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I manage to get to my feet without vomiting or collapsing, so I take that as a good sign. Leaning over the sink, I grab the washcloth Kate threw at me and use it to wipe off my face. While brushing my teeth, I look in the mirror and freeze.
Bloody hell!
No wonder I feel like crap. I have a giant, filthy scrape down one side of my face and onto that same shoulder, beneath the scrapes are massive amounts of dark bruising. What kind of fall would it take to do that? I’m probably lucky I didn’t bust a tooth since it looks like my face cushioned my fall. I’m guessing that whatever behavior caused these injuries is what Kate wants to talk about. I quickly swipe the rag over my torso, cleaning up a fair amount of blood and dirt before tossing it into the tub.
I sigh before heading into the room I share with Dax to grab a shirt since it seems I passed out wearing only my jeans. Those have splatters of blood and a fair amount of dirt on them, so I change into a pair of athletic shorts as well.
By the time I get to the lounge I can s
ee that the whole gang is here. Dax and Kate are sitting on the smaller sofa glaring at each other, Hawke and Gavin on the larger one with our manager, Hawke’s uncle, Ross Evans.
“Wow, what’s with the serious faces?” I joke, trying to lighten the mood.
Ross starts talking straight away, and he’s not amused. He’s a big, intimidating bloke dressed in a typical L.A. power suit and he has his elbows on his knees with his hands clasped between them. “Look Adam, I’m just gonna say my piece and take off. You want to make it big in the music industry. I think you guys have the talent to do it, but you have to stay focused. Appearance is everything in this town and no one’s gonna want to work with you if you can’t control yourself.”
“What the hell are you…”
Ross hold up a large hand and cuts me off. “I don’t really care what you do on your personal time, Adam. But unfortunately for you, Hollywood is all about appearances and who you know. You can’t get shitfaced at a big player’s house and make a scene. Word travels fast and the next thing you know, you’re out on your ass without a job or a future in the industry.” He gets up and straightens the cuffs of his fancy shirt. “I’ll see you guys later,” he says to everyone, then he’s gone, leaving me standing stunned and open mouthed.
“Sit, Adam. Please.” Kate points at the hideous leather recliner that Gavin insisted on buying last year.
I swallow nervously and have a seat, scanning everyone’s face to see if there’s anyone here who isn’t angry with me. Surprisingly, I don’t see any anger, only pity. I notice that Kate’s eyes are red-rimmed and swollen.
“What is going on here?” I rasp, clearing my throat so it doesn’t sound like I’m getting emotional.
“Do you remember anything from last night, Adam?” Kate asks.
“Not really,” I admit. “Just the gig … well, parts of the gig anyways.” I definitely remember arriving at the club and singing. After that is pretty much a blank.
Kate turns to Dax, Gavin, and Hawke. “Guys, can you leave us?”
Without saying a word, my band mates get up and head out of the flat. When the door shuts gently behind them, it’s as if the axe that is hovering above me is about to come down on my very sore head.
“Right, what’s going on, Kate? What happened? I’ve been drunk before, no one ever cares. Did I get into a fight or something?”
Kate studies my face, her eyes filling with tears. “Adam, do you even remember seeing Ellie last night?”
I shoot to my feet, paying no attention to the dizzying nausea that accompanies the rapid action. “What? You’re lying. Ellie wouldn’t come to California, and she certainly wouldn’t want to see me.”
My hands are shaking. I want to think it’s from the dehydration but I know it’s not. It’s because even though I don’t know what I did, I know something awful happened last night, something I can’t take back. It feels as if my life is about to spin off into a direction I never ever imagined. A life not only without Ellie, but one in which she hates me.
“She was here, Adam.” I sink back down onto the sofa as Kate speaks, a horrifying awareness churning in my empty stomach. “She used the airline ticket you got her last year. It was about to expire, so she called and asked if she could stay with me.”
I jerk upright at this information, furious at Kate. “Why the fuck wouldn’t you tell me she was coming! I wouldn’t have drank at all had I known!”
“She asked me not to Adam. In case she was too scared to go through with actually seeing you. She didn’t want to make a promise that she couldn’t follow through on.”
I drop my head into my hands, my elbows on my knees. “What did I do,” I whisper, my entire body wound up with stress.
“You saw her and called her a bitch and demanded to know what she wanted. Then you grabbed her chin and shouted and shoved her away, by her face … it was scary, Adam. You were out of control. Dax had to physically remove you from the party and throw you into the car. Those?” She points at the scrapes on my face, “happened when you tried to leap out of the car while it was moving. You’re lucky that we weren’t going fast when you pulled that stupid stunt.”
I gasp, shocked that I not only verbally lashed out at the girl I love, but I also almost hurt her physically, and I jumped from a moving vehicle. I’m turning into exactly the man I swore I wouldn’t, drunk, angry, abusive, impulsive. I’ve become my dad.
“Where is she?” I whisper, exhaling shakily, trying my damndest to not let the tears overwhelm me.
“She left. Got in a cab and went straight to the airport from the party. Left her clothes and everything.”
When I glance at Kate, I see that tears are streaming down her face. She starts to become unfocused, difficult to see behind the tears that well up in my own eyes.
