Page 105 of Fractured Rhythm

Looks like Sebastian Clark, lead guitarist for Steelwolf, is back in the saddle with not one, but two, prime-time beauties. Where is the woman we spotted him with a few weeks ago in NYC? Variety is the spice of life.

I scrolled through the rest of the article. There were a handful of photos, each more damning than the last.

I tossed the phone on the bed.

No. No. NO.

This couldn’t be happening. Cassie had spent years thinking I’d done what I’d possibly done last night. I don’t remember taking anyone home last night, and I would never cheat on Cassie. No matter how much I had to drink, I believed that with every part of me.

“I didn’t cheat on Cassie. Fuck. I need to call her. I vaguely remember those girls were all over me and Cameron. I pushed them away. I swear, Tris. I would never do anything to hurt Cassie.”

“You spent the last seven years hurting Cassie for something that didn’t happen, and now you actually did it.”

“No. I didn’t hook up with them.”

“Sure looks like it.”

“You know everything is taken out of context.”

“You have your hand on her thigh, and the other chick’s mouth is on yours. What the hell do you think happened? They both fell on you at the same time?” His tone was incredulous, and I couldn’t fault him. It looked bad. Really fucking bad.

“I swear I didn’t kiss anyone.” But I’d been drunk, and I couldn’t remember everything. Shit. Had I? Had I destroyed the best thing in my life?

I grabbed my phone and swiped it on. Texts flooded in from all of my bandmates and Josh, threatening to maim and murder me. Charlie was especially vicious, and I flinched and cupped my balls at the vivid description of what she wanted to do to me.

“No. I need to talk to Cassie. Explain that nothing happened.”

“Do you even know what happened? Or are you just going to tell her that?” he asked.

I didn’t miss the fact that, of all the texts I had, none of them were from Cassie. Maybe she hadn’t seen it.

I shook my head. That didn’t matter. If she hadn’t seen them yet, she would soon.

“I’m going to fix this. Cameron is in these shots. Maybe he can fill me in,” I said, grasping for anything. I needed answers before I called Cassie. I pulled up my text chain with Cameron.

Bash:Did you see these pics?

Cameron:Fucking hot, right? How’s your hangover?

Bash:What happened last night?

Cameron:They were all over you and me. You were drunk as fuck.

Bash:Did you know someone was taking pics?

Cameron:Someone’s always taking pics.

Cameron:Bianca sucks like a champ, man. You missed out.

Bash:What?

A shot of hope burst through me.

Cameron:Yeah. They wanted you to join, but when Suzette tried to kiss you, you pushed both of them away like they had the plague or something. Kept talking about your girlfriend. Didn’t even know you had one. More fun for me.

Relief like I’d never felt before coursed through me, and I shoved the phone at Tristan.

“See. I would never cheat on Cassie.”

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