AllFreeNovel
Share Us
25
Maddox
After the club, I see Cece walking down the stairs, most likely to meet me before I leave, but I hurry through a crowd of people, waving to her and leave the club.
I was internally screaming at myself the entire night, unsure what to do. How am I supposed to break up with her? She’s not stupid. I think she could already tell I was acting weird, so I have no clue how to do this.
I told Adam everything after the dinner, and he said I should tell her. It’s not like I don’t want to. She undoubtedly should know the kind of man her father is and the ultimatum he’s giving me, but how in the hell am I supposed to do that? If I tell her, then what? Just let her know her father said if she’s with me, then she’ll be entirely cut off from her family and leave that decision up to her? Put all of that crap and the decision on her shoulders? I can’t do that.
Getting to the penthouse, I slam the door shut, sending an echo through the room. I glance to my side, and see Adam and Julian sitting on the couch, both of them eyeing me carefully.
“Sorry,” I say, then head to the kitchen. I need a drink.
I hear hushed whispers from them as I enter the kitchen. Opening the freezer, I pull out a bottle of liquor and grab a glass. After pouring a shot into it, I down it quickly.
“Easy there, bub,” Adam says, walking into the kitchen.
“I’m completely screwed. I have no idea how to do this.”
He leans against the counter, taking the bottle away from me, screwing the cap back on. “Then don’t do it. Tell her.”
My head drops backward, and I let out a loud groan. “I can’t do that.”
“Yes. You can. She should know.”
“And then what?” I shout. “Just tell her that her dad is a piece of crap that said if she stays with me, he’ll cut her out of their lives? ‘Hey, Cece, I know this sucks, but will you choose me over your mom and little brother?’ You’re crazy.”
“And you’re crazy if you think you’re gonna be able to somehow break up with her and be fine after. It’ll eat you alive. You’ve never felt about someone like you do with her. If you think you’re gonna be able to figure out a way to break up with her, especially under this threat from her father, and you’re going to turn out okay on the other end?” He lets out an incredulous chuckle. “You’re only fooling yourself.”
“I don’t have a choice.”
“You do!” he yells, throwing his hands in the air. “I’m telling you what your choice is right now. Will it suck? Absolutely. Will there be a huge rift in her family because of it? Definitely! But that’s not on you, man. That’s on her asshole of a father for doing this. And she deserves to know.”
I can’t respond. Everything he’s saying makes sense, but then it all comes back to Cece and her feelings. I try to imagine someone telling me I have to choose between being with the Kings or playing music on my own. Or worse, choosing between my sister, or Derrik and EJ, who’ve become my family. If someone told me I could only make music with one or the other, I’d hate it. And I’d hate whoever gave me that choice. Yes, her father is doing this, but if I tell her, then I’m the one laying down that choice. I’m the one asking her to choose between her family or me.
Staring back at him, he offers a sympathetic stare. A broken chuckle floats out of me. “Damn. We are two sorry Hollywood losers, aren’t we?”
“What are you talking about?”
I take the bottle back from him and start undoing the cap. “We both want things to change and are completely helpless to do anything about it.”
I expect some kind of laughing response. Not a funny laugh, but more of a commiserating chuckle. Instead, I hear disdain. “Excuse you?”
I shrug. “I’m just saying, we’ve got these obstacles that we can’t do anything about. We—”
“No,” he cuts me off, taking the bottle back from me. “No, our situations are completely different. I can’t come out, Maddox. You’re giving up.”
“Screw you, I’m not giving up. And the hell you can’t. You can and you don’t want to.”
I’ve known Adam long enough to know when I’ve struck a chord. We’ve never had a fight, or even an argument. I think the most we’ve ever had is a disagreement about which party to attend for the weekend. But the way he’s staring at me, it’s like he wants to hit me.
“You’re full of shit, you know that?” he shouts. “You don’t have a damn clue about what you’re talking about when it comes to me.”
I should back down. He’s absolutely right that I don’t know what he’s going through or the emotions he has to fight with. I don’t know how he’ll be perceived and received if and when he ever comes out of the closet. But I don’t back down. I’m still pissed off over everything with Cece, and my anger is all directed toward him.
“No, but I know a coward when I see one.”
“Really? I guess you haven’t looked in the mirror in the last twenty-four hours, then. You want to talk about being a coward? How about you being too scared to take a chance and lay everything out? Huh, how about that? But no, the King of Bad is just going to piss it all away and resort back to random, meaningless hookups.”
