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“I, umm. We’re on a break right now. We’re taking some time off from touring. I’m not sure when we will again. But locally, we’re playing.”
My bright smile is an illusion of the turmoil spreading through me.
How could I have been so damn stupid to think this could all work out? There’s no way in hell I can leave my daughter. Not even for music.
Music is the life force keeping me going. Or was it? Maybe Lyric is the only thing I need now to make life worthwhile. Since she entered my life like the little hurricane she is, the weight of everything has lifted off me. Internally, I’m so much happier than I was a year ago on the road in Europe, playing for sold-out shows.
“That’s cool! I’m always watching on FlashGram to see your pictures. You guys are so good. Gah! Thank you so much!” she squeals, running her words together as she backs away, grinning.
At least I could make her day with something so simple.
Lyric watches the exchange with inquisitive eyes, watching Penny’s every move as she makes her way back behind the counter.
“One day I be famous,” she says with a grin, digging into her first mouthful of ice cream.
Famous, my ass—is what I want to say. There’s no way in hell my baby girl will live this lifestyle. It’s rough being on the road for weeks at a time. It’s more than that, though. Drugs run rampant. Fans are fucking crazy. And I don’t want her exposed to the wildness of being famous. But I also want to give her a chance to spread her wings and make her dreams come true. I’ll do anything for Lyric. Even if it means mentoring her through something as crazy as rock and roll. Or acting. Or modeling. Whatever she wants. She can have.
“What would you want to do?” I ask, tentatively tasting the crazy, sparkly concoction on my spoon. “Well, I’ll be damned,” I mumble, shoving the strawberry-tasting ice cream into my mouth. “I think you’re onto something here, Little Blue. This ice cream is pretty good.”
She grins at me, giggling when she shoves another bite into her mouth. “Told ya, Daddy.”
While Lyric is distracted with her treat, I pull my phone out of my pocket. Immediately, my heart drops when a notification from my bank card displays on my screen. Fraudulent Charges Detected. Followed by an alert that my card was locked until I called in and spoke to my advisor. Fuck. What the hell? Has someone been using my account to buy things? Why haven’t I been getting any sort of alerts on my phone?
Lyric and I fall into an easy conversation as I type out a message to my financial advisor asking about my accounts. Lyric talks on and on, telling me about her all-day preschool and how she’s the youngest and smallest but claims to be the smartest. It makes me laugh when she grins, exposing her teeth full of sparkles.
“I’m the smartest in the class, Daddy. That’s why I gots to start early this year.”
“Oh, yeah?” I grin, setting my chin in my palm, watching with rapt attention as she hums into her ice cream and babbles more. I think I could listen to my baby girl talk all day long and never get bored.
Me
Hey man, My card got declined. I got an alert, too, that there was fraud charges? Just looking in to see what’s going on.
Teddy
Hey, Kieran. Let me take a look.
I tap my nail on the table, waiting patiently for a response from Teddy. It could be something as simple as fraudulent charges or something else.
I furrow my brow when my phone lights up with a call from Teddy. He never calls. It’s usually just text messages or face-to-face meetings with this guy. It’s fine by me, too. I loathe talking on the phone.
“Hey, Ly. Daddy needs to take this, okay? It’s an important call.” She nods, digging into more ice cream, and licks her lips.
“Hello?” I ask, leaning back in my chair, keeping a sharp eye on my daughter.
“Hey, Kieran. Sorry for the call. I was just checking over your accounts. And there’s a problem.”
“What is it?” My heart leaps into my throat at his hesitation. I know I’ll still have money in other accounts, but years of living hand-to-mouth have me panicking. I know what it would feel like to wake up with nothing.
“It got declined because there’s been a stop put on the card by the bank.”
I blink several times, my head fucking spinning.
“I’ve been out of the city for a while. Why would the bank do that? And is that because of the fraudulent charges?” I try to get the world to stop spinning as his mouse clicks in the background.
“I’m looking at it right now. It looks like there were hundreds of charges at places around town within the last two weeks.” With every word he says, the more strained he becomes.
“What places?” My jaw tics on instinct, no matter how hard I try to hide it. “And why wasn’t I notified immediately?”
