Page 64 of Never Forget

We both turn on our heels and march our separate ways.

I don’t bother knocking, throwing the door open and charging right into Blake’s office. He looks annoyingly put together, not the least bit chuffed that I just barged in the way I did.

“Mr. Lester.”

“Don’t do that.”

“What can I help you with, Naz?” He sounds bored, exasperated, over all our bullshit.

“What happened with Scott?”

“I’m sure Cory told you that Mr. Riley left of his own volition and has yet to return.”

“What happened?” I grit out again, over enunciating each word.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t tell you more than what I have. The discussion we had beforehand is private and would be an HR nightmare.”

“I couldn’t give a shit less about HR. I want to know what you did to piss Scott off because he wouldn’t just leave like that.”

“Because you know him so well?”

I don’t dignify that with an answer, but it does the intended damage. A pang of guilt slices through my stomach. More than once I’ve thought to myself that I don’t know much about Scott’s personal life. I know he’s from somewhere in the Midwest, and I overheard him say something to Cory about having a sister, which I admit I didn’t know. I really don’t know anything about Scott’s past, his family, or anything outside of the person he is when he’s with me.

I know he’s larger than life, not just in size, but personality. I know he laughs with his whole body, and that he can find humor in anything. I know that, on the outside at least, it seems like he doesn’t care about much or take things too seriously, but that he actually takes things to heart more than most. I know he’s the most observant person I’ve ever met. And I know that he’s a different person depending on who he’s talking to. He’s like a chameleon that way.

Which is also why it doesn’t make sense for him to just walk out. Scott has an uncanny way of knowing what someone wants to hear. He would know exactly what to say to keep his position, even just temporarily.

“I know he wouldn’t leave like this. Without saying anything.”

“Without you, you mean?”

The palm of my hand stings, my nails digging into the flesh. I keep them long because I like seeing the tracks I make when I scratch my nails down his back.

How long will the last marks I made stay on his skin? Will he see them and regret leaving me here?

“Yes, without me. Or without saying goodbye at least.” Pulling my phone from my pocket, I check again for any messages. “Not even a text,” I say, holding it up.

“Naz,” Blake says, putting his arms on his desk and leaning forward, dark eyes boring into me like he’s trying to burn a message into my brain. “Go back to the condo. Get some rest. You need to trust that I’m doing the best thing for all of us right now.”

“I don’t really care what’s best for all of us!” I shout. “I’ve given this band everything. Hell, I just handed over the last thing I had holding all my strings together. My life has been threatened, I have no privacy, and my grandparents may never speak to me again. He was the only thing I had for me. He kept me safe. And he kept me sane, Blake. I don’t know if I can do all of this without him.”

Blake’s eyes soften, but his body language doesn’t change. “Naz, I need you to hear me right now. I understand that you’re upset. I need you to trust me.”

Translation: This is a lost cause.

“You act like you’re above it all, but when it comes down to it, you’re no better than the last asshole who tried to control us.”

It’s a low blow, I know. But I’m pissed off, confused, and actually scared for the first time since I thought we might lose Jesse. It’s like I can feel the truth trickling down from the ceiling—something is about to change in a big way. And not a good change.

Blake at least pretended to be on our side, and maybe he really was. But now that I’m really looking at him, at the dark circles under his eyes I didn’t notice before, there’s an expression of defeat hiding behind his stony exterior.

Maybe he fired Scott because it was out of his hands. Maybe he stared lasers into him the way he’s doing to me now and let him know there was no point in arguing or standing up for himself.

And maybe Scott didn’t tell me because I shut him out.

Blake stands and starts to come around his desk. “Naz–”

“Don’t. I understand.”