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Michael took a tentative seat across from me.
“Go on, Michael. Tell them,” Bobby said.
We looked from one to the other.
“Tell us what?” I asked.
“I thought a lot about it, and I want out of the band.”
“Michael,” I said, getting back to my feet.
Santi followed my suit. “Come on, man. It wasn’t like that.”
Yorke kicked his seat back onto two legs, looking more somber than normal. Viv bit her lip and crossed her arms. She looked like she had been bracing herself for this. As if she’d known it was coming since she’d tried to talk to him before he got on that plane out of Lubbock.
Michael held up his hand. “I know it’s a big step. I know you’re probably all mad at me for leaving. I don’t blame you for any of it. I was mad, and I said things that I regret. You’re all still family to me as far as I’m concerned. The last couple years have been incredible. More than I ever thought was possible for me to have. But my journey with Cosmere ends here.”
“But why?” I demanded. “Because of Lubbock?”
“No. Look, we made the best music in years there. I get why we got out of LA. I just can’t keep on with this lifestyle. I can’t be away from my Virginia and Maisie like this. I owe them more than that.” He shrugged. “We have enough money to live off for life if we needed to. And Bobby…he offered me a role in production if I wanted to stay in LA.”
I looked at Bobby, as if seeing him for the first time. He was very calm. He’d already known exactly what this conversation was going to be. He’d decided Michael was out and offered him a way to still be in the music industry without being in the band and away from his family. Best of both worlds. And he’d told none of us.
“You knew,” I accused anyway.
Bobby shot me a look full of pity. Then, he smiled that viper smile. “Of course I knew, kid. This isn’t my first rodeo.”
“Then, why did you get us all together like this? I thought we were going to talk to him to get him on the same page. You said we just needed to give him time.”
“Campbell,” Viv whispered.
But my carefully controlled anger, the anger I’d spent years in therapy getting under wraps, was catapulting to the surface. I didn’t want to lose Michael. Not to this.
“Whose side are you on?” I snarled.
“There are no sides, kiddo,” Bobby said with that same smile. “There’s just the music industry. Michael wants out. You want to stay in. If you wanted out, that’d be a different story. You’re the front man. You write the lyrics. Cosmere doesn’t exist without you.”
Viv looked down at her nails. Santi glanced at Yorke, who was staring fixedly at the table. Michael huffed in irritation at the brush-off. That he could leave and everything would be okay but not if I left.
“No,” I said. “There’s no Cosmere without the band. There’s nothing without Michael either.”
“Campbell,” Santi said with a sigh, “Michael wants out.”
I whirled on Michael. “You love this band. You love performing and creating music. Do you really want to give that all up in our prime? So you can sit behind the booth and watch other people do it?”
“I…” He hesitated, as if he hadn’t considered that question.
“Cosmere is as much your band as mine. We want you to be in it,” I insisted. “We flew home to talk to you, to try to bring you back. Not to just roll over to Bobby Rogers, just because he’s fine with you going.”
“All right, Campbell. He heard you,” Bobby said.
“We do want you back,” Viv said.
Santi nodded. “We’re sorry about what looked like an ambush. It was my stupid mouth. You know how I am.”
“Yeah,” Michael said with a soft laugh. “I guess I do. I was just so frustrated that I was missing everything with Maisie. I don’t want to do that anymore. I don’t want to miss anything.”
“We get how important they are to you,” I said.
Michael shook his head. “No, you don’t. You can’t understand. None of you are married. None of you have kids. It’s just a different world. And fuck, I want to stay in the band. You know I love you, but it feels like it’s one or the other.”
“We can bring them on tour. We can stay in LA to record,” I bargained.
“These things weren’t offered until I threatened to leave,” Michael said. “That’s bullshit, Campbell, and you know it.”
“It’s not Campbell’s fault either,” Santi said. “We did what was best for the band. We didn’t realize you were going to leave because you had to make some sacrifices.”
“Sacrifice is all I’ve done for this band,” Michael said.
