Page 37 of Shattered Dreams

“Thank you, London!” Cal calls, ending the show quicker than he did last night.

I hustle off the stage as quickly as I can, searching for Kai. There are reporters and groupies in my way. I see Nate’s shiny head thanks to some overhead lights and make a beeline for him.

“Where did Kai go?” I ask him.

“Dressing room,” he states, trying to help me through the crowd. He motions for security to make a path for me, and I quickly thank him.

“Kai!” I yell, banging on the door of the guy’s dressing room.

“Not now, Belle.” His voice is shaky and there’s no way I’m taking that as an answer.

I barge in to find him sitting on the couch, elbows propped up on his knees and his face in his hands. His blue and white silk shirt is stuck to his body from sweat. I can see his knees through the rips in the back jeans that seem to be his go-to for stage outfits.

“Kai, what’s going on?” I ask, sitting down on the seat next to him.

He doesn’t answer me, he just shakes his head. I put my hand on his bicep and squeeze gently. I know what it’s like, not being able to verbalize your pain. I wish he would talk tome. He used to tell me everything. Pushing him is my first instinct, but I don’t. I just sit with him and hope that it’s comfort enough.

“We’ve got him, Belle. Willa said to send you two over.”

My brother and Mav are standing at the door. I nod and walk towards them. Mav immediately takes my seat next to Kai and Cal gives me a quick hug. I want to ask questions, but I know now isn’t the time. So I make my way to my dressing room instead.

“Can you tell me what the fuck just happened? Kai is nonverbal and the guys are acting like they’re not surprised by it,” I demand the moment I enter the room and see Willa waiting for me.

She hands me her phone without saying anything. The look on her face is a mixture of hurt and anger. I look at the screen and immediately realize why.

“What the fuck?” I murmur as I read. This can’t be real. Kai’s mom gave an interview to a tabloid? Not only that, but she’s also making up lies and hurting Kai in the process.

“Cal said Kai read this about twenty minutes before we went on,” Willa supplies.

“Why would she make up lies to hurt the only son she has left?”

“They probably paid her,” Willa says angrily.

“Ezra and I were never together. Never even close. Kai…”

“I know, Belle. It doesn’t matter though. They weren’t looking for the truth, they were looking for a story and Adira gave it to them.”

“What can we do? There has to be something I can do to help. I’ll give a statement or something. Whatever it takes,” I plead with Willa, like she has the magic answer to this.

“This isn’t the first time something like this has happened. Our team is working on it. It’ll blow over. Kai might take a couple of days, but he’ll be alright.”

“What do you mean? This has happened before?” Who else could they have accused Kai of stealing?

“Not this exactly. There was a strange conspiracy theory that caught traction when we released our second album. People kept claiming they had ‘proof’ that Kai was actually Ezra. It was bizarre and honestly didn’t make much sense, but people ran with it and called him Ezra for months.”

“For fuck’s sake,” I exclaim. “That’s horrible! No wonder Kai is so angry all the time.”

I’m about to go on a rant about how I plan on confronting Kai’s mom when we get back home, but the words get caught in my throat when I see the flowers over Willa’s shoulder.

“More flowers?” I ask, my voice sounding weak.

Willa sighs and turns around. “Yeah. They were here when I got back. Nate said they were delivered right as the set started.”

“Tulips,” I say unnecessarily. They’re probably one of the most easily recognizable flowers out there.

“It says red means a declaration of love,” Willa offers.

“Great,” I mutter as I pick up the note in front of the vase.

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