Chapter 41 #2
‘Tell me it’s not true, Jake!’ She looked at me and when I saw tears streaming down her cheeks, I felt like I’d been punched in the gut. ‘Tell me that’s not why you came here!’
‘It’s not… I mean, yeah, that was the plan in the beginning. But only because I was supposed to be matched with someone high profile who needed to revive their career too.’
‘So you were disappointed to be matched with me?’
‘No! Yes, but only because I didn’t want to lead you on—’
‘So instead, you lied!’
‘I didn’t lie, I… I said—’
‘You said you were just trying to improve your image!’
‘I was!’
‘But you didn’t say that you were trying to trick me into appearing on a reality show! Or anything about us getting engaged! So this was all fake? It was all a set-up?’
‘No!’ I went to rest my hand on her shoulder and she brushed it off. ‘Everything I feel for you is real. I swear.’
‘I told you how important the truth was to me, Jake. You knew how hard it was for me to trust again, but you lied to me and… Wait, are you filming this?’ Halle glared at Wilma who was holding her cell up in her direction. ‘This is fucked up!’
Halle sprinted to the front door, opened it then raced outside.
I went to run after her, then stopped. If Wilma was filming, I needed to deal with that footage first before she uploaded it or sent it to God knows who. I had to protect Halle.
‘What the fuck, Wilma!’ I snatched her cell from her hand and stopped the recording.
‘That’s mine!’ Wilma shrieked. ‘Give it back!’
I raced into the bathroom, locked the door, then deleted the video. Then I went in the trash and made sure I deleted it from there too.
When I went back in her photo library, I spotted dozens of photos she’d taken of the hotel and most importantly of Halle, so I canned those as well.
Once I was sure every trace of Halle was off Wilma’s phone, I unlocked the door. When I came out, Wilma was in the bedroom, trying to open Halle’s suitcase.
‘What the hell are you doing?’
‘Finding info on your mystery woman.’
‘Get the fuck out of here. Now!’ I grabbed her arm.
‘Get off me!’ Wilma said as I pulled her out of the door.
When I left, I saw one of the groundsmen I’d become friendly with.
‘Brian. Can you call security, please? We’ve got a trespasser.’
‘On it, sir.’ He nodded.
I continued escorting Wilma down the path.
‘You can’t do this!’ she protested. ‘And give me back my goddamn cell!’
‘Fuck your cell, and fuck you.’
‘You better speak to me with respect, boy. I’m the key to your future. The production companies will only speak to me about this deal. You need me.’
‘The hell I do! You crossed too many lines, Wilma. I might not have my career or a home any more, but do you know what I do have?’
‘You don’t have shit, Jakey boy. Especially without me.’
‘Stop fucking calling me Jakey boy! And you’re wrong. I’m cash poor, yeah. But I’m the richest I’ve ever been because I have love.’
As those words flew from my mouth, I swallowed hard.
Shit.
I didn’t mean to say that.
Not because it wasn’t true, though, because it totally was.
I was in love with Halle. Totally, completely head over heels.
I hadn’t used the L word in the songs I’d written, but the sentiment and the meaning was there.
Halle was the first person I thought of when I woke up and the last person I thought about at night.
When I wasn’t with her, I wanted to be with her.
It was a damn shame that in life you couldn’t always get what you wanted.
‘Are you kidding me?’ She rolled her eyes. ‘You think you’re in love with this chick? Jesus. You’ve known her for five minutes! Just because a woman knows how to suck your cock and spreads her legs for you, doesn’t mean it’s love! You need me more than I thought!’
‘That’s where you’re wrong. I don’t need you.
The only reason I thought I did was because you took me on when I was at my lowest point and you’ve manipulated me ever since.
But the difference is that thanks to meeting an amazing woman, now I believe in myself.
I’ve got talent and I know I’ll make it on my own.
Without doing a fucking reality TV show. Wilma, you’re fired!’
Right on cue, two burly security guards rocked up.
‘Is there a problem here?’ one of them asked.
‘Sure is,’ I said. ‘This woman isn’t authorised to be on the hotel grounds. She’s harassing me and my match. Please can you remove her?’
‘Right away, Mr Myers. Ma’am. Please come with us.’
‘You can’t do this!’ Wilma shouted as they guided her towards the gates.
‘I just did.’ I went to walk off, then stopped. ‘Hey, Wilma. You forgot this.’
I threw her phone towards her. She went to catch it but it slipped out of her hands and crashed to the ground.
‘No!’ she cried out. ‘It’s smashed!’
‘Too bad. Guess you need to practise your catching skills. Maybe there’s some kind of baseball reality show you can apply for.’ I smirked, then walked away.
As her screams and wails faded into the distance, pride filled my chest.
I was free.
Deep down I’d always known that Wilma was wrong for me, but I was so desperate that I thought without her, I wouldn’t survive.
But now I realised that she was holding me back.
Worse than that, she was encouraging me to do things that went against everything I believed in. I’d been someone’s puppet before and I sure as shit wasn’t doing that again.
The songs I’d written these past few days were good. No. They were great. I felt it in my bones. And I could do this.
I’d release my music myself, on my own terms. This was my calling and I wasn’t gonna waste it.
When I left the band, I thought I’d never sing again. But I did.
I rose from the ashes once and I knew that I could do it again.
But first, I had something that was even more important to focus on: Explaining everything to Halle.
And finding a way to win her back.