The Instagram post? That was another story. Already we had over three million likes because the image had gone viral. The cat was out of the bag. Everyone knew who Zoey was. We’d turned off the comments on the post, but since all of our individual accounts were tagged, we began to get an idea of how the LTZ universe was taking it. It was the usual mix of supportive fans and assholes. I decided to text my girl before I’d get sucked under with the photoshoot and interview chaos.
Ty: u up?
Zoey: just had breakfast
Ty: nice. Heads up our pic is at 3 million hits
Zoey: yeah and I have 300,000 followers holy shit
Ty: u ok?
Zoey: think I’ll stay inside today
Ty: thought u were shopping
Zoey: dunno
Ty: up to you, just make sure Sergey is with you
Zoey: I keep forgetting about him
Ty: just enjoy your day I’ll be back as soon as I can
Zoey: sounds good r u super busy
Ty: Y have photoshoot now
Zoey: the camera loves you, so do i
Ty: love you more
The car pulled into the service entrance and since none of us had the patience for hair and makeup, we headed straight to the studio. Jace clapped his hand on my shoulder. I stopped because he clearly wanted to hold me back from the others for a minute.
“Dude, level with me. Did you have something going with Sienna?”
“Fuck no.” I scowled at him.
He scrolled through his tablet and handed it to me. “Ty, I mean it. You need to let me know if something ever happened.” Jace gestured to a picture of me and Sienna on her Instagram that was a few years old. In it, I was clearly wasted. Our arms were slung over each other’s shoulders and I was licking her face.
“I don’t remember seeing this.” I hung my head. My skin crawled, and I felt like I was about to be sick. I hated seeing evidence of myself drunk and stupid.
“So, it’s possible you fucked her at some point?” Jace glowered at me.
I diverted my attention, unable to look him in the eye.
“Ty, look, I’m not judging. We’ve all fucked around, but I’m trying to get on top of something that I have no idea how to fix.” Jace sighed heavily. “If Sienna and Andrew go rogue, this is going to get out. What are you going to say to Zoey?”
My blood turned to ice. Fear seized my heart. “It happened one time. I barely remember it. I woke up with her naked in my hotel room with no memory. There were too many nights like that, and that’s when I got my shit together for good.”
“Jesus. Fuck. Do you think there are more pics?” Jace squinted and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Dude, I swear to you I have my own shit going on, and I’m really at the end of my rope.”
“It’s not your problem, my brother.” I slumped down to sit on a planter outside the studio door. I wasn’t sure if my legs would hold me up.
“Oh, I know you think it’s not my problem.” Jace closed his eyes, looking like the weight of the world rested on his shoulders. “I swear to fuck I’m so ready for our break from all of this.”
“Dude, it was so long ago. She swore it meant nothing.” I stopped to scrub my hand down my face. “Sienna set me up with most of the women—”
“Well it explains her weird reaction to Zoey.”
“I need to tell her,” I whispered, almost to myself. “Tonight after the show.”
Jace looked at me with absolute disdain. Then his expression softened, and he sat next to me and patted my shoulder.
“My dude, I’ve thought for years that I let you down when we hired them.” Jace shook his head. “I’d confront her, but I’m afraid that if I bring it up it will show up on TMZ.”
“I don’t think she has a thing for me. I’ve never gotten that vibe from her. I mean, we’ve never spoken about that night.” I felt like such a fuck-up. “But, I’m not the best at these things. As we’re all aware.”
“We’re late for this interview. We need to get in there. Remember, you’re going to get asked a lot about Zoey today, just be prepared.” Jace looked me in the eyes, almost challenging me. It stung.
“Jesus. Do you seriously think I’d risk anything with Zoey? I’d never deliberately hurt her, Jace. Never.” I stood and moved to the door. “Let’s get this shit over with.”
The rest of the day I was on autopilot, just going through the motions. I’d been doing this for so long, I felt like I nailed my part of the interviews. Whenever anyone asked me about Zoey, and everyone did, I stuck to a basic script like a pro:
Yes, Zoey is Z.
I grew up in an abusive, alcoholic home.
Zoey and I fell in love before LTZ was famous.
She broke up with me before our first tour.
I wasn’t aware that Carter had asked her to break up with me so I could have my shot at fame.
We lost touch.
I wrote the songs to try to get over her, but all of us at LTZ protected her identity.
Carter brought us together again.
We’ve both been in love with each other all of these years.
Zoey is my future.
Repeat.
By the time the driver dropped me off at the hotel, I needed to wind down before the rest of the evening unfolded. Even before Jace showed me the photo, I’d planned to tell Zoey about Sienna. The incident was always in the back of my mind because
