Chapter 15 #2
“Ouch. That hurt.” Bren must have gotten kicked. “That’s my point, Cash. You get laid. Then come out here and wanna cause physical damage to someone. What’s the matter with you?”
“Fucking hell, I’ve got a lot going on. Okay?” He rakes his teeth over his bottom lip and shifts. “We’ve been working nonstop, we’ve leaving town next Sunday, and I still gotta figure out who’s gonna watch out for my ma while we’re gone. On top of that, my uncle is using more than ever before.”
“Family shit always sucks.” Hawke picks up his beer. “Let us know if we can help with that.”
“I’ll work it out.” Callum pulls his arm away and takes a gulp of his Guinness.
A thought slides into my mind and I turn to him. “Hey, I heard there’s a kickoff party for your tour on Friday before you guys leave. Were you ever going to tell me about it?”
“Where did you get that piece of information?” He grips his glass tighter, making his knuckles turn white.
Yikes. He knows what I’m going to say.
I brace myself. “Someone at work told me about it.”
“Who?” He pushes upright. “There’s only one person I can think of who would know about that.”
“Yes.” My stomach does a flip. “It was Sebastian.”
Callum’s face flashes red. “I told you to stay the fuck away from him, Livianna.”
“How am I supposed to do that when we shoot scenes together every day?” My breathing kicks up.
“Filming is one thing. Talking is another, and I specifically said to avoid that prick.” He makes fists with his hands. “Are you just begging to get hurt?”
“Don’t go at my sister like that, Cash.” Bren’s chest flexes. “It won’t end well.”
“Like what?” Callum glares across the table. “Telling her she’s playing with fire?”
“No. You’re getting ready to take a swing.” Bren gestures to Callum’s arms. “Hit her and there will be huge problems.”
His crazed gaze goes to his fists. He uncurls them and his jaw twitches. All the guys have their eyes peeled on him like they’re ready to tackle him if he makes one wrong move.
His face pales. “I swear on my pops’ grave, I wasn’t gonna touch her. It didn’t even cross my mind. I was thinking about Sebastian and what he did to Lily at the concert that one night.”
“That might be true, but you need to chill the fuck out.” Bren holds his stare. “You’re so strung out all the time. Anytime you get pissed about something, you act like you’re about to lose your shit. Figure it out before you do something stupid.”
“Don’t you get it, Guns? That’s my problem.” Shaking, Callum forces his seat back and stands. “I always do something stupid. That’s why I’m in this fucking hell!”
He spins around, slams the chair to the ground, and stomps out the door. I shrink as my heart breaks one more time because of a situation like this.
I should go after him, but it’ll only make it worse. He’s upset because I was talking to Sebastian and Callum hates him.
Being high and buzzed, he won’t hear me out. And a part of me doesn’t blame him. If the shoe were on the other foot, I’d feel the same way.
“I don’t know what’s wrong with him.” Bren keeps his eyes on the front of the bar as if he’s waiting for Callum to return. “He gets angrier every day. Something’s up and whatever it is, is destroying him.”
Cooper moves forward, resting his arms on the table. “I think it has to do with Leon.”
“Why would you say that?” I peer over at Cooper.
“Anytime Leon calls Cash and summons him to a meeting to talk about a new song Cash has submitted, he comes back the next day a train wreck.” Cooper swaps glances with Hawke.
“I don’t know.” He takes a drink of his beer. “Now that I think about it, that’s true. And anytime Cash refuses to go, we all pay for it. Maybe he’s taking on all Leon’s bullshit when they meet alone.”
“That’s my thought, but who knows?” Cooper checks his phone. “I need to get out of here. It’s getting late.”
The day Leon showed up at Callum’s house when he was sick screeches into my brain. Leon was a tyrant that day, but why?
I thought it was because Callum had put them behind and Leon thought he was faking it or something along those lines. Callum never brought it up, so I left it alone.
Maybe there was more to it. A shiver runs through me in double time.
I’m in a daze as Hawke and Cooper gather their things, say goodbye, and leave. Bren stays so he can be with his chick once she gets off work. He sits with me while I wait for my ride service to show up.
I lean closer to him. “What’s your take on what Cooper said about Leon?”
“I agree with him. But Cash won’t talk about it, so what can we do?”
“Do you think Leon would hurt him?” My throat constricts.
“Fuck if I know.” Bren’s eyes narrow in on me. “Why would you ask that? Does Cash have bruises on his body or something?”
“No, it’s nothing like that. But remember when he was sick after Leon’s New Year’s Eve party last year?”
“Yeah.”
“When I went to check on him, Leon showed up. He was livid, and John seemed to be terrified of him.”
“Why are you just now telling me this?”
“I thought Leon was upset that Callum was putting you guys behind schedule. He never brought it up to me, so I dropped it.”
Bren shakes his head with confusion swirling in his eyes. “Why would a multimillionaire producer care enough about a tiny new band starting out to go over to their house? They usually send assistants or support staff for things like checking in on a sick artist.”
“Bren, I think Callum might be in some sort of trouble.” An awful feeling settles in my gut. “What if he can’t handle the stress and something terrible happens to him?”