"It was Wren," he admitted. "She stole the song from a work session she had with the band in question. She rewrote it and gave it to me as if they were her notes, her words, her music. It wasn't an exact copy, but once I saw the original, I realized it was definitely their song. We had turned it into a huge hit, made a ton of money, and that band wanted their share. They brought a lawsuit for damages. The press caught wind of the story, and our fans felt incredibly betrayed."
"Why did you take the blame if Wren did it?"
"Because Wren was falling apart. She was spiraling. Her mental health has always been fragile, and she has had issues with alcohol and substance abuse. The day I discovered the truth, she got behind the wheel of my car, and she crashed into someone's house. Luckily, no one was home, and she called me before she called the police. I got to the scene with Clay, and he took her away while I called to report the accident. I told them I'd been exhausted and had fallen asleep at the wheel. I was sober, so they bought the story."
"Wow! You took the blame for stealing the song and the car crash? You must really love her."
"Not the way you think," he said.
"I don't think so. I felt the tension between you two."
"Tension born of anger, betrayal, and resentment."
"All made worse because you love her," she argued, not sure why she wanted to be right about that, but maybe she needed to protect her heart a little, too.
"I told you we met when we were very young. Wren came from an abusive home. That's why she has PTSD when people get angry or yell at her, or God forbid, grab her or touch her in an angry way. Right before all this happened, she was involved with a guy who got drunk one night and slapped her around. I think that was really the trigger for everything else that came after that. She started abusing drugs and alcohol. She couldn't write music. She couldn't think of lyrics. She was blank, and we needed a song to finish the record. I didn't know at the time just how much mental trouble she was in. You have to understand, Kaia, that Wren was someone I felt I had to take care of. She was broken long before we met, and there were people around every corner eager to take advantage of her."
"You said you had a fling," she reminded him. "At one time, there was a romance."
"Not romance, sex. We were two drunken teenagers who barely remembered any of it. It was a mistake. We both knew it. And it never happened again because we didn't feel that way about each other. Do you really think we would have stayed apart for the past fourteen years if we had? We've both had relationships since then. We're truly just friends. And until recently, we were partners."
"Okay, let's get back to the breakdown, the song, and the crash. The public knows about the plagiarism but not about the other?"
"The crash came out eventually, and it was made to look like I'd been driving drunk because of my guilt over what I'd done to Wren."
"That's why there's so much hate against you. Wren's fans think you hurt her, you destroyed her."
"Yes."
"Why did she let you do all this for her? Is she that selfish?"
"She is quite selfish, to be honest. But she did it because I made her a deal. I told her I would take responsibility if she went to rehab. It had to be a real facility, and she had to stay at least sixty days and work with a therapist. I also told her I was quitting the group, and from there on out, she was on her own."
"And now?"
"She's clean. She completed rehab. She's still seeing a therapist. And she wants me to sing with her again."
"And Clay, your agent, he wants you back together, right?"
"Yes. We were his biggest clients. He misses his commission."
"I thought you said your career was dead after everything that happened. What's really changed?"
"There's a label that, for some unknown reason, wants to work with us. Our previous label dropped us after the lawsuit and the car crash. They thought we were radioactive. They believed we were finished. I didn't disagree. With all the media attention and hateful rumors, I had to get the hell out of Nashville. Clay's father once represented Josie, and he told Clay he knew a place where I could go and find support and privacy. I guess Josie had run away from Hollywood and had to reinvent herself."
"She did. No wonder she was fine with your secrecy." She thought for a moment, trying to make sense of what he'd told her. "I just want to be clear. You didn't do any of the things that you were accused of. It was all Wren. You were protecting her. You did nothing wrong."
"I did do something wrong," he said, surprising her with the words. "I lied about the song and the accident, and there was nothing right about that." He picked up her hand, and she stiffened, but she didn't pull away. She couldn't. "Kaia, I'm sorry I didn't tell you before we got so involved. I should have."
"Why didn't you? Why keep parts of the story a secret when I already knew some of it?"
"I was afraid of what you would think, and I didn't want what was happening between us to end."
She felt warmed by his words, but she wasn't quite ready to just say everything was fine. "What did Wren want this morning?"
"Forgiveness. She wrote a song of apology that needs an ending. That would require me saying I forgive her."
"Can you?" she asked. "She let you ruin your life for her."
