cover. Don’t worry. Big plans?” He raised an eyebrow.
“Not tonight, my friend.” I patted him on the back and walked over to where Harvey still sat. I was surprised to still see him there.
“You have a beautiful voice,” he said, his eyes closed.
I huffed. “I wish an agent thought so.”
His eyes flickered open. “Few can singBreakevenas well as you. Not even Danny.”
“You know The Script?” A lot of punters knew the band, but not everyone knew the lead singer’s name.