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“Yes, it does,” I murmur.
“Okay, he’s off to do his stalker work.”Lennon says. “You sound weird, Sis. What else is going on? Turner keeps asking if he needs to pull Sally out of retirement and if Atlas and Mav have gotten their heads out of their asses.”
Sally the bat and Turner. “I don’t think she’ll ever fully go into retirement,” I giggle. “Unfortunately, Atlas and Mav have a permanent stick up their asses when it comes to me. It seems childish to say they’re mean, but it is unpleasant to be around them.”
“Are they bullying you?”I can hear Derek next to her, and wonder when he came into the room. “I may have cornered the market on being a douchebag at one point. The only thing I can say about it is that sometimes it’s guilt and other times it’s struggling with unresolved issues.”
“We shared a couple of kisses a long time ago,” I remind him. “They decided to reenact their actions a few years ago and made sure I walked into the hotel room while they were going at it. I tried to sleep on the roof because there weren’t any rooms.”
“Is it roof sleeping weather?” Derek teases me.
“Not in Vermont,” I grumble. “That’s part of what’s twisting me up. Draven, my new drummer, came upstairs and made me come back to the room and sleep in his bed.”
Derek, I’ve found, really enjoys gossip. “Do I need to ask if you fell on his dick?”
“Derek!” I laugh. Lenny snickers on the other end of the phone, and I shake my head. “It really wasn’t like that, but Jordan found the three of us in bed together and asked the same question. I was fully dressed, thank you.”
“So you said you were twisted up, what’s the problem?”Lenny asks.
“Draven didn’t have to be nice. In fact, he was very much on Atlas and Mav’s side. The three of them are best friends from their time touring in the UK. It makes sense he’d be an ass.”
“Lay, you forget, I heard the interview and that awful woman’s question. You didn’t hesitate to step in to help. Maybe he’s realizing that Mav and Atlas’ issues are their own,”Lenny suggests.
“How are those assholes, anyway?”Roark calls out. Hearing them all makes me feel homesick, and I blink rapidly. I’m an adult. I shouldn’t feel like this.
“They’re still dickheads,” I confirm. “Purposely obtuse, pushing me into situations that are impossible, and I’m pretty sure Atlas got mad at me at one point because I was crashing from the adrenaline rush at open mic night at O’Malley’s.”
“You covered up a murder,”Lenny scoffs. “I would have been twitchy afterward too.”
“I heard about the murder from Lenny,”Roark says. “Look, I’ve never known them to act like this before. They’ve changed a lot. Sometimes I wonder if this is them pulling the pigtails on the pretty girl in the playground.”
“I don’t think I was even born yet when they were playing on the playground,” I mutter petulantly. Roark barks out a laugh, and it makes me feel a little better. “Besides, I only enjoy my hair being pulled in very specific situations. None of them are ones that Atlas and Mav are interested in pursuing.”
“Lay, I think they’re acting like this because they are, and that’s their issue,”Roark rumbles unhappily. “I don’t think they deserve you, so give them hell if they ever get their shit together.”
Giggling, I try to imagine a world where Mav and Atlas ask me to forgive them. So much of how I perceive myself is indoctrinated in our short time together. I say things in my head before I speak, to make sure I don’t sound weak or immature, which means that instead my words come out cold and polished. An interviewer once said that I was stuck up, which I’m very much not.
She kept trying to compare me to my sister, which is another one of my triggers. I hate being compared to her. We’re entirely different people.
“I promise,” I tell Roark. Glancing at the time, I realize it’s time to go. “Will you let me know if you find anything out about Jordan, please? Kyle is a poor substitute for him, and even Atlas and Mav agreed that I should make it a point to not talk to him without someone else.”
“Has he said or done anything to make you worried, Layla?”Orion growls. I’m careful with my next words, because I know O wouldn’t hesitate to get rid of Kyle and make it seem like an accident.
“No,” I say quickly. “It’s more the feeling that something is off. Better to be safe, O. I’m good, I promise. I actually need to head out to the next interview, so I’ll check in later?”
The guys and Lennon say goodbye, and even Turner pops in as well. Smiling, I hang up the phone. I feel better after talking to them, even though I’m going to need a video call with the kids soon. They’re getting so big so fast, and Lennon and the guys are loving having baby Senan to spoil now.
Getting up, I pull the pins out of my hair in the bathroom. My kiss with Tyler was hot, but my updo didn’t survive it. Still worth it.
Pulling out a curling iron, I frown at my outfit. I’m just not feeling it anymore. Twenty minutes later, I’m wearing cute ripped jeans, a cropped band tee, and flats. My hair is now styled into pretty curls, and I apply a dark mauve lipstick.
“That’s as good as it’s gonna get, folks,” I mutter. The weather is muggy right now in Cleveland, so I may as well be cute and comfortable. Unplugging the curling iron, I spray my hair with setting spray and grab my bag.
“Are we ready?” I ask, stepping out of the bedroom. Draven looks up and his mouth drops open when he sees me. His eyesdon’t look red anymore, and I can’t smell weed either. He’s also changed into dark jeans and a long-sleeved thin shirt with the sleeves pushed up. Damn, I can see the abs and tattoos from here.
“Yeah. Damn, chick, did I miss the memo? You look beautiful,” he says, surprising me.
“I… um, thanks. I just felt like changing,” I tell him with a small smile. I don’t miss Tyler’s face as he hides a smirk as well as he packs away his computer.
