Page 12 of Follow the Rhythm (Fairview City Omegaverse #2)

T he weekend had become my enemy. During the week, I could distract myself with work: rehearsals, interviews, shooting content for brand partnerships.

But on the weekends, distractions were limited.

This was especially true if Bea was angry with me, which was about half the time these days.

I’d been in Fairview for three years and I didn’t even have proper friends to keep me sane.

Of my two real friends, one was dead and one could barely stand my presence.

That left the rotating cast that Bea insisted were good connections.

Before, Sundays had been my favorite day of the week.

We had all carved out time in our increasingly busy schedules to spend time together.

We would hang out at Michael’s flat to watch the football in the morning, and then jam or write for hours.

It’s when we did our best work, when there was no pressure.

Now, there was nothing but pressure.

I woke up too early on Saturday. Bea hadn’t come home, which didn’t surprise me.

When I told her I didn’t want to go to that paid appearance on the yacht, she’d made it very clear she was going with or without me.

She also made sure to tell me I wasn’t any fun anymore, but that was nothing new. I hadn’t been fun since Michael died.

That Ellis Fox felt like a different person, as different as the Ellis I’d been the last time I saw Jess Moretti.

The scathing look Jess had given me flashed in my mind, and guilt unfurled in my stomach.

She’d grown into her beauty. She had always been breathtaking, if a little shy, but now she was confident and aloof. I wondered if that sensitive girl was still in there somewhere.

Of course I’d thought about Jess over the years, often when listening to an album I desperately wanted her opinion on.

Or sometimes, when I couldn’t sleep, I’d look at her online store.

It was the closest I could get to stalking her since she had no discernible social media presence.

It’s how I’d finally recognized her, by those haunting illustrations.

I hadn’t planned on ghosting her. But moving back to London felt like an exciting new chapter, and at first, I was just too busy to talk to anyone from my boring old life.

But as the shine of my adventure wore off, and I started to truly miss her, it was too late.

The texts had gone unanswered for too long.

So I told myself it was for the best; an opportunity to shed the past, awkward version of myself.

If I let myself consider it, I could admit that I had loved Jess back then, in the way that teenage boys can love anything.

My world had revolved around two things: music and her.

But love was dangerous. I’d seen my mum break her heart enough times to learn that life was much easier if you kept your heart out of it.

So I kept Jess at arm’s length, close enough to reap the benefits of her friendship, but far enough so she didn’t get the wrong idea.

Which, in hindsight, was probably a tad selfish.

I pushed myself out of bed. My guitar and the paper with the pathetic attempt at songwriting from the night before mocked me from the couch at the far end of the room.

Echelon wanted a solo Ellis Fox album, and Karen had made it very clear she was willing to hire any songwriter in the world to make it a reality. But I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. I’d always written with Michael. And now I wasn’t writing at all.

I needed a distraction. A proper good one. Sex was usually the best option, but with Bea gone, my first line of defence was missing.

My mind served up an image of Charlie, my handsome new neighbor. He wasn’t my usual type, but I couldn’t deny I was drawn to him. There was something about that smile; he looked very eager to please.

I shut down that line of thought. He seemed like a genuinely nice person who deserved better than the likes of me.

“Shit,” I said out loud, scowling at the clock. It was only six in the bloody morning. The day stretched before me like an abyss; nothing to fill it but the yawning horror of my thoughts.

And the worst part was, I couldn’t even do drugs anymore. Before, I’d always had the option of taking the edge off with a bit of pharmaceutical help. But now, even the thought sent me spiraling into a panic that I’d miss that crucial moment, the point where “just enough” becomes “too much.”

I couldn’t have a drink at six in the morning, either. That kind of behavior took things from “fun alcoholic” to “rehab” very quickly.

The thought of trying to write something made me feel physically ill, so that was out, too.

I pulled on my trainers, a tracksuit top Bea kept trying to throw out, and a ratty old cap - my incognito attire - and made my way to the back entrance of the building.

I doubted any paps would expect to see me out that early, but I didn’t want to risk it.

They’d been tracking me with more accuracy lately, and it was unsettling to have zero privacy.

But Fairview City was loud and bustling, even at that ungodly hour, and I would lose myself in its rhythm until a better option presented itself.

Monday was a blessing. The day was filled with appointments and obligations. One of these was a meeting that would put me in the same room with Jess again, but beggars can’t be choosers. Maybe I could clear the air and shift some of the guilt plaguing me, too.

Bea had forgiven me, even though I’d never apologized.

“Why are we meeting with these people again?” Bea asked. We had entered the label office holding hands for the benefit of the paparazzi outside, but she dropped my hand as soon as we were through the doors.

“I told you, you don’t need to come,” I said, scanning the lobby for Jess.

“When are you going to start taking me seriously? I’m supposed to be an integral part of your team, but you just ignore me. Perhaps I should just go back to London and leave you to it.”

I sighed. “I want you here.”

Bea shook out her hair haughtily. “You want to keep me happy, don’t you?”

I recognized the threat. “Of course. Come to the meeting, please.”

“And be ignored like last time? I don’t think so. I have better things to do for your career. Find me down here when it’s over,” she said and swept away towards the uncomfortable-looking couches grouped at the far end of the lobby.

I clenched my fists in frustration, then made my way upstairs.

I was the last to arrive, but no one made a fuss.

Jess was sitting farthest from the door.

She’d wound her hair into two buns on top of her head, accentuating her slender neck, and she was wearing a shirt so low-cut I thought I might see her nipples if she leaned forward.

To my slight disappointment, Charlie wasn’t there.

He was pleasant to be around, like he was giving off the warmth of a fireplace on a frigid day.

Jess didn’t even look at me as I came into the room.

Kieran barely acknowledged me, and Grace subtly flipped me off.

I couldn’t blame them. I was insufferable, even to myself. But I couldn’t seem to stop doing the shit that hurt everyone.

Ursula ran through the lighting design and video components for each of the 14 songs on the main setlist, as well as the 2 encores.

Jess’s illustrations would be featured in the middle section, the songs from Into the Garden , accompanied by a massive tree that would roll out from stage left. They were working with an animator to create subtle movements for each picture.

Ursula pulled up a short clip as an example. The effect was unsettling, but undeniably striking.

“And then we’ll bring the audience back to the real world for the last few songs, the big hits from Home of the Free . Encores are ‘Firedancer’ and ‘Enemy,’ right?” Ursula looked at Kieran.

“Yes,” I answered to remind everyone I was in the room. “But we might want to swap out ‘Enemy,’ so we should keep the design simple. Everyone will be singing along anyway.”

Ursula nodded. “My thoughts exactly. We’ll do some pyro for ‘Firedancer’ because everyone will expect it, but the last song will just be big, bright lights, no video.”

“It all looks good to me,” Kieran said. “Ellis?”

“Approved.”

“Grace?” he asked.

“Why does it matter what she thinks?”

Everyone glared at me.

“Because she’s a part of this tour too, asshole,” Jess said, her voice scathing. She met my gaze, her brown eyes blazing, then turned away again, dismissing me.

“I apologize,” I said ironically. Grace just flipped me off again.

I didn’t have anything against Grace except that she wasn’t Michael. I knew it was unfair, but these things aren’t always rational. But I didn’t appreciate her being included in creative decisions as if she were actually his replacement, either.

“We’ll get to work then,” Ursula said simply.

As everyone stood to leave, I hung back. “Jess? Could we have a chat?”

Jess looked startled, but also defiant. “Fine.”

Kieran gave her a searching look that annoyed me, as if he were checking on her. It also seemed to annoy Jess because she glared at him until he left the conference room. A small seed of jealousy sprouted at their apparent connection.

I sat in the seat next to her, and Jess stiffened, leaning away from me.

“You know, if you wanted to see me, there are easier ways than getting hired to my creative team,” I said to break the awkward silence.

Jess flushed bright red. “As hard as this may be for you to believe, my being here actually has nothing to do with you.”

I raised my eyebrows at her. “I think it has a bit to do with me, darling. It is my band, after all.”

Jess pressed her lips together and crossed her arms tightly. “Okay, fine, yes, it’s your band. But when you didn’t recognize me after that show the other night, I thought you just wouldn’t. I’d collect a decent paycheck for once, and we could all move on with our lives.”

“You were at the secret show, too?” I asked? and immediately regretted it. Jess’s face hardened even more.

“Yes,” she said curtly, her face glowing red again. “Grace is my friend’s sister.”

“So this is all just some kind of cosmic intervention, bringing you back into my life?” I asked, still a bit incredulous.

“Not everything revolves around you. It’s just a weird coincidence.”

I wasn’t entirely convinced, but I left it for the moment. If she had some other motive for working on the tour, I would find out sooner or later. “It is good to see you, darling, even under dubious circumstances.”

“Don’t call me that,” she snapped. “Are we done here? I have work to do.”

“I’d like to clear the air. I clearly hurt your feelings, but that was so long ago. We had a laugh back then, didn’t we?”

Jess finally looked at me, disdain written clearly across her face. “Any ‘hurt feelings’ I had about you are long gone.”

“Really? You have no feelings for me at all? That rings a bit untrue, given where we are right now.” I tapped on the conference table for emphasis. I dropped my hand, and the smirk. “But I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t thought about you over the years. And I am sorry.”

While Jess struggled to find a retort, a soft hint of a scent floated towards me.

I remembered Jess’s scent vividly: citrus that leaned more tart than sweet.

But this scent was deeper, richer. Juicy, fresh lime and an undercurrent of sharp ginger that lit up the synapses in my brain.

It was the scent of an unbonded Omega. I inhaled deeply, then leapt to my feet and took two steps back.

“Jesus, you’re an Omega?” I asked stupidly. “Since when?”

She looked furious. “Since right around when my aunt died, actually, so it was a really fun time for me. Again, are we done here?”

My heart sank, and guilt stabbed me in the gut, no doubt as Jess intended. She always knew where to strike hardest.

“I’m so sorry-” I began, but Jess stood, cutting me off with a huff.

“I can be professional without letting our history or whatever get in the way. Can you?” She left without waiting for an answer, slamming the conference room door open, and leaving a trail of that intoxicating scent behind.

I sank back into a chair, my mind reeling.

Jess, an Omega? And unbonded? I purposefully didn’t know much about Omegas since I avoided the idea of bonding like the plague, but didn’t she need protection?

The deepest, basest part of my Alpha brain was assuring me I was the best one for the job, but I easily silenced that voice.

No matter what my instincts may have been telling me, Jess deserved far better than anything I had to offer.