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He furrows his brow. “Scholarship? You look familiar. What’s your name?”
I lift my chin. “Jared Kraft.”
Both of his eyebrows rise up. “The Volunteers baseball pitcher?”
The only answer I give him is a quick nod.
The moment I confirm who I am, his eyes grow wide. “Shit, son. I heard them talking about you on ESPN the other day. All the analysts are calling you the next big thing. Why are you of all people out here buying drugs? You’ve got so much to lose.”
“I know that,” I reply, “but like I said, I made a mistake. I just found out my father died overseas and . . . I don’t know what I am. I’m not myself right now.”
He sighs. “I understand. I really do, and I wish I could do something for you, but the truth of the matter is all of this has already been documented on camera.” He jerks his thumb over his shoulder in the direction of the squad car. “And besides that, if my partner catches the dealer, we’ll have no choice but to take him downtown. We can’t allow riffraff like that to run the streets and sell to teenagers and be the cause of someone’s death. I’m sorry, Jared, but my hands are tied.”
“Shit,” I mutter and tip my head up to the sky.
If Dad is watching this right now, I know he’s fucking pissed at me. I’ve let him down. I’ve let my family down, and more importantly I’ve let myself down. I ran out on my mother and brother when I know they needed me to be there and be strong, but I broke down like a coward—unable to face the harsh reality of the truth—and left them. How could I have done that? I hate letting people down. My integrity is one thing I prize, and I’ve lost it in one night. How can the people I love ever trust me to stick by them in the future when things get tough? And now, with this drug thing, it’ll destroy everything. My future—London’s future with me—may all be shot to shit after this.
I treated London so cold before I walked out the door tonight. She probably won’t forgive me. I know I wouldn’t if I were her. The way I lashed out at her—I’ve never done that before. I didn’t even know that part of me existed, and to be honest, with how fucked up my head is right now, I can’t promise that I’ll never do it again. I can’t control this anger inside me, and the last thing in the world I want to do is hurt her. I already hate myself right now for how I just treated her. If things keep going like this, I may not be the best thing for her anymore.
NOW
JARED
We’ve been on the road for a couple of months now in support of our second album. It’s one of the hottest days of the year, and Wicked White is one of the headlining bands for Summerfest. We’ve worked really hard to get to this point, not to mention our struggles with one another in order to make it to the big league.
Jane Ann rushes past me without giving me a single glance, her bright red hair swishing around as she frantically whips her head back and forth as if she’s looking for something.
I lift one eyebrow when she finally spots me and then makes a beeline toward me. “Looking for someone?”
She twists her red lips. “Yes, you. Where are Luke and Tyler? I need to speak with all of you.”
I shrug. “How should I know? I’m not their babysitter.”
Jane Ann crosses her arms over her chest. “Attitude like that is exactly what I need to speak with all of you about.”
“Really? I happen to believe that there’s not one thing wrong with my attitude,” I retort. “My contract doesn’t mention anything about me being fucking rainbows and sunshine. It says that I’m to show up, do my job, and that’s it, and I assure you I’ve never missed a show. Hell, if I had a time card, I’d be employee of the year with perfect attendance.”
Her face flushes, and I can tell she’s ready to rip into me but is trying hard to maintain her composure since there are so many people milling about around us in the backstage area. “Jared, you need to learn to respect others. This mouth of yours causes nothing but trouble.”
I roll my eyes. “Respect others? Like who?”
“Ace, for one.”
That causes a bitter laugh to tear out of me. “Ace? Are you fucking kidding me? Why should I respect him?”
She straightens her back. “Because after tonight I’m making him your boss. I’m putting him in charge of this band, giving him more authority to make minor calls to keep him happy, so you better get used to biting your tongue when it comes to Ace.” She glances down at her watch, and I open my mouth to fire back, but she cuts me off. “Speaking of which, Ace has a signing appearance to make, but I expect all of you to be waiting side stage to take direction from Ace as soon as he’s done signing autographs. If you’re late, for anything, you will be fined. Make sure you find the other two and let them know.”
She walks off, twisting her hips in her too-tight red skirt in the process.
“I wonder how big the stick up her ass is? Fucker must be huge for her to be a constant bitch.” Luke’s voice pulls me out of the trance I was in watching Jane Ann walk away.
God, that woman and her little pet, Ace, get under my skin.
“What did she want this time?” My gaze turns to my redheaded bandmate who stands beside Tyler, the dirty-blond-haired drummer. Both of the men stare at me, waiting on my answer.
I rub the back of my neck. “She came to tell me that I have a bad attitude and that we better start showing Ace more respect. Oh, and she’s also imposing fines if we’re late.”
