“Kash!” I spotted him through the crowd. He was swinging at everyone who stood in his way. “Kash!”
The cop tried to tug me further away, but Carmen suddenly appeared and body slammed him to the stage. She stumbled to her feet, her hands still cuffed, and whipped her hair around with a smile. “Take that, bitch!” She spat on the man as he tried to get up. The stage had quickly become overcrowded with fans, security, and police. It was a complete shit show. “Kash! Get out of here!” Carmen tried to shove me away, but I refused. “Kash!”
“I can’t!” She blinked at me. “I can’t explain but—just trust me!”
Carmen dodged a cop’s swing and kicked him with a loud grunt. He fell over onto the old man. “Kash! What about us? What about your family?” The two cops struggled. “You can’t just leave us!”
“I’m doing thisforour family, Carmen!” The two cops tussled and eventually stood before they separated us. “Everything is going to be okay! I promise!” Carmen was whirled away, and I was shoved towards the side of the stage.
“Kash!” My head whipped around to see Motley forcing his way towards me. “Songbird!”
“Motley!”
My body yanked in his direction, and he reached out to me. “Don't do this! Don’t you fucking do this!” I could see tears in his eyes. “Don’t you fucking leave me!”
My eyes burned with my own tears. We both struggled, just out of reach, and yet so close. “I have to! I told you I’d always protect you!” He reached further with a loud groan, and the tips of his fingers brushed my cheek. “Protect our family.”
Motley pushed forward and grabbed my face. He kissed me, and I swear the world slowed. Time froze and my heart stopped beating as I lived in that moment for what felt like forever. This was my heaven, here, with him. But it was ripped away as the police tore us apart. “I love you, songbird!” Motley shouted as he fought back and tried to run to me. “I love you!”
“I love you, Motley!” I was forced in the opposite direction as I watched the stage sink into the crowd. Violence broke out in every direction. It was fucking chaos.
“Kash!” I looked out to see Twila. She was cuffed and standing next to Carmen and Ducky, the three on the whole other side of the stage. Motley had spotted them too and wasted no time rushing to them. It was a relief to see them out of the crowd and together.
They’re safe. My family is safe.
They all gathered together and watched as the cop dragged me away. Twila’s eyes burned as she shouted, “The Broken Muse!” Carmen, Motley, and Ducky shouted as well, all of them chanting our band name. The crowd of fans stopped and listenedbefore they too joined in. The violence slowly dwindled away, and soon the stage parted into two groups. On one side were the police, and on the other side, the fans and my band. They locked arms and stood in front of my family, creating a wall and protecting them as the room vibrated with their chants. My family stood tall behind them. A single cop tried to push through, but the fans shoved back and refused to let him break their line. More and more of the police tried to force past, but it was useless. There were thousands of fans swarming the stage and only so many of them.
“Let’s go!” the cop shouted to his men as he held me. “Let’s get the hell out of here!” At that point, I stopped resisting and let them take me. I didn’t care because I knew I was protecting them. Protecting Motley.
The band watched me, screaming and shouting my name as I was pulled from the stage. My body fell limp, and I was dragged away, listening to those distant chants.
I did it. You’re safe. You’re all safe.
FIFTEEN
KASH
“Well,look at what we have here, boys!” A large, bald man, covered in tattoos, roughly slammed his tray of food down on the table. Two other inmates stood behind him like shadows. “It’s the lead singer of The Broken Muse!” The three men all laughed like hyenas. Great.
It had been almost two weeks since I called the police and confessed, followed by my rather dramatic arrest during our performance. I had been taken back to the local jail near the campsite and was stuck here ever since, awaiting trial for third degree manslaughter, among a list of other charges, all relating to Guy’s death.
“I heard that your arrest started a nationwide riot. Your fans have been fighting the police and demanding your release. It’s been fucking chaos out there.” He sucked his teeth. “Impressive, for a gay man.” Real fucking classy. The man grabbed a handful of the mush from my tray and laughed. “Is it true you left that pretty little blonde pussy of yours for some side dick? Whatwas that fucking dude’s name? Oh yeah, Motley.” Something snapped inside me as I heard his name come from that prick’s mouth. The men all laughed at his offensive words. I kept my head low and tried to control my anger, but it was useless. This man crossed a fucking line.
My body trembled, and I scoffed to myself.
The inmate noticed. “What’s so funny, pretty boy?” he snapped. “Huh?” He slammed his fist onto the table and food splattered from the impact. “What’s so fucking funny?”
My eyes raised and I grinned. “You are.” His eyes widened. “You think you’re so big and bad, but really, underneath all your toxic masculinity, you’re just a scared little bitch.”
The man shot to his feet. “The fuck did you just say to me?”
“Hey!” a guard shouted in our direction. “Settle down!”
I laughed as he and his friends eyed me with rage. “How insecure do you need to be to feelsothreatened by a man like me? Tell me, what is it that bothers you so much? The fact that I’m famous? Better looking than you? That even though I like dick, I can get more pussy than you? Or that I have hair?” I winked, and he flared his nostrils.
“You little?—”
My hands slammed against the table, and I stood. “You think you’re ignorant homophobic shit scares me?” My head tilted. “I don’t give a fuck how you feel. You know why? Because you’renothingto me.” The guard began to walk in our direction, and unlike them, I didn’t care. “Nothing! But don’t you ever fucking say his name again!”
