Page 135 of Everything After

“Solo artist?” he asked, surprised because I’d always wanted to be in a band.

“Most of the Spice Girls did it, Michael Jackson… Zayn and Harry, in fact all the guys from One Direction. Every one of them were band members first.

“True. It’s something to think about, and now you’ve stepped back, you have time to consider your options.”

“I do.” I smiled, excited by the thought that Alfie hadn’t dismissed my suggestion.

Given that my body was riddled with a series of complex emotional states, likely due to my fluctuating hormones, there had been times when I’d considered whether I’d acted in haste with my thoughts on the band. Then at other times the balance would tip and I’d feel more surefooted about leaving XrAid.

Of course, Lennie was furious with my decision and called daily, calls that I refused to take because I didn’t want to be persuaded to do something that I’d later regret.

“It’s Lennie again,” Alfie muttered, gesturing his cell phone in my direction. “Can I take it?” he asked in frustration when Lennie had resorted to calling his phone when I wouldn’t answer mine.

I sighed and dropped the paperback I was reading onto my lap and nodded. It had been five days since I’d released my statement, and the first time we’d spoken to any of my band.

Alfie put his phone on speaker. “Can I speak to Lily?” Lennie asked as soon as my husband answered.

“My phone,” Alfie reminded him. “If she’s not answering hers, then I guess that answer is no.”

“This is crazy,” Lennie muttered, sounding frustrated.

Alfie lifted a brow like he was surprised by Lennie’s remark. “Dude, you fucked up. Cody fucked up. If I’m honest, my wife feels betrayed… in my view she has been betrayed. Lily had you on a pedestal, and you blew it. I’ve sat on my hands for years when I should have interjected about the way you’ve orchestrated those schedules. You left her next to no family time, which incidentally almost cost her our marriage.”

“Marriage? What are you talking about?”

“I left Lily… right after our last tours finished. I’d had enough of the scarce time we had together, which was whenever Crakt Soundzz’ plans allowed us to catch up. Lily’s such a professional, she kept that fact from you guys. However, once I suggested that you were managing the schedules to suit your downtime with Rick and Coral, she woke up to what you’d been doing. You almost cost her everything because she went along with you controling everything.”

“I-I can’t believe that?—”

“It doesn’t matter what you believe,” I said, interrupting him. “We’ve worked it out, but I guess the way you reacted to her being pregnant helped her see what was going on. It’s a pity, because of all the guys in XrAid, you were the one she thought she could trust the most.”

“Shecantrust me. All I did was speak the truth about her being pregnant. She should have told me when she found out.”

“Why? Who are you to decide when a woman should share something that’s happening to her body?”

“That’s not what I mean. I was busy scheduling stuff. We have obligations.”

“Obligations you’ll be trying to fulfill without Lily now. So, who’s fault is that?”

“I still need to talk to her,” he insisted.

“And you will… in time. She needs time to process her thoughts and take a more leisurely look at her options.”

“What options?” Lennie asked, sounding alarmed.

I bit back a grin even though he couldn’t see me. “If she stays or goes.”

“Leave the band?” he shrieked.

“You saw how pissed she is about that stuff with Cody. That coupled with how you treated her has created a perfect storm between you guys and the band. Digs and Shawn had the right reaction to Lily’s news. They’re good guys… and they’ve proven they had her back. Anyway, I need to go to spend time with her now.”

I hung up and hunched my shoulders like I’d been a naughty schoolboy. “He’s pissed, but our call has given him a lot to think about.”

No sooner where the words out of my mouth than my cell phone rang again.

“Oh, there’s a surprise,” I remarked sarcastically, while it continued to ring.

“He’s calling back?” she asked confused.