“I’m sorry she treated you like that,” she says, a new picture of Harlow forming in her head.
“It is what it is. Worst part was that I watched her hurt my other friends too. She should’ve at least had the balls to do it herself. Not send Charlie to do her dirty work.”
After her interview with Bobby, when she learned of Harlow dumping her music crew, Naomi wondered if it was a coincidence. But now, after learning she also fired her dance crew and completely cut off one of her good friends, it’s apparent it was purposeful.
“Do you think there was something major that happened around that time that perhaps affected her and was causing her to kind of cut everyone out?”
“Well, this all kind of happened around the time she went to rehab. End of 2021. After Colton’s engagement. But honestly, she’d been acting off for a few months at that point. Kind of all over the place, distracted. Usually she never let her bullshit with Colton interfere with her work, but…”
Naomi thinks about the timing of it all again and the reason she wanted to speak to Trevor in the first place.
“So Colton got engaged to Meghan end of December 2021, and a few months before that was the VMAs…”
Trevor rolls his eyes knowingly. “Exactly. That was when it all started. That trainwreck of a performance. Trag-ed-y.”
“Did you know that performance was the night after Jade Dutton was last seen alive?” Naomi says, a little more excitedly than she meant.
“Who’s Jade—” Trevor starts, before the lightbulb goes on. He stares at Naomi with an expression of horror and curiosity.
Naomi nods. “There are rumors that Jade was killed by asphyxiation.” She brings her hands to her throat to get the point across.
“Oh my god.” Trevor stands up and starts pacing back and forth. He pauses, ready to speak, but nothing comes out. He paces again. “Are you telling me you think she freaked out during the dance move…” He stops and mouths “No” before continuing. “That she freaked out when I put my hands around her neck—like we’d rehearsed hundreds of times—because she’d just choked someone to death the night before?”
He stares at Naomi, eyes bugging. Naomi shrugs, implying that’s exactly what she thinks. Especially after hearing Trevor’s timeline of events.
*
By the time Naomi leaves the theater, the daylight has all but faded, replaced by the glow of the bright city lights. She does a three-sixty turn as she walks through Times Square, taking in the scene. Tourists smiling, taking photos. Groups of friends laughing. Couples holding hands. Vendors selling hot dogs, candied nuts, and light-up balloons for children. Street performers dressed up in costumes. Celebrities’ faces plastered on huge digital billboards.
It’s a beautiful sight. But when she listens closely, when she takes a deeper breath, the sounds and smells start to paint a different picture. She starts to notice the unpleasant undercurrents of her surroundings, hiding beneath the city’s glamorous facade. Like the sirens behind the upbeat music. The stench of body odor masked by cheap perfume. Arguments drowned out by laughter.
Naomi imagines all the poor souls who come to New York to “make it big” but only manage to leave behind a legacy of broken dreams and disappointment, still palpable in the polluted city air.
*
Back at Joel’s apartment, Naomi doesn’t waste any time getting the details Trevor spilled about Harlow onto the wall. She writes two new headers on pink Post-it notes in black Sharpie, both branching from Harlow’s image in the center. She moves a few pieces of paper from the “other” section to below the relevant headers, and quickly scrawls down new details, before adding them too.
Harlow doesn’t forgive and forget
Jax Paulson: Radio host blasted her nomination as VMAs’ Artist of the Year in 2015; fired in 2018
Colton: Trevor seemed to hate him, Bobby also hinted H wasn’t happy with him—both implied he gaslit, and possibly cheated on her
Possible Colton cheated with Jade?
Bill Lever’s “suicide” after sexual assault allegations—some think Harlow could’ve been involved, citing photo of them arguing, lyrics mentioning him
Harlow’s reinvention after Jade’s death
Completely changed style (see Avant article from August 2023)
Cut ties with family and friends
Cut ties with dance crew and music team
Darker lyrics, new sound (see Apotheosis album review)
Possible scrapped album in 2019—could she have spilled more clues in these lost lyrics?
