Page 37 of The Lodge

Potentially controversial comment about how Jett’s disappearance was the best thing that ever happened to Sebastian—can he clarify?*

I’m still thinking through how to word everything when—miracle of miracles—Sebastian calls me back.

“Hiiii,” I say as cheerily as possible, since I probably shouldn’t greet him with my first choice ofWell, look who’s alive!“Wow, where are you?”

Behind him is the most unreal sight I’ve ever seen: an unbroken stretch of crystal-blue water below an infinite, cloudless sky.

Sebastian laughs. “Still in Tahiti.”

He looks like he’s just rolled out of bed.

“Sorry I couldn’t call before—I dropped my phone in the ocean,and it took a while to get another one.” He laughs again, probably at the obvious look of relief written all over my face. “What—you thought I’d ghosted you onpurpose?”

My cheeks go hot; the thumbnail image of my face confirms that I’m blushing, and not in a subtle way.

Take a breath, Alix.

I’ve had countless celebrity interactions, extensive media training. I don’t make a habit of insulting famous people—of insultinganyone, for the record—or insinuating they’re in the wrong in any way. Only once was I pushed past my breaking point into borderline unprofessional territory; coincidentally, that was the time I interviewed Jett Beckett.

“Of course not,” I reply as smoothly as possible. “And I’m sorry I missed you earlier.”

“It’s all good.”

“I don’t want to take too much of your time, but I have a few questions.”

“Hit me,” he says with the sort of cocky casualness only an ex–boy band pop star could get away with. Hewinks.

“I’ve been working through your voice memos,” I begin. “And a lot of my questions are about the dynamics involving your manager, Jason, as well as Jett Beckett.”

I pause, trying to gauge his reaction when I say Jett’s name, but his expression is unreadable.

“Understanding those dynamics will help me share your story in the most accurate and powerful way possible,” I go on. “So to start, I was wondering if you could tell me more about how Jason manipulated you both into joining the band—when did you realize Jett had been promised the exact same things as you?”

Sebastian shakes his head. If I had to describe the look on his face, it would be wounded puppy with a dash of rage.

“Man, where do I even start with Jason?”

He considers it for a moment, biting his lip.

“Jason was an asshole, but he hid it well—always gave the impression that he was on your side,” he finally says. “For maybe three months, I thought Jett was like the others, handpicked just for the band. It wasn’t until Jett made a comment in the studio one night—how Jason was all lies, that we shouldn’t trust him, andwhy—that he and I realized we’d been made the exact same promises. That Jason had strung us both along, fed us both the same hope about how huge our solo careers could be. It explained so much, especially why Jett had such an attitude all the time.”

“But it didn’t bring you closer? Finding out you’d been through the same thing?”

Sebastian looks away.

“It did not,” he says, his voice hardening.

I wait for him to go on. A seagull swoops over the ocean behind him, in the frame and then gone again.

“Finding out Jason was even more of an asshole than he thought only made Jett angrier,” he finally says. “Jett really wanted a solo career, was never passionate about being in a boy band. He wanted to make his own music.”

“And you didn’t relate to that?”

Sebastian shrugs.

“It’s not that I didn’t relate. But we had a good thing going with the band—quick success, lots of fans. Money pouring in. I guess I was just more patient, figured all of that would only help when I—or we—eventually broke off and went solo.”

I glance at my notes.

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