Page 32 of Legendary Rock Star
My parents. The last I’d seen my father, he’d been drinking heavily. That was before I moved out of our home and my lawyer gave them notice to vacate. I’d sold that house years ago. I folded my hands in front of me and told Maggie’s mom, Effie, “I flashed to a memory of staying with my cousins for a minute. That’s where I was when I wasn’t on TV.”
Maggie’s wide eyed expression was full of sympathy.
She knew I had kept my family life private after the very public act of leaving my parents. But now it was out there. I let out a long breath and said, “My family in Pittsburgh took me in for a few months of the year.”
Neither of us said anything. Maggie had my complete attention, until her mother broke the silence when she asked, “That had to be hard—to live on TV and be filmed waking up, going about your day, and sleeping.”
“I didn’t know better,” I answered quickly. “I know now though. I have gone for the past few years without any cameras in my life, and I’ve had to face what real life is like.”
Her father asked me, like he was in prayer, “And what have you learned?”
Never trust the show’s host for my chance at a comeback. But that wasn’t what he wanted to hear. So I lowered my head and spoke from my heart and hoped no one would say anything negative as I answered, “That the blessings in my life matter more than the bad things, and I need to be thankful.”
Paul folded his hands on the table and said, “Now that’s something to drink to.”
I met his gaze and sat straighter when I said, “I don’t drink, sir.”
In his black suit he seemed like someone people told the truth to. There was something about his face that reminded me of Maggie, and it wasn’t just her kind blue eyes, when he asked, “Any particular reason?”
No lies, even if part of me I wanted to. I pushed my plate away and folded my hands in front of me as I said, “I’m in rehab. I learned when I was eighteen how alcohol could destroy my life, and decided to go into rehab.”
Her mother brushed against her father and then asked with a smile on her face, “How is that going?”
Maggie’s face was red, but she didn’t need to argue. I wasn’t the perfect match for their daughter.
The crash and how stupid I’d been replayed in living color in my mind. The girl beside me, Fiona—she’d almost died because I hadn’t called the police. Mark saved her that day with his quick thinking after I called him. My agent smoothed everything over for me.
But all I said was, “I’ve not had a drink since the day I was kicked out of my band, and I plan to remain alcohol-free for the rest of my life.”
Her father asked, “Did you find God?”
“Dad, lay off,” Maggie said. “It’s gone too far now.”
I swallowed and let my shoulders drop. There was the minister in him. And this wasn’t the worst shock and awe I could imagine. While I wasn’t a regular, I’d visited church, and I liked going.
I said, “I’ve gone to services.”
Maggie squeezed my thigh under the table, as her mother said, “That’s good. I’m happy to hear that.”
“And we’re done asking my friend Phoenix any more questions,” Maggie said.
Her father cut into his food and I did the same. The silence tasted like the rubber chicken. But then the host pointed at her father. My gut twisted as Paul asked, “Well, what about your parents? What are they like?”
The tension in my shoulders grew. The show would go to the burning question of years ago, digging for details not shared publicly.
Ratings.
My mother had been high all the time and my father drunk. I finished cutting all my food as I said, “I emancipated myself when I was fourteen.”
“You what?” her mother asked, like my words were in a foreign language to her.
This wasn’t news. Except maybe to them.
Maggie’s chin was locked in place and she seemed like a silent sentinel about to strike.
I patted her hand. This wasn’t her past. I met her mother’s stare and ignored how my skin buzzed. I accepted that this was the surprise element of today and I explained, “I emancipated myself, as they were living off my money. Once I took control of my check book, I’ve not seen them since. When I wasn’t filming, I lived with my cousins, aunt and uncle in Pittsburgh. They also cut off communication with my parents and took legal custody of me.”
And then I knew for a fact what was going to happen. The host showed up next to me and shoved the microphone in my face as he asked, “Have they ever contacted you?”
