Page 24 of Pretty Black

“Shouldn’t you be on the way to the hospital?” Alexander’s voice spiked the tension, prickling through me.

“Get out of here.”

“It’s a public restroom—I’m allowed to be in here.”

I blocked his movement. “I don’t give a fuck. Go find another bathroom.”

“Don’t you want to hear me out?”

“About what?” I asked as I reached into my pocket and hit the shortcut I’d added after he confronted us the first time.

“About my terms. I could easily make a case for a ninety-day hold or longer. I have years of drug abuse and Iris’ mental health records from both his psychiatrist and his therapist. Years of documented reckless behavior. His previous admission. His vanishing for months in Seattle. It will be easy to prove Iris needs long-term treatment.”

“So, what do you want?”

“I want you to drop this lawsuit against me and work with me. If you guys all need more time off, fine, we can discuss it, but I am what’s best for the band. No one will make you as much money as I can. No one will keep you at the top of the industry and protect your images. I’ve done that for five years without fail, and we shouldn’t let the last couple of months of disagreements make for a terrible relationship.”

“You can’t have my medical records. That’s a violation,” Iris said through his teeth.

“I don’t need access to them, though I have it. I will ask that the court and your new doctor review your history. Your therapist and psychiatrist have assured me they will turn over all their records with a court order.” Alexander smirked, so fucking smug.

“I don’t believe you’ll be any different than you were this summer,” I said, trying to stay calm. “You found power over us, and if we continue to work with you, you’ll treat us like we aren’t allowed to have lives outside of our jobs. We can’t function anymore as prisoners.”

“I was showing all of you how it could be. So you know how kind I’ve been most of your careers. What I could easily do within the scope of the law. You don’t have a contract as it pertains to hours. I gave you full freedom, and all of you abused my trust. I think we’ve all taken things a little too far, but there is room to repair our working relationship.” He slid his hands into his pockets.

“And then what? I have to spend three days in this fucking facility?”

“We all have to make sacrifices for those we love, and I’m sure your brother would want you to get treatment. He loved you, and if his voicemails are any indication, he wanted you healthy and happy.”

“Fuck you. I fucking hate you. You have no fucking right to know what he said to me or what he wanted.” Iris stalked towards us.

I headed him off, grabbing two fistfuls of his shirt, not wanting him to lay hands on Alexander and make this situation worse for himself. “He wants you to hit him. You can’t.”

Alexander laughed from some place behind me. “Is this what Marc would have wanted? You to hit me? You should go to rehab like he wanted for you. Check yourself into a facility and get better for him.”

“Shut the fuck up. You know nothing about him.” Iris shoved against my hold, and my dress shoes slipped on the tile, allowing him to move me a few inches, then a few more.

“Poor Iris, forced to live for someone who wouldn’t live for you.”

“Elijah, Felix, we need help in here!” I screamed.

Alexander slipped out as they shoved in, making them not needed.

“Sorry,” I muttered. “We need to keep Alexander away from him.”

“I didn’t think I could stop him from going into a public bathroom, but next time, we’ll be more forceful,” Elijah said.

“I don’t think half of what we do is strictly legal…” Felix trailed off, all of us turning towards the shriek that erupted behind us.

EIGHT

PRESENT DAY

Iris Black

Iscreamed. Visceral and guttural. I had nothing else to give this world, and keeping myself breathing felt like swallowing razor blades. My mind downward spiraled, a whirlpool sucking me into the depths of my personal drowning.

I slammed my head into the mirror once, twice, three times, until the noise in my head disappeared. Rage dissipated. Calm overtook all. I staggered back until my back hit the tile, and I slid down the wall, sinking into the new sensations.

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