Page 286 of Call Me Baby 2: Side B

“Bianca, listen⁠—”

“No, you listen. You think you’re so different from them? You’re just like every other money-hungry bastard looking to take advantage of the next big thing. You make me fuckin’ sick.”

That makes two of us.

I keep my eyes on the traffic ahead, forcing back emotion as I take the beating. ‘Cause I deserve it, and there’s nothing I can do to fix it.

“You told me I was safe. You said you were the one person in this industry who actually gave a damn about me. So don’t you dare call me to ask if I’m ‘okay’ to make yourself feel better—” then the cold in her voice breaks into a cry.

I slam my eyes closed, the sound of her pain knifing through me.

She keeps going, “It’s never gonna end, is it? I’m always gonna be my past.” The heartbreak muffles the words. “I’ve worked my ass off for this. I wanted this so bad, and it was right there,” she cries. “And now… now I’m another fame-starved whore. They have no idea what I’ve been through to get here.”

My own tears blur my vision.

I can hardly see the road now.

But I'm too stuck inside myself

to clear them away.

The line goes silent for a heartbeat, when her shaky voice bleeds through again, “The abuser wins, and the entire world’s on his side.”

“I’m on your side, Bianca,” I insist. “Please, let me be there for you. “Just tell me where you are. You at home?”

“You want to help?” she asks. “Then stay the hell away from me. You’ve only made my life worse.”

Click.

52 / LITTLE WING

JIMI HENDRIX

// DEC 14, 7:21 AM - PENTHOUSE - UPPER EAST SIDE, NYC //

The first crack hits Andrew’s back before I open my eyes.

He cages over me, forearm slammed to the mattress above my head.

Then Celie’s scream tears through my room, animalistic and feral. “OH, HELL nah, motherfucker! I’ll end you!”

She’s in her purple puff jacket, purse slung at her elbow, swinging a broom at Andrew, trying to sweep his ass back to Jersey.

Andrew curses, hand snapping up,

catching the wooden broom mid-swing.

He’s half-hard, half-asleep,

hair fucked up, ready to throw punches.

Sheets knot around his hips as he throws himself between me and Celie.

Celie’s screech rips my eardrum.

“Get the fuck off her bed!”

Andrew snaps back,