Chapter 33 Elijah （Past）
THIRTY-THREE
ELIJAH
PAST
“It’s giant. Did you see it?” Amelia dances in the spot, glowing from the inside out, as she glances out the car window.
“I’m going to get lost in that place!” Leonidas kicks his feet onto the dashboard.
Mom tsks him and scolds him to sit properly. Scared of our Greek mother, he sits weirdly straight in his seat—looking uncomfortable, to say the least.
“The pool looks amazing. That’s where you’ll find me. Lounging away in the sun, eating watermelon,” I say, thinking back to our new home we just took a tour of.
Our record label helped us find it. When I say “helped,” I mean they didn’t take no for an answer and declared that our new home.
“Don’t forget where you come from. We are humble, boys and girl.” Mom’s motherly look in the rearview mirror causes my body to shiver.
She is one scary lady when she wants to be.
“What’s the next step, Mom?” Amelia asks from next to me in the backseat as Mom drives us to the studio for our meeting.
“The record label is going to give us the contract, but before you sign it, a lawyer will do a read-through.”
The thought of my life before fame hits me out of nowhere. Will the things that I hope to stay the same change? Will Lily see me differently when she hears one of our songs playing on the radio? Or will she start resenting me when my time is limited and taken up from work?
“What about Lily?” I whisper to my sister.
She smiles, knowing my best friend is a touchy subject. “What about her, Eli?”
“We’re moving. That means I have to leave her behind. That was never part of our plan.”
“She’ll understand,” she attempts to reassure me, but her hand on my fist makes me feel claustrophobic. “It’s not like you’re never going to see her after we move. It’s not goodbye.”
My mouth goes dry.
“She’s going to be so upset with me,” I rant, getting louder and louder with each word. “She’s going to think I’m leaving her behind because fame is more important to me than her.”
“She cares about you, right?” Mom says confidently, already knowing the answer to her question.
“Yes.”
“Then she will want you to chase your dreams.”
My family looks so happy, so ready for our new beginning. So, I bite back the feeling of how I suspect our impending doom is near. And we are driving headfirst into it.
“We don’t have much time. If all three of you can sign here and here, that would be great. We need to get moving. We have a lot to get done,” Justin, our new agent, says, gesturing to three blank lines in the contract with a pen.
“Has this been looked over?” Amelia asks our mom over her shoulder.
“Yes. It has been thoroughly looked over by Cole.”
I look at where Justin points. A man in a suit sits at the head of the table, nose deep in whatever he’s looking at on his computer.
“Shouldn’t we—”
“Cole is not our lawyer. I hired him for you guys,” Justin explains, pushing the contract closer to our hesitating hands. “I told you from this point on in your lives, you’ll be taken care of. You will never have to worry about anything other than doing what you love.”
I watch Leonidas’s hand jump to the blank line. After scribbling his name, he gives our sister the pen, and she does the same, signing.
“It’s not Times Three without Elijah,” Justin coos right in my ear.
I hover the ball of the pen above the contract, and the heat of everyone’s gazes on my body makes me scribble away on the paper.
Sealing my fate for ten years.
After a long day of interviews, a photo shoot, and even songwriting, we gather our stuff to go home for the night so we can do the same thing over again tomorrow.
Yawning, I follow my brother and sister down the hallway toward the fancy elevators.
“Have a terrific first night in the new house, Times Three!” Justin calls out to our backs.
Halting, Leonidas sends him a confused look. “We haven’t moved in yet, so we’re going back to our childhood home until we get movers to help us.”
Justin frowns. “But you signed the contract.”
“And …” Leonidas trails off, confused and tired, just wanting to go home for the night.
“You signed and agreed to immediately move into the home we’d found for you.
” Reaching over the front desk, he hands us the contract.
“You’ll also see in there that you are not permitted to step foot on your old property or talk to any of your friends or family during the time you spend working with us.
We need you to focus on one thing only, and that is music.
If you breach the contract, you will be dropped from the label and sued for ten million dollars. ”
Amelia gasps, dropping her metal water bottle on the ground. “What do you mean? We can’t talk to any friends or family? What the fuck, Justin?”
He shrugs, showing no signs of remorse. “Flip to page six.”
We huddle, and Leonidas frantically finds the page.
When we all see he’s right, Leonidas lets out an angry growl. “There is no way! I won’t allow you to do that to us.”
“But it’s already done. What you all don’t understand is that being an artist takes dedication and hard work. We can’t have family, friends, and significant others distracting you from the job you need to get done.”
“How could you?” Amelia bursts out in tears. I pull her into my side, and we hold each other up. “We trusted you.”
“Never trust businessmen. We’re all out for the same thing.” He rubs his thumb and pointer finger together. “Money, money, money.”
Leonidas rushes to call our mom, who dropped us off hours ago, but Justin just laughs at us.
“Don’t bother your mom. She’s probably tired from moving all your stuff all day.
I have a driver here to pick you up and take you to your new home.
Remember, don’t talk to anyone but your mother and father, and if you step foot in your old neighborhood, you’ll be sued so hard that you will be homeless.
I suggest you listen because I have eyes everywhere.
” He walks backward, and his smile looks so evil now.
“Oh, and your new phones are waiting in their boxes in the car.”
“You won’t get away with this.” Leonidas declares war in his voice.
“Oh, but I already have. Next time, hire your own lawyer.”
Oh my God.
This cannot be happening right now.
From day one, we’re being blackmailed …
The three of us are stone-cold as we climb into the car waiting for us. Sitting in dead silence, we mourn the life we woke up to tonight.
But what nearly makes me jump out of the car, not caring if I break every bone in my body, is when she comes to mind—Lily.