Chapter 5 Jane #2
Riker laughs dryly. “Regardless of our schedules, we can’t just sit here and let them steamroll us. We need to figure out if and how we can legally still use our own music.”
“For now, I think we have to play Label’s game and figure out what our options are,” I say.
“I’ll connect with Wade once he lands and get his thoughts,” Keeley says.
“My schedule is open, and I have plenty of energy to do some fighting. I know Ortega has a legal team, but I might even call my brother.” Keeley’s twin brother, Oliver, is almost as smart as she is, and he’s got an impressive corporate law résumé already.
Not the worst contact to have in a bind like this.
“Should we…try to fight them for the rights to our music?” Valerie asks, biting her lip.
I have no idea how to do that—if that’s even a financial possibility—but for now, it feels like we’re stuck.
In this moment, I face the horrifying possibility that I cursed us by not being willing to drop everything to make more music.
Maybe this is the universe’s way of punishing me for choosing my career over the band.
Now we’re not even allowed to play our own albums.
“Goddamn it,” Keeley groans, shifting on the seat next to me in agitation. Even upset like this, I try to ignore the way warmth radiates off her skin. “I’m so proud of More to Say, and we don’t even get to celebrate that. It’s just more of the same fuckery with the same label.”
“We’ll figure it out,” Valerie says. “I know we’re all busy, but I hate to just let Landon get away with this. Let’s fight.”
“Is there really anything to fight?” I ask quietly, unable to shake the feeling of defeat. “They own our music.”
“Fuck that. We can’t let them get away with this!” Keeley says, and I nearly want to cower at the fury in her tone. The sting from our fight lingers like a bad hangover, and everything unresolved between us makes me feel like that fierce anger is directed right at me.
“Whatever it is, we have to figure this out,” Caleb says. “The school year is brutal, but I’m happy to do whatever I can. I’m worried that if we don’t fight this now, we’ll lose our chance to do something about it.”
“Please,” Riker says. “I’ve been playing shows here and there, but I definitely don’t want to commit to any tours until we know what we’re doing with Glitter Bats. It was nice of Jane to call me for Into the Dragon Realm because at least it got me off my ass.”
When Riker’s not playing guitar for me and everyone else in this town, he’s either baking or hiking, so it’s not like he was truly doing nothing, but I laugh. “You’re welcome, I think?”
He chuckles. “Yeah, she kept both me and Keeley busy.”
Keeley shifts again on the couch, uncomfortably this time.
Valerie straightens. “What? I didn’t know Keeley was helping too. Now I feel left out, Jane. You all got to play music together and I wasn’t a part of it. Those opportunities are in short supply these days.” Her voice is playfully whiny despite the true undertones there, and I try to laugh.
“Keeley was just doing me a favor.”
“It wasn’t a big deal,” Keeley murmurs.
“It was huge,” I say, trying to catch her eye. But she doesn’t look at me. So instead, I tell Valerie and Caleb the short version of what happened with Trevor Barnett while Riker gasps in all the right places, even though he’s already heard my rant.
“Wow,” Caleb says. “That sounds like a nightmare.”
“Jane handled it, though,” Riker says. He mock-bows to me from his seat, as if he’s not worthy, and I can’t help but laugh.
“Just wait until you hear what she put together for this season, it’s so good.
If we’re not careful, she’s going to get too busy to clown around with us making our silly little rock songs. ”
Keeley huffs beside me, and I try to make eye contact again, but she stares at her aquamarine nails.
“Never,” I say, and I mean it. Even if I’m not ready to make another album, I’m not walking away from Glitter Bats. Next to me, I can feel the tension rolling off Keeley like a heat wave.
“I can’t wait,” Caleb says.
“Of course it’s amazing—it’s Jane!” Valerie says, and I smile a little at her unrestrained faith in me, despite the awful news we just got.
The oven timer beeps, and we all transition into the kitchen, where Caleb serves us up homemade chicken pesto pizza and mixed greens.
We don’t talk much as we settle around their dining room table and eat.
The food is delicious, but the mood in the room is decidedly somber.
And when our plates are clear, we all just stare at one another, the late-September sunset streaming in through the windows illuminating the awful new reality we’re facing together.
Suddenly, Valerie claps her hands together with faux enthusiasm. “Now who wants to go out to LuLu and celebrate that we’re a band with no music!”
Her voice is light, but I don’t miss the tightness in her eyes.
This is what Valerie does when she’s hurting: she finds a way to blow off steam, usually out in public.
Sometimes it gets a little destructive, but she’s gotten more subdued over the years.
And with how much frustration we’re all feeling right now, I, well… I don’t blame her one bit.
Caleb squeezes her closer. “Do we really have to go out? It’s a school night.”
Valerie laughs tightly. “I just want to dance a little, let off some steam! I promise we’ll be home before you turn into a pumpkin.
” LuLu is a club that’s hard to get into unless you know someone, and Valerie is someone.
It’s really not my scene, but the bonus is that there are no phones allowed.
They’ll literally kick you out if they see one, so there’s no risk of images making it out on the internet.
If we want to let off steam, it’s a good place to go.
“Home by nine,” Caleb says emphatically.
“Yay, I’m in!” Riker says, eyes bright with interest. Maybe it’s the energy drinks, but he has endless stamina to go dancing after a long week of work.
I’m not like that—I have to have the right headspace to go out and surround myself with strangers.
Dancing doesn’t sound fun tonight. It just sounds exhausting.
Even with Dragon Realm wrapped up, I still have a ton of things going on.
I need to sleep for twelve hours from the comfort of my own bed. “Sorry, I’m out,” I say.
Riker turns to Keeley with a puppy dog expression mirroring Sebastian Bark’s.
“Please, Cunningham?”
She shakes her head, staring at the carpet. “Nope. I have a headache.”
And that’s that. The other three make plans, and the tone in the place is all forced lightness to soothe the sting of that letter.
Riker volunteers to do the dishes so Caleb can take Sebastian Bark on a short walk.
Valerie frantically tries to decide between two lipsticks before shoving both in her bag.
But since we’re not going, Keeley and I both say our goodbyes and head out.
The salty breeze coming off the ocean is cool with a bit of a bite, and I close my eyes and breathe in the air.
My Prius is parked behind Keeley’s Rivian, but we don’t talk as we head down to our respective cars. I know I started it, but this is getting ridiculous. We have to talk sometime.
“Keeley?” I ask, my heart racing as I try to decide what to even say.
She turns to me like it pains her, and I can’t tell if she really has a headache or if she’s just tired of me. “Yeah, Mercer?”
My keys shake in my hand, and I ball it into a fist. “Uh, have a good night. I hope you feel better.”
I’m such a disaster. Keeley is my friend. Why can’t I just apologize to her?
She sighs, running a hand through her hair. “You too.”
I can’t get into my car fast enough. Traffic is pretty light, and I make it home in record time, cringing at my awkwardness. When I get to my doorstep, I’m more than ready to change into my favorite silky PJs and crash with a romance novel and another glass of wine.
But when I open my front door, a gush of water soaks my Rainbows. I jump back, trying to figure out what’s happening, my mind whirring in disbelief.
Because I’m pretty sure my house is…flooded?
It’s in that moment that all of the emotions I’ve been suppressing come crashing in, and I burst into tears.