Page 78 of Your Rhythm
“I’ll walk,” I offer, as pain shoots through me at the idea. “If it will make things better, I’ll walk.”
She shakes her head. An air of gravity hangs around her—not the thunderstorm of rage I was expecting, just a grey and hopeless downpour seeping into every line of her face.
“You guys haven’t figured it out yet, have you? They don’t care about Kay. They don’t even care about the article. They could take care ofLa Garewith a flick of their wrist.”
She waits for some kind of realization to hit us, and when it doesn’t she sighs.
“This is all just about getting rid of me. They needed to force you into an ultimatum and you just gave them the perfect opportunity. They want you managed by someone in their pocket, someone who will make you easier for them to control. They’ve been trying to push me out since you signed the deal.”
“You don’thaveto go,” Cole urges. “They can’t make us do that, can they?”
“They’re going to make your life hell if you don’t. They’re going to makemylife hell. These people get what they want. I just didn’t think you’d become so valuable to them so fast. I thought we’d have more time before we had to deal with this shit.”
Time. Lately it’s been stretching and contracting so much that some days feel like months and some hours are compressed into seconds. I’m still reaching my hands towards the future, even as it’s slamming into me at full speed.
“We’re not going to fire you, Shayla. We need you.”
JP states that like it’s a fact of life and Shayla almost smiles.
“You don’t have to. I’m resigning. I’ll give you my formal notice later today. This fight just isn’t worth it, boys. You’re going to do big things, and I won’t let myself stand in your way.”
She says a quick goodbye and heads over to a car that’s just pulled up, not even giving us time to reply. I feel all of the guys’ eyes on me as I watch her drive away.
“Happy now?” Ace snarls. “I knew you were a jealous bastard, but I never thought you’d take it this far.”
“Jealous?” I repeat. “Of what?”
“Of me.”
I actually laugh. I can’t help it. The sound rips its way out of me and something in Ace’s glare darkens to the point of danger.
“You always thought this band was about you, that you were the one with all the direction and big ideas. You couldn’t handle it when Atlas wanted to focus on me. That’s why you started all your conspiracy theories. You tried to make us think they were out to get us when they were just watching our backs and protecting us from people likeyou. What if they hadn’t caught that article? What if it got published?”
“If you’re as great as you seem to think you are, a little bad press shouldn’t bother you.”
“You’re trying to make everyone think I don’t care about this band, when really it’syouwho doesn’t give a fuck. You’re so wrapped up in your own bruised ego and that little journalist tramp—”
My fist flies toward his mouth, but the fucker dodges it. Next thing I know he’s clutching the neck of my shirt and spitting his words right in my face, his features twisted in a way that almost makes him look insane.
“Watch yourself, Matt. I’m a ‘drunk asshole,’ remember? I’ve punched people over way less.”
“Knock it off, guys.” Cole marches over to us with his sleeves rolled up and forces us apart. “This isn’t helping.”
“You stay away from her!” Ace barks at me from a few feet away. Both of our chests are heaving. “I swear to god, Matt, if you go back to her after this, we’re done. Nothing between us will mean anything anymore.”
Even as my hands are twitching to toss him to the ground, the hint of pain in his voice slices through me. I hardly recognize him most days, but he’s still Ace. He’s still the guy I’ve had by my side for the past five years. He’s still the guy I’ve watched turn the darkness inside him into art and tear himself apart onstage for the entire world to see.
He gives me a hard stare before he turns and heads down the sidewalk. Cole’s still got a hand on my shoulder and only drops it once Ace jaywalks across the street.
“This is fucked up, man,” he tells me. “This is all really fucked up, but I agree. You can’t talk to her anymore, not if you want this band to survive.”
“Block her. Right now.” JP has his arms crossed tightly over his chest. He nods to the pocket where I keep my phone. “Tell her you read the article and you aren’t talking to her again.”
I pull my phone out and stare at the screen. Part of me is still clinging to the hope that Kay will have some kind of explanation, but what possible reason is there to give? No one else could have written that article, and her past with Atlas Records was clearly something she wanted to hide.
My mind catches on a memory of her lying in bed beside me. She’d fallen asleep, and for a few minutes I’d watched her breathing. Her porcelain doll features were shadowed by the half light of dawn, the edge of her tattoo stark black against the white of the sheets.
That tattoo.
The sword and the shield.
She protects herself. She defends herself. What if that doesn’t leave room for anyone else?
Picturing Shayla with her hand on the meeting room door, shoulders slumped in a defeat I never thought I’d see her submit to, I send the message off to Kay.
