Chapter 6
“You both still look ugly, even after…what? Ten years? Damn, that makes me feel old!” Brittney exclaims, giving Callum and me a half-hearted hug and air kisses our cheeks.
The four of us lads flew into Los Angeles two days ago, and we’ve already started getting things to move for us. We’re on a time schedule since Haze is fronting the capital on this adventure, so moving at a pace of how things are typically done in the music world isn’t an option for us.
We recently met Oliver Jones, our old manager, in his LA headquarters.
Or, more like, we self-imposed ourselves inside his building and demanded we wouldn’t leave until he gave us two minutes.
We aren’t exactly small men by any means, and four Brits weren’t going to take no for an answer from his PA, who looks more like she’s a sixteen-year-old intern than an adult. Oliver gave us thirty seconds and bought our pitch. He says he’s happy to take us four without Eden, but I’ll be damned, we’ll do this without her.
And that’s why we’re here in this posh, celebrity café with Eden’s best friend and ex-bandmate from her days with the Sugar Vixens before joining Sonic. Brittney remained her closest confident out of this six all-girl band.
And we know this because Oliver mentioned all of Eden’s royalty checks are sent to the blonde, green-eyed woman standing before us.
Once upon a time, Callum and I had a bit of a fling with her. Not at the same time and way before Eden joined our group. Even though we all thought Eden was the hottest of the six girls, she was pretty much unapproachable outside her small circle of friends.
Brittney, on the other hand, was there. And I mean it in every sense of the word. We had a one-night stand that neither party remembers because we were both too wasted and woke up naked with massive hangovers in my hotel room. We went our own ways and never spoke about it again, but both bands know about our affair. No one outside it. Not even Oliver, who managed both of us.
“Ta, luv. Good to see you too,” I say, smirking at Callum and taking a seat at our table.
“Your hair’s shorter,” Callum comments, removing his dark shades, as the waiter brings our menus.
“And both of you are bulkier and definitely sporting the hard rocker dude looks.”
She’s referring to my laced-up ankle boots, ripped black jeans, skull-printed vest, black biker jacket, and silver chains around my neck and wrists. LA weather never affected my dress sense, and thankfully, after years of being absent, it still doesn’t. Back in London, I ditched my wardrobe, which Haze dubbed dadcore, and pulled out my old denims and leathers, realizing I would need a shopping trip before the trip here.
“It’s who we always were at heart,” I say casually. “You’re fully aware of who controlled us back then.”
I don’t miss the slight wince she makes. It was so fast that one could have missed it.
“Let’s not bring up the past unless you want me getting nasty and throwing you more insults than I did ten years ago,” she says, adopting a guarded and defensive demeanor.
“So why are you boys here?” She cuts to the chase fast, knowing we aren’t here to reminisce about old times. “Why back in LA? More specifically, why did you want to meet with me? We’ve said everything we had to say back at Michelle’s. You’re still a bunch of loser douches.”
Brittney might have adopted that fake attitude of a pretty blond ex-teenage heartthrob turned-daytime-soap-actress down to a T. But she wouldn’t be Eden’s bestie if she wasn’t just as harsh and direct as the mysterious lady herself.
“Ouch, Brit,” Callum exclaims with an upturned smile, but it lacks any genuine warmth. “One would think fifteen years later, the flame would have died down a little.”
I never discovered what really went on between these two, other than a couple of steamy nights together, but I always got the impression that Brittney may have continued to carry a little bit of a torch for Callum, even after we all hooked up with Eden. It was no secret that we admired the lead singer of the Vixens, but we couldn”t help but feel a twinge of resentment when she was integrated with us into the Sonics.
Oliver called it a change of scenery for the band.
Looking back, maybe we were harsh on Eden when she first joined. She had no say in which group she wanted to be in; she was bound by contract with Oliver and the label.
“You destroyed my best friend’s career, asshole,” she narrows her eyes at us. “Fifty years can pass, and I’ll still have the nastiest words to say about you.”
“For the zillionth time, we had nothing to do with that video,” I say, exasperated by arguing about that fucking footage. “You know as much as we do that Eden was desperate to cast off that princess image they forced her into. For fucks sake, they even gave her a speech trainer to lose her Brooklyn accent and pitch her voice up when in public!”
“Don’t remind me of what they made us do!” she grits her teeth. “But there is no way Eden had anything to do with the video. You didn’t see her when she was bombarded by the public. She was made into some teenage hooker, gangbanged by her band. And where were you when this broke out? Hmm….hiding away in some recording studio.”
“I’m not having this discussion again, Brit. We explained ourselves to you and the other Vixens who attempted to toss mud at us. In the end, we all lost out because the label fired our arses for viciously lashing out at each other to the public. They could no longer control what we did anymore. And most importantly, we’re not here in LA for another war with you.”
I find my calm before I tell her our mission.
“We know you’re still in contact with Eden. You’re her power of attorney over all her royalty affairs. We want to meet with her.”
Brittney’s eyes widen at my request.
“Why?”
“We want to start over. Start a band with her again.”
Silence erupts at our table, and without any warning, Callum and I are met with a sudden burst of laughter from Brittney as she rolls her head back and heckles us.
“You have got to be fucking kidding me! Omigod, that’s the most hilarious thing I’ve heard in a decade!”
I glance at Callum, and a sense of silent understanding passes between us as he presses his lips firmly together with irritation. He moves his chair forward and leans towards her, ensuring no one else can hear him.
“Brit, do you want an ex-junkie tarnishing your clean TV image? I’ll go public with our affair, so bloody shut the fuck up and take us seriously.”
Shite, Callum’s reaching a new low. He’s vexed and desperate.
Brittney gets quiet very quickly.
“You wouldn’t dare, Callum,” she narrows her brows at him. “Isn’t it enough you assholes ruined one person’s career? Is your intention to drag everyone down with you?”
“No, it’s not,” Callum replies sharply. “But don’t disrespect us again. We’re serious musicians, but our bark is harsh if you hack us off. Just don’t go there with us.”
She quickly straightens herself up. The waiter comes over to take our order, but she waves him away.
Casting us a steely gaze with an unwavering demeanor, she’s ready to confront and overcome whatever challenge we pose.
“You threatening me, Sonic boys?”
We’re aware her bite is just as harsh as our bark. And just like she and Eden, most of us had to fight for our place in the food line. We might have been living the life of international pop brats in our teens, but we had our own share of hardships, and if we had to get our knuckles raw, we’d do so without a second thought.
I clear my throat before answering as she waits for a response to her questions.
“You currently have more to lose, sunshine; we’re starting at ground zero.”
I can see the flame emblazoned in her eyes.
“Eden has nothing to lose either,” a sly smile works up the smirk on her face. “I’ll enjoy the pics she’ll send me when she strings all four of you up by your balls and leaves you on some sand dune for the coyotes to find you. Maybe there’s a flash flood, and you Brit boys drown. All females will rejoice with your passing.”
“So she’s here in America, on the West Coast,” I say quietly, my mind running so many places, cities, and states.
She might be anywhere.
Damn it, Brittney.
“Smart boy. Oh, I look forward to hearing all about what she’ll do to you. Eden’s changed, and you’re setting yourselves up for failure. You’ve been warned,” she bites her top lip as if she’s imagining all the things Eden will do to us.
“Awww!” Callum shrieks, raising his hands in the air. “I’m so scared,” he says with a feminine voice.
“Give us an address,” I demand.
“Your funeral,” she says, pushing her chair back and standing up.
“My appetites’s been ruined by you sons of bitches. I’ll text you Eden’s address once I’ve spoken with her.”
Callum goes to say something, but she puts her finger on his mouth. He deliberately grabs it, but instead of pushing it away, he holds her finger tight in his grip.
“Before you object, I just want to say that I’ll convince her to allow me to give you the address. But I’m giving her the dignity of knowing about your intentions.”
Callum still holds onto her finger.
“Please?” She pleads with him, but I know he’s not hurting her. He’s majorly pissed off with her attitude.
As soon as he lets go, she turns to me. “We’ll be in touch. Next time, come alone and leave the rabid dog at home.”
“You know you love me deep inside that wicked heart of yours, Brit!” Callum calls out with a mischievous grin as she walks onto the pavement. Her only response is a quick show of her middle finger, walking away from us.
“Eden has more spunk than Brittney. This is only going to get worse.” I mutter, staring at the woman disappearing down the road.
“Birds of a feather stick together. At least she’s had her over the years.”
Did she, though?
If I catch onto Brittney’s description, Eden’s been living solitary and isolated from life in some desert for the past ten years. The mere contemplation of the hardships she might have endured to survive such an ordeal sends a shiver down my spine, making me wonder about the kind of resilience she must have to endure the challenges she willingly subjected herself to.
The deeper I think about this, the more I’m convinced she released that video to the media and she’s been punishing herself all these years for her mistakes.