Page 154 of Pretty Obsessed

"Both?" I grinned at him.

He sighed. "You take care of me in all the little ways. I saw it there, and it only grew. You brought me coffee. You made sure I ate. You brought food home for me when you and Iris would go out. You always made sure my needs were met, and you always have."

"Of course I do. But I'd do that for Iris or anyone else I cared about."

"I know, it's one of the things I cherish about you." He paused again. "I couldn't be anywhere else when you needed me. It feels good to be needed by the person I know does everything for everyone else. You came to me."

"Of course I did." I always would if he let me. "You were the person I wanted. You help."

"You help me, too."

As hard as things had been, the stillness felt soul cleansing. My priorities were shifting. Quietly rearranging themselves.

"I should talk to the guys. There is so much that needs to be said."

"Should you?” A tiny crease formed in his brow.

"I want to. I don't want to be at war the rest of the tour. It won't be good for any of us."

"Have you talked to anyone else?" he asked.

"I've had my head in your lap all day."

"Maybe you texted them, I don't know." He went back to playing with my hair.

"I'm going to text Cas and Alister. See if they can get Lowe."

"You're not going to exclude Iris, are you?" I could tell by his tone he disapproved.

"No, of course not. But if he doesn't want to go with Cas there, I'll understand. I'm going to give him the option."

"That's understandable. I don't know if I'd want to sit in the same room with someone who tried to get me put into rehab against my will, let alone tried to trap me into a contract." He shuddered.

"I think that's more Alexander than anything, but at least Cas is sorry. We need to be a united front, which is what I'll bring up at the meeting."

"It's smart. Get everyone back on the same page so it doesn't feel like everyone is pulling in different directions.” He picked his pencil up and wrote something in the notebook.

"I should do that." Reluctantly I rolled out of his lap and went to find where I'd left my phone.

* * *

"How did the band meeting go?" Emory asked when I slipped back into the room.

"We're talking to Alexander later, as a group. None of us are going to let Iris be exploited. If he wants to leave after the next album, that's his choice. We are going to try to get Iris to get some sort of help. Therapy or outpatient. Hopefully, he'll be open to that."

Emory gave me a soft smile. "I hope he's open to that."

"Me too. He was happy we were sticking with him and talking to Alexander. I could see the relief on his face. I think it will help him finish the tour." I took a seat next to him fully drained.

"That should take a lot of pressure off him. I can't imagine how stressful it must be to live like you're at war all the time. It's probably making all his habits worse." Emory had a good point.

"I know the stress was eating me alive. I can't imagine how he’s felt."

Emory took my hands in his. "I'm going to stay a few more days."

"I need it." I wasn't used to admitting I needed to be weak, but I was trying to accept those parts of myself that needed to be taken care of as well.

"I can tell. I shouldn't have tried to leave. I don't know what I was thinking." He brought my hands to his lips and kissed them. "That was shitty of me."

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