Page 60 of One More Song

Puttingon the clothes I wore into this jail should make me happy - but my chest is wrapped in knots. The moment I step outside of this building, the media are going to be on me like a motherfucking tornado, spinning this story into a storm I can’t contain.

Just one more reason Ember doesn’t need a man like me in her life. She deserves a chance to live a life without the drama I’ll always bring to the table.

Do people ever really change?

Mitch sure as fuck didn’t.

And me? All it took was Maryll telling me I needed to leave town, to end things with Ember, to hop on a bar stool and down half a bottle of whiskey. To punch a man out. To land in jail.

To fuck everything up.

“Sir, your lawyer is here, right outside the door, waiting for you,” the jailer tells me. “Here are your personal items.”

I tuck my wallet and phone in my pocket. “Anyone else here?” I ask, my voice revealing all the hope I carry even though I have no reason to hold onto it.

Hope that Ember is here.

“No one, sir,” the jailer says. “But uh, would you mind giving me your autograph?”

I lift my eyebrows, scoffing at the incredulity. “You have a pen?”

He produces one, and a sheet of paper and I scribble my name. Realizing that this is who I am. Who I will always be.

A scandalous rock star. Certainly not the man who could take care of Ember and Cadence, to love and protect them the way they deserve.

My lawyer, Tina LaBlanc, is waiting for me in the lobby, a grim look on her face. “You know what this charade cost you?”

“How much?” I ask, running a hand over my jaw, the three-day stubble a not-so-subtle reminder that my life is all kinds of fucked-up.

“It’s not the money…it’s the story. Brace yourself, Ash. There are reporters lined up outside.”

She isn’t exaggerating. We step outside, her arm raised to shield me from the onslaught of photographers, microphones shoved in my face, and camera crews documenting it all.

“No comment at this time,” Tina shouts, but no one listens.

Finally, the black town car is in view and a door is opened for us. Tina climbs inside before I do, and I turn back to the crowd.

I look at the reporters straight on. “For the record, my actions have hurt people I care deeply about and for that, I am truly sorry.”

Then I slip into the car, pull the door shut, and bury my face in my hands.

Some things never change. Turns out, this is the story of my life. Me, pulling away in a car, hurting everyone in my wake.

“Maryll is upset, as I’m sure you could imagine,” Tina tells me as we drive toward Ember’s house.

“Yeah? Am I kicked out of the band?”

Tina smirks. She was with me back at my ma’s place the week after the video leaked. She did her best to scrub my image, but the damage was done. She helped me with the settlement for the women involved in the footage. It wasn’t my responsibility, but I didn’t want their lives destroyed by our one reckless night together.

She has seen me at my worst - and like any good lawyer, she has my back.

“As much as Maryll is pissed off with you, she would never let you go. You’re tied to her contract for two more albums and she’s gonna make sure you deliver them.”

“I’m just done with this. All of it.”

Tina clears her throat. “You don’t really have that option, Asher. Your bandmates are counting on you to get to L.A. and finish this album. If you don’t, Maryll is going to tie you up in court until there isn’t a penny to your name. Would you really want to do that to your mother? To the other people you care about?”

“You’re guilt tripping me now?”

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