Page 14 of Broken Rock

Gregg sighs and pulls it out of his pocket. Tate powers it up and types his name into the search engine. He scrolls down the screen and his stomach drops. ‘Fuck. Oh this is just perfect.’

‘Ignore the headlines. Most of it’s crap anyway.’

‘Junkie rock star sent to rehab. Broken Chords frontman, Tate Archer, destroyed his two million Euro Blackrock house when he held a three day party which ended with the singer overdosing on heroine.’ He scrolls further down the screen. ‘Friends of Mr. Archer reported that he’d been struggling with both drugs and alcohol for years. Perfect. Oh and apparently said friends had tried to get me help but I denied I had a problem.’ He looks over at Gregg. ‘Friends?’

Gregg shakes his head. ‘You know how these things grow arms and legs. Friends could be someone you met at a bar ten years ago and had a drink with. Who the fuck knows? Stop reading that stuff. It won’t do any good.’

Tate grunts and frowns at the screen. He laughs harshly and curses again. ‘Fucking Astrid.’

‘What? Your ex-Astrid?’

‘Should have guessed she’d jump on the bandwagon. Listen to this. ‘I caught Tate using drugs a few times while we were together. I tried to convince him to get help, but he wouldn’t stop. I hated that he could only go on stage if he’d had a drink or took something beforehand’. Bullshit. I was always stone cold sober when I went on stage. Every fucking time. And I never used while I was with her.’

‘Kinda hoped you were using. Might have explained why you were with her in the first place.’

Tate glares up at Gregg, but his friend just grins at him.

‘What? You know full well she was absolutely not the right person to be with. You were thinking with your dick when you got with Astrid.’

‘Cheers. And don’t mention my dick in the same sentence as Astrid.’ He slumps back in the seat and looks out the window. Gregg is right though. Astrid had been another of his mistakes. They’d used each other. He got sex and she moved up the social ladder she desperately wanted to climb.

He took her to all the star-studded exclusive parties she wanted to go to. Paid for anything she wanted. She wasn’t happy when he ended things after a month. Hell of a way to get back at him. ‘Has any of this come back on you, Dillon, or Luke? Me using I mean.’ It’s one thing him being called a junkie. He didn’t want the rest of the band being tarred with the same brush.

‘Ellen’s been contacted about us, but she’s doing her manager thing and shutting them down. It’s all good.’

‘Yeah, well I don’t think she’s going to be able to shut all this down,’ he says, holding up his phone. ‘I’m sorry, Gregg.’

‘Don’t even go there, Tate.’

‘I’ve fucked things up for you guys too.’

‘Hey, we’re all okay. It’s not like the three of us are going to end up on the street if you take some time to get sorted – and all this will be sorted. People will forget and move on to the next celebrity scandal. It’ll pass. To be honest, a bit of time off isn’t going to do any of use any harm.’

He nods but doesn’t feel put at ease. The band may not be on the breadline but that didn’t mean he could take his time getting back to work. And it wasn’t just the guys he had to think about. A lot of livelihoods depended on him getting his shit together.

∞

Tate just about manages to restrain his groan as they pull into his parents’ driveway. His welcoming committee is out in force. ‘Is it too late to go back?’

Gregg snorts and slaps him on the shoulder. ‘Stop being a wuss and get your ass out of my car.’

Keeping his head down and eyes away from his parents’ faces he climbs out and walks around the front of the car. He stuffs his hands into the back pockets of his jeans to stop himself from scratching his arm again. It’s a fucking irritating habit he picked up and it’s refusing to let up.

Even when his mum hugs him, he keeps his eyes away from hers. ‘I’m so glad you agreed to stay with us.’

Like he had a choice. ‘Thanks for letting me stay.’

‘Don’t be silly. I’ve got lunch ready. I hope you’re hungry.’

The thought of sitting through an awkward family meal kills whatever appetite he may have had, but he’s not going to rock the boat so soon by refusing. ‘Thanks.’ He follows his mum back to the house and accepts the hug and pat on the back from his father.

Tate faces his sister and knows she won’t be welcoming him back with open arms. She barely looks up from her phone. He’s surprised she’s even here. The three painful counselling sessions she attended in the centre with him had been a complete disaster. He’d killed their relationship and hasn’t got a fucking clue how to fix it. His mother must have pulled an emotional blackmail card from her supply. There’s no way Bria would be here otherwise.

‘Hey Bria.’

‘Hi Tate,’ She glances up from her phone to look at their mother instead of at him. ‘I’ve said hi to him. I’ve gotta go now.’

‘Bria—’

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