I tried but couldn’t talk, I was sobbing and had lost the ability to breathe.
Jen took the phone from me and put Jace on speaker. After she let him know that he was on speaker, he filled us all in at once. When I found out that Zoey hadn’t suffered any life-threatening injuries and Ty was flying her parents to New York, I was able to slightly relax. With everyone sufficiently updated, I grabbed the phone and took it off speaker before withdrawing to my bedroom.
Jace’s voice was hoarse.
“It’s okay.” My voice was small, weak.
When Jace activated the FaceTime feature I started bawling even harder when I saw his exhausted face. “I’m so sorry I couldn’t call earlier, and now I won’t be home for a few days.”
“I figured.” I curled up in a ball on my bed. “Are you sure she’s okay?”
“Ty said she’s out of surgery and she’s okay, but they won’t let him in to see her. Her parents should be here any minute, but we are going to be doing damage control all night and probably for the next week.” Jace was distracted, he was in what looked like a PR war room. I could see their manager, Katherine pacing in the background.
As much as I wanted to talk to him and dominate his time, he was needed where he was. I put on what I hoped was a brave smile and touched the screen. “I’ll let you get back to it, call me whenever you have a minute. Don’t worry about me.”
“Okay, I—” Someone in the background was yelling his name and demanding that he read something.
“Just go.” I air-kissed him. “Call me when you can.”
The guy was still yelling and Jace’s face disappeared from the screen, and he screamed at them to shut the fuck up before addressing me. “I’m sorry, I do have to go. Our own goddamn publicists are behind a lot of this. It’s a mess. I’ll call you when I can.”
Then the phone went dead.
Chapter 25
JACE
After two solid days of utter and total bullshit, Katherine and I managed to contain the shitstorm surrounding Zoey’s accident and confiscate all copies of Ty’s sex tape with Sienna. Ty had been holding vigil at the hospital. Zane had brought him some fresh clothes and checked up on him. We were all anxiously waiting for news because Zoey’s parents had finally let Ty in to see her.
Ty showed up at the hotel where we were finalizing the text of the settlement and release agreement that we planned on forcing Sienna and Andrew to sign. He was strangely calm when he read it.
Then, he threw the paperwork on the coffee table. “Fuck this, I’m not signing shit until I see the video that bitch showed Zoey.”
“Dude—” I had seen it, and it was something I wanted to unsee immediately. It was triggering, and I was barely holding it together as it was.
“Show me.” It was a demand, not a question.
I pulled it up on my tablet and handed it to him.
His expression didn’t change one iota while he watched. When it finished, he shut off the tablet and picked the settlement agreement back up. Pen in hand, he scribbled notes in the margins and handed it to Katherine. Meanwhile, I busied myself in drafting an “official statement” while Ty arranged a private charter to fly Zoey home with her parents after she was released from the hospital.
When I finally remembered to check the time, nearly thirty-six hours had gone by since I’d spoken to Alex. I hadn’t noticed that Connor and Zane had joined us, they were reviewing the revised agreement and the statement. I could hear Katherine finalizing the details for the charter jet that would take all of us guys back home to Seattle in just over an hour. I stretched and decided to go to my hotel room to pack.
Ty’s deep voice held me back. “Jace, hold up.”
“I’m exhausted, it’s nearly three in the morning, Ty.”
Ty stood at the window, almost holding court in the room. “It will only be a couple of minutes; I need to apologize to all of you and to Katherine.”
“You don’t owe us anything, my brother.” Zane always defended Ty. Always.
Connor sat stoically.
Katherine slumped down in a side chair. “Ty, Jace, and I have been going for nearly two solid days with no sleep, if you want to say something, that’s fine, but please make it quick.”
“Fine. Okay. I know this shit has been going on for eight years.” Ty shut his eyes and swallowed before regaining his composure. “So much of what happened in the last two days has been completely my fault—”
“Dude—” Zane interrupted, trying to intervene.
Ty held his hand up. “No, Zane. Connor. Jace. And, of course, Katherine. Hear me out. I’m not going to recap how we got here, I just want you to all know that I own my part in getting us here. For Zoey being hurt and in the hospital. For not taking accountability for myself and relying upon all of you to hold me up. For my addictions. I appreciate all you have done for me, but I’m ready and need to take it from here. Katherine, from this point forward anything having to do with me, Zoey, social media, and all of this horseshit with Sienna, I’m in charge.”
“All of you are officially off the hook, I’ll consult you when any decision involves the band. Bottom line, I’m mentally and physically capable of taking care of myself. It’s time I start doing it. Even if Zoey and I never get back together. I owe it to all of you and to her.”
Connor surprised us all by speaking. “How is she? No one has told me anything.”
“She’s got a lot of PT in her future, but she’ll fully recover.” Ty’s lips formed the hint of a smile before turning back into a frown.
I couldn’t help but ask, “Are you staying here with her?”
Ty visibly
