Chapter 8

I pressed my lips together. Leia was seven. Seven. Jimmy had been about the same age when he became obsessed with the guitar. By ten he was telling everyone he was going to be famous. He played Metallica constantly. Loud, angry, screaming music that covered the pain a little boy with shitty parents was going through.

"You don't know this, but Jimmy and I didn't have great parents," I said quietly. "I basically raised him. So him being kind of a dick is kind of on me. I had never been as worried about him as I was when his career was going well, and I've never been more worried about him than I am now. He's different. He's... Ever since those articles came out, he's been like a shell."

Alex shifted on the couch uncomfortably but said nothing.

"I don't want Leia going down that path."

"She won't," Alex said. "It's just a recital. And frankly, she's obsessed with Taylor Swift. Going from pop-country to metal would be... unlikely."

"Can I think about it?"

"Yeah. Of course."

"Thank you."

"