Page 130 of Everything After
“See, now you make it sound like you’re thinking about it. Telling me you believe me means you considered whether there might have been something between Cody and me,” I said. I walked into the sitting room where I’d left my cell phone and pulled Cody’s number up.
Alfie followed me inside. “Who are you calling?”
“Cody, of course,” I replied as the call connected.
“Hi,” Cody muttered, sounding flat.
“What the fuck was that?” I snapped.
“The guy at the airport, you mean?” he asked, like there would be anything else I’d want to discuss at that moment in time.
“Yes, the video. Why did you say no comment? Why didn’t you straight out debunk that rumor.”
Cody sighed. “First, I had no idea there was a rumor of any kind until that guy hit me up at the airport. He caught me off guard and I didn’t know what he was talking about.”
“You said, ‘no comment’, do you know how that paints me? Now they’re saying this baby might be yours.”
“I wish,” he said, chuckling.
“This isn’t fucking funny and comments like that are one of the reasons my husband is pissed off with you.”
“What have we been told by our PR and legal team?” Cody challenged.
“Excuse me?” I said, frowning.
“Anything controversial we’re asked…what are we supposed to reply?—”
“No comment,” I said, cutting him off.
“Exactly,” he muttered.
“Not in this case, Cody. The correct response should have been, ‘what the fuck? Are you crazy? We’re bandmates, what you see on stage is an act’,” I said.
“Like I said, I did what I was told to say. He caught me off guard,” Cody insisted, sounding like he’d been the injured party in all this.
“Well, thanks for having my back. I’m beginning to think Alfie’s right about you and Lennie. Neither of you really care about me or my feelings. You either want or need me for something, but that’s where the loyalty ends,” I blurted out and hung up.
Alfie stood with folded arms, barely containing his temper. He inhaled a deep breath and sighed. “So, what did he say?”
I shrugged. “He quoted the legal stance when you’re asked a hard question.”
“Really, that shouldn’t have been a hard question to answer though, right? Like you said, he threw you to the wolves with that response.”
“I want to make a statement,” I decided.
“I disagree. I say we do nothing for now. We go about our private lives and let the rumors die a quick death when the press doesn’t see what they think they will.”
“Actually, no. I’m super pissed about this,” I argued, shaking my head. I scrolled my phone contacts and rang Lennie.
“Who are you calling?”
“Lennie,” I replied, and waited for him to answer.
“Yeah, he must know about this by now, and yet there’s radio silence on his end,” Alfie agreed.
“Did you see what Cody did?” I asked the moment Lennie answered the call.
“I did. Not good,” he said, sounding short. Alfie was right again, Lennie had heard what happened and he hadn’t bothered to call to support me.
