“Oh,well, thank God for that,” I retorted bitterly, my voice quivering as I shookhis hand away.
“See,that’s exactly what I’m talking about, Princess. That fucking mouth. If Devinwas any kind of man, he’d be showing you who’s boss until you learned to keepit shut. That’s whatI’ddo.”
“Well,good thing Devin’s not you,” I spat at him, still trapped.
Robbietipped his head, and he nodded. “Yeah, you know, you’re right. He’s bigger.Powerful.If I were him, I’d be beating your ass into next week. But …” He shrugged,taking a step back. “He’s a pussy. He’s my friend, but I’m not afraid to callit like I see it. He’s going to let youruinhim. I’ve seen it happenbefore.”
Ina huff, and with an overwhelming need to get the fuck away from him, I grabbedthe full bucket of ice and held it to me. As I began to leave, his commentstruck a chord and I turned around. “What do you mean by that?”
Heleaned over, grabbed his bottle of booze and tipped it back. He guzzled thefucking thing, and I couldn’t begin to fathom what his liver must look like.
“Youdon’t let him have any fun,” he said simply, gesturing the bottle toward me.“He’s a motherfucking rock god, Firecracker. He’s a shooting star, and youthink you see him for what he is, but oh, Princess, youdon’t. I knew itthe first time I heard that fucking song of his. Brilliant tune, the guy’s agenius,but I knew there was a woman behind those lyrics. Iknewhe had builthis motherfuckingworldaround her, and when I first met you, I saw youfor exactly whatyouare.”
Mybrows drewtogetherand I willed myself not to cry asI asked, “And what’s that?”
Hesnorted, grinning his Cheshire Cat smile. “You, Princess, will be the muse thatlets that star burn out.’
Istood there, frozen and blinking, hugging that bucket of ice to my chest.“That’s not true.”
Anotherswill, and his smile returned. “Oh, really? Then, tell me why you havesomething to say abouteverything. ‘Devin,don’t do this.Devin,don’t do that,’” he mocked,mimicking a flapping mouth with his hand. “If he knew what was good for him,he’d kick your ass to the curb and get himself a new pussy to fuck every night.Anewmuseto write his songs about.Freshinspiration. Hecould, you know—easily. I mean, hell, I’m as straight as an arrow andI’dfuck him if I had the chance. But, oh well. He’ll be the tragedy that welcomeslove to kill him.Que sera, sera. But,” he scoffed, raising the bottleto me once again, “what a motherfucking waste.”
Andwith that, he dismissed me, dropping down into his chair to drink the nightaway. The tears burned the back of my eyes, pricking and irritating, as I spunon my heel and walked briskly down the hallway. I reached the room just as Devinwas stepping into the hall, ready to come and rescue me instead of writing hissongs, and Robbie’s wordscyclonedthrough my brain.I pushed past him into the room, dropping the ice bucket on a table near thedoor and rushed into the bathroom.
“Kylie?”Devin asked at the doorway, as I ran a bath. “Are you okay?”
“Yep,”I gasped, nodding.
“What’swrong?”
Isniffed, damning my nose for giving me away. “Nothing.”
“Oh,for fuck’s sake, Kylie, I’m not an idiot. You’re crying, and I want to knowwhat happened.”
“You’rea star, and I’m going to let you die,” I said feebly, loosely repeatingRobbie’s words as the tub filled with steaming water.
“What?Did someone say that?”
“Whodo you think?”
“Robbie?”He crossed his arms over his chest.
“No,it was Sebastian,” I shot at him sarcastically.
Hehung his head, tipping his chin to his chest. “Kylie, what did he say to youthis time?”
“Oh,who the fuck cares, Devin.”
“Kylie,”he said, somehow both stern and soft. “Icare.”
Ishook my head, watching the water rush from the faucet. “What does it evenmatter? I’m leaving in a couple days, and you can do whatever the fuck it isyou want to do with him, without me sucking all the fun out of everything. Youcan go ahead and find yourself a new muse to fuck every night, and—” I clappeda hand over my mouth, unable to believe I had actually said the words. My nosesniffled again, my throat clogged, and I hoped I wouldn’t break down.
“Didhe seriously say that?” His voice lowered, scraping against the walls of histhroat. “Did he imply I don’t want you here? Did he say I wanted to,” he shookhis head, “fuckother women?”
Ilowered my hand. “He told me I’m holding you back from being the rock star youcould be and that if I werehisbitch, he’d beat my ass every nightuntil I learned to shut my smart mouth,” I reiterated, the words choking me asI spit them out one by one. Devin’s fist hit the bathroom door before he turnedand left the room. “Devin?”
Ishut the water off and ran after him, as he threw the room’s door open andstormed his way down the hallway to the ice machine. I followed closely at hisheels, begging him to not do anything, but my pleas were going unheard.
Tywas just coming from the elevator when we entered the sitting area, and Robbiewas nowhere to be seen.
