him sympathetically as he walked out of the room. She had to do something before this woman ruined not only her brother, but also the band and the band members that she cared so much about.
Chapter 15
Two days later, Ashton, Colton, Jayden, and Kaylee sat in the recording studio with the band's manager, Cody. Emotions were running rampant, with no clear plan in sight. If only they knew if or when Noah was coming back.
"This is the third session in a row that he's missed, and it's all because of that hooker he's seeing," Kaylee spat. She was taking his absence the hardest. "I've been doing everything I can to make him see the damage this woman is doing, but it's almost like he's blind to her evil."
"He is blind to it, but we're not," Ashton sighed. "I just wish that there was something we could do to get him back on track. He needs to regain his focus on the band. We're losing a lot of money and wasting studio time."
Cody agreed. "The record company isn't going to wait forever for the new album. We really need to get this started, with or without Noah."
"How do you expect us to do that?" Jayden asked, irritated with the whole thing. Sure, sometimes there were things that he would rather be doing than sitting in the studio for hours on end, but he had made a commitment to the band, and at the end of the day, that was all that mattered. They all knew when they got into this that it was a more than full-time job. For one of them to slack off like this now wasn't just bad for business. It was blatant disrespect of the other band members.
"Well, I think I know someone else who can help," Cody explained. "Who knows how long it's going to take for Noah to get his priorities back? We can't keep waiting for him."
"Then let's do it. No point in talking this matter to death," Colton said, getting up from his chair and walking over to his bass guitar. He flipped open the latches with a quiet ferocity that showed just how angry he was. Jayden followed him and got behind the drum set.
"Kaylee, how's your shoulder?" Cody asked, hoping to get the answer he was looking for.
"It's getting better. I'm able to use it a lot more now. Why?" She wasn't sure she knew what he was getting at.
"Well, I know that you know how to play guitar..."
Kaylee's eyes bulged. "No, don't even think of asking me that. First of all, I'm not that good, Noah just messes around with teaching me the songs. Second of all, I doubt I can even hold a guitar for very long with my shoulder the way it is, and third...just...no."
"Come on Kaylee, please? We really need you right now. We'll start off with some easy songs, and I'll get a chair and pillow in there to help you hold the guitar up. There's a few ballads that we can record, so you won't really need to rock very hard." His eyes pleaded with her.
Kaylee looked at Ashton, who was somewhat stunned. He didn't know that Noah had taught Kaylee how to play.
"What if I'm horrible and mess everything up?" she asked, not removing her eyes from Ashton.
"Hey, if you help us get even part of a song recorded, it would be more than if we waited around for Noah," Cody told her. "Give it a try. If it doesn't work, it's no big deal, and we're no worse off than before, right?"
"But this is a big deal..."
"Not recording is an even bigger deal," Cody pointed out.
"Fine, I'll try." Kaylee gave in. She walked into the sound booth, followed by Ashton.
"I had no idea," he whispered in her ear from behind her.
"You're about to see why. I'm really not that good, so please don't laugh at me, and please don't get upset when I screw up," she pleaded.
"I wouldn't dream of it. Let's warm up." He sat her in the chair and put a pillow in her lap, then handed her a guitar.
Jayden was already banging on his drums, and Colton was slamming a smooth line on his bass. Kaylee looked up at Ashton, and after an encouraging nod from him, her fingers began to tickle the strings. He winked at her and started to warm up his throat. After a few minutes, Cody came over the intercom and said they were going to