Page 64 of Between Never and Forever
He can’t make me squirm anymore, but he’s not willing to accept it.
A minute later, my door opens again and in strides the rest of my band. Hammond sticks his phone back in his suit pocket and gestures for them to sit down. Mabel plops onto the couch next to me, Jonah throws himself into a chair, and Torren leans on the wall and scowls, ever the broody, misunderstood rockstar.
I wish I would have known we were having a meeting. I would have showered and changed. I’m still in my body suit, and it’s hard to be serious when your top half is nearly see-through and you’re sticky with sweat. These people have seen me in worse conditions, sure, but it’s different now.
“So glad to have you all here,” Hammond says with a fake smile. It takes every ounce of strength left in my body not to sneer at him. “Great show tonight. You played your hearts out. The label appreciates it.”
I roll my eyes, but he doesn’t notice. When it’s obvious none of us are going to thank him, he loses the smile and lets his true intentions show.
“Here are the facts. You can’t break your contract with the label.”
I groan and shoot upright, but he points at me and gives me ashut your mouth and let me speaklook. I bite my tongue, but only because Mabel puts her hand on my knee.
“You’ve recorded six albums. Your contract is for eight.”
“Bullshit, Hammond,” I spit. “You know that contract is predatory as hell. We were kids, starving and fucking desperate. Who the fuck requires eight albums from a breakout artist? We didn’t know what we were signing.”
“That contract is legally binding. It doesn’t matter if you were ignorant and didn’t read the fine print. I told you not to sign it, Savannah, but you didn’t listen, and now you are legally bound to it.”
Torren chuckles darkly from his place on the wall.
“But the princess gets what she wants, Ham. Did you forget?”
“Shutup, Torren.” I turn my body to face him. “Just shutup. This isn’t about you—”
“It sure as fuck affects me. It’s fucking upmylife.”
“I can’t keep killing myself for your dream!”
“Used to be your dream, too,” Jonah says, and when I look at him, his eyes are closed. I’m surprised he hasn’t passed out yet. Guilt and worry churn in my stomach, and that just makes me angrier. There’s no telling what he’s taking, anymore. I’ve stopped trying to babysit him.
“That was before the dream turned toxic, Jo,” I say through my teeth. “What the hell are you on tonight, anyway? You willing to fucking die for this?” I turn my attention back to Torren, gesturing at Jonah’s hunched over, drugged-out form. “This is what you want to save?”
Torren’s jaw tenses and he stares me down, but he won’t look at Jonah because he knows I’m right. Pretty sure he also thinks it’s my fault.
I look from Torren to Mabel and sigh.
“I can’t do this anymore. I’m sorry. But I can’t.”
“Well, then you don’t have to,” Hammond says, and the cheeriness in his tone makes my skin crawl. When I look at him, he’s smiling. “I talked to the label. We can replace you.”
My jaw drops, and I bark out a laugh, but he’s not joking. He’s serious. When I look at Torren and Mabel, the way they won’t meet my eyes, my breath gets lodged in my chest. I open and close my mouth twice before I can finally force out words.
“You agreed to this?” I look at Mabel. “You want to do this without me?”
She raises her eyes to mine, anger tinged with sorrow.
“You’re the one who decided you didn’t want to do it with us.”
I shake my head. I look from Mabel to Torren, then back at Hammond, skipping over Jonah’s passed out body.
“So, you’re just going to hire some knock off Sav Loveless? To sing the songsIwrote? To front the band thatIformed?”
“The label will do what it has to make sure the contract is fulfilled.” Hammond’s voice is clear and steady. No remorse. No emotion. All business. “If you want to buy your way out, fine, but it was selfish of you to assume the band would want to do the same.”
I gape. “You can’t just bring in someone new to sing my songs—”
“They are the label’s songs—”
