Page 20 of Electric Touch

The label sided with keeping Riley, which meant Declan did too. We don’t stand a chance against that, so Ciro’s annoyance is misplaced, and I told him so. Again. But he wouldn’t be appeased.

“She brings nothing to this band, except her face and body.”

“Ciro,” Alessa snaps again.

“What? It’s true. Without her, nothing would change with our music. In fact, it would be better. We’re not fucking Guns n’ Roses needing a synthesised instrument. None of you see that. Especially you.” He glares at me.

“She was in the band long before you,” I say, unsure why the fuck I’m defending her.

“So fucking what?” Ciro says pulling open the door. “Founding members of bands get dumped all the time. If they’re not good for the band, they’re out. But you’re too blinded by obligation and feelings to see that.”

“Fuck you, Ciro. That isn’t what this is about.”

“She’s a viper. She’ll walk all over you and laugh as she does it. You’ve never been able to see it. But I’ve seen it. And I don’t care if I’m the only one to say it. You’re weak, Nash. Face it. You’re too scared to kick her out. Then there might not be a chance you’ll get her back.”

He barged through the door on that parting shot. Good fucking job, because I was about to punch his fucking face. Alessa may be stuck in the middle of this, but where the fuck am I? I’m the jilted lover. The idiot fighting for her to stay in the band. When all I want is to never see her face again.

Is what he’s saying true? That I want this thing with the new guy to end, so we have another chance? I’d like to think not. It is fucking clear to me Riley doesn’t feel the same. If she can cheat and walk away. She swears she didn’t cheat, but I don’t believe her. Her new relationship began far too quickly.

Ciro is wrong. I’m not weak, but I am heartbroken. Okay, maybe that makes me weak. Screw anyone who thinks I can shake off all those years of loving her. I waited for Alessa to say something, but she kept her mouth shut.

She went into the building and left me standing outside.

Now we’re all here, fractured. We’ve had enough setbacks over the last five years. Another one may break us. And that is the reason Riley should stay in the band. This line-up is the one the label signed. She is severely testing everyone’s patience right now though.

“Jack, sit your ass on a seat. This isn’t middle school.”

“Whoa, what the fuck, Dec?” Jack looks over his shoulder at our manager.

“What the fuck Jack, is I want you all to be professional. I want you all to take this seriously because this situation is fucking serious.”

Jack takes his time. He slides off the table and drops into the chair, spreading his legs. Declan shakes his head at his childish behaviour. Jack catches my eye and raises a brow, but I turn away. What does he want me to say? The label owns us. It doesn’t matter what each individual member of the band wants. We have no say in whatever we are about to hear.

It doesn’t mean I need to roll over and take it. Not if it hurts the band.

“From this point forward, a team of people employed by the label will run social media. Personal accounts will be closed.”

“What? You can’t do that!”

We all turn to Riley. She is horrified. One thing that irritated me when we were together was her addiction to social media. I never saw it before, but Riley craved validation. Followers and likes gave her that. So this is going to sting. I don’t care because I’ve already deactivated my account. Jack looks put out too, because he has a very active account.

“Riley, be quiet,” Declan orders.

I’m not the only one shocked. Dec is usually easy going. He is a straight arrow, doesn’t mess around when he goes into manager mode. On the whole, he is calm, and I consider him a friend. Seeing him like this drives home the point this is serious.

“I’ve been with you from the beginning. So I’m especially shocked by what’s going on. Some of the behaviour over the last two weeks has been fucking abhorrent.”

A snort comes from Ciro’s corner of the room. He looks at Riley. I do too. How is it she has changed so much in such a short time? She’s always been sweet, happy and kind. The old Riley would never be bitchy, as she was with her posts.

“You cannot do that,” Riley argues. “And I have done nothing wrong.”

Declan reads out two of her posts about her life being amazing now, how she is free to spread her wings, while having tons of pictures of her with the asshole. Declan briefly glances my way before he sets his phone down. Repeating any more of that shit is going to hurt. I tried to avoid it, but how could I? Especially when Dylan kept talking about it.

“This is a band. A band just starting out. Whether Red Alert has been together for years is irrelevant. When you signed with this label, you signed on as a group of six people who worked together. You support one another and don’t shit all over someone else in the group.”

Riley’s jaw works as she fights to keep her mouth shut.

“He’s not wrong,” Dylan says. “You’ve been a fucking bitch the last two weeks.”

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