Out of Tune: The Original 2015 Draft

chapter 21

Music is love in search of a word—Sidney Lanier

For the first time ever, I found myself walking home after a gig. Typically, Spencer or Miles would give me a ride, most often Spencer as I was actually living with him now, but when I had burst out into the parking lot after speaking to Janice Winslow, I had found myself alone and without means of transportation home.

I didn't really mind the walk. It gave me time to think of what had just happened and the extent of Janice's offer. It was mind-blowing, really. Two years without singing and suddenly after one song, I was being offered a record deal with one of the biggest labels in the industry right now. Starr Records had been signing major artists like the contemporary band Level Headed or pop sensation Brit Madsen.

And now they wanted me.

It was an exceptional offer, one that any person would be stupid to turn down. It was a well-known fact that if Starr proposed a contract and you turned it down, they wouldn't come knocking again. They didn't care how good you were. If you weren't their first choice, then you weren't theirs.

My decision concerning the record deal weighed heavily on my mind. The guys were going to be so disappointed when they found out, but it was for the best. This was what had to happen and I didn't regret my decision.

After half an hour of walking in the dark, I finally reached Spencer's house. Miles car was parked out front and I knew that they were probably all inside waiting for me. I walked right inside, past the living room where Anna and Jared were sitting on the couch. They each gave me a sympathetic look before nodding their heads towards the basement.

"They're down there," Anna said.

I nodded and smiled softly. "Thanks."

As I walked down towards the basement, a feeling of dread stole through my body. I didn't know how I was going to break the news to them, but I was going to have to do it somehow. It would probably be better to do it quickly, like ripping off a Band-Aid.

The moment I stepped down off the final stair, five heads turned to stare at me. Miles and Taylor were sitting closely on the couch, her head on his shoulder, and Zeke and Charlie were on the floor, apprehension written across their expressions. Spencer was stopped, mid-stride, as if he had been pacing for the past half hour. When he saw me, his expression darkened like a storm cloud.

"Have a nice talk with your new associate?" he spat at me. His voice was sharp, like a knife, and I felt as if he had punched me in the gut. Spencer didn't wait for me to reply as he marched past me with all the rigidity of an army sergeant.

I turned on my heel and watched him climb the stairs and disappear. A moment later, the front door opened and slammed shut. I flinched. I hadn't realized that he'd heard my conversation, or at least part of it by the sounds of it, with Janice. He must have been behind me, listening in. Wordlessly, I turned back to the rest of the band. The guys were staring at me expectantly, and somewhat harshly. Taylor just looked disappointed.

"Something you want to tell us, Aileen?" Miles asked. Aileen, I noted distantly, not A.

I felt anger brew in the pit of my stomach. "Yeah, actually." I planted my feet and placed my hands on my hips. "I was offered a record deal by Starr Records. I'm assuming you know that already since you all look like you want to hack my face off with a guitar pick."

"So you took the deal?" Zeke asked tonelessly.

My feet carried me over so that I had one foot raised on the first stair. I gazed at them defiantly. "Actually, I told them that Imagine Reality was a package deal and if they wanted me then they had to take all of us. She said that they didn't want a band. I said I wasn't signing a damn thing. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go yell at the asshole who stormed out of here before I could explain."