DRASTIC (Book 4 of the Soundcrush Series)

Chapter 58: Drummer Boys Regret Partying

Bodie, Next Day

"Come on, come on, let's go!" I yell to the hoard still in my LA house as Pitbull blares on the speakers. "She's gonna be here in like two hours and none of you fuckers are taking this seriously!"

The five women and one man from the emergency cleaning crew all turn from their frantic mopping and scrubbing and give me looks that could kill.

"Not you guys," I bite my knuckle and hold out a peacemaking hand. "You guys are doing a great job. I appreciate your hard work so much. And that bonus is in the bank for you. I'm talking about my friends."

I gesture around at SCIC. Forty people crashed here and are still scattered around the house and outdoor living space. Trace is eating cereal and looking growly- hungover by the firepit in the outdoor area. Adam is quietly strumming a guitar on the stairs in the foyer, and I hear Bella experimenting with the melody of a hook. Kat and Mac are sitting atop of the kitchen bar, taking morning-after selfies and bemoaning how awful they look, even though most chics would sell their souls to Satan to look like them even right now.

Riley is passed out on the couch. I look at his hand, hanging off the couch, his knuckles raw, his fingers swollen. Adam's right hook was nothing compared to Riley when Avery Thompson showed up uninvited last night.

Surprisingly, a brawl was a good ice-breaker for them.We let them go at it for a while before we pulled them apart. When it was done, Riley got wasted and Row consoled him. Avery seemed to think it had settled things between them and we would move forward with business as planned.

It ain't settled by a long shot, but he can think that. I saw the pure glee in his eyes when he goaded Riley. His mean streak? Let's me know, I'm making the right call to ruin him.

Row—shit I didn't even know she was still here—is in a slip dress and a man's jacket. She's shoveling ice into a bowl from the icemaker at the outside bar. She walks without expression to Riley's passed out form, stacks books beneath the bowl of ice, gently cradles Riley's swollen hand in it, then rises, grabbing her keys from the basket on the coffee table.

She looks at me with tired, heavily make-upped eyes as she pulls her gray hair into a messy bun.

"You throw great parties, Bodie. It sucks that you can't party yourself anymore."

"I can party, baby," I give her a goodbye hug. "But I need my woman at the party to hit that high, now."

She snickers but it fades quickly as she examines Riley. "Take care of him," she says. "I think he might have alcohol poisoning. I've never seen him drink that much."

"I kinda got my hands full with that lunatic dancing on my dining room table. You could stay and take care of Riley yourself," I suggest.

She shakes her head."He doesn't want me. He wants a dead girl," she says. "I just...look like her."

She doesn't. Now that I've seen the picture of Priscilla, I can say that for sure. Both beautiful but completely different, except for their emo vibe. Row is not just a body double for Priscilla.

"Jesus, Row that is not true. He's killing himself, tryna lay the world at Strut's feet, and it ain't because of her. It's because he loves you. He wants you to have everything you want, even if it costs him the thing he loves most." I tilt her pretty chin up and wink at her.

But even as I say it, I'm not sure. I think about TJ. He loves Shay, but if he could have had Marley? There never woulda been a Shay.

Love is so fucking complicated sometimes. All I know is I got it right the first time, and I am so fucking grateful that I got a second chance.