Page 8 of The Masks We Wear

The line goes silent for a minute before she squeals. “He’s that hot?”

I sigh. “Yeah. He’s hot as hell and under normal circumstances, I’d probably sleep with him but he’s such agigantic asshole that the thought of being anywhere near him turns me off completely.”

“Dude, you need to sleep with him.” She encourages, a wicked note to her voice.

I roll my eyes, “No way. His personality is a turn off.”

“Simple solution is hate sex.”

I scoff, “I’m not interested in any sex with him.”

“You should consider having sex withsomeonebecause your sexual frustration is contagious through the phone.” She complains.

I lean my hip against the bathroom sink. It isn’t a horrible idea. It could be a temporary solution. “Maybe I’ll call Rocco soon.” Rocco is a big rapper that I met at a few events. We hit it off since we’re in the same industry and we both like having fun. We also both like sex so we decided to form a mutually beneficial arrangement where we’re fuck buddies with no strings attached. He’s a solid lay and I haven’t seen or slept with him since we left for the tour. Maybe Aria’s idea isn’t that bad. “Aside from sex, I could seriously use some girl time. The babysitter won’t let me leave so I’m gonna sneak out when he isn’t paying attention. I’ll come to your place, and I also need a favor.” I plot.

“What’s up?”

“I need drugs. Blow, edibles, pills, whatever the fuck it is, I need it. He took all of it away and I have nothing. I’m losing my shit.” I whisper into the phone.

She pauses before responding. “Is that a good idea? Selene gave you the babysitter specifically because of the drug usage.”

I raise an annoyed brow, “No, Selene gave me the babysitter because of the lawsuits, some of which aren’t even my fault. And last I checked, I’m the only one with a babysitter while you two are free to do whatever you please, drugs included.”

She sighs, “True.” She takes a beat before starting again,“We haven’t stopped using. Come over and I’ll give you a bag of edibles I have, and I also have some blow leftover from last night. It’s all I have left, I’m getting more tonight.”

The tension in my body eases. “Bet, I’ll try to sneak out of here in an hour. Call Ivory and wake that bitch up. Tell her she has to join.”

Aria giggles on the line, “I’ll call her now.”

“Cool, see you soon.”

“Later.” She says before I hang up the phone.

Just as I’m about to put my phone back in my pocket it rings with a new incoming call from Selene. I scowl at her name on the phone. She’s the reason I’m in this mess and whether or not she’s my best friend since childhood, I’m pissed. No, pissed is an understatement. I’mfuckingpissed. I decline her call only for her to call again. I decline it a second time but the phone rings once more. I grimace at the screen as I impulsively decide to press the green button and answer her call, “What do you want?” I greet rudely.

“Good morning to you too, Brody. I see you’re as chipper as ever.” Her voice is cheery.

I scoff, “Selene, I’m not interested in speaking to you right now let alone being kind to you after you just fucked me in six different positions raw with no lubricant by putting this asshole in my house who mind you, broke my bedroom door.” I bark.

She chuckles on the other end which only heightens my anger. “I see sobriety is working wonders.”

“Fuck you, what do you want?” I ask impatiently.

Her tone becomes stern, “I want to speak to you not as your manager but as your friend. I know this is a lot and you’re pissed right now but I need you to know I did this with your best interest at heart.”

My tone softens only slightly. “I get that you wanted what’s best for me and you got the point across. Get this guy out ofhere, Selene. He’s disrupting my peace.”

She exhales, “I can’t, Brody. I know it sucks but I need him to look after you and make sure you don’t dig yourself into a deeper hole than the one you’re in. The attorneys think there’s a chance they can get you all off and they’re doing everything on their end. You and the other two knuckleheads need to do your part and stay sober. Unfortunately, I can’t count on you to do that alone like I can the other two, so you require Harvey’s help.”

I want to point out that her stupid plan isn’t working because Aria and Ivory are still using, but I don’t because that would hinder my ability to obtain drugs behind her back. “I have free will, you know? I can leave and there’s nothing you or my babysitter can do about it.” I threaten her.

I can hear the doubt in her voice. “Go ahead. But good luck finding a new manager because if you do that I quit. And also good luck staying out of jail because if I leave, I’m taking your attorney’s with me because they’re my friends from law school.”

And there’s the ultimatum. The only reason I haven’t yet sent Harvey fucking Taylor on his way. At the end of the day, as angry as I am at Selene for doing this, she’s still my best friend. I can’t do any of this without her and she knows it. “And if he quits?”

“He won’t.”

“But if he does?”

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