“Fuck you,” Abby snapped at me. “They’re my friends too.”
“How the hell am I supposed to know that?” I asked.
“You’re not. There’s no reason for us to be talking. Why did you come here?”
“To get answers,” I said. “I just told you that. What’s got you drinking alone in a bar?”
“None of your business,” she said.
Abby stood up and grabbed her glass.
She finished the rest of her beer.
She shook her head.
“What?” I asked.
“You know, I was going to talk to Toby about some stuff. But I’ll ask you. What the fuck happens with this song? Do I get paid to sing it live? Do I get paid each time it’s streamed? Huh? It’s my voice. I have the best fucking voice of the three. Without me, you have no fucking song, Reed.”
She was getting angry.
For no reason.
I slowly smiled.
I remembered when she used to get all flustered and angry over something. And she’d ramble forever over it until I would kiss her to shut her up.
No way I was going to do that now.
“Because if you’re going to just fucking use me… fuck you. Fuck you and the entire band. I’m tired of getting used and tossed aside, okay? I know my talent. Do I want to sing in a barbershop quartet thing for the rest of my life? No. But I like what I do. For the most part. I mean, today sucked. But whatever.” Abby waved her hands. “Fuck. I’m making a point here. I want to be paid for my voice. The right way. Not to be used and left and…”
She was beyond flustered.
I slowly stood up.
She looked up at me. “And I’m being serious. You’re good for the money. Don’t think I don’t know you’re rich. And you picked me. So you pay up now. Got it? You… shit… isn’t this the part where you kiss me to shut me up?”
Abby gasped.
She put her hand to my chest.
“I didn’t mean that, Reed. Not like…”
I grabbed her hand from my chest. “Take a breath, honey.”
Abby took a deep breath.
“I have no fucking idea how the legal things work with the song,” I said. “But you want to get paid? Fine. You’re going to get paid. If I have to give up part of my rights to the song, I will. Sound good?”
“I didn’t ask for that, Reed,” she growled.
“Now, what the hell happened today?”
“What?”
“Something happened today. Was it the studio? I had to get in and get out of there. What the fuck did you want me to do, Abby? You showed up drunk and threw up. I kept you alive and fed you. That’s all I needed to do.”
“It wasn’t the studio,” she said.
She backed away.
“Then tell me,” I said.
“No.”
She turned and walked away.
I reached for some cash to pay the bartender.
I didn’t need to drink for free.
I spotted the napkin and pen on the bar.
I quickly scribbled my name and a thanks for the beer.
Then I went to chase after Abby like a damn idiot.
She was right out back.
Standing against the building with her arms crossed.
Damn near pouting.
I looked at her and it was a crazy mix of emotions.
Memories tried to fuck with me.
Reality was tough to breathe in.
My eyes told my heart to tell my brain that she was beautiful.
My mind responded with no fucking shit… everyone who looks at her can see that.
This wasn’t about looks.
Or the past.
Or her body…
“So something shitty happened to you today and you’re going to hold it in?” I asked.
“Why the hell would I talk to you, Reed?”
“Why not? I’ve been around for a few of your bad days.”
“And you’ve missed quite a few too,” she said, looking at me.
“You didn’t tell your friends.”
“No.”
“Why?”
“It doesn’t matter,” she said.
She pushed from the building and I touched her arm. “Look, honey, I’m not exactly sure what I’m doing here. That text message you sent… so proper, it was bullshit. You’re embarrassed you showed up the way you did. I’ve seen you puke before. I’ve seen you drunk. I’ve seen it all, okay? Right now you look hurt. You look taken back. And you’re a little freaked out over song royalties…”
Abby knocked my hand away from her arm.
“Some guy grabbed my ass today, okay?”
“What?” I asked.
Oh, hello there, little spark of jealousy…
“It’s… it wasn’t even that he did it. It was the way he talked. And the way he acted in front of his family, you know?”
“Wait a second,” I said. “Who grabbed your ass? What are you talking about?”
Abby shut her eyes. “We had a birthday to go to. To sing. We were dressed as princesses.” She opened her eyes. “Okay? The father of the girl was this sick pervert. His wife was taking pictures and he was touching my ass. It just…” She sighed. “That little girl was so happy we were there. And then at the end, he asked me how much to…”
“To what?” I asked, my lip curling with anger.
“Nothing.”
“How much to… what?” I asked.
“To sleep with me,” she said. “Okay?”
“So this married guy offered to pay you extra to fuck you while you wore a princess costume?” I asked.
“Wow, Reed,” she said. “That’s one way to put it.”
“I’m just saying the truth,” I said. “And that’s fucked up, Abby. You don’t deserve that.”
Abby laughed and clapped her hands together. “There it is. You finally said something right. I don’t deserve it. That’s right. I don’t deserve it. And there’s plenty of other times I didn’t deserve it either. Right?”
Now she was throwing knives at me.
Going for my heart. And my memory.
I watched her wipe the corners of her eyes.
She turned and walked into the night.
I didn’t chase after her.
I just stood there and thought.
Thinking wasn’t a good thing for me.
Thinking led to decisions.
And decisions led to my life changing.
I wasn’t going to let Abby change my life again.
But maybe it was already too late for that.
I went back to Jay’s place to crash for the night.
I just needed the noise and the people.
He and Sab were in the pool, playing a game of who could stay under the water longest…
They were enjoying a little underwater snack.
I went to the bar and got caught up on some whiskey drinking.
I tossed back three shots to start.
I noticed Dex wasn’t around.
He must have bolted to hang with Candice.
When I saw Nash, he was sitting on the top of the hot tub while Liv was in it.
She was fully clothed.
Too bad.
I grinned.
I got another shot.
Then one more for the road.