High And Dry // Radiohead

Zack opens the door to the penthouse suite, holding it wide for us to enter. Brianna's across the room sitting on the couch. Zack wastes no time passing us to cross the room and sit by her side. His arm automatically wraps around her, pulling her close to cuddle. I feel bad barging in on them but— on second thought, no I don't. Not when the shit's about to hit the fan.

"Sorry," I say. "Char needed a secure spot. This is the best I could come up with."

"It's fine," Char says. "They already know everything."

I halt my forward motion wondering if 'everything' includes the situation she has with me. Whatever that is, cause now I'm not so sure. I look around the room into the faces staring back at me, waiting.

"Anyone care to enlighten me?" It takes everything in me to hold back the anxiety. Words like 'what the actual fuck' are swirling in my head but thank God I'm able to keep myself from saying them. My anger won't help anything right now.

"What's going on?" Zack asks.

Brianna speaks next, her words cryptic. "Does this have anything to do with...the last tour?"

"Damnit, someone explain this." I close my eyes and drop my head, my hands resting on my waist as I hold myself together. Between Curt actually showing up and finding out that Char is married to him, I'm hanging on by a thread.

"I already told you," Char whispers.

"No. You said you're married to Curt. That does not explain why he's here or anything about the lawsuit bullshit."

Char groans, pacing away from me as Zack shoots to his feet.

"Curt is here?" he asks before pulling his phone out of his back pocket and swiping it. Clearly, he's making a call as he brings the phone to his ear and walks to the opposite side of the room.

"Jake, can we talk about this alone?" Char glances to where Brianna's now standing next to the couch, her wide eyes darting between Char and where Zack is pacing as he speaks to someone on the phone.

"Thought they knew everything." I can't help the distrust that's evident in my tone. I take a deep breath, hoping to calm down and listen to her. That is, if she'll ever finally tell me anything.

"It's okay," Brianna says, hand clutched in the middle of her chest. "Tell him."

Char walks to Brianna, taking her free hand before gesturing for me to join them on the couch. I choose to remain standing. I might be next in line to pace the hotel carpet into submission depending on how deep this confession goes.

"Start from the beginning. How did you and Curt hook up?"

Char winces at my phrasing but I don't know how else to say it. How did you fall in love? How did he sweep you off your feet? How did you keep this a secret from me the entire time I've been picturing peeling you out of your dress and running my hands up and down your body? The body of a married woman...a woman not married to me?

I'm not a cheater. Char has accused me of burning through one girl after another, but I've never cheated on anyone. I've never been the other man. As far as I know.

Shit, maybe I have been the other guy. I never was overly discriminating. A willing partner was the goal. I never asked more questions than that. Fuck. I'm a bigger asshole than I realized. I run my fingers through my hair, completely disappointed in myself. In how low I let myself go without even thinking through what I might have participated in.

"God, I'm so sorry I've dragged you into this," she says. The remorse in her voice does nothing to ease my own guilt.

"Listen, I'm not a cheater. I may have acted like an idiot in the past, but I've never been one to steal another guy's girl."

"I'm not his girl."

"You married him."

"Yeah, but it's not real."

"Like we're not real?" I shoot her a pointed look. Char has the decency to look embarrassed.

"No, not like us." She leans over, covering her face with her hands. Brianna rubs her back. "This is such a mess."

I finally take a seat next to her on the couch, shoving any feelings I'm still holding for her way down deep.

"Talk to me."

Char has never been so rattled. The woman I've watched over the past year has been confident, wise and laser focused. This version of her is broken. My anger starts to boil again as I realize I'm not the one who broke her. Curt is.

"Tell me before the scenarios in my head take over and I go find him and exact some justice."

"No, don't do that. We're still dealing with the last time someone tried that."

"Your brother?"

Char nods before speaking.

"Okay, I'll try to start from the beginning."

As good a place to start as any, I guess.

"About a year and half ago Curt contacted me to see if Citizen One could headline for Brianna."

"Is that typical?" I ask.

"No. Talent doesn't usually contact management directly. But Bree had just left her former manager. I was taking the reins and it was common knowledge in the music world that I was green. Didn't know what I was doing, yet."

"Plus dealing with the FBI investigation." Brianna adds.

"The what?" I blurt out in shock.

Char tilts her head to look me in the eye. "Wow, Zack really didn't tell you anything, did he?"

"Guess not. Keep going." I glance over at Zack, still on the phone. I'll have to interrogate the guy later.

Char sighs. "He called back the next day. And the day after that. Eventually he stopped asking about a tour and started making small talk with me. He wore me down without me even realizing it. By the time Zack was in the picture, Curt had gotten me to agree to sign them on to open for her. Brianna was more settled, and we'd reinstated the tour,"

"Then Vegas happened," Brianna says.

"Yeah, Vegas." Char groans. "What happens in Vegas, and all that."

"But it didn't stay there."

"No. It was the halfway point of the tour. We had an extended stay there between shows. Lots of time off. On the last day, Curt said we should get married."

"And you said yes."

"I said no." Her words are pointed, causing me to lean back and look at her.

"It wasn't love. We hung out together a lot, but I realized he had a thing for Brianna. At least, that's what I thought. He talked about her all the time, invited her along wherever we went, glared at Zack when his back was turned. That kind of thing. I wasn't stupid. I also wasn't interested in him. But he'd become a friend and I thought he was a nice guy with a crush. I felt bad for him."

"Did you...were you two..." I shouldn't ask about her sex life with him, but I can't help it. Just a few hours ago I was picturing her in my bed. This is fucking with my mind right now.

"Not once," she says, definitive about it.

"So why the proposal? Was this a drunken mistake?"

Char doesn't answer right away. Her shame is tangible. I want to comfort her. My instincts are screaming for me to take her hands in mine and show her I'm here. But my brain is yelling at me to keep my distance.

"He said it was to keep him from being forced to return to Canada after the tour. He's the only Canadian in C1 without a green card."

"Couldn't you get in trouble for doing that? Messing with the immigration laws or something?"

"Probably. I wasn't thinking of that at the time. He was a good friend by then. I thought I was helping him out. But I found out later, that wasn't why."

A bubble of dread moves through my gut.

"He wasn't just looking to stay in the country. He asked me to do this for him because I'm linked to Brianna, so by default he's linked to Brianna. He figured...automatic coat tails."

"Wait. Hang on. So, he married you for the immigration status and the potential for fame?" Char and Brianna nod. "And that's why your brother decked him on stage?"

Char stands up and steps around me, walking away. "I can't," she whispers. I watch as she gives Brianna a pleading look before disappearing down a hallway.

"What the fuck was that about?" I look at Brianna for an explanation just as Zack returns to the couch.

"Don't talk to her that way," he says, the threat of pain evident in the way he's glaring at me and the possessive hand placed on Brianna's lap.

"Zack, he's upset."

"Yeah, and that dickwad is back in town. Even after the last court date bullshit he tried to pull. Fuck him." Zack looks at me. "And fuck you if you use any of this to your advantage."

"Whoa," my hands fly up as I lean back in shock. "What the hell, man? You know me better than that."

"Ah, fuck." Zack leans forward, his head dropping into his hands. "Sorry, man. I just got off the phone with Clinton who should have been on top of this bullshit. I'm a little tense."

Brianna reaches over and begins to massage his shoulders. A streak of jealousy burns through me at the sight. Not for Brianna's touch, but for that kind of closeness with someone. I look away, down the hallway where Char disappeared, and try to collect myself.

"Char's brother overheard Curt talking about picking up some groupies after the show. And he had no idea about the real reason for the marriage because they were supposed to keep things just between the two of them."

"So her brother just thought she'd married an asshole." I'm starting to get the picture.

Brianna nods. "Basically, yeah. He was backstage, watched Curt wink at some girl and ask a security guard to bring her backstage after the show. He lost it and rushed the stage, beat Curt up badly enough to force him off the last half of the tour."

"Her brother was the crazed fan, but not a fan. I'm guessing the reason this isn't public knowledge has something to do with the lawsuit."

Brianna takes a deep breath. "Correct. The deal was, we can't say a thing about Curt's character flaws or the real reason her brother attacked him so that he can keep his immigration status moving forward. In exchange, he keeps Char's brother out of jail by not pressing charges."

"That makes sense. And I see why Char would agree, but I have a feeling there's more." Why else would there still be legal issues?

"Once again, correct." Brianna looks at Zack. Zack looks at Brianna. She lifts her eyebrows. "Tell him."

Zack sighs. "He was supposed to sign the divorce papers before this tour started but he's refusing to sign because now he's suing his bandmates for unlawful termination. He wants the marriage to remain status quo for some unknown reason."

Suddenly the phone call I overheard between Char and some unknown up at the Salt Creek show makes sense. She must have been talking to Curt. And she wasn't happy about it or even broken hearted. She was pissed.

I look over to Zack and Brianna, finding his eyes on me with a serious look. "The C1 guys don't know the marriage details. They think it was more legit. Curt's holding all of this bullshit over Char, and us because she confided in Bree after the attack. It's a hot fucking mess and too many people are in the dark. You aren't supposed to know any of this. Keep that in mind moving forward. If you act on this, it could come back to haunt Char and Bree."

Zack's meaning is clear. If I do anything to hurt his woman, it will hurt Char, too. And he'll hurt me. So to speak. Zack doesn't have a vicious bone in his body, but he'll protect Brianna in any way he can. But I can't do nothing.

I rise from the couch and start down the hallway, determined to find Char and...

And I'm not sure what, but something. Some kind of closure needs to happen at least. I'll deal with Randy and the crew and the implications of all this later. Right now, Char is the only person I want to see.

Funny story, the title of this chapter (Before It's On) was a working title because the next one is called "It's On" and this one...comes before, lol. But I liked it. So it stayed.

BTW, how're you doing? Okay with everything so far? Any confusion, or outright irritation with the plot? This chapter had more info dumping than I planned but I tried to break it up and leave some things for later so you probably still have questions...

Anyway, I pulled some more 90's songs into the playlist and this one feels like the right song for the tea spilling in this chapter...

[There should be a GIF or video here. Update the app now to see it.]

If you haven't read Moonlight-book 1 in the Salt Creek novellas-go read it! This is where we first meet Citizen One and get some hints into the background for these guys ;-)