26. Riot
Riot
While the servers circle with champagne flutes full of Krug Clos du Mesnil, there’s a floor to ceiling bar set up at every Savant party for those with other preferences.
Bronx and I push our way through the crowd.
“What does she want?” he asks, following in my wake.
“She says we’re back together,” I grumble over my shoulder.
The whole situation tastes sour. Acid rises in my throat.
It’s all a show for the media, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it.
It’s not like the last time when I was walking around like a zombie, my head full of fog.
Kelsey being back has impacted more than just my ability to write songs.
“Fucking hell,” he says.
“Yeah.” I ignore the drink attendant who is serving a rapper that’s signed to the Savant Label. He’s not Effect. Or I’d ask him what he did to get her off his back. But whatever Effect did is more than likely the reason he’s no longer riding the charts or invited to these parties.
L.A. Riot can’t take the hit.
Reaching over the bar, I help myself to a bottle of tequila. The lid comes off in my fist, and I drop it onto the lacquered bar top before taking a swig. I hand it over to Bronx.
“Can she do that?” he asks as Golden and Kodiak close in.
Quarter of the bottle has disappeared by the time they reach us. I reach back over the bar to steal a second bottle.
“What’s the damage?” Golden asks, his hands shoved deep in his pockets.
“He’ll take the hit for us.” Bronx throws an arm around my shoulder, takes another swallow of tequila. “Fake date the witch so we can keep hanging with our lady love.”
“You better not be talking about Kelsey.” I open the second bottle while he hands his to Kodiak.
“Don’t worry, we’ll take good care of her.” Kodiak smirks and takes a drink.
“The fuck you will.” I imagine snatching the bottle out of his hands, breaking it off on the bar and stabbing him with it. But my anger should be directed at Sonatina, not him.
“I’m talking about the music, bro.” Bronx laughs.
“Yeah, we know where your real feelings lie,” Golden says.
“Fuck you too.” I need to drink more, because these idiots are pissing me off. Swallowing a shot, I give my tequila to Golden. “The label could bury us in legalities for a long time.”
Carmine won’t hesitate if that’s what his daughter wants.
“You’re going to do it, aren’t you?” Golden asks.
“What choice do I have?” I take the bottle from him. L.A. Riot is our dream. It is everything. I almost failed it by being blind to what Kelsey was capable of because I loved her. I won’t make that mistake ever again.
“Motherfucker,” Bronx mutters.
I don’t tell them that she’s threatening to join us on tour.
That will happen over my dead body. “I don’t know about you three, but it’s time for me to get entirely too fucked up.
” I dig my fingers into my pocket where my tin is stocked with weed and pills.
I pop two pills and chase them with tequila.
“I’m going to head out in a couple of minutes. There’s a better party across town I wouldn’t mind catching,” Bronx says.
“I’m going to join you,” Golden says. “Kodiak, what about you?”
“I’m in,” the big man says.
I’m not in the mood for this party or any party. But Sonatina will pitch a fit if I leave too soon. “Got to give that hour she thinks I owe her.”
Thankfully, I can do that while out on the balcony, smoking my jay. I drink more tequila as I head outside to wait for the buzz to kick in.
My phone vibrates. I check it to see that the bros before psychos message chat I have with my brothers is blowing up.
There’s also something from Kelsey. A video to all four of us.
Bros before Psychos can wait. I open up Kelsey’s video. The image is of my hotel room. I can see the desk and my guitar. There’s no action. Nothing really to see. I turn the sound up.
Her breathy moans fill my ears.
Fucking hell. Is she doing what I think she is? I peer at the screen like doing so will change my view. She gets closer and closer.
My cock twitches.
I left her that toy, so she’d stay away from my bandmates. I didn’t expect this.
She cries out. “Kodiak.”
And that’s when the first icon pops up on the screen, reminding me she shared this with all of us. One after the other all three icons land on the video.
They’re all getting to hear her.
My phone squeaks in my tightened fist. My first instinct is to throw it off the building. But no, that’s not what I’m going to do.
If she wants to be a fucking brat, I’ll be more than happy to tame her. I type out a text to send back.
Then I delete it from the group chat and send it in a private message.
You won’t find it funny when I have you bent over my knee for this later, brat.
When she doesn’t respond straight away, I am certain it’s not because she’s scared, and I send another.
Payback is going to be a bitch.
And another.
You won’t be thinking about him by the time I’m finished with you.
Sonatina comes out onto the balcony with a couple of glasses of champagne effectively putting a halt to my messaging.
“What do you want?” I wish the bitch would disappear.
“Peace offering,” She presses one of the glasses into my hand, then steals my roach and takes a puff before putting it back between my lips. “I don’t want to be enemies, Riot. I want to be partners. Collaborators. Friends.”
I look for any sign of insincerity, but there isn’t any.
“And you’re not wrong. It would be nice to be secure enough in this business that I can afford to fall in love.” She moves closer. “Maybe we could get it right this time? We could try for real.”
“Let’s stick to what it is, Sonatina.” I peel away from the concrete edge. “I’m doing what I have to do to protect my band until our contract is up with Savant.”
“Pity,” she says. “We could be much more.”
“Not on my life.” The world spins, moving like I’m on a rollercoaster. Looks like the pills kicked in.
“Where are you going?” she asks when I head inside. “I told you your presence was required for the entire evening.”
I flip her the bird over my shoulder. “I have plans for the rest of my night. And they don’t include you.”
By the time I stumble out of the elevator on the ground floor, my steps are wobbly and crooked and my face feels weird, numb and buzzing at the same time.
I laugh at the red eyed me I see in the glass of the revolving door.
He laughs back for a long time, his laugh becoming creepier by the second while his face morphs from fat to thin to short to long.
Man, this building is like a house of horrors.
I turn my back on him and order a ride back to the hotel. I don’t want to party. I want Kelsey to tell me who she is fucking running from. And why she had someone else’s baby instead of mine.
I need her to admit if she missed me at all.
The way I still miss her no matter how hard I try not to.