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Of course, Matthew saw blood in the water. “No, you bitch! Your boyfriend is balls deep in Miriam Dark right now. I just figured we could have some fun while they did. I can’t believe you hit me!”
I let my anger get the best of me and I hit him with the end of the cord I was holding. “Don’t call me bitch, you dumb shit! I wouldn’t want to have sex with you again if every man I ever loved slept with Miriam Dark. You’re lucky I don’t have my brother come here and beat your ass. If you think I hit hard, you’d cry just looking at his fist. Don’t ever touch me again! Don’t ever come near me again!”
He ran away from me as I kept trying to hit him with the cord. When he ran past Nick and didn’t slow down, I stopped and leaned against the wall next to Nick.
Nick, to his credit, didn’t say a word about Matthew or my chasing Matthew with a cord while screaming like a mad woman. “Almost ready to go?”
I laughed but it sounded pathetic. “Call in whoever covers the shift after yours or get comfortable. It’s going to be a long night here.”
“How about I help you and we talk about things?”
Running my hands through my hair, I shook my head. I didn’t want to talk. I wanted to work and pour myself into something other than thinking about Jones and Miriam fucking in a bathroom, the exact same way he’d fucked me. Just as I was wondering if he’d tied her wrists up, too, my phone rang and I sighed.
I walked back towards the stage to answer the call. “Hello?”
“Am I speaking to Layla Morgan? This is Officer DJ Milton. I think I have something that belongs with you. A few somethings, actually.”
“What happened?” I rushed back towards Nick, my body shaking.
“No one’s hurt or anything, ma’am. There was a noise complaint at a local bar and your boys here got a little mouthy. One of them had cocaine on him. I brought them down to the station, but I’m not going to book them. They’ve been nicer since the cuffs came off.” He sounded like he was having a good time, not understanding that my entire body was on fire with panic. “Come on down and pick them up and we’ll forget about this.”
“O-of course. S-sure.” I stood next to Nick, trying to force myself to stay in the present. “B-be right t-there.”
Nick immediately gripped my upper arms and lightly shook me. “What’s happening, Layla?”
“Um… The guys…” I took a gasping breath and blinked up at the ceiling. “Sorry. The… The guys are in jail. We need to pick them up.”
“Fuck. Are you okay? I’ve never seen you so pale.”
I wasn’t okay. The last time I’d answered a phone call like that one from a cop, a rookie cop had somehow mistaken my ten-year-old voice for an adult and he’d informed me that my parents were dead. My brain kept trying to slip back to that place but I knew I couldn’t let it. I rubbed at my eyes and forced myself to take regular breaths. “I’ll be fine.”
“Let’s go get these idiots then.”
36
Layla
Ikeptthewindowdown on the way to the police station and let the fresh air ground me. Removed from the panic attack, I was able to process what the officer had said to me on the phone. Cocaine. I didn’t know anything about them. They’d mentioned living hard and fast during the first years of their career, but they’d never mentioned using hard drugs currently. I still had Miriam’s words in my head about cocaine and big dicks, so it wasn’t hard to paint a picture of the night they’d been having.
When Nick parked in front of the police station, I had to force myself to get out of the car. When I managed to make myself get out, Nick had to help me up the steps to the front door. I didn’t want to see them. I just wanted to go home. More than ever, I wanted to run into Grandma’s arms and be held. I wanted my brother.
Nick opened the door for me and gently pushed me inside. “It’s okay, Layla. This won’t take long.”
He was right. The officers were quick to let the rockstars go after getting their autographs. The guys walked into the foyer and they each looked so normal. I’d expected them to look different, somehow. I didn’t know what I was expecting, but they felt different to me after their night out, so it was weird to see they looked just like the men I’d spent so much time with.
I didn’t know what to say. My feelings were twisted up and I wasn’t sure there was anything worth saying. Not if they weren’t the men I thought they were.
When I turned and walked out of the station, they all followed after me. I could hear the three of them talking amongst themselves and wondered if they were trying to get their story straight. I climbed into the car and slid into a corner. I rested my head on the headrest and closed my eyes, desperate for a break.
They smelled different after a night out. Cigarette smoke and beer clung to them, along with something sweeter. I was sure it was Miriam’s perfume. I hated it. I hated everything in that moment. Them, the job, the entire fucking industry.
“Layla,-”
“I don’t want to talk right now.” The strain in my voice told them I was serious and thankfully, they each listened.
Nick parked in front of the bus a little bit later and the guys slowly got out. When I didn’t budge, they each looked back at me and frowned.
“Come on, Layla. You need to rest. Even if you are pissed at us.” Mack nodded to the bus. “I think there’s a bag of popcorn left. I can make it for you.”
