A Little Dinged Up (gxg)

Chapter 6

"What's wrong?" Ava asked. She leaned over my shoulder, the worry evident on her face.

I just stared at my screen in shock. I had several tweets from multiple channels that monitored YouTube and other streamer service news, and at least five of them were talking about how Trish and I were severing our partnership and that she would be doing exclusive collaborations with Max Cox. How was that possible? No, she never laughed at him like I did, but I had always thought that she was onboard with never working with him. The guy was a joke! And now she was going to work with him? Doing what? He never even had original ideas!

My email contained another shocker. I had three emails, one each from Sonny, Nat, and Juliette, all severing their ties over creative differences. Did everyone want to work with Max? Did he have backing that I didn't know about? Wait, right before Ava showed up at the premiere, I had answered the question about Max. Maybe that was what had set Trish off, and not meeting Ava? What the fuck was going on? I quickly tried texting and calling, but nothing went through to her. She'd blocked me. Hell, she even blocked me from her twitter feed and other social media. How could she do this with no warning and no discussion at all? I mean, I wouldn't have wanted to work with Max, but that would have been a lot better than losing Trish over!

"She's gone. Blocked me on everything, and she's going to go work with some dickhead," I explained sullenly. I just wanted to go back to bed. "The whole team went with her. I have nobody left."

Ava just sat there in silence. Hell, we both did. I didn't even know what to say. Actually, I did. "I need to head home. I can't be out in public right now."

"Do you need me to come back with you?" she asked. I knew she was being friendly, and I couldn't thank her enough, but right now I was fully planning on wallowing in misery, and I didn't need a witness for that.

"Not today. I'll text you later though." I stood up, slipping the phone in my back pocket. "Thanks for everything Ava, I'll talk to you soon."

She stood up and pulled me into a hug, and I almost broke down right there. I finally pulled away, and then slammed my bike helmet over my face, dropping the face shield so nobody could see the tears pouring down my face. I gave Ava a quick wave, and then drove slowly back home. I made one stop at a liquor store to get a as many bottles of Jack Daniels as I thought I could safely carry on my bike, basic I know, and then finished the drive.

On the good side, I don't remember having any nightmares that night. I really don't remember much of anything from that night, or the next day, or the next. But hey, that meant I wasn't missing Trish, right? I just drank with my good buddy Jack and tried to forget, while occasionally puking my guts out. All the while, I had comments, DMs and notifications coming in from concerned subscribers and fans worried about Trish and I splitting. I never replied, what the fuck could I say? Yep, she left me for a guy. A pathetic one with a porn star name. Sure, I thought she was a lesbian too, but what do I know? I guess she likes guys too, and I didn't have what she wanted. It would have been nice to know. 

Instead, I just lay in the shower covered in my own vomit and cried.

I spent most of three weeks that way. Ava kept texting, but nobody else. The other social media platforms still asked about me, but it wasn't anyone I knew. The only people that had ever texted were my crew and Trish, and they were all gone. Ava called a few times too, but I sent it to voicemail. I would text occasionally so she knew I was alive, but I couldn't talk. I was just glad I didn't drunk text, because I could really have used some of her hugs, but I felt too pathetic to ask.