Page 137 of On The Edge
“You sure you want the truth, baby?” Kai asks gently.
“Always. I always want the truth.”
“Yeah.” He nods, biting the bullet. Kai stands stoic, looking at me with a blank expression, but at least he’s not backing down. Adam’s head falls forward as he shakes his head. Markus closes his eyes tightly like he doesn’t like that answer. And Reis… Reis takes a deep breath, eyeing me extremely closely.
“Yeah, Sync. We did.” Kai drops his arms and shrugs. “We would have him find willing girls and ask if they wanted to get a drink with the band. Sometimes, we took them back to the hotel, but sometimes we just got a drink and tried to… survive our own bullshit. It’s not just… cut-and-dry.”
I take a deep breath in through my nose, and bite my lip again.
I rationally knew they weren’t saving themselves for me. It’s not like I thought they were saints and celibate. I had alcohol-infused nights where I imagined them all fucking new girls and falling in love.
I’d always make sure to take an extra shot or two when those thoughts creeped in.
It made for a fucking killer hangover, but I got used to it.
It happened… frequently.
But this… this is different. This is really fucking hard to wrap my mind around. Even when they’re all sitting here looking at me with those worried eyes and handsome faces. Even when they’re telling me they want me. They love me. That I’m special.
There’s just one thing…
“So… why did Louis do it tonight?” I ask softly.
“I have no idea. I swear to you, Melody, I have no idea what the fuck got into his head. We’ve been nothing but clear with him where we stand. Where we stand with you, where we stand with people learning about our relationship. He knows and he still pulls this shit.” Adam sits on the edge of the bed, reaching for and turning me so I’m standing in the middle of his knees. They’ve fucking taught me how to react to their touch, because the moment his hands land on the outside of my thighs and his head tips up like that to look at me, I melt a little.
“I’m talking to him about ending his contract after tomorrow night,” Adam says strongly, looking at me truthfully. “This was too far.” He nods, then looks at the guys around me, “Don’t you agree?”
“Hell yeah,” Kai says quickly.
“This was too much,” Markus agrees, kicking off his shoes and pulling his shirt over his head. As it falls to the floor, he walks back to the bed and lies down on his back, his gaze never leaving me.
“I’ll talk to him, too.” Reis nods, crossing his arms over his chest. His eyes dart back and forth like he’s already trying to figure out how to fire him.
I shouldn’t tell them what happened. What Louis has been saying to me because he’s just been trying to get in my head. In his own warped way, he’s trying to protect them.
“Are you sure?” I ask quietly, not wanting to break up anything that’s bringing them all this good fortune and fame. I can’t… I can’t be the reason they lose all of this. “You’re going to lose a lot of money. You’re going to have to find someone else to handle everything and then train them. That’s a lot of workandyou’re in the middle of a tour. No, you can’t. No. He helped build you guys.”
The moment those words are out of my mouth, I cringe.
Because it’s exactly what he said.
And it tells me I’m starting to believe it.
Reis steps towards me, pulling me back into his chest as he talks quietly into my ear, as if he could speak the words directly into my soul. “Webuilt us. The four of us. Our songs, our passion, our voice—it all came from the four of us. But all those things? None of this would’ve happened if it wasn’t for you, Melody. You’re our reason for being. You’re stitched into the very fabric of our being. There is nouswithoutyou, baby.”
Oh god.My breath catches as he speaks and I have to force myself to remember to breathe.
“Look at you. Now you’re saying all the right things,” I tease him gently and his breathy laugh fills my ears.
“It’s easy when it’s telling you how I feel about you,” he whispers, pressing a kiss to my shoulder where my shirt has fallen just slightly.
“Do you feel any better, Songbird?” Markus asks, leaning on his elbow to look at me with those wide, open eyes. He's coming down from his high, I can tell. There may be a little edge of paranoia setting in. He’s twisting the ring on his middle finger and watching me like a hawk. I just know he’s taking in every little micro-expression.
“Yeah,” I nod. “A little.”
“Why’d you leave, Sync?” Kai asks, pulling me out of Reis’ arms and into his. “Why’d you leave? You should’ve waited. What if something had happened to you?”
“I was okay. I told Louis to tell you.”
