it’s weird that she’s like that, don’t you think?”
“Yeah. Kinda.” I felt so disloyal right now, but I was struggling with this.
“I’m here if you need to talk. Things between us haven’t been great, but I’m never going to say or do anything to hurt you or someone you care about. I just want to help, in whatever way I can.”
“I know. I appreciate it.”
“Come on, hang out with me for a while. We don’t have to talk about any of that, but we can talk while I check the doors and exits. Did you hear what Eli Horowitz did?”
Eli was a guy we’d gone to high school with, and I hadn’t heard his name in fifteen years. “Uh, no. I don’t really keep up with the people we went to school with.”
“Well, let me fill you in on the old neighborhood.”
30
Ariel
Tyler was gone when I got back to our suite, so I’d just opened my phone to text him when I saw multiple texts from Lexi.
LEXI: The shit is hitting the fan. Are you around?
LEXI: I should be going to bed, but I’m wide awake. I can’t sleep.
I sank onto the edge of the bed and called her instead of texting.
“Hey.” Lexi answered on the first ring.
“What’s going on?”
“Have you seen the social media explosion about Stu?”
“No! I was out at the pharmacy…” My voice trailed off. I didn’t want to make this about me, even though I had big news. “What happened?”
“Looks like your dad or Darren have made the accident front page news again, talking about how Nobody’s Fool’s lead guitarist is a murderer and how no record company should sign us…”
I groaned. “Fuck. I’m so sorry. I have so much going on, so much to do…”
“I also got an email earlier today.”
“What kind of email?” My gut clenched painfully; whatever this was, it couldn’t be good.
“Whiplash has decided to exercise their right to force me to do another Special Kay album. As per the contract.”
“Are you serious?” I got to my feet and started to pace. “Who told you? Darren?”
“Of course not. The legal department requested a meeting. I told them I was busy and then they responded quoting language from the contract and saying they’d been willing to let it go when it looked like Nobody’s Fool would be signing to the label, but now that we’re not, they need me to fulfill my contractual obligation.”
“But I thought you bought yourself out of it?”
“I bought myself out of finishing the tour. The remaining album I owed them has always been on the table, but we had a kind of handshake agreement. Now it’s going to get ugly.”
“I’m so sorry.” I didn’t know what to say. I felt terrible, but this was my father’s doing, and though it was because of me, I hadn’t done anything wrong. Hell, now that I knew what I knew, I was the one who’d been wronged for the last eight years or so.
“I’ve got a meeting with my attorney in the morning,” Lexi said, “but I can’t sleep so I’m downstairs watching TV without the sound on because Zaan has to sleep. He has a game tomorrow.”
“Listen, there’s a lot going on. I’m going to give you the basics, and then I have to go, because I need to make some calls myself.” I told her what had happened at the pharmacy and my medications and she was shocked.
“Oh my god, Ariel, you have to tell your lawyer right away!”
“I will. But listen, do me a favor, and don’t tell anyone. Not yet, okay? Not even the band. I need to talk to Madeline and to Tyler, and then make a plan of attack. We can’t risk anyone finding out until I’m ready. Even though I know my dad has been lying to me, it’s going to be hard to prove he’s been giving me the wrong pills because the label on the outside of the bottle is right. Which means my dad is getting the prescription and then switching out the pills before he gives me the bottles. We usually do a ninety-day supply, so this has been very carefully calculated, and I have to be careful.”
“I hate keeping anything from the guys, but I won’t say anything until you’ve had a chance to sort it out on your end.”
“Thank you. I love you, and I’m going to do everything in my power to make this right,” I said softly.
“I love you, too,” she said.
We disconnected, and I immediately