“It what?” I asked, lookingup from the chip on the edge of the table I’d been studying.
“Yeah, they just… you canjust send in a recording and they hand out contracts promising big payouts.Ifyou complete theridiculous five albums in a year they ask for. They’re parasites. The wholeidea is that you’ll fail, and they’ll own all your hard work and you’ll neverget that half a million dollar payout.”
I blinked. Half a milliondollars?
My allowance was two hundreddollars a week. It didn’t cover a whole lot, but my rent and most of mybills were paid by Uncle Vincent, and I was used to being careful with money.
It hadn’t seemed weirdto be struggling when I was starting out. Hell, I’d thought I had it easy,since I didn’t have to do a second job.
But Uncle Vincent wasexpecting a five hundred thousand dollar payout at the end of this? One he’dnevertold me about?
“But…”
My head was pounding.
What did that mean?
“Oh,” Lucy said, her facefalling. “You didn’t know, huh?”
I shook my head. “No. My unclesaid he could… he said he knew…”
I’d been following himblindly for so long because he’d showed up one day holding my dream in hishand—an offer from a record company. Dropped it on the kitchen table like aprize stag he’d hunted down and shot himself.
My life wasn’t going anywhereand I wanted my parents to be proud. They’d already seen the contract. Theythought he was a hero.
I’d signed it without evenreading it because my parents were standing there looking at me with hope intheir eyes for the first time in a long time. That had been stupid, but I’dtrusted my uncle. I’d trusted my parents. Making them proud was the only thingI cared about.
You can live your dream now.
But this wasn’t my dream, wasit? This wastheirdream.
My throat closed up, panicrising in my chest. All this time.Allthis time, I’d been tellingmyself I needed Uncle Vincent. That he was the only reason I was here.
And he was, but not in theway Ithoughthe was.
He’d conned us all.
Lucy’s hand landed on top ofmine, startling me out of the impending panic attack I’d been narrowly avoidingsince Fox had walked away.
Since I’d chased Foxaway.
Forwhat? Forsomething I’dnever evenhad?
“I never thought…”
“No one ever does. No onethinks to look up what they’re like when their well-meaning parents or musicteacher or uncle signs them up. But it doesn’t matter that your contact wascrap, Quinn. I mean, honestly? When I met you, I thought, y’know, if anyone’sgonna manage to make five albums in a year? It’s this kid. You’regoodat this and you’ve got the workethic to make it happen. You can start over.”
Lucy seemed surer about thatthan I was.
I wasn’t sure aboutanythingright now.
“Fox is gone,” I said,because that was what this all came down to. I’d traded Fox for a handful offool’s gold because I thought I was doing the right thing by my parents, myuncle, and even myself.
Ihadsigned thatcontract without looking at it because I’d trusted Uncle Vincent,and now I could see that trust was misplaced. He wasn’t just pushing me toohard.
He’d lied to me, and he’d doneit to make himself rich. Offmywork.
It’d never been about themoney for me. Not for a moment. All I wanted was to make music.
