Page 4 of The Burdens We Share (Satan’s Angels #3)

Ivory

I wake up to the sound of my phone ringing from where it rests on my glass nightstand. I groan as I rub the sleep from my eyes with the heels of my palms. Who could be calling me at this ungodly hour?

I roll onto my stomach and start army-crawling across my king bed to my phone before I grab it and hit accept without reading the name on the screen. “Yeah?” I yawn into the phone.

The voice on the other end of the line is one I know well. Very well. Especially when it’s screaming at me in that bossy tone. “Why have you not picked up? I’ve called you four times,” Selene complains, her voice impatient.

I open my eyes and frown, “Because I was sleeping. You know, that thing that normal people do at this hour?”

Selene only grows more impatient. “Get your ass to my office now. We’re having a meeting.”

“You and your meetings,” I complain. “What happened now?” Knowing our band, someone probably was arrested or another sex tape got leaked.

Selene’s voice seems to lighten up and I swear I can hear what sounds like excitement in her next words, “Just get here. It’s a surprise.”

I decide to push Selene in the way that only I can, “Will there be breakfast?”

She sighs, “I will have Matthew order your usual.”

I’m about to grin from ear to ear when I remember I’m on a new nutrition plan thanks to Nara. I feel another wave of the defeat I felt yesterday hit me before I speak up, “Actually, it’s fine. You don’t need to have Matthew get me anything. I’ll just make something at home.”

Selene pauses on the other end for a moment before she asks, “Is this supposed to be a joke?”

“Why would I joke?”

“Because you’ve never once turned down chocolate waffles the size of your ego.” I can hear the scrutiny in her voice.

My cheeks flame red even though Selene can’t see me.

“I know. I’m just on a no-sugar kick lately.

My stomach has been feeling a little sensitive.

” I lie. I almost feel afraid of how quick the lie came from my mouth.

How I didn’t even have to think about it.

I remind myself that this is what I have to do.

If I want to be the best, sacrifices are part of the package, right?

I have to give up my old ways if I want to look like Cami and be as successful as she is.

Selene remains silent another moment before she responds, “Well…okay.” I hear a note of doubt in her voice as if she doesn’t believe me, but doesn’t want to press me before she changes the subject entirely. “Just get here, okay? You don’t want to miss this.”

Before I can respond, she hangs up on me.

I groan as I drop my face into my pink satin pillow.

My stomach grumbles and all I want right now are those chocolate waffles Selene mentioned, but I force all thoughts of my favorite breakfast at bay before I bring my head up and open my email.

I search for the nutrition plan from Nara, and when I find it, I open it and scan the contents.

My jaw practically drops. Nara has me cutting out half of my usual daily food intake. All that’s on here is vegetables and fruits. Boooorrriiing. But I guess this is what it takes to look like Cami. Well, that and sleep which I definitely did not get much of last night.

After the show last night, I went to the club and spent a few hours with Nate.

I didn’t drink much, conscious of how drinking can cause bloating.

I left around four in the morning and went home only to be rudely awoken by Selene only three hours later.

I mean really- who organizes a meeting at seven in the morning?

We’re rockstars, aren’t we supposed to be nocturnal?

I toss the pink sheets to the side and roll out of bed before I rise and make my way to the bathroom. There’s no procrastinating getting ready. Not when Selene demanded my presence. When Selene Stone demands something, you deliver. Even if you’re running on three hours of sleep and a carrot stick.

I quickly get ready and when it’s time to get dressed, I freeze. Usually, I wear cropped shirts and revealing clothing but after my interaction with Nara yesterday, I feel insecure. I don’t want to show off too much of my body because what if someone looks at me and sees what Nara saw?

I decide on a pair of loose-fitted jeans and an oversized white t-shirt.

I pair it with pink sneakers and avoid looking at myself in the mirror.

I’m dressed in something Aria would wear, which is definitely going to draw attention—not that I want it.

The less eyes on me right now, the better.

I finish the look by pulling my hair into a ponytail and grabbing a pink purse that matches my sneakers.

My stomach grumbles, and I sigh. Today is going to suck if all I can eat is fruits and vegetables at low volume. But whatever. If this is what I have to do to be successful, then I’ll do it.

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SELENE’S OFFICE REMINDS ME of an office that you’d see in a magazine.

By that I mean there are no personal effects of any kind and there isn’t a single spec of dust in sight.

This isn’t the case for just her office, it’s the case for her entire office building.

It’s all white marble, white furniture, and white carpeting.

Selene is much like Brody’s fiancé, Harvey.

They’re both very regimented and lack a good sense of humor most of the time.

Selene doesn’t tolerate mess or loud colors.

She likes everything clean and very simple-looking.

I can respect it, though if this were my office building, I’d throw some pink accents in here and there.

But alas, this is not my office building and I am not Selene Stone, self made millionaire and owner of the most successful management firm in all of the United States. No, I am but a simple bass player and model.

The elevator door pings and I step out onto Selene’s floor, making my way down the, you guessed it, white hallway and to her office.

Once I make it to the door I don’t bother knocking.

I swing the door open and find Selene seated at her desk with an impatient, but slightly excited look on her face.

Brody and Aria are seated across from her in the white leather chairs.

Brody’s hair is its usual mess of blond and black waves.

She wears a pair of tight-fitted, black jeans and a red cropped t-shirt with black stars on it.

My gaze travels to Aria next. Her auburn hair is in a low, messy bun at the nape of her neck, her blue strands poking out.

She wears a black Thunderstrike tank top with jean shorts.

I barely have to spare Selene a glance to know she’s sporting her usual pinstripe pantsuit, her black hair slicked into a low bun also.

When all three sets of eyes land on me, the room goes silent and I realize this is exactly how Aria must’ve felt when we had that meeting not too long ago about her sex tape.

Brody grins as her eyes rove over my body, “Wow, Iv. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you in so much clothing.”

I roll my eyes and Aria adds, “Wait a second, didn’t you shit on me a couple months ago for my mock neck?” She has an amused look on her face.

I cross my arms over my chest and snap back, “Yeah, I did, because the turtleneck was ugly as shit.”

“Mock neck,” Aria corrects, annoyance in her tone.

I wave her off, “Ugly is ugly regardless of what name you place in front of it.”

She scoffs, about to bite back, but Selene holds up a hand, “Let’s not. I’m not in the mood for the childish behavior today. I’m in a rarely good mood and the last thing I want is you three clowns ruining it.”

Brody places a hand on her chest, defensively, “Excuse me? I’m not participating in the childish behavior.”

Selene gives her an unconvinced look, “Please stop speaking.” She focuses her gaze on me, “I’m also interested in why you’ve suddenly decided to change your wardrobe, but we have way bigger and more important things to discuss. So can we actually talk about why I brought you all here today?”

I drop into the seat next to Aria and she smiles at me as she pats me on the shoulder. All of our bickering is in good nature. The three of us fight and bicker like sisters, but at the end of the day, our bond is unbreakable. I smile back at her before focusing my full attention on Selene.

“We’re listening,” Brody raises her chin at Selene in encouragement.

Selene rises from her chair and places both palms on her desk, leaning forward as if she’s hanging on to every word that’s about to come out of her own mouth. “You three have just been given one of the biggest opportunities of a lifetime.”

Aria sits up straighter, “Bigger than becoming rich and famous rockstars and being the first female band to win a Muse Award?”

Selene shakes her head, her smile never wavering even though the annoyed twitch in her eye suggests she may want to slap Aria across the face, “No, fool. Think bigger.”

Brody taps her chin in thought, “Did we get invited to perform somewhere big?”

Selene shakes her head again, “No, though I am working on getting you guys a performance at Beatrix Banes’ birthday party. Think bigger!”

It’s my turn to guess, but I don’t have the slightest idea what she could’ve gotten us.

Selene is like a magician to our careers.

She has a way of making things appear and disappear at the snap of a finger.

With her, you never know what you’re gonna get.

“I’m at a loss, I really have no idea,” I shrug.

Selene smirks as if she was hoping I wouldn’t guess. “You got a movie.”

The room goes silent. “A what?” Brody quirks her head.

Aria leans in closer to Selene’s desk and rests her elbows on the edge, “I’m sorry, Selene. For a second there it sounded like you said we got a movie, but I feel as though I could’ve misheard you.”

Selene rolls her eyes, “You heard correctly.”

Oh my God. We got a movie? I’m not screaming, you are! “We got a movie, as in we’re becoming actresses?” I love diversifying my career and the idea of seeing my face on a movie poster makes me want to do a backflip right now.

Selene nods, unable to contain her own excitement, “Yes and no.”

Brody’s brows pull together, “What does that mean?”

Selene folds her arms over her chest, confident, “It means that I got a call from Martin Stein, the biggest director in Hollywood, and he asked me if you three would be interested in filming a movie about your rise to fame. Apparently, the world has been so enamored by the drama surrounding you three in the media, that they felt it would make for a good movie.”

Aria, Brody, and I all exchange neutral expressions and a silent moment passes before we all leap out of our seats and jump for joy.

We’re a squealing, laughing mess of hugs, and cheers and there is nothing that will ever dull the excitement of this moment.

This is a new level in each of our careers and it means even more that we’re getting to experience it together.

After all, it started with the three of us, and it’ll end with the three of us.

When we all finally pull apart, Brody grins at Selene, “I guess us almost going to jail a bunch of times and making your job ten times harder was worth it, huh?”

Selene’s smile falls. “I will have you know that I’ve had to pay a lot of money in Botox because the three of you have prematurely aged me.”

I break away from the group and run around Selene’s desk, circling my arms around her in a bear hug, “But Selene, you love us so much.”

She reluctantly hugs me back, “That is up for debate.”

Aria preens, “Admit it—you’re secretly thanking me for that sex tape, huh?”

Selene’s nostrils flare, “That was, without a doubt, the worst mess of yours I’ve ever had to clean up. I swear I was this,” she holds her index finger and thumb very close together, “close to quitting.”

“You would never,” I say, smiling at her.

She rolls her eyes, “One of these days, we shall see.”

“Enough of the bullshit, when does filming start? Who are our co-stars? Where even is filming?” Brody asks all the fun questions.

I remove my arms from Selene and stroll back to my seat, dropping down and paying attention.

“Well, I knew the three of you would be ecstatic so I told Martin yes already. He’s been developing a script and he’s been trying to make the script as close to reality as possible.

He’s been emailing with me to get the nitty gritty details of what actually happened so that he can get an accurate depiction. ”

I raise a brow, “So what parts of our lives is the movie covering?”

“It’s gonna document how Satan’s Angels started and how things in each of your lives started to go downhill after your rise to fame,” she explains.

Aria chews her lip anxiously, “Is it going to get into the tape?”

Selene nods, “Yes.”

Brody’s voice lowers, “And my addiction problems?”

Selene dips her chin again, “Yes.”

“Are you sure that’s the best idea? We’ve all seen how dark both Aria and Brody’s lives got when those things happened. Those were their rock-bottom moments. Does the entire world need to witness that?” I ask, worried about my friends.

Selene gives me an admiring smile before she declares, “I had a front row seat to both of those catastrophic events. I saw how you both went in and I saw how you both came out. You wouldn’t be the people you are today without those moments and I think the entire world would love you all the more and respect you all the more if they saw how truly affected you both were and how you conquered your own demons. ”

Brody takes a deep breath and glances at Aria for approval. Once they accomplish a silent agreement, Brody nods, “Okay.”

Selene gives her a look of pride, “I’m proud of you two.”

Aria waves her hand around, laughing to lighten the mood, “Yeah, yeah, our moments were cool and all, but when is this one,” she places a hand on my shoulder, “going to have her existential crisis?”

“Never, I’m perfect” I toss my hair over my shoulder and straighten my posture.

Brody laughs, “You say that now. Watch something happen now to spite you for saying that.”

Little does she know something is already happening.

Little do they all know I’m battling my own demons right now.

Demons that mock and tease me every time I look in the mirror or catch a glimpse of my body.

Little do they know that what Nara said to me yesterday changed the way I’ll see myself forever.

I take a page out of Brody’s old book and slip a mask on, feigning interest. “Please, nothing is going to happen.”

Selene rolls her eyes, “We’ll see about that. It seems the three of you love coming to me with problems.”