“What happened?” Memphis butted in when Stony and I stared at each other. Betrayal laced my skin, knowing this woman—no matter who the fuck she was—hurt Andy and it took me fucking up to see it.
“She made Andy feel unwelcome,” I started, definitely not done with her list of aggressions. Andy stayed; Andy was mine. She might have run, but we had a long discussion about everything and I was a stupid fuck for not seeing how alone she felt.
“That’s it?” Memphis questioned. “Dude, if your girl—”
“Shut the fuck up,” I hissed out, my temper hanging by a thread. “She not only made her feel unwelcome, she made it impossible for Andy to get backstage after the show.”
Candy swallowed, her cheeks reddening.
“That’s fucked up,” Carrig stated, apparently having walked up at some point.
“I didn’t mean—”
“You knew what you did,” I interrupted her excuses.
“We can’t afford to fire her,” Stony tried reasoning, but all I saw was red.
“I can afford it.” All three stared at me, their faces sweaty from the show we just finished. Andy was outside with Royce, still fucking upset because it happened again.
“Can we think about it?” Memphis asked, playing fucking Switzerland. Every part of me said no, every fiber of my being wanted to escort her off the property, every morsel of my strength was spent holding in my rage.
“I think I’ll go, let you guys talk,” Candy placated, removing her headset.
I glared at her the entire way she left, knowing she’d bump past Andy on the way out. Whether she knew it or not, Andy would beat her down in a heartbeat. Her being upset after the show was more about her insecurity than anything else.
She didn’t feel safe by my side.
That was a problem.
“What the hell was that?” Stony demanded, his face as stony as his moniker stated. His black hair almost seemed like oil with how drenched it was from the show and his skin seemed dewy too.
“She crossed the fucking line.”
Carrig nodded while Memphis went to the cooler, grabbing a bottle of Jack. He brought it toward us, taking a huge drink. He could always down whiskey like it was water. It wasn’t my favorite, but maybe the bitter tinge would settle me.
After two swigs, I felt no different. If anything, my mind agreed with my disapproval and anger more with that shit coursing through me.
“What exactly went down?” Carrig braved, drinking a sip before cringing. He didn’t prefer alcohol; his vices were more in the direction of weed and Adderall.
“The other night, Andy was at the front. The bouncer said he had a tip-off about a rowdy person and that it was Andy,” I explained, my blood nearly detonated recounting what Andy had told me. They all had varying faces of disgust and disappointment. “She was escorted outside and was only stopped because Royce was there. It happened again tonight.”
“Did the bouncer get shit?” Memphis asked, drinking more whiskey after asking.
“For what, doing his job?” Stony spit, his eyes darkening with displeasure.
Reaching into my pockets, I brought out a joint, knowing it was the good stuff. I didn’t question it as I lit up, smoking it as if it were my last.
“Royce got her back in last time , but our show already ended—she missed half of it,” I grumbled. “After we finished, she was fucking crying, and I didn’t even know about it until today when I chased her down.”
It was then I fisted my hand, having the urge to cut, punch things, and get high until I couldn’t feel my body—let alone my anger—anymore. Especially since she experienced it again tonight and I didn’t know until I didn’t spot her in the crowd.
“Shit.”
I glanced at Carrig when he said that. He shook his head, silently asking for my joint when he saw me watching him.
“That’s unacceptable,” Memphis commented. He held that fucking bottle to his chest like it was the sole hope for living. Almost as bad as me and my vices.
“We really can’t fire her,” Stony finally stated, reminding me of her contract. “If we break that contract, all of our NDAs, including hers, is null and void. She made sure her lawyer had a cancelation clause.”
“And we signed that shit?” I balked, knowing Candy being hired had nothing to do with me.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” Stony said sardonically, his tone sharp and vicious. “You were so fucking high, I thought you’d overdose.”
I shrugged, not knowing what to say. How did I apologize for losing myself? “How long is her contract for?” I accepted my defeat, slightly.
“Tour end.” With those two words, my night was ruined even more so than before.
“How the fuck am I going to deal with the way she treats Andy?” I gripped my hair, pulling as I attempted to calm myself. I’d felt unhinged since earlier when Andy was at a pub alone, with a dude who she could easily pick over me. After our time at The Door, I thought I’d feel secure, but it only made me more scared to lose her.
“She can keep her distance,” Memphis offered, his voice barely staying straight enough to pass as sober. Looking at the Jack in his arm, I noticed he’d been slurping that shit down too fast.
Carrig offered my blunt back and I took it, smoking without a second thought. It eased a bit of tension. “I swear to fuck, I won’t be nice to her.”
“Not in the contract,” Carrig said with a shrug. “Guess she shouldn’t have been a bitch.” He ran a hand through his black curls, making them seem messier. He eventually peered at me, his normally calm, evergreen eyes seemingly darker somehow.
“You good?” I couldn’t tell if he was high or angry, it seemed they looked similar on his face. That, or I didn’t notice over the years what each emotion was. It wasn’t like I stayed present most days.
“Yeah, fine,” he bit out, stealing my joint before walking away.
“He’s just going through some things,” Stony explained, lacking context. We all went through things, so I’d give him that, but it was stupid when they didn’t share. After all, I was a nosy bastard.
“Going to h-hit the r-road,” Memphis slurred, his voice all but a fucking structured sentence.
“Nah, man,” Stony argued. “I’ll get you back safe.” He stared at me, those stony eyes of his registering too many emotions to decipher.
Like Cars, his eyes told me everything.
He wanted help.
Wanted me to get my shit together.
And I needed to be better.
With a nod, I waved him off. “Royce is out there, have him take you.”
“You sure?”
“Yeah, Andy needs a breather.” She seemed on edge, and I knew exactly what my girl needed. And it wasn’t an audience of this sort.
After he left, I gave myself a few minutes to just absorb the last few weeks. Between seeing Andy for the first time in years and then my tour beginning, my life seemed so fucking hectic.
My phone buzzed in my pocket, a text from Donnie.
Chatted with Andy. She and I have a date. Have you seen her?
I wondered what he was talking about and shelved it for later to bring up. He’d been bothering me for months—if not years—about Windowless Skies. He could fucking chill.