Gone Forever (Adam Gontier #2)

Chapter 15

Barry's POV - A FEW HOURS LATER

"Guys, come on, roll call time!" I call out, interrupting the current argument Neil and Brad are having about some sort of thing unrecognisable to everyone else. They both glance at me before exchanging a look that says 'what the fuck'. I roll my eyes. "We have a set? In half an hour? We are back stage? We have to go do final sound checks?"

"Rhia, please put the dress down!" Lara shouts out as Brad opens his mouth to argue with me. "You're not wearing the fairy dress! You've changed four times already! You look beautiful how you are."

"She can wear the fairy dress if she wants to," Adam says, taking the dress out of Rhia's hands and grinning mischievously at Lara, who glares at him in fury.

"I would appreciate it if you didn't undermine me, Adam," she says, her face showing pure anger. Oh damn, that's the face of a woman you don't wanna mess with. "I've coped perfectly fine for nearly four years as a mother, I think I can deal with it for tonight as well. Rhia, you're not wearing the damn dress." She snatches it away from Adam, folding it carefully as she continues. "Go use the toilet now, please."

"But I don't wanna!" Rhia complains, innocence frustration playing in her round eyes. Lara grits her teeth and takes a deep breath.

"Go. Now," she says quietly, which for some reason is more terrifying than her shout. "Or I will make you stay here for the rest of the tour and not go to a single set." Rhia groans and heads to the bathroom, closing the door. Lara turns to Adam, a look on her face that I can't identify, but the expression Adam shows looks almost...scared. I've never seen that in all the time I've known him. "What the fuck do you think you were doing?"

"She wanted to wear the dress," he says, glancing at me as his voice lowers volume. "I didn't understand why she couldn't wear it."

"You couldn't understand?" Lara fumes, her fist clenching over the material of the dress. "How about I'm her mother and I fucking told her four times that she couldn't wear it? She's been changing her outfit for the past three hours, Adam! If I'd let her wear this dress, she'd have changed her mind yet again and you'd have all been late for your set!"

"It's just a dress," he mutters, crossing his arms and looking at Neil as he snorts in laughter at Adam's behaviour but immediately shuts up as Lara turns to him in anger.

"Just a dress? Just a fucking dress? She is three years old! She doesn't have experience in these things! She doesn't think that it's 'just a dress'!"

"Sorry, I thought I deserved a say in her decision," Adam says sarcastically - a huge mistake. Lara immediately drops the dress on the floor and throws her fist around to cause a surprisingly loud collision with his cheekbone.

"Don't you think you've had enough impact in her life? Don't you think that your fuck-up had enough of a 'say' in her decisions? Do you have any idea how difficult it's been for me to tell her where you were? Why you weren't in her life?" Lara shouts at him as he raises his hand to his cheek, looking slightly distraught. I feel like I should step forward to calm her down, but I know it wouldn't end well; she's already slightly irritated at me. "Why the fuck do you think you deserve any say at all? Why do you think you can say that to me after everything you put me through?!"

"Lara," Jason says to her calmly, stepping towards her and hugging her slowly. "Calm down, it's okay. We've got to go set up now. Calm down, Lara."

She suddenly dips her head, raising her hand to her mouth and shaking almost uncontrollably as tears run down her face. "Oh my God, Adam, I'm so sorry."

"I-it's okay," he mutters, dropping his hand from his cheekbone and looking down at his feet. "It's all true; I don't have any right. I'm sorry." Lara lets out a shaky breath, lowering her hand slightly and biting her lip.