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When I don’t answer Brent, he relaxes against the wall of the elevator, and I know it’s because he thinks I’m on the same side as him – he’s got no clue how wrong he is right now. Depending on what Mack has to say when he walks through our front door, there’s a chance they’ll all see how wrong they are.
This morning, as I got onto the plane, I wanted to call Wren and share my piece with her—even if she didn’t answer—but I wasn’t able to get that out.
Mack changed my number and then blocked me from being able to contact Wren at all.
Just another way he’s controlling us.
The entire reason I went to Arizona was because of my anger, how quickly I’ve always been to lash out, but the moment I got to know Wren a little more, I can’t remember the last time I felt anger as white-hot as I did after that realization.
I can’t begin to imagine the pain Wren is feeling at all the harsh comments in every article I’ve found about her. Everyone is feeling sorry for me because they think she took advantage of me, just like Mack has probably convinced everyone around us to believe, and it’s taking everything inside of me not to lash out at every single person in existence.
I’ve got to understand their concern, though. It’s not like everyone could see how mine and Wren’s relationship came to be. They don’t realize she doesn’t deserve this hostility – it should all be directed at me.
She didn’t want to do anything, but I couldn’t leave her alone.
This is on me, not her, but that’s not how the world wants to see it when you’re a famous rockstar.
Evan is leaning back on the couch when we walk into the house, immediately standing up when I get into the room. He looks at me like I’m a different person, and I shift under his uncomfortable stare, not liking the new attention on me.
“Are you an idiot?” Evan mutters.
I guess it was wishful thinking that someone would be on my side with everything. Although Brent does seem like he wants to believe my side of the story over Mack’s – I guess that’s got to count for something in the grand scheme of things.
Not enough for me to stick around the two of them while we wait for Mack to get over here.
Instead of answering Evan, like he’s probably expecting me to do, I push past him and head upstairs to my part of the house. I’m sure once Mack makes his grand entrance I’ll be able to hear him, no matter how loud I choose to play my music once I get into my room.
As I make my way upstairs, I can hear Brent and Evan whispering to each other angrily about me, but I ignore it.
I wish I could ignore it all right now.
***
Two hours later, there’s a pounding that echoes through my room and I roll my eyes before pressing the power button on my bluetooth speaker. I’m not surprised to find a fuming Mack standing outside my door, and it’s even more predictable when he spins on his heels and starts down the hall without saying a word.
He expects me to blindly follow him.
If there wasn’t a need to get my voice heard, I’d slam my door shut and pout like a teenage kid because that’s the kind of person Mack makes me want to act like.
Brent and Evan are sitting on the couch, looking as uncomfortable as ever, while Mack paces back and forth in front of the TV with his arms crossed tightly in front of his chest. When I make the last step down, Mack’s beady eyes snap to mine, and he shakes his head.
“You’ve got a huge mess for me to clean up now, do you know that?”
“Then I guess it’s a good thing it’s part of your job description,” I mutter, that anger already sliding back up my spine like a long-lost friend.
If Wren were here she would be able to calm me down in an instant.
She’s not, though.
“You have an interview tomorrow, where you’ll sob those crocodile tears in front of the camera and talk about how that therapist took advantage of your mental state, got it?”
“No,” I state calmly.
He blinks as if he didn’t hear me right and shakes his head. “Excuse me?”
“I said no. I’m not going to lie to the entire world and make Wren look bad.”
My bandmates lean forward at my response, invested in it now that I’m getting my truth out there, and I sigh. “You can act like she did something wrong, but it was never her. I’m the one who initiated anything, and I fell in love with her.”
