Page 39 of Dark Notes, Volume Two

There are four thousand three hundred twenty minutes in three days, and for me they’ve gone by so slowly, I am nearly jumping out of my skin. I’ve been staying with Jagger and McKinley and he has been receiving updates from the hospital, which has been both good and bad. Every time his phone rings my heart leaps into panic mode, fearing the worst.

“Bloody Mary or Mimosa?” McKinley asks from across the kitchen.

“Bloody Mary kind of, no mix, just my V8 juice Jagger got for me, please.”

I don’t miss the concerned look on her face, but she doesn’t say anything immediately. Instead, she pours a little vodka into a glass with ice before adding the V8.

She places the glass in front of me, and with a soft smile, says, “I know you think you're fat, Mia. You’re not. There’s nothing wrong with you.”

McKinley makes herself a mimosa and joins me at the island. Taking a seat, she sighs softly.

“Did you ever notice the types of women he fucks?”

I skipped the word dates because I’m pretty sure that’s not what Jett does. I’ve never known him to have any type of serious relationship. The words from the skank Samantha cause bile to rise in my throat.

‘I hope you know he lasts a week before ignoring your calls.’

Of course, I know I’m being a whiny bitch because Jett is going to have far bigger issues to deal with than my lack of self esteem.

“It doesn’t matt-” McKinley says, but stops mid sentence when we hear an angry Jagger from the hallway.

“I don’t care how much it costs or what you have to do. If that picture gets published anywhere, heads are going to roll, starting with yours. Right. Exactly. Also, get on the phone with Dante. I want that wing secured. No fucking cameras.”

He disconnects the call as he enters the kitchen and nods to me before wrapping his arms around my best friend.

“They are going to pull Jett out of sedation in a few hours. I am going to be there but if you don’t want to be, Mia, that’s okay. I can update you by phone. It’s probably not going to be pretty.”

I take a sip of my drink and set it on their blue island.

“I want to see him, Jagger. If my presence irritates him, I’ll leave. I won’t do anything to cause issues, I promise.”

He chuckles softly after kissing McKinley on the top of her head.

“I’m not worried about you, Mia. I’m worried for you.”

I nod in agreement because I get it. Jagger has not only married my best friend but he’s truly become like a brother to me. I know his concern comes from a place of love and I don’t mind him expressing that; it's comforting to have a person who cares so genuinely that isn’t my best friend. I know he wants the best for Jett and for me, which I welcome as long as he doesn’t force things on me.

“Alright, I’d like to leave in an hour.”

”I need to go home tonight.” I say to a giggling McKinley. I never went to pick up clothes even though I had lots of time on my hands. If I’m honest, I didn’t want to be away from Jagger because it’s his phone that rings with news on Jett’s condition. The Dark Notes t-shirt she gave me is fine but the jeans look like capri pants because I’m so much taller than she is.

“They look fine,” she says, but I’m not sure I believe her. Am I feeling extra self conscious knowing I’m wearing what only weeks ago she referred to as her ‘fat clothes’? Definitely. Obviously, I know when she said it, she never imagined I’d have no choice but to wear them.

“That Samantha girl isn’t going to be there, right?”

She makes a face like she’s disgusted by thought almost as much as I am. There is no doubt in my mind the whore of my nightmares would be at his bedside if she could be. I’m not sure there’s anything she wouldn’t do to sink her claws into Jett.

”Definitely not. Jagger would never allow that.”

I nod as she applies a light gloss to her lips and I wonder if Jagger was with her too back in his rockstar man whore days but I don’t say anything.

As if she can hear my thoughts she says, “Yes, Jagger fucked her. Samantha will fuck any man in a band. Even Erik before, well you know.”

Before Jett killed him. Yeah, I know. It’s one of the things I don’t blame Jett for. In fact it’s one of things I love about him. He’s a fierce protector, and he saved not only his best friend that day, but mine. I swallow hard at the thought that I used the word love. Do I love him? I don’t know, it’s so damn complicated I can barely even think about him without crying. The last words he spoke to me play on a near constant loop in my mind. Did I believe them? I don’t want to, but it’s hard not to. Jagger seems to think he was attempting to push me away. Apparently, that’s consistent behavior for Jett. While I’ve known him for a long time, I always shot him down so I never experienced this side of him.

“Get out of your head and let’s go.” McKinley says, and I roll my eyes. Sometimes I wish she didn’t know me as well as she does.

“I look like a groupie.”