Chapter Twenty-Two
Ru landed in San Diego to a runway full of cameras. He wondered briefly if they’d found out about Adam and that’s why the paparazzi were suddenly super pushy, but when he got into the car and flipped open his phone, he realized that had nothing to do with it.
“Sorry, Ru,” Katie, his publicist said.
“About what? What happened?” He was on his way to an interview and had planned to get there early enough to get hair and makeup done, call Adam for lunch, and then do the interview.
“Kris has been all over the news. There are rumors that AJ is going to add him to Vocal Growth.”
“What? He can’t sing and he can’t dance. You should have seen him when we went clubbing—he was awful. Plus he’s gay, and I got kicked out for being gay.” Ru pinched the bridge of his nose, feeling a headache coming on.
“It’s just a rumor. But it’s running pretty strong. They will probably ask you about it at the interview.”
“Whatever. VG is no longer my concern. I’m going to call Tommy. See if he’s okay. But I’m on my way to the interview now.”
“Keep your cool, no matter what they ask.”
“I always do,” Ru reminded her and hung up so he could call Tommy. All he got was the man’s voice mail. “Dammit, Tommy, where are you?”
Tommy didn’t pick up until Ru was finished with hair and makeup and practically headed into the interview room. Unfortunately, he wouldn’t have time to call Adam. “Where have you been?” Ru demanded.
“Putting out fires. Sorry.” Tommy sounded worn. He had flown down Thursday during the day, but Ru didn’t think twenty-four hours was enough time to make a man sound like he was about to fall off a ledge.
“What’s all this stuff about Kris going to VG?”
“No idea.”
“But you said you’re putting out fires.”
“I talked to Herb. Wanted to see if there was a chance for me. I know my voice is only okay, but I just didn’t want to live in AJ’s shadow. Herb said I’m not ready for a solo career.”
Ru sucked in a deep breath. “What are you saying?”
“I quit VG.”
“But Tommy—”
“It’s okay. It will be okay. I was just wondering if maybe I can tour with you for a while. I’m okay with just playing on the board and singing backup. Herb says it will give me more experience, and since I’m working with you on songwriting, maybe you’ll help me broaden my skills.”
“But if you just do backup for me, that’s really no different than doing it for AJ,” Ru pointed out.
“Yeah, it is. You’re not an asshole. You don’t insult me just to get a rise out of me and embarrass me in front of others. Is AJ planning on using Kris in the group? No idea. It would be music suicide, but whatever. Not my monkeys or my circus anymore.”
“What happened? I feel like I did this somehow.”
“It was my choice. I was at rehearsal yesterday, getting blasted for not learning whatever stupid move. Everyone was laughing at me, and then AJ told me we had an interview next week, but I needed to lose weight. Said I looked too big to be part of the new imagine he planned for VG.” Tommy sighed into the phone. “Then I remembered he did that all the time to you. And now you have this horrible body image.”
“I do not.”
“You do.
Ru frowned and looked down at his stomach. He was pudgy no matter what he did. But working out with Adam had made him feel more confident.
“I just had it. I told him I was done and that he could find himself another clone to shove up his royal white ass. It felt really good in that moment to tell him off. Now looking back, it’s kind of terrifying.”
“That you threw it all away in a moment of anger? I’m sure if you asked and begged, they’d let you back in the group,” Ru pointed out.
“But I don’t want that. I shouldn’t have to be begging. We started off as a team. The four of us looked to AJ because he was more social, not because he was better than us. The years of attention have turned him into a monster.”
