Page 109 of The First Chord
Choosing to ignore him, Elliot asked, “Have we decided what we’re going to do about the CEO position once we get the record company going?”
“I thought we were going to offer it to Ali,” Ronnie replied.
Ali was the perfect fit as she had a great business brain and was one of the best managers in the business. None of us were qualified.
“Well yeah,” Elliot said, rubbing the bottom of Belle’s back. “But she’s adamant she’s retiring once we get this contract thing sorted.”
“Let’s offer it to her and see what she says,” Ronnie replied. “If she says no then we’ll try to persuade her and if she still says no then we’ll toss for it.”
We all groaned, and Beau threw a wine bottle cork at him, groaning that he was a dick.
“Yeah, but I’m a dick with super sperm, don’t forget.”
That was my cue to leave the table and visit the bathroom. “I’ll be back. Don’t have a serious conversation without me.”
“That’s not likely to happen,” Elliot said with a sigh of real disappointment.
Once I got into the downstairs bathroom, which was ridiculously fucking huge, I pulled out my phone and clicked on my contacts. I was already second guessing my decision, but I didn’t know what else to do.
Me
I need to see you.
After what seemed like for-fucking-ever, a text came back and I sighed with relief, even though I hated what I was doing.
Daisy
Why?
Me
I need you to talk me down from doing something stupid.
Daisy
Why me?
I sighed heavily, not wanting to admit why, but I had to. It was my truth, and I’d vowed to be as honest as I could be after the thousands of drug-induced lies I’d told.
No matter how much I hated the idea, Daisy was the one who made me see sense. The person who fucking hit me between the eyes with honesty. She never sugar coated anything and was exactly the kind of person I needed.
When I had reached the lowest point in my life, Cassie, Beau’s wife, had helped me get off the drugs. Rehab hadn’t worked but she was determined I wasn’t going to kill myself. Rightly, or wrongly, she locked me in their spare bedroom, and she helped me. She held me when I was going through the worst stages of cold turkey, she made me eat and drink, she comforted me, and she fucking smiled at me when I gave her abuse. She even cleaned up my puke, piss and shit when I hit the lowest depths of my existence. She’d saved my life. Daisy, though, had been the one to make sure I stayed alive. It wasn’t a conventional relationship, but it worked.
Me
Because you’re the only one who can.
I heard someone outside the bathroom, so I quickly flushed the chain and turned on the tap, to add to my deception. After what I hoped was enough time, I turned it off and listened. There was no sound, so whoever it was had gone. When I looked in the mirror above the sink, I groaned. My eyes had grey circles around them, and my usual olive skin was pale. The others only hadn’t noticed because I hid my physical appearance by sounding and acting like everything was normal. Yet, I could see the signs of what the pain in my arm was doing to me. It was causing me to think about making reckless decisions.
Thankfully, the sound of a text drew me back from my thoughts. Negative and destructive thoughts.
Daisy
Okay. My place, tomorrow at six. I’ll cook you something.
The last part surprised me. That was not what Daisy and I did. We weren’t the sort to sit down and chat over a good meal. Now, though, I needed her, so I was willing to take whatever she offered.
Me
Thank you. I’ll see you tomorrow.
As I opened the door to the bathroom, the laughter coming from the dining table made me wish I could tell them how I was feeling. The problem was, I really didn’t want to disappoint them, never had, which was why Daisy was still my crutch. So, when Ethan yelled, “hurry up, Uncle Joey. I need to show you this,” I slapped on a smile and prepared myself to do some of my best acting.