Page 30 of Still Her
“Oh,youdecided. But last I checked, it’s not you Eli’s messing with. I think that choice should be up to me.”
“Are you serious, Maze? He’s doing it to the most important person in my world. Pretty fucking close enough don’t you think?”
“Fine. Okay,” I gently concede his point. “But this won’t necessarily just make him look bad. It could make Turn it Up look bad. And Eli is a PR wizard, he could spin the whole scenario with the press any way he wants, make it look like you guys are hard to work with or something. We could suffer ramifications for months or years after it’s all said and done.”
“It will be worth it if it keeps you out of that sting.”
“Will it?” I challenge him, “Because I don’t think so. The effects will follow us around, at least they will me. The sting is how itends. How we bring him down and bring a stop to it altogether.”
“It’s also how you could end up hurt, or traumatized.”
“So you want to give up, lay it all down at his feet?” I ask incredulously. “It’s surrender!”
“That’s funny, because I’m looking at it more like keeping my wife from being alone in a room with a complete animal.”
“So you’d rather we go on with life knowing that we gave in? Let him have his way instead of fighting?”
“I’m not too proud to do what it takes to protect you,” he returns calmly, although his tone is starting to harden.
“But you’re talking about you and the other guys probably handing over everything you’ve worked hard for, so that he’ll stop messing with your poor little wife. Don’t you realize what you’d be putting on me by doing that?” Jack’s shoulders drop as I keep going. “I don’t want to live with that! I don’t want to carry on knowing I’m the reason you all did that. All that sacrifice would just hurt us more.”
“Jesus, Mayzie. I can’t get my head around the fact that you’re considering this. To be alone in a room with a scumbag that wants to violate you… It almost sounds like youwantto put yourself in that situation!”
“Howdareyou,” My voice is low, and my teeth are clenched.
“Shit. Baby, I didn’t mean-,”
“No, I don’t fucking want to do it, but you’re talking about letting him take so much from us! Who knows what he could go after, and what we’d be left with at the end of it!”
“It’s just money, Mayzie. I want you safe! Get perspective! Nothing is more important; I don’t care what it costs.”
“What it willcost, is our dignity. We’d have to live out the rest of our lives knowing we gave him what he wanted just so he’d stop. That even though we did nothing wrong, we were the ones that paid. That we didn’t fight. You said we weren’t going to play his game. This sounds an awful lot like we are! And who’s to say he’ll really leave me alone? When you give a bully your lunch money, he comes back for it every day. I don’t want to send the message that he can do this. I want to send the one that saysdon’t fuck with us!”
I’m about to blow. I need to get out of here or it’s going to get ugly. I snatch my phone off the bed and head for the door.
“Mayzie!” Jack scolds behind me. “Where are you going? We’re not done here!” I hear him following behind me through the length of the bus. Thank God there doesn’t seem to be anyone else on board at the moment or this would be really embarrassing. One of the last things I want in this world is for Jack and I to be one of those couples that has public arguments and lets the world see our drama, even though he and I rarely have any.
“Don’tfollow me Jack!” I snap over my shoulder just before I stomp down the steps and out of the door. I storm past Shane and in the direction of the arena, unsure why, or where I’m hoping to end up.
* * *
JACK
Shit.
That last sentiment definitely stopped me in my tracks. I’m standing on the first step inside the bus door with a hand on either side of the doorway, watching Mayzie high-tail it in the opposite direction. It’s not often she gets mad at me, but when she does, I know it’s not the time to reason with her. I look down as I realize something else: whenever she has gotten mad at me, it’s been for a good reason. This signals my brain to tell me I might want to reevaluate my position, but I’m still too fired up and stubborn to do that for right now. I’m trying to protect her for fucks sake. How does that in any way put me in the wrong?
Speaking of which, I look over at Shane who is watching after Mayzie as she storms across the lot.
“Hey Shane?” I prompt him, and he turns his head to acknowledge me.
“Yeah, Jack?”
“Stay with her, would you?” I jut my chin in Mayzie’s direction. I might be going a little overboard. It’s not like Eli is going to pop up randomly and ambush her again here on tour, but still, I don’t like the idea of her being alone, especially as emotional as she is right now. It just doesn’t sit right with me.
He looks confused, but still assures me, “You got it.” He turns to follow her before I think of something else.
“Oh, but hang back a little, yeah? Don’t let her know you’re there.”