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Her heart. It will all be mine.
Chapter Eleven
Ocean
Seventeen years old and one week away from being eighteen…
Ionly have one chance at this today. It’s one week until my birthday and I need to get out of the hell I’ve been living in. Turning sixteen had been life-changing whenhehad been by my side, guiding me, making sure I was getting the best treatment possible and keeping my uncle away from my business. When I turned seventeen, he was no longer in my corner. I’ve lived the past 358 days in fear. My security has been top notch. The media has still been in a frenzy over me. The Princess of Pop. Little did they know, though, that my soul dies a little more inside every time I get up on that stage to perform.
Every performance is more money to the company that doesn’t care about me and the uncle who drinks and gambles away what I get, and then sends the people who owe him money after me.
“Ocean, you have to help me out,” he begs and twists his hands in his hair. Cliff Heart used to be a good-looking man. These days he looks as if he lives at the bar. His eyes are always red and bloodshot. He’s sickly thin and his skin is yellowish. His clothes are always rumpled and on more than one occasion, he hasn’t even changed out of what he wore the day before. “I promise it's the last time!”
I back away from him, trying to stay out of his reach, fearing his hold on me. “You said that last time. When that person came to collect, he almost hit Theo with a baseball bat before knocking my headlights out.”
He nods his head. “I know. I know. That's why if I pay them now, they won’t look for you.”
My eyes narrow on him, wondering how much of this is a game. I’ve been too scared to tell anyone, fearing his behavior will get back to BNE and leak to the news. “I’m leaving for the next show in a few hours then I’ll be in the studio. They won’t be able to find me.”
His face reddens. “You’re going to leave me?”
“It's not safe, Uncle Cliff,” I tell him, practically pleading with him to let me off the hook.
He scoffs and his eyes fill with so much rage. “You’re so ungrateful, Ocean. Everything I do is to make you who you are and give you the best with BNE and you can’t even help me out of a tough spot?”
My head shakes in denial. I hate that I feel so helpless around him. “Come with me then to get away from them.”
“They will find me anyway! If you don’t help me, they’ll kill me. What would your poor parents think about that?” he yells in my face, his body postured to fight.
My heart races then drops when I hear the door open and my security walks in. I peer at Uncle Cliff and he’s smirking. He knows I’m trying to keep his extracurriculars as under wrapsas I can. Kyle, Theo and Beth all believe he is getting help. That help only lasted a day before he was back home. I keep hiding it. I don’t want them to think I can’t handle my business or my uncle. I especially don’t want Ezra to find out, not that he’d care. This is the mess he left me in when he decided to leave with no warning. I’ve sworn Kyle, Theo and Beth to secrecy for my own wellbeing. I’m probably being stubborn, but I’m determined to take care of it without anyone’s help. To prove that I can be alone and still protect myself.
I walk back into my room and write the check for him to cash. “This has to be it, Uncle Cliff, please.”
He doesn’t answer. He pockets the check and sneaks out of my room. A few days later, I’m accosted outside the arena I’m performing in. Acting as reporters, his bookies let me know my uncle owes more than he let on. This time Theo, Beth and Kyle witness as I cave again and give my hard-earned money to pay off another one of Uncle Cliff’s debt.
These days, I am never without Kyle, Theo or Beth. I can’t even walk into a restaurant without being accosted and taken out back. And these people aren’t gentle. My makeup artists have craftily covered bruises on my arms before. I never sleep and I barely eat. My body is being held together by energy drinks and caffeine, fake smiles and frilly dresses. That's why today is going to be the day. I need to save myself because I have been cruelly taught that I can only depend on myself.
Rise Above is in town and performing at a smaller nightclub in the same city where I have back-to-back press conferences this week before my stadium concert in New York. I want to meet their new manager and hopefully convince her to sign me to her new record label.
Mia Rosen is quickly making a name for herself in the music scene. Not only is she managing one of the hottest up-and-coming bands and signing The Kid, she is also young, gorgeous,and talented. Right out of college she started her own record label, Rosen Records. I’ve been following her on social media as well as Rise Above since their debut on the West Coast. The guys are hot, sure, but it’s the lyrics to their songs that grab me in a chokehold. Raw, sensual, and full of longing. I feel it. I listen to them on the nights I can’t block out the nightmares or the feeling of being abandoned by the one person who said he would never leave me. Mia’s the one who really drew me in. I want to be her when I grow up. Creating my dream out of thin air, and being my own boss. I want to be free and deep in my gut, something is telling me that Mia is the one who can help me. I just have to get her to listen to a seventeen-year-old.
I heard my uncle leave his hotel room about fifteen minutes ago, going out to party and drink away his payday, I’m sure. With him gone, it means he took his security, which put me in the clear to sneak out and get back before they notice. Kyle, Theo, and Beth will do anything for me. The security under them is under my thumb and we have mutual respect for each other. They wouldn't bat an eye if I told them I was sneaking out. It's my uncle’s clowns at BNE that would snitch, and I do not need anyone knowing what I’m out doing. Not even Beth, Theo or Kyle.
I slip from my bed and throw on the pair of jeans I snagged from Theo on our last overnight trip before grabbing the gray hooded sweatshirt ofhisthat he had left behind. I don’t know why I kept it or why I thought maybe tonight it would give me the confidence I need to do this, but it is worth a try. I grab my navy baseball cap from under my bed and pull it on over my head, shading my face, before pulling the hood over it. From the back, I guess I can pass as a guy. My curves are pretty hidden in the baggy clothes. It's my height that I worry about. If anyone gets too close, they can tell right away I’m a woman.
With one more check to make sure my hair is tucked back far enough, I sneak out. And it's way easier than I thought it would be. Probably because Beth, Theo and Kyle trust me and think I’m napping in our joined suite. As per usual, my uncle’s security is gone from the hallways, tailing him. Once again, he has made me vulnerable and didn’t think twice about it. I take the elevator down to the main floor and manage not to have anyone get in my car. At the front of the hotel, the bellman gives me a second look but continues to call me a taxi anyways.
My knee bounces the entire ride and I’m thankful I have enough cash to cover the cost. “I just have to run inside quick. If I pay you for your time, can you wait for me?” I ask the older gentleman.
He glances back in his rearview mirror. “Sure kid.”
Good enough for me. I bound up the steps of the club and let myself inside. It’s one in the afternoon and no one is around except for the cleaners and the barbacks, who are preparing for the concert. I start to move toward the back rooms when I’m stopped by a man wearing a t-shirt with a rose badge printed on it.
“We’re closed. Is there something I can help you with?”
I look at him, our gazes meeting, and I can tell he recognizes me. His eyes widen a fraction before slipping back into business mode.
“I’m here to see Ms. Rosen.”
