Chapter 22
Chapter Twenty-Two
MIA
I’ve never been arrested before. It occurs to me sometime after Wes appears and before we all arrive one by one at the local police station to be processed. I’m not even entirely sure how the fight escalated to a level requiring arrest to stop it but here we are. Arrested. Processed. Awaiting bail.
I can just about make out the cell holding all the guys. I’m separated in my own cell for now, partway down the holding space, but Darius’s voice carries through the whole area as he requests immediate release and asks, “Do you even know who we are?”
No one cares. And they shouldn’t.
My face throbs with pain. I was quickly checked out by medical before being loaded into a cruiser. Just a bruise and swelling await me, although I’ve been given no ice to help with any of that.
I sit on an uncomfortable bench with my back against the wall. Carefully, I lay my head back against it. I can’t believe how sideways today went. Maybe my parents were right. Was this all really the best thing for me?
Music, yes. But within a month and a half, I’d gotten so drunk on tour the guys had to take care of me and now a fight, all the while the general opinion of our band is still hit or miss?
A sadness hollows out my heart. They say parents always know best, but do they really? I want this. I want it all so badly.
Or so I thought.
“Mia?” Aiden calls from where the guys are all being held. He’s pressed his face against the cell bars. “Are you okay?”
I lift my chin and try not to let my voice shake. “Yeah. Achy. But I’m fine.”
A pause. “I’m sorry.”
“You should be.” That’s from Darius.
“Shut the fuck up , man,” Noah curses. “It’s your bullshit that’s got us all in here.”
Yeah. In here. All night long. Never in a million years did I think I would ever be sitting in a police station with Designation fucking Outsider because we were all arrested at the same time.
“You threw the first punch,” Ed argues.
There’s a shuffling sound. I wish I could see my pack and make sure they were all okay and not about to fight again. But I can’t so there’s no point even standing up.
“Enough,” Aiden says, and then there’s a hard thump sound like someone hit a wall. “Enough. After we’re all out of here I want nothing to do with any of you ever again. Or Jordan. You hear me?” A few mumbles of agreement sound, and then Aiden asks, “Leo?”
This makes me look up. “What’s wrong?”
“I’m fine,” Leo says.
I stand and go to the edge of my cell. “What’s going on?” I ask again.
“You’re not fine,” Noah says with worry in his tone. “You’re cradling that arm again.”
Fuck. Was Leo hit at all? I can’t remember. It all happened so fast.
“Nerve pain, yeah,” Leo admits so softly I barely hear it. “It’ll pass like before.”
“Except you don’t have meds on you,” Aiden says before loudly shouting, “Can we get some medical attention in here?” He bangs on the cell bars. No response comes until what feels like forever later.
It’s not the attention we wanted.
Wes is escorted through the small cell block by a police officer, and he happens to have Leo’s backpack of medicine with him. He stops long enough to give me a withering glance before walking up to the cell with all the men in it.
“Wes,” Aiden says.
Wes holds up a hand. He , I can see clearly. “I’m allowed to give Leo anything he might need overnight and into tomorrow, but I’m leaving after.”
My heart sinks as I grip the bars. “Wes…” I trail off because what else am I supposed to do?
Wes shoots me another glance and then confers with Leo about what he needs. There’s a quick conversation and a hand-off of medication that the police officer escort watches closely. Wes then throws the back-pack over one shoulder and turns so he can easily address everyone.
“This was stupid, let’s just call it how it is.” He jabs a finger to the guys’ cell. “And the fact I’m here and Jordan isn’t should tell you everything you all need to know. Unfortunately, I’m only working on bail for my band. I hope Jordan contacts you all soon.”
Wes then crosses his arms. “Jordan shouldn’t have tried to poach Mia. Let’s start there. And for you all to come trying to start shit afterward is certifiably…” Wes actually struggles for words. “I realize a lot of this has to do with pack dynamics, and Aiden being exiled from one and starting another, but let me be very clear.”
Wes looks to me. “I care for you all of you, especially Mia.”
He doesn’t say it, but I hear because she’s so young and new . It makes my gut churn. I can take care of myself.
“You’re my band even if this is your pack,” Wes continues in the deathly silence that’s grown thick in the holding cell space. “So you all need to sort out whatever bullshit is happening, and you’re going to do it before I pay bail. Because if I’m going to continue managing Exit Fate, I can’t do it while you’re creating PR nightmare after PR nightmare. Which this ”—he swirls a finger in the air—“has become. Someone caught the fight on video and it’s all over the place. I’d be surprised if Knotty Tour wants either of you back, but I’ll let them decide that.”
Wes starts to walk back down the block toward the exit. The police officer follows his every move. When he’s nearly at the door again, he turns on heel and holds up a hand. “Fix this. I’ll deal with Jordan. But if either band starts shit again, we’re done.”
Wes’s words feel like an ice pick has been drive straight into my chest. And worse, I can’t even fault him for them. Because he’s right. Starting and maintaining a new band only works if people enjoy us and our music. But if we’re too much of a risk, or our behavior turns fans away, it’s over. And we know he’s already put up a lot of personal capital to make this work.
What a disappointment we’ve become. That I’ve become.
The exact type of disappointment he and Sable warned me not to be.
I sit back heavily on the bench as he leaves and wonder how this will all play out. Much of the world falls away through the rest of the night. I hear the guys periodically call out to me but I can’t reply. Everything is numb and falling away with more speed than I can handle.
I want a drink. God, I want a drink so damn badly. I want to flood my veins with a buzzing liquid that quiets this silence and numbness that’s falling over me.
The best I get is water.
At some point, I fall asleep, and it’s not until a flurry of movement when the sun is shining that I fully wake up. Wes has returned and is having us released. But it’s too late in the day, I think. What I thought was morning is actually afternoon, I realize, as I catch sight of a clock in the lobby. I must have slept through the entire day.
I can’t make eye contact with Wes as we leave. And worse, the entire pack is silent, too. I go to Leo’s side to check in on him, but he’s quiet with a tight look on his face as he just holds one arm to his side. Noah and Aiden cast us both worried glances. But we’re all silent until we’re back at the tour bus and the sun is setting.
We miss our set that day. But so does Designation Outsider.
I’m too scared to check social media to see what people think about all of this. From Wes’s words last night, I can imagine it’s nothing great. Ignoring socials is easy, though. Much easier than the calls I let go to voicemail from Sable and my parents.
Wes eventually leaves the tour bus. I sit with Noah on the couch. Aiden is across from Leo at the table. Leo’s tight and pained expression has only gotten worse as the night has gone on.
“Is there something we can do?” Aiden asks.
Leo shakes his head. “I’m sure it’ll be better by morning now that I can take stuff again.” He’s flipping his phone back and forth on the table. “Just waiting on my doctor to respond.”
“Being in jail all night certainly didn’t help,” Noah replies curtly. He’s got a beer in his hands but he’s yet to open it.
I want to grab it from him and drink it myself, but I’m pretty sure no one else in the room will let that happen. It drives me insane. “Wes should’ve bailed at least you out last night.”
Leo shakes his head. “It’s okay, I’m okay.”
“No, you’re not,” I volley back. “It’s clear to anyone with eyes, Leo. He could’ve kept the rest of us in time out but got you out safely.”
Aiden’s gaze rises to me. I expect it to be hot like his glares last night before Designation Outsider showed up at our tour bus, but it’s muted. Defeated. “It’s over now.”
My chest squeezes tight. Does he mean the situation with Designation Outsider, or our band as a whole? Or, worse, the pack?
Panic must be evident on my face because Aiden lifts his hand. “Wes was right to keep us there.” His gaze shifts to Leo. “But I agree with Mia about you.”
“I’m fine ,” Leo replies with a tight jaw advertising a definitely not fine state. “I’m just going to get some sleep. I suggest we all do. If we’re allowed to play tomorrow, we should be ready to wow the crowd.”
If we’re allowed to play tomorrow.
Fuck me.
“Good plan,” Aiden says. “Let’s all head off to bed then.”
I go to ask if they want to share my nest with me tonight, but I get the distinct impression that everything from last night is far too raw, so I don’t. Instead, I head back there on my own while the guys take their bunks.
It’s hollow and lonely without them. So naturally, I decide to make it worse by opening the messages from Sable that have gone unanswered until now.
Mia! Are you okay? I’ve seen the videos but you’re not responding.
Do you need me to bail you out?
Ah—just checked. The station said you’re out now. But you know I was already halfway to Maine when I found out!
I close my eyes to try stopping the flood of tears threatening to rise to the surface. Slowly, I type out a reply:
Hi Sable. I’m fine. Wes bailed us out this afternoon, but we missed our set today and he made it sound like we may be kicked off the tour. It was just one fight, but… Designation Outsider’s manager tried to poach me and that set all this off. I’m not sure what’s happening now. And Leo’s in a lot of nerve pain. It just all feels like it’s falling apart.
Sable, god bless her soul, does not call me when I finally text back. She knows me well enough to know I have zero bandwidth for that right now.
Mia! I’m so glad you’re okay. All of that sounds like a whole lot. But kicking you off Knotty Tour for just one fight would be crazy—they won’t do that. It’s not like it was all the bands fighting or something. Wild about DO’s manager, though. UGH. I’m so sorry, Mia. HUGSSS! I know it’s a lot right now but focus on getting some actual sleep tonight. Then figure things out with the band in the morning. Go from there. Remember they’re not just your band but your pack, too.
The tears finally fall. Sable is right. I will. Love you, girl.
Love you too, Mia. Get some sleep. Call me tomorrow.
I’m not brave enough to read the messages from my parents or call them back. So I power down the phone, roll over onto my side in my empty nest, and try to sleep.
Sleep does not come. I toss and turn for a while before turning my phone back on and settling on doom-scrolling until sleep takes me. With the door open, I have to keep the volume on the videos down, but the bright screen would alert any of my alphas I’m awake. It’s stupid—I should just ask them to join me rather than baiting them to. But sure enough, Noah eventually makes an appearance in the doorway to the nest.
I wave him inside. “Sorry. I can’t sleep.”
Noah quietly joins me on the side of the wide bed I’ve turned into a nest. “Me either. I’m sure Sable’s blown up your phone. Did you talk to her?”
I chuckle quietly. “That you know her that well already is wild.”
“She’s your best friend,” he says with a small smile. “I expect your parents have called, too?”
My smile fades. “Yeah. I haven’t… replied or anything yet. I don’t have the energy.”
Noah nods to the bed. I gesture for him to join me and end up cuddled against his side. “You said you talked to them yesterday before our set?”
“Yeah, and they weren’t thrilled,” I whisper. “They never are.”
Noah’s silent for a long time before replying, “They just want what’s best for you, Mia. Same as all of us.”
I shake my head against his chest. “I don’t even know what’s best for me, how can anyone else?”
“Juilliard is a great school, they’d be lucky to have you.”
I sit up and look at him. Moonlight shines through the one window back here and illuminates his face I’ve memorized time and time again. “Do you want me to leave the band?”
Noah’s eyes go wide. “No, I just mean if… If this ends soon like Wes warned.”
“Wes is just concerned for us.”
“Do you really believe that?” Noah asks.
I frown. “No. I guess I don’t. I mean, he IS concerned for us and cares about the band. But that was reckless with Designation Outsider.”
Guilt swims over Noah’s features. “That’s on me. I threw the first punch.”
“ They started it, Noah,” I argue.
He releases a tight breath. “When they started acting like they were going to take you away from us, I just… Lost it. I’m sorry.”
I reach up and hold his cheek. “Don’t be. Especially not over that. I wasn’t going anywhere, though.”
Noah nods then turns his head into my palm and kisses it. It’s such a soft and intimate motion that I can’t help but melt a little. “I’m happy to hear that, angel.” But there’s a sadness in his tone I can’t ignore.
“What’s wrong, Noah?” I ask softly.
Another pause—this one thick with hesitation. “Did your father tell you what happened with me at Juilliard? I’m sure he’s pointed out our connection.”
“Not in detail,” I answer. “All I know is what you’ve told me. That they let you go from bad behavior.”
Noah chuckles dryly. “Partying too much will do it, yeah. But it was more.”
I think back through what I know and come up empty except for one thing. “Was it fighting, too?” Given how he’s reacted to all of this with Designation Outsider, I have to wonder if I’m right.
Noah nods. “My quick temper, yes, but also because I stepped in when others wouldn’t. The Dean at the time, she was an omega. And… I don’t know.” He shakes his head. “It all happened so quickly. I saw her out one night at a bar. I wasn’t there with her, but she was there, and I thought that was weird, so yes, it caught my attention. And then there were these alphas following her around.”
I feel like I know where this is going. “Did you protect her from them?”
Noah shrugs with tight eyes. “I tried. You see, she didn’t need it. I didn’t get the full story as I was arrested pretty quickly. I thought they were going to attack her and I stepped in. I was kicked out of Juilliard by that Monday morning. Banned from campus and everything. But it turns out they were her pack, and none of them were her husband. So my assumption is that she was cheating on her non-alpha husband with them, the guy who also taught at Juilliard. Like we all knew who he was…” Noah trails off as his fists clench at his sides.
“That sounds complicated.” I hold his cheek again. “I’m sorry.”
“It is,” Noah says. “She didn’t want anyone to find out, obviously, so she worked up some story and got me kicked out over it. But with my previous track record of drinking and partying too much on campus, my well-known hot-headed temper, and everything else… guess it wasn’t hard to build the case to kick me out.”
“Actually insane.” My own anger builds as he finishes his story. “You didn’t fight it?”
Remorse fills Noah’s eyes. “No. I figured there was no point. But look at where this path has led.” He holds my face in one hand. “What we’re building here is beautiful and it’s everything. Which is why I got so pissed about seeing it torn apart.”
I lean in and kiss his forehead. “No one’s ripping this apart. I’m not leaving Exit Fate, and even if Wes takes us off his roster or something, we can keep on. And even if we can’t, we’re still a pack. Nothing changes that.”
Noah pulls me down to his chest and wraps his arms around me. “I hope so, angel. I hope so.”
Noah falls asleep quickly. I envy it because my brain is doing circles around itself trying to find a way for all of this to still work.
I fall asleep eventually as the sky starts to lighten with morning.