Echoes of the Heart, Casey, L.A. [reader novel .txt] 📗

onto my neck. I reached into my bag, grabbed the face wipes I brought with me and wiped away the make-up until the face I was used to seeing stared back at me.

My eyes were swollen and red, my cheeks were blotchy and my yellowing, fading bruise was on display for all to see too. Overall I looked like a train wreck.

I threw the used wipes into the bin, walked over to the door, unlocked then stepped out into the hall. Tobias was leaning against the wall facing the bathroom. His straightened up the second I opened the door. He shoved his phone into his pocket. His brown eyes stared at me with concern.

“I’m okay.”

“No, you’re not.”

I sniffled. “You’re right, I’m not, but I need to see Risk.”

I had to explain myself, I had to make him understand why I didn’t know his songs. I had to. I didn’t wait for Tobias to respond, I turned and began walking. He cursed and jogged to reach my side. He directed me where I needed to go when I didn’t know which turn to take. I looked up when I heard a voice shouting.

“You!”

I braced myself against the venom I knew was coming my way.

“You’re fucking lucky you didn’t ruin the entire show.”

I swallowed. “I didn’t mean for any of that to happen, Chris.”

“Bullshit,” he snapped, making me flinch. “You humiliated Risk and the band. Original Sinner my ass. You’ve been fucking Risk this past week and you’re telling me you don’t know one Blood Oath song? One?”

“My relationship with Risk is none of your business.” I lifted my chin. “It’s no one’s but mine and his.”

“His life belongs to the public, you stupid fucking bitch,” Chris snapped, his face getting redder by the second. “I’ve worked overtime this past week calming the fans because you wanted to dry hump Risk on some shitty pier and just when that’s blown over, you fuck up his first sober show. Are you shitting me?”

Each shouted word made me flinch.

“Ease up, Chris,” Tobias practically growled. “Risk is a big boy, he made his decision. You get paid to do your job, not dictate his life.”

“And you get paid to babysit so shut the fuck up or you’re fired.”

I didn’t have to look at Tobias to know he was glaring at Chris.

“You don’t know me,” I said to him. “You didn’t like me from the second you met me—”

“Because I knew something like this would fucking happen, you dumb bitch! You’re no different than any other slut who wants the bragging rights of saying she fucked Risk Keller.”

I didn’t care for this man. I wasn’t giving him another minute of my time because he had no clue about mine and Risk’s history. Not a single one. I brushed by him but gasped when his hand grabbed my arm and he shoved me into the wall. For a second, I had no idea what was happening but then Chris’s hold on me disappeared. My arm throbbed. I turned and saw Chris on the ground, moaning as he held his face. His bloody face. Tobias stood over him, his hand fisted.

“Oh my god!”

Tobias had punched him to help me.

“You’re fired!” Chris spat. “Motherfucker.”

“I work for Blood Oath, not you,” Tobias snapped. “If I’m sacked, they will tell me.”

Tobias turned, gently took my arm and led me away.

“It’s your fault, bitch!” Chris bellowed as he stumbled to his feet. “His relapse is your fucking fault!”

If Tobias hadn’t been holding me, I think I would have fallen to my knees with shock. Chris’s words hit me with the impact of a train.

“No!” I clung to Tobias. “No, no! Please, don’t tell me he’s using.”

Tobias couldn’t look me in the eye.

“They got off stage thirty minutes ago . . . he’s been drinking since then. He won’t leave the building because he knows you’re here somewhere, he’s in the dressing room.”

No.

I whimpered. “Take me to him now!”

I needed to stop him. I needed to explain. I needed to fix this.

“Dios me!” Angel straightened up, away from the wall outside the dressing room, when he saw me run down the hallway with Tobias right by my side. “Frankie, this is not a good time.”

He tried to stop me, but I pushed by him and kicked the door open. The first sight that greeted me was Risk snorting a white substance off a woman’s naked breasts. My stomach lurched as I stepped into the room. May was in the middle, shouting at one of the women, while Hayes was grabbing the piles of alcohol bottles on the table in front of Risk and was in the process of dumping them into a sink.

“Frankie,” May looked shocked to see me. “This is not what it looks like. These girls just got here two minutes ago, he hasn’t kissed them or anything. I swear.”

The fact that May had to reassure me of this hurt my chest. Four women were all but sitting on Risk, kissing on his neck, face and anywhere else they could. He was fully clothed still but it looked like things wouldn’t stay that way for long. My stomach churned with the sight. The four women looked my way. Risk looked like he was barely aware of their presence next to him.

“Leave,” I said to the four. “Now.”

There must have been a fierce look in my eyes or it was the finality of my tone, but the women didn’t argue with me or try to make me change my mind. They simply stood up and left the room even while Risk was lazily calling for them to come back.

“Spoiling m-my fun, Cherry.”

Risk sniffed repeatedly and rubbed the leftover white powder on his fingers over his gums. May smacked his hands away while Hayes, who had finished emptying all of the bottles, grabbed the open bag of drugs, poured it into the same sink and ran water over it. As they did this, Angel barred the door from the women who were pleading for re-entry,