“Where do I start?” She huffs, then blurts out, “Brett is leaving the band.”
Did I mishear what she said? “Wait. Is this a joke?”
“Nope. It’s true.”
My fuzzy head tries to process her news. “Holy shit.”
“Exactly.” I can hear the anguish in her voice.
“I don’t get it. The boys are so close. What the hell happened?”
“No one seems to know. Brett has been acting strangely of late, but it’s sad that he never once indicated how he felt or try to discuss it with the rest of the band.”
“You’re joking. He didn’t talk to the boys about it at all?” I ask, pushing my hair away from my face.
“Nope. They found out when Brett’s solicitor called Dani. The boys have no idea where he is or what this is about, only that there’s a formal statement going out tomorrow morning at ten a.m. New York time.”
“Holy shit,” I say again. “This is unbelievable.”
“I know. The guys are devastated. They’re over at Tommy’s now trying to digest the news before Dani weighs in tomorrow morning. They have a meeting with her first thing.”
“How is Ash taking it?”
“He’s going out of his mind,” her shaky voice replies.
“Are you okay, Cal?” I hate that we’re so far apart and I can’t be there to support her.
“Not really. This is such a mess, Angie. I don’t know how to help him.”
“You’ll come through for him, I know it. You’re always fantastic in a crisis.”
There’s a slight pause before she continues. “Usually, but that’s not the half of it. There’s more.”
“Are we still talking about the band now?”
“Yes… and no. Oh, God. I’ve got myself in a situation,” Calla says with a shaky voice.
“Why? What happened?” I ask with concern.
“Okay, what I’m about to tell you must stay between us—for now, at least.”
“Okay.” I nod even though she can’t see me.
“Tommy and Chelsea are splitting up.”
“What?” My stomach flips.Why didn’t he tell me himself?“How do you know?”
“Ash called me from Tommy’s place. I don’t have all the details, but apparently, Chelsea didn’t go home for a couple of nights and Tommy has had enough.”
I bite my nail for a moment. “I don’t believe it. Tommy wouldn’t risk losing Oz.”
“That’s the first thing I said, but apparently, Oz is staying with him.”
“That would make sense.” It’s times like this that I wish I could be closer to help. “Poor Tommy. He’s really having a hard time.”
“I know, and so much has happened in the last twelve hours. He doesn’t need this on top of everything else.” There’s a slight pause before she says, “Please don’t mention any of this unless Tommy talks about it first. This news is still so raw and I promised Ash I would wait for Tommy to fill you in.”
“And he believed you?” I question. Calla and I share everything.
