The Rocker

Touring with four rockers is the thing of dreams - at least that is what people tell me. To me, those four rockers are my family. They have watched over me from the time I was five years old, protecting me from my mother and her drunken, drug-addicted rages. When they made it big, they still watched over me. And when my monster of a mother died, they took over as my guardians.

Layla has had a hard life. On her own at a young age, always having to do what needed to be done just to survive. Now she has two other people depending on her, and she needs a job fast before they get evicted. A job interview introduces her to Jesse Thornton, the delicious drummer for Demon's Wings. He reminds her of all the mistakes of her past but is also her hope for the future.

I've been fighting my own demons for most of my life. The alcohol seems to numb the pain, but it never makes the nightmares go away. All I want in life is a little peace. When I met my angel, it felt like I found it, but there is so much standing between us. Why does she have to be so young?

I was the fun loving, easy going, different girl - okay, different girls every night - Demon. One look into a pair of violet eyes and all of that changed. She doesn't even realize how beautiful she is, and that makes me want her even more. Realizing that she is just as damaged as I am breaks my heart. Harper is a part of me, my other half. If only she would open her incredible eyes and see how I feel....

I had big dreams of how I wanted my life. Becoming a rock star was all I wanted. It would solve so many of my problems. With the money that I would make, I was going to take care of my mom - get her out of the hellhole we had been living in all my life. Having your dreams come true isn't something that many people get to accomplish in life. I did, and I loved it...for about a minute.

After the nightmares of our childhoods, my guys and I have finally found the happiness we deserve. Shane is getting married; Drake and Jesse are going to be fathers; and I'm making my own career, with Nik's encouragement. It's taken a lifetime, but finally we have moved on.

I thought I had everything I needed in life. More money than I would ever spend in my lifetime. A successful band that traveled all around the world. Girls throwing themselves at me on a daily basis. A kind of pseudo family in the Demon's Wings guys and Emmie. And then she fell into my life. The second my eyes landed on the blonde bombshell with her sassy mouth and those hot piercings and tats, I knew that I'd finally found someone I wanted for life.

The marines took me from a Tennessee farm as a boy and turned me into a hard man. Between the things I'd seen during my tour of duty and the things I'd done during my years as a member of OtherWorld, nothing could faze me - nothing except for her.

A bet. Yes, I made a bet with my best friend - my now ex-best friend. It had been a stupid, heat-of-the-moment kind of thing. I'd just wanted to get her out of my system and move on. Instead I've lived to regret it ever since. I lost the girl I loved, a girl who possessed my very soul. Now I can't even get close to Natalie. She thinks all she ever meant to me was just the means to the end of a stupid, stupid game. For a bet!

From the moment I set eyes on that brown eyed, little Italian rock goddess I knew she was meant for me. But my life was too messed up to give her what she needed. So I pushed her away - right into the arms of my band's front man - only to regret it the second I saw them together. The moment they were over I tried to clean up my act and chased after that girl until she was mine. But like always, I let my demons screw with my head and went looking for my next fix.

I haven't seen that girl in seventeen years, and I've missed her every damn day. I knew I wasn't good enough for her, so the night before I left with my bandbrothers for California, I stole a night with her. I lived off those memories. There hasn't been a day that has gone by that I haven't wanted to talk to her just one more time, but I knew she deserved a better man than me. Now, after seeing her again, I realize that I didn't care if she should have a better man. My feelings were still as strong as they have ever been for her. I wanted to be with her. But she hated the very sight of me.

All I wanted was Harper's happiness, and I would move the world to give her anything she ever wanted. We've searched for answers, talked about our options, and finally - finally - found hope. Yet, just when things seemed to be perfect, it all came crashing down around us all. The one person I've always counted on to hold us together - to hold me together - was lost in her own nightmares, and I felt like I was losing everything. Everything. I wasn't going to lose the woman I loved.