Chapter 14
Chapter Fourteen
CALLUM/CASH
Then
Family Knives & Ashes Of The Past
Family isn’t blood… It’s a shadow with a blade, waiting for me to mistake it for love.
“Get up, Cash.” A strong yank of my arm from Leon brings me out of my fog.
He’s hovering over me with rage filling his eyes. I sit and sway, way too high to be dealing with this drama going on.
“Leon, leave him alone. He’s just a boy.” My ma jumps to her feet. “You’re a terrible man.”
“Shut up, Victoria.” Leon gets in her face. “You have no room to talk.”
Her eyes tear up. I gaze around and notice Uncle John standing far away, near the kitchen, almost like he’s trying to hide.
My ma straightens her back. “You had no right to do what you did to him. We told you that you could have it all. You said you wouldn’t touch him if we did.”
“Then you realize where you went wrong.” Leon raises his eyebrows. “I was promised something and that wasn’t delivered. Instead, you and your son here decided to get wise and make it so I couldn’t get my hands on it.”
“What are you talking about?” Ma’s face contorts in confusion. “I didn’t do anything with his inheritance and he signed with you. Isn’t that what you asked for?”
“Do you think I’m stupid, Victoria?” After a pause, Leon twists to John. “Or was it you who gave him the idea to lock everything away, making it untouchable?”
Uncle John raises his hands in the surrender position. “I have no clue what you’re referring to.”
Leon spins to me. “You’re too dumb to know how to protect your assets. Especially something as legally complicated as an inheritance and trust fund. You even created an LLC. Nobody your age thinks of those types of protections, not unless they were coached.”
I may be numb and stoned as shit, but even so I know telling Leon where I got the advice is a horrible idea. There’s no way I’m getting Jaxon Crowne or Greg Hemings involved in this fucked-up situation.
I shrug as I wipe sleepy sand out of my eyes. “The information wasn’t hard to find out. All I did was search some shit online about how to lawfully form a rock band and a thousand different blogs and advertisements from attorneys popped up.”
Ma gasps. “Bubba, what did you do?”
“Cash, come on.” Uncle John strides into the room. “Tell us you didn’t do anything stupid.”
Leon analyzes the two of them while I try to figure out why the hell everyone here thinks I should’ve just handed over my pops’ money. He left it to me.
“All I did was some research and called an attorney. He did the rest.” I reach for some water and knock over my medication.
The bottles roll off the table and land at Leon’s feet. He picks them up and reads the labels. He places them back where they belong.
“Does poor little Cash have an infection? Is that what’s causing his migraines?” Leon beams my ma an evil smile. “Or is he just taking a page out of your book, Victoria? After all, self-medicating is how you cope.”
My heart shrinks at all his words.
Yes, I’m using the painkiller to escape the awful ache in my soul. I just need something to help me get through these thoughts that make me wanna tear my brains out of my head and forget everything.
Livianna would be destroyed if she found out I was doing the same thing I scolded her for when she was using. I certainly have more compassion and understanding of why she relied on them.
The need for the antibiotic, though. Yeah, that’s the worst kind of betrayal.
The ground beneath me opens up and swallows me whole. Not only was I coerced into cheating on Livianna, but I got chlamydia to prove it.
It doesn’t matter if I was out of my mind, hallucinating, and thinking it was Livianna. The fact remains it happened.
He drugged me, and then they assaulted me. I can’t bear to look at her. The agony of the situation takes a knife to my lungs.
I suck in a breath and grab the pills off the table. “Leon, why are you here? Haven’t you done enough damage?”
I take out three painkillers and swallow them down. If he’s here, I need something to stop me from killing him.
Leon sits in the chair across the room with a look of satisfaction streaming from his twinkling gray eyes.
“You know, Cash. You’ve given me an idea.” He crosses his leg over the other, resting his ankle on the other knee. “Since we’re all here, I’m going to sit back and watch the tragedy unfold.”
“How do you plan on doing that?” I place my glass of water down.
Leon’s gaze flits to my ma and Uncle John. “I’m going to let your mom and John explain the situation to you since it appears they failed to keep you in the loop of how this was supposed to pan out.”
“You know, Leon.” I fluff a pillow and lie down as if I haven’t a care in the world. “You should’ve been an actor with all the constant flair and histrionics you put on.”
His face turns red. “I can always give you another lesson to teach you how to stay in line. Is that what you need?”
Ma responds for me. “No, Leon. He’s just…a boy who got caught up in something he didn’t realize was going on.”
“Exactly. So why don’t you explain it to him and figure out a way to get this all back on track?” Leon motions for Uncle John to join us. “You too. Cash needs to understand just what it is he screwed up.”
They find places on the sectional couch to sit and tell me all the ways I went wrong. My pops and Leon worked together and had a falling-out.
There were a lot of threats, none of which have been revealed yet, but there’s still time.
My pops promised Leon all the royalties from his music if he would leave my family alone. He agreed and all the funds went to Leon until the day my pops died.
When that happened, the money started going into an inheritance that only I had access to. It was stipulated that when I turned eighteen, I could use the money to live.
I guess my pops thought I’d be mature enough at that age to handle that kind of responsibility. Or maybe he thought Leon would be long gone by then.
The problem was, Leon was out his dough. He went to my ma and John, and a new contract of sorts was offered.
Not only did he want my pops’ money, but word on the streets was his son was an even better songwriter and performer, which is when I was made part of the deal.
They told Leon they would consider it, but until I was eighteen, there was nothing they could do. Leon kept his distance since there was really no way to get what he wanted from us. We’ve never had much money.
Sure, my ma and uncle tried to steer me away from Leon, but when he heard I was unhappy with Ur Boyz and wanted to make a name for myself, he made sure I got fed information by people in the industry about how great it was to work with the famous Leon Baker.
He could make all my dreams come true. He knew his influence and power would lure me in. Now I understand why he calls me stupid boy.
After he watched me perform, he saw all the dollar signs a man could want. That was long before New Year’s Eve when he drugged me the first time and forced my uncle to help him do it.
When I went to my uncle and asked him to help, he knew I’d sign on with Leon one way or another, with or without him.
Uncle John figured he could keep an eye out for me if he was involved and that’s when he reached out to Leon and told him they would agree to the new terms.
Of course I was about to be eighteen, so the time had come. They all knew the writing on the wall. Leon had been counting down the days.
He pressured my family until Ma and Uncle John agreed to get me to sign some papers giving the rights back to Leon. Then I would join with Leon’s label, giving him most of my royalties.
Now I have a few questions of my own.
I push up off my pillow, sit straight, and study my ma and Uncle John. “What are these threats he has over you? Why agree to let me work with a predator? Why would you do that?”
Leon laughs under his breath. “As the old adage goes, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.”
“Fuck off, Leon. I was talking to them.” The pills I took are hardcore kicking in, so I don’t give a shit about pissing off anyone.
Ma and Uncle John trade glances. Ma gazes down and a tear trickles down her cheek.
“We didn’t know you would change the course of your life by getting your business and trusts set up. It was supposed to come across like we messed up by being bad managers.” My ma chokes on her words. “We thought we could give it all to him and you would remain safe.”
Uncle John swallows hard. “He promised he wouldn’t do to you what he did to us. All of us.”
I have to think about that statement for a second. My brain function is slow right now.
“You know the saying, Cash.” Uncle John shakes out a tremble. “Keep your friends close and your enemies closer. I thought we could take care of everything and you would get the fame and recognition you want. Leon would get what he was asking for and things would—”
“Wait. What do you mean, what he did to all of us?” My heart starts to race. I glare at Leon. “What you did to me, you did to them? Who are all of these people you’ve put your sick hands on?”
He gets to his feet, straightens his pin-striped black-and-white tailored suit, and strides toward the door.
Without looking back, he states, “Figure it out on your own, Cash. If you’re wise enough to find legal advice that will ruin your life, you’re smart enough to fill in the blanks. I’ll see you in the studio tomorrow. Be ready to work. We’re days behind.”
Callum/Cash
A Year And A Half Later
Vanishing Texts & Iron Covered Agony
Some demons don’t bite…they wait a year and a half just to watch you burn.
“I can’t believe it’s finally here.” Bren slaps my back as we meander out of the studio after wrapping up everything we need to.
We’re going on tour in North America starting next week.
The last year and a half have been full of working our asses off, trying to keep my relationship with Livianna on track, while avoiding Leon Baker and Zara Blackthorn every time they come around, and doing it all high as shit on whatever drug is available.