Page 6 of Now Their Starlet

“That’s not what I’m saying,” I bite out.

But isn’t it? Eli has a point. All I’ve managed to figure out is exactly how screwed Andi is. I haven’t found a solution. Not a real one.

It’s my job to hold us together. Ever since I signed Beck, I knew that keeping him safe was just as important to me as helping his music career flourish. Maybe even more so.

And then Andi stumbled into all our lives and changed everything. How do I thank her? By failing to protect her.

“We can try to ensure that Andi has good representation when that hearing happens. But there’s no guarantee that the courts will accept our acting on her behalf when she’s already under the emergency conservatorship. We have no claim to her, especially not now.”

“Not even if I’m the one to get it for her? Doesn’t us being together publicly mean anything?” Beck asks, running a trembling hand through his hair.

“Not to the courts,” I say with a shake of my head.

The room fills with a thick, tense silence. The sun is starting to set, casting the space in a golden glow. The light glitters off the windows of the nearby high-rise buildings.

“Maybe not to the legal system, but it could be helpful when dealing with the court of public opinion,” Cameron says, breaking the silence. “Everett is right. The court system would probably only acknowledge a bond mark or a marriage certificate. But that doesn’t mean that we have to stay silent about this whole thing.”

“But we’ll have to play our cards carefully,” Leo says, leaning forward and resting his elbows on his knees, moving for the first time in a while. “The last thing we need is to piss Andi’s mom off and have her retaliate somehow.”

“She’s obviously batshit insane,” Eli scowls, offering Leo a nod of acknowledgment.

“Why do you think she’s doing this?” Beck asks, looking longingly at his phone, which lies on the floor beside the coffee table, the corner of its screen cracked from when he threw it down onto the floor earlier.

None of his texts or calls went through to Andi.

I know because I tried calling her the moment I heard the news.

It’s unsurprising. I’m sure that Gina probably blocked all of us, or even disconnected Andi’s number completely. Maybe both.

“Control,” I answer, my voice rough.

“But why now?” Beck shakes his head as if none of this makes sense to him.

Probably because it doesn’t.

There are certain things about dealing with a parent who has an untreated mental illness like this that people who haven’t experienced don’t understand.

But instead of trying to explain to Beck the warped mindset Andi’s mom has—probably a product of her own trauma and the aftereffects of her chemical unbonding to Andi’s father years ago—I explain the more logistical reasons that are easier to understand.

“I have a call to make,” I say, reaching into my pocket and pulling out my phone.

“Who are you calling?” Leo asks, tilting his head as he looks up at me.

“Someone who can help?” Beck adds.

“Hopefully,” I say with a sigh. “He at least has more experience dealing with Gina Sterling—especially within a legal context.”

“You’re calling Edison,” Cameron says, sitting up straighter.

“Yes.” I nod.

It takes a bit of searching, but I’m able to find his number easily enough. He should probably invest in making sure his contact information is more private.

Or maybe he left it easily accessible on purpose, with the hope his daughter would reach out one day.

The phone rings four times before he picks up.

“Is this Edison Wade?” I ask.