Page 64 of Cherry Beats

“Watch how you speak to my best friend, you suit-wearing prick!” Molly called out, her annoyance overflowing.

“Molly!” I hissed in warning, covering the mouthpiece, but it was too late. Dicky had heard, and his rough, echoing laughter burst free.

“Sorry,” I told him, lowering my hand.

“Don’t you dare apologise to him on my behalf,” Molly warned, and I had to roll my eyes and plant my palm on my forehead.

“Send your friend to Janey Dominic. Maybe that’ll keep her from knocking on your door,” Dicky suggested sarcastically.

“Unfortunately, it was my friend Janey went after this afternoon.”

“Ah, I guess that explains the anger.”

“No, that’s all on you, arsehole,” Molly grumbled not-so-quietly.

Dicky chuckled again before there was silence between all three of us.

“So… can you get him to call me?” I asked quietly, my heart beating hard against my chest.

“You’re a complication I don’t need in the band’s life, Cherry. If I get him to call you, I’m telling him I’m okay with this whole thing that’s going on between the two of you, and to make my stance on all this crystal clear to you… I’m not okay with it.”

“I understand.”

When I glanced up at Molly, she was mouthing all kinds of obscenities at me, urging me to stand up for myself. I couldn’t understand why I wasn’t being my usual, sarcastic self. Maybe because I knew, deep down, speaking to Presley again was a bad idea. He’d already walked away once, and so had I. We were equal now. If he walked out on me again, my irrational little heart would feel cheated, and I knew damn well I wasn’t strong enough to walk away from him a second time.

“How do I know you won’t be that complication for me, Miss Lisbon?” Dicky asked, cutting through my thoughts.

“I guess you won’t.”

“Then you’re asking me to take a gigantic leap of faith with a woman I don’t even know.”

I’d run out of reason, rhyme, or responses. Maybe I should just let Presley go and deal with the aftermath of his brief return by myself. If I stayed hidden enough, surely they’d get bored of me. Surely they’d figure out that a girl like me could never sell their newspapers for them. Without Presley, I wasn’t news.

Without Presley, I was still a fighter, though.

A survivor.

“I’m not going to beg you,” I told him calmly. “If you don’t want to tell Presley I called, don’t. If you don’t want him to know I need him, that’s on you. But I know Presley, Mr Bennett, and I can promise you one thing: whether it’s now, a year, five years, or ten years… he’ll come back for me again. He’ll find me again when he needs something real to drag him back down to earth, and next time he does, I may take it upon myself to make him stay a little bit longer than I did this time around. Longer, forever, whatever I see fit once he’s grown tired of your and the industry’s games.” Molly’s smile grew slowly, her eyes widening as her approval shone back at me. “Over to you, Dicky. I’ll survive no matter what you decide. I hope you can say the same for yourself if Presley ever finds out I needed him, and you were the one who didn’t let him know I was in trouble.”

I was about to end the call when I heard him call out, “Wait!”

Raising my brows, I did as I was asked, my eyes locked on Molly’s.

“I have another proposal for you,” Dicky said, a huff of air leaving him at once.

“What kind?”

“The kind that guarantees you Janey Dominic won’t be a problem to you or your friend ever again.”

“That depends what it’s going to cost me,” I answered softly. “My soul isn’t for sale here.”

“You won’t lose anything, but you’ll gain your peace. No more reporters. No more harassment. I’ll make sure that, in their eyes, you never existed.”

“No, no, no,” Molly mouthed, shaking her head violently and wafting her arms back and forth.

But I remained still, the galloping of my heart getting faster at the thought of peace—true peace.

“What would I have to do?” I asked with caution.

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