When his phone vibrated, he jumped up and dropped his stick to the floor.
“There she is again,” Nash said.
“Give it up, bro,” Reed said.
Sab lifted his middle finger without looking from his phone.
“We should just write WELCOME on his forehead,” Jay said.
“Why?” Dex asked.
“He’s a fucking doormat,” Jay said. “Not even getting pussy for all this attention. Fuck that.”
“Jay,” Reed said.
Jay looked at me. “What? You have a problem with the way I talk, Abby?”
“No,” I said.
“She’s been around it all,” Nash said. “Those old nights are coming back to me.”
“The days before we ruled the world,” Dex said.
“Wait a second,” Sab said. He looked from his phone. “You were there one night and then gone the next…”
“That’s enough of going down memory lane,” Reed said. “Are we done with the song?”
“Works for me,” Nash said. “The execs have it in their hands. From there, Toby is working on some kind of release plan. They hired some big time PR firm that specializes in social media.”
“Boring,” Jay called out. “Get to the whiskey and pussy.”
“Wow, Jay,” Reed said. “Didn’t get laid last night?”
“Don’t worry about me,” Jay said. “You two are glowing the ass off a firefly.”
“What?” I asked.
Jay laughed. He stood up and put his guitar down. “Bravo, Abby. You fucked your way from stupid to a payday and back to the studio. I commend you.”
“Jay, don’t be a fucking dick,” Nash said.
“What did I do now?” Jay asked.
Reed touched my hand. “Come with me, honey.”
We left the recording studio and went into the hallway.
“What was that about?” I asked.
“Everything you talked about,” Reed said.
“Meaning what?”
“Meaning I listen to you. You might think I don’t. But I do. So everything you said you wanted, you got.”
“I got… what?”
“You want a cut of the song? It’s yours, honey. Out of my cut. You’re getting a bigger chunk than the other two. The band agreed to it too. You’re the best singer of the three.” Reed reached into his pocket and took out an envelope. “This is yours. Consider it an advance or some shit. I don’t know.”
“Reed, I can’t take this. They think I slept with you to get this.”
“Jay is a fucking asshole,” Reed said. “He agreed to everything too. Everyone knows how good you are. As far as the studio comment goes, yeah, I may have bent a little harder for that.”
“What does that mean?” I asked.
“Meaning you can record here or in my studio,” Reed said. “Yourself. Your group. Whatever you want to do, Abby.”
I grabbed his hand. “Why? Why are you doing all of this?”
“You’re talented and deserve it.”
“No. Reed… after all we’ve been through…”
“You really want to do this right now?” Reed asked.
My mouth went bone dry.
I took a deep breath.
“We have no choice but to do this right now.”
19
REED
We stood outside the building.
I was at my motorcycle.
Abby at her car.
The tension between us felt worse than ever.
Knowing it was going to explode over.
I just wanted her to feel safe and secure. She could take the money and do what she wanted. If she wanted to jump into a studio and write a song and face fate, then she could do that. If she wanted to cash the cheque, disappear and live off of that and the royalties, then do it.
Or if she wanted to give us a chance…
“You have to go first,” Abby said. “Last time I checked, I was the one left on the side of the road.”
I gritted my teeth. “Right. That’s the part you remember.”
“Remember? I can’t forget it, Reed. Do you know what happened to me after that?”
“No.”
“I walked. Alone. On a dark road. Cars passed me by. Trucks passed me by. A few stopped and I was just too scared to get into another vehicle. I ended up at a diner and couldn’t pay for the food I ordered. A woman working there helped me. She paid for my meal and let me stay at her place. I had to rebuild myself from nothing. Because of you.”
The words hit me. They stung. But they didn’t full on hurt me.
“That’s your story, honey?” I asked.
“My story? That’s the truth. Don’t play games here, Reed.”
I took a step. “So wait a second. Let’s rewind some more, Abby. You were the one singing in Nashville, right? And we met and-”
“You fucked me in a bathroom,” she said.
“You wanted me to,” I growled. “Is that your excuse too? I fucked you and… what? My evil dick made you follow me? This isn’t supernatural.”
“Fuck off, Reed,” Abby said. “You’re right. I went with you. Why not? I was stuck in Nashville. Playing the same places and singing the same songs. I thought I had a chance to become something. It was just empty promises over and over. But then I met you and you were…”
She turned her head.
“I was what, honey? What did I do that was so fucking wrong?”
“You were real to me,” she said. “Even fucking me in a bathroom… you were real. You didn’t hold back. You didn’t hide. I liked that about you. I respected it. I just wanted to be part of something, Reed.”
“Right there,” I said. “Think about what you just fucking said to me.”
“What?”
“Think about it,” I said.
I walked away from her.
I didn’t want to see her for a few seconds.
Or maybe the rest of my life.
I went back into the building.
Abby followed me.
I didn’t go upstairs where the rest of the band was.
I stayed on the first floor and went to the downstairs studio.
Where Abby sang her audition to be part of the new song.
“What the fuck is this, Reed?” she finally asked.
“What?” I snapped.
“You’re a baby,” she said.
“That’s the best you’ve got?”
“So we can’t talk about this? You fucked up my life. You did that. Not me. I was on the tour bus with you guys. I thought everything was perfect. We were all drinking and partying… wait… is it because of Jay? Because Jay and I were flirting? Are you kidding me?”
“It has nothing to do with Jay,” I said. “You want to go fuck each member of FILTHY LINE, have at it, honey. You’ve already spread your legs for RAUNCHY RECKS.”
Abby grabbed a chair and threw it at me.
It barely made it to my feet.
I kicked my foot and the chair hit the wall.
“What is it then?” Abby asked. “I’m telling you what I know. You woke me up and tossed me out of the bus. You all but carried me and sat me on the curb. I was half drunk and high. I wasn’t sure what was happening. I tried to talk to you and you wanted nothing to do with me.”