Total pages in book: 92
Estimated words: 88586 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 443(@200wpm)___ 354(@250wpm)___ 295(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88586 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 443(@200wpm)___ 354(@250wpm)___ 295(@300wpm)
“I tried Gray’s cell too. No answer,” Ky said.
“I thought I saw him near the restrooms. I’ll check,” Dec offered, turning toward the hallway.
“No! Not you. You’re on next. Tegan, help,” Charlie pleaded.
I followed Dec through the press of bodies in the cramped backstage area. He moved down a narrow hallway and stopped. The crowd parted enough that I could tell he’d found Justin. I was about to turn around, when I spotted the small dragon lady with them.
“Gang’s all here! The four of us haven’t been together in years,” Xena chirped.
“What do you want, Xena?” Dec asked warily.
“Don’t be so suspicious. Justin and I were chatting about the good ol’ days.”
“No, we weren’t.”
“That’s true. We were talking about you, Tegan,” she singsonged.
“Me?”
“And Declan. I told him about this ages ago. I’m not sure he shared the news. But since we’re all here, this is perfect. I was asked to do an interview about my career after Gypsy Coma. Petra wants to feature it as a side piece to the story she’s writing about your bands. She told me she mentioned it to Declan in Austin.”
“No, she didn’t,” Dec protested, furrowing his brow.
Xena shook her head. “She was pretty clear that you talked alone in the bar for a while. Something about a Truth or Dare game.…Ring any bells? Sounds sexy. Though to be honest, that could mess with the story Charlie made up about you and Tegan. Not that anyone believes it, but hey…God bless. The things we do for publicity, am I right?”
“What are you up to, Xena?” Dec gritted his teeth.
Xena had the nerve to look offended. “I’m not up to anything. I’m warning you ’cause we’re friends. Good luck out there, boys.”
The three of us stood with our mouths open for a beat.
Justin was the first to snap out of it. He turned to Dec and growled. “What the fuck did you say to that reporter?”
“Nothing!”
“Bullshit.”
“Lower your voice,” I hissed.
Justin flared his nostrils as he clenched his fists. I could practically see steam rising from his ears. I hadn’t seen him this angry since…since that night.
“Don’t tell me you actually trust him, T. Don’t tell me you forgot already. You were there.” He stabbed at Dec’s chest with a shaky finger. “You’re really fucking good at twisting words. I know how you work, Dec.”
“Jesus, Justin.” I pushed him hard. “Shut the fuck up. You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
He whirled in an angry circle and headed backstage. The mass of people milling around parted like the Red Sea, as if sensing danger. Dec and I hurried after him and made it just in time to see him pick up a guitar stand and fling it against the wall with a roar. When Justin made his way back to me, I was ready to level him. But he took a deep breath and closed his eyes.
“I do. I do know what I’m talking about. What you forget is that he can destroy everything we’ve worked for. Everything. When we opened the door and signed Jealousy on, we let a snake in and asked it to behave. Xena doesn’t wish any of us well unless she gets a piece of the pie. So thank you for—”
“Oh, my God!” Charlie flew between us with his arms wide like a referee. “What the hell is wrong with you people? Dec, get your damn guitar. You’re on in two minutes.”
Dec cast a wary look between Justin and me, then stepped aside and grabbed his instrument. “Your problem is, you listen to her bullshit.”
“Or maybe my problem is that Tegan is suddenly listening to yours,” Justin taunted.
Dec flipped him off and headed for the stage.
Charlie stepped in front of me before I could launch myself at Justin. “I’m not messing around. Get your head on straight. Both of you. Tonight is important. Don’t let her win.”
Justin held up his hand and sighed heavily. “I’ve got a bad feeling about this. We thought he’d help launch our label, but he’s gonna ruin us.”
I shoved his chest. “Christ, you’re dramatic. Xena’s jealous. Why are you letting her get to you? Dec isn’t a liability. He’s not going to ruin what we’re building here. I promise you.”
“Right. That makes me feel so much better,” he scoffed. “I don’t know what’s going on with you two. I don’t think I want to know. But the second he betrays you, he betrays all of us. Don’t make promises you can’t keep, T.”
I don’t recommend playing angry. It could result in disaster or triumph, but rarely anything in between. Thankfully, we got lucky.
One of the best things about music was that it acted as a conduit to raw emotion. A great singer took his audience on a personal journey, highlighting all the very best and worst aspects of the human condition. Let’s get real—it wasn’t easy to connect with anyone when you were pissed. And the last thing any of us wanted was to air dirty laundry onstage in front of an LA audience chock-full of influential music folks and rabid fans. Jealousy did it with ease.