Page 96 of The Bitter Words

“Before you go tell me why you hate me.” Livianna’s expression drips with hurt and tears roll down her cheeks. “Tell me, Jax. What is it about me that you don’t like? Why do you think I’m such a horrible person?”

I’m in a predicament. On one hand, I want to soothe her pain and on the other, I want to push her away and forget she ever existed.

I run my palm over my beard and frown. “I don’t feel that way.”

“What way is that?”

“I don’t hate you.”

She dries her face with the sleeve of her cover-up. “Then how do you feel about me?”

“Jaxon?” Greg comes back into the room with a warning tone filling his words. “What did you do to make my daughter cry?”

Chapter Twenty-One

CALLUM/CASH

Then

Twenty Wishes & Poisonous Concoctions

Every cheer scrapes raw, like the world’s applauding while I’m already choking on the smoke.

“The show tonight is gonna be sick.” Bren bounces up and down as he works himself into his leather pants. “I never thought we’d be doing this well when we signed with Leon two years ago.”

“Yeah, we’re in the big leagues now.” I put out my cigarette and blow the smoke from between my lips.

Bren and I are sharing an upscale two-bedroom suite in Philly. I crack the balcony slider so the sprinkler head doesn’t go off and cost us a $500 fine.

We’re playing our biggest gig to date on my birthday. That just happens to be today.

We decided to splurge and upgrade our hotel to celebrate. Since Livianna can’t be here due to Leon’s restrictions, I have plans to put on a great show and hang out with my bandmates, getting fucking plastered. It’s about all I do these days.

Bren flicks the side of my head with his fingers. “You need to quit smoking. It’s gonna ruin your pipes.”

“Maybe that’s what I want,” I say sarcastically, but deep down, I mean it.

If I could get away from Leon, I would. Only three more years until our contract is fulfilled. It feels like a lifetime away.

I don’t think about how I’m gonna deal with Livianna during that time while we’re out on the road. We’re barely hanging on now.

There’s nothing I can do without exposing all my friends’ and family’s secrets, so I just spin in worry and confusion. Because of that, I’ve gone back to constant drug and alcohol use.

Oh, and I’ve added smoking to the list full-time. Why not? Nothing else is helping.

Smoking used to be a one-off thing when my stress was too much, but now… What can I say? The good news is I haven’t seen Leon since he told me to keep Livianna away.

Bren’s phone rings and he answers it. “Hey. You still planning on coming?”

He glances at me, wanders away, and cups his hand over the speaker.

What the fuck is that about?

I pretend to be checking emails on my laptop. He keeps mumbling about being sure he’s kept something a secret. Bren’s usually laid back and doesn’t care about much of anything unless it’s about…

Fuck!

He’s got Livianna on the phone and they’re planning something. How do I know?