This was it. The finalmistake I was allowed to make.
They were going to tear upmy contract after all.
“Quinn?” Fox spoke up frombehind me, making me jump despite the softness of his voice.
I turned to him and watchedhis face fall.
“Quinn?” he asked again.
I opened my mouth to saysomething and all that came out was a sob. Hot tears welled up and spilledover, so fast they were rolling down my cheeks before I’d realized I was crying.
Fox swooped over to me,wrapping his arms around me and pulling me to his chest, one hand in my hairand the other splayed over my back.
He had no idea what waswrong. As usual, he just wasn’t hesitating to provide comfort.
I let him take as much of myweight as I could without collapsing to the floor, sobbing against hisstill-damp skin until the rest of the world fell away and it was just me, andFox, and the fact that my career was over.
He’d promised to protect me.
How could I tell him aboutthis?
“I’ve been summoned, too,”Fox said after a moment.
What?
“To the record companyoffice,” he continued. “I didn’t get a lot of details. Just a sort’ve… be therefor nine o’clock or else deal. Normally I wouldn’t… normally if someonedemanded my presence like that I’d tell them where they could shove it incolorful detail, but…”
I sniffed, forcing myself tolook up at Fox.
“The song leaked. The one Iwrote.”
Fox didn’t have to sayanything. I could see the dismay in his eyes.
“I’m so sorry,” he said,letting go of me. I didn’twanthim to let go, but I couldn’t figure out howto say that without looking even more pathetic.
Yesterday I would’ve sworn thatFox holding me would be enough to fix anything.
Now I’d been remindedthat itwasn’t. I had biggerproblems than not having a boyfriend.
“I… we need…”
“To get dressed and go, Iknow,” Fox finished for me, which was just as well, because I hadn’t been surewhat I was going to say. This was more than I knew how to handle. “I’m sorry,”he repeated.
I wanted to tell him thatthis wasn’this fault, that he didn’t have to be sorry for this, that I knew as well as anyoneelse that it was abouttrust, that he couldn’t have his eyes on everyoneevery second, but none of it would come out.
“Yeah,” I said, voicecracking under the strain. “I, umm. I’ll meet you out front?”
I needed space to calm down.As much as I wanted to crawl into Fox’s lap and bawl my eyes out until I passedout from exhaustion, we had a deadline for dealing with this, and it wasapproaching faster than I would’ve liked.
“Of course,” Fox said. Myheart sank at the sudden return of his professional tone, different from theway usually he talked to me when we were alone.
I’d hurt him. Of course Ihad.
I couldn’t do anythingright. I didn’t deserve anything I had. Least of all Fox.
My legs felt like they werefilled with lead as I made the walk to my bedroom. I glanced back at Fox justbefore I closed the door behind me, a condemned man getting one last glimpse offreedom.
“Quinn,” he said, stoppingme as I went to turn back.
