Page 37 of A Tragic Melody

“I think if I could just look over the notes now, I’d be good in time for tonight’s show,” Wyatt supplies.

“Sit.” I pat the spot next to me. He eyes the tray of drugs on the other side of me. “It doesn’t bite. Sit and I’ll show you the notes.”

He takes a seat beside me while I bend over and do another line. When I look back at him, his eyes are glued to the floor in front of him. It’s my plan to ruin him, but I don’t want him to relapse to achieve it. That would make it far too easy.

I wonder what it would take for him to slip, though. Is it just too much seeing it? Being around it? I’ll have to be careful.

“Do you know how to play any of my songs?” I ask, looking at him.

“I know a decent amount. Based on your set list, I should be okay with most of the songs. I’m mostly worried about Overwhelmed. The riff is great, but I’m not as familiar with it as I’d like to be.”

“Overwhelmed is a great song,” Quinn agrees, sitting in front of us. “Tuesday wrote it in like half a day.”

“That’s impressive.” Wyatt nods.

I smile. I like Wyatt singing my praise. He looks cuter when he is complimenting me.

“What’s the most coke you’ve done in one night?” I ask.

“Tuesday!” Quinn yells at me.

“I didn’t really measure.” Wyatt shrugs. “Or count.”

“Fair point. I don’t really know how much I’ve done today. Probably like five lines? Quinn, have you been counting?” I turn to look at him.

“No. Plus how would I even know what you do when I’m not watching?”

“Or who,” I add. “Tell me Wyatt, are you going to watch me, too? Track my every move? Make sure I don’t overdose or get hurt? Or will you be more passive? Pretending I don’t exist and that you don’t want to fuck me?” Quinn looks at me disapprovingly.

“That’s not a valid question,” Wyatt says in an even tone.

“What do you mean?” My head whips back to him.

“The last part isn’t possible,” he goes on.

“How so?”

“I can’t pretend you don’t exist. I’ll constantly be around you, from the bus to the stage. There will be no denying you exist. As for wanting to fuck you, I can’t pretend I don’t want to do that, when I don’t want to do it to begin with.”

I throw my head back and laugh. He really is such a silly boy.

“Quinn likes to believe that, too. He says he thinks of me as a sister. I don’t buy it.” I glance back to Quinn. “I think he secretly wishes he could fuck me, but he knows I’d ruin him if he did.”

Quinn’s face drops. I’m sure my statement stung, but honestly, I’m just trying to get under Wyatt’s skin. Unfortunately, Quinn’s an easy tool to use. He sighs, pushing himself to his feet.

“Welcome to the group, Wyatt,” he says, before walking off the bus.

Wyatt turns to look at me. “You know, one day, when you’re all alone, you’re going to look back on all this and regret it. That guy actually cares about you, and you treat him like shit. What happens when he gives up on you, too? When you have no one?”

“I’ll be sure to call you when that day comes.” I smile. “What’s your number?” I pull out my phone. “I can send you the sheet music. You should still take tonight off, get your head straight. I want to make sure you don’t embarrass me when you join me up on stage.”

“Whatever you say.” He nods. “You’re the boss.”

“Oh, I like that.” I rest my hand on his leg, looking into his brown eyes. “You know, I’m not thrilled about this arrangement, either. I thought Hendricks would just force them to take you back, but I guess it’s not so bad.” I lean in closer to him. “Maybe we could make the most of it. They say there is a fine line between love and hate, want to see if it’s true?”

“No,” he says, leaning away from me. “I’d rather stay firmly in Switzerland.”

“Switzerland?” I laugh. “You think you can stay neutral? That’s not how this works, Wyatt. I have all the power, right? And now your career is in my hands. You owe me, and I’m going to collect.”