Page 92 of Hollow Heart

“Really? I don’t recall.” I brush past him, shoulder checking him.

Sully grabs my wrist, and immediately, I stop. A shiver runs through me as he presses his thumb against my vein with a force that tells me he isn’t in the mood for playing games.

Games I used to love once upon a time, but now the touch feels wrong.

It makes me feel gross, like I want to fucking throw up.

I yank my wrist from him. “What’s your fucking problem, man?” I bite, challenging his space.

Sully sneers at me. “You think you can play stupid with me, Felix, I know you better than you fucking know yourself.”

I get in his face, sneering right back. My anger boils beneath my skin like a volcano waiting for the right moment to erupt.

“Think just because you replaced me that you can write me off and fuck me over? And that I wouldn’t do something about it?”

I grind my jaw, fixing his gaze with my own hard glare. “Fuck you over? Is that the narrative you’re going with, Sully? I’m the one that god damnmadeyou. I brought you into this fame, and I can take you out of it, just as easy.”

I know I should walk away. But the pain, the anger, and the need to make himhurtlike he hurt me wins out.

Sully pushes me, and it’s like a hundred moments breaking through the barrier.

All the fights that ended in fucking.

All the fucking that ended in fights

And all the pussy in between he paraded around because he was tooscaredto be seen in public kissing someone with dick.

Kissingme.

My fist connects with his damn fine jaw, and then his fist connects with my eye, and it’s a blur of fists and curses as Sully and I are pulled apart. The sound of cameras clicking is loud, and I know this will be all over the news outlets within minutes, and I chastise myself internally.

“What the fuck, Sullivan?” another voice calls, a man I don’t recognize.

When he grabs Sully, I can tell by his suit and his baby face he’s corporate, which means he’s probably Sully’s new manager.

Now that he’s separated from the band, of course he’d decide to fly solo.

The manager asks us to leave as my phone goes off, and I sigh in exasperation as I see Lou’s name flash on the screen.

I dig Lou’s card out of my wallet and hand it to the manager as Sullivan’s manager shoves him out the door.

“I’m sorry about that, but, uh... if there’s anything I can do, please let my manager know, okay?” I say as I gather myself,my bags, and my half spilled coffee, and head out the door, answering the phone.

“Yeah?”

“What the fuck were you thinking?” Lou hollers on the other end.

I don’t even bother playing dumb with Lou. It’s best to just address the situation and get on with it.

My eye hurts like a bitch, and so do my knuckles, and the anger is still boiling inside of me like lava, but I answer him. “Well, for starters, he insulted me.”

“Everyone insults you, Felix. Last I checked, you didn’t fucking start abrawlwith everyone of those individuals at four pm in a damn Starbucks.”

“Consequences have actions,” I say as I tie my bags off and secure them to the back of my bike carrier.

“Yes, they do, and now, I’ve got a pissed off agent, an angry Starbucks manager, and damage control to whip in to shape so you can have a fucking successful show next week,” Lou hisses. “Why can’t you ever just let shit go? For once in your life, be the better fucking man, Felix.”

Lou’s words cut me deeper than any knife.

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