Page 38 of Hittin' the Right Note
His voice tapered off, as he clearly didn’t know how he wanted to end his diatribe.
Tricia, as usual, stepped into the breach to make sure the two of them didn’t keep going at each other.
“I’m sure it’ll be fine,” she said gently and calmly. “If Mikey wants to spend a week with Luke, then we’re not going to stand in his way. In fact, we’re going to do everything we can to make sure the story stays off of the gossip sites. We’ll just say the two of you are going to be working on the concert, making sure to pull together the type of show everyone is going to want to come to. Let’s not make it a scandal. Instead, let’s make sure it’s something people are going to turn out for.”
Mikey could’ve kissed her then.
Damian threw up his hands, but there was still a look in his eye Mikey couldn’t quite get a grip on. He’d never been naive enough to think Damian cared about him for himself or, really,cared about him at all. What was he so worried about when it came to Luke and Mikey getting to spend a week together?
He probably thinks the two of us are going to hook up and he’s going to be out in the cold.
It wasn’t a particularly charitable thought, but it was the most likely scenario. Damian liked to feel he was at the center of Mikey’s universe, and he resented anyone who tried to horn in on his territory. There were times when he’d come close to bullying Tricia out of their little trio, but she was far too strong for his tactics to work.
For now, anyway.
“Fine,” he was saying, as these thoughts went through Mikey’s mind. “If you want to fuck things up for yourself, then be my guest. Just don’t come crying to me expecting sympathy when the whole thing blows up in your face, as I think we all know that it’s going to do.”
The venom in his voice took Mikey aback. This was a side of Damian he’d known existed–it was usually the side of himself he showed when he was reaming out some photographer or journalist who hadn’t covered Mikey in the way he thought he should be–and it was mildly terrifying to have it turned on him.
I’m going to have to cut him loose soon,he thought.Not yet, though. Not until I’m sure he won’t do something drastic.
He filed the thought away. Time enough to deal with Damian once he had things in hand with Luke.
“Okay, good,” he said. “I knew you’d approve.”
Damian just grunted, but Mikey didn’t care. He had what he wanted.
With his plan tospend time with Luke in place, Mikey had a few housekeeping things to take care of. First, he had to make sure he had everything he needed for going off the grid for a few days.It was, of course, an exciting and vaguely terrifying prospect. He could just imagine what he and Luke might get up to while they were out there at the cabin, where almost no one could reach them…
Thinking about being unavailable by phone made him realize there were two people he needed to call before embarking on his adventure. The first was his mother, and the second was Mindy Mace, his ex-girlfriend and now confidante, the one person he knew he could count on to give him good advice.
Needless to say, he was looking forward to the first one much more than the second.
Being back in West Virginia had reminded him of his parents’ role in his sabotaging of his relationship with Luke. While he couldn’t put all of the blame on them, he remembered all too well how their comments had sowed the seeds of doubt in his mind, making him rethink whether he could actually pursue anything with Luke longterm. He’d lost count of the number of times he’d wondered whether, if they hadn’t made those comments the night of his concert, whether things might’ve been different.
They'd moved out of West Virginia almost as soon as Mikey did, and they’d never looked back. They’d also made it clear over the years that their time in their home state was something neither of them looked at with any fondness. In fact, any time Mikey tried to bring it up they’d change the subject, and he’d finally given up.
Giving up, unfortunately, was a recurring motif when it came to his relationship with his parents.
I guess I better get the unpleasant one out of the way first,he thought.Because otherwise it’s just going to hover in the back of my head.
He picked up his phone and held it in his hand but, despite knowing he needed to call his parents, he couldn’t quite bring himself to actually hit the button that would connect the call.
Come on, Mikey,he thought.Just do it.
Taking a deep breath, he pushed it.
As soon as the phone started ringing he had to fight down the urge to disconnect the call before his mother could pick up.
When the line connected, his palms started to sweat.
“Hello?”
“Hi, it’s me,” he said. “How are you?”
It was an innocuous beginning, but he could feel his muscles tightening up as he thought about how the rest of the conversation was likely to go.
“I’m good,” she said. “I hear you’re back in West Virginia.”
