Protective Shadows (The Protective Series, Book 2)

Chapter Twelve

[Janne's P.O.V]

During breakfast the following day, Asko sat the furthest at the long glass table the hotel offered as a buffet, eating his bacon and eggs in complete silence. The atmosphere was tense, pressing down on my chest like a giant iron weight. Our friendship - if you could call it that - was tearing apart at the seams. I thought last year had been pretty bad, but boy was I wrong. I hated him more than ever now.

I don't call myself a saint, and I don't plan to either, but at least I have the decency to admit my faults and try and make things right in the future. Not all of my past decisions went according to plan, or quite fluently, for that matter. In fact, I seemed to be lagging behind on the race track, when I thought I was ten miles ahead.

I stood from my chair, heading over towards the trays where the pancakes were. The hotel offered every variety I could think of: banana, blueberry, macadamia, and so much more. So far I had pigged out on two serves of scrambled eggs and rashers of bacon, but I figured why the hell stop. You only get one life, and you needed to live it hard, like a rockstar.

"Are you enjoying your meals, gentlemen?" A young red head smiled politely, walking across the large open space towards the kitchen. She wore a long-sleeved white button-up top underneath a black waist coat, matched with a black pair of pants, her hair tied back into a tidy bun.

"Yes, thank you," Jed, Jarmo and I answered in unison, whilst Asko muttered something under his breath, shoving a forkful of fried egg into his mouth.

"After you guys are done stuffing your faces, you're on at the studio," Izzy said, dropping his fork against his now empty plate. "I imagine you would have written a song or two by this point, but if you need more time, just tell me and I'll make another booking. I know that these things take time, and so do all other good things in life."

"Which studio will we be going to?" Jarmo asked, stacking his plate with a few more buttermilk pancakes slathered with caramel sauce and ice cream.

"232 Music Studios," Izzy replied nonchalantly, smiling around at the four of us. "It costs $50 - $350 an hour, but don't you guys fret too much about that, I've got it covered."

Jed approached Izzy in slow strides, throwing his arm around his rugged, bulging shoulders. "Thanks Izzy. I don't know what we would do without you."

I shrugged, flicking my fringe from my eye. "Crawl into a hole and wallow in self-pity?"

Izzy chuckled, rising from his chair on the left side of the table, clutching his laptop to his hip. "I'll see you guys later. When you're ready, the limo is out the front to take you to the studio. Good luck."

Both Jed and I waved as he exited through the glass doors to the dining room, digging back into our breakfast.

A black stretch limo was idling out the front of the hotel once all four of us had finished up eating. The female driver gave us a quick wave, then we individually filed into the back. I sat with Jed, whilst Jarmo sat right at the opposite end to Asko adjacent. It broke my heart noticing the hurt and heartbreak in Jarmo's warm brown eyes. He had worshipped Asko, practically, and had been in love with the guy ever since he'd joined Naildown.

The drive was spent in silence, but it was quite refreshing in a way. We were so often fighting with each other, so now we had the chance to decompress, clear our minds and dive back into work. It had been a good few months since we had last been in the recording room, but there was only one small complication: we didn't know what the album would be called, or what style we wanted, or even how many tracks there would be, and most importantly, the cover.

In the past, I had contributed very little when it came to making songs, whether it was the lyrics or the music. I'd never written anything during my time at Naildown; that was left to Daniel, of course, and Jarmo sometimes. Jarmo had come up with the storyline for Deep Under The Stones, and the music for Judgement Ride. Both were fantastic songs, and the fans seemed to agree, but it made me wonder what went on inside his head. There was definite meaning behind his music, like with most other artists.