“What’s up, man?” He asks as I take the seat next to him.
“Just got out of the studio,” I reply, clinking my beer bottle against his.
“Nice. How’s the album looking?”
“It’s a go, man. I think we’re ready.”
“Cool, cool.”
“I just made some changes to the final song,” I say hesitantly. “It didn’t really, uh, fit.”
“The one you wrote after Lacy? Yeah, that one was a little rough around the edges,” Rob says with a grin.
I give Rob a sidelong glance. I had already told him that Lacy and I had parted ways. He hadn’t said much about it at the time, but now seemed to be hinting at something unsaid.
“Yes, I think you’re an ass for letting her go. And Ella is pissed too,” he replies to my unspoken question.
“What, why is Ella pissed?” I ask in surprise.
“She liked Lacy! She thought she finally had a girlfriend to join on our nights out.”
“Well, tell her I’m sorry,” I say moodily. Iseverybodygoing to get on my back about Lacy now? Even Rob’s girlfriend?
“Aw, come on man, I’m just joking. Obviously, Ella’s feelings aren’t the major concern here. The real question is, how are you feeling? It’s been a month.”
“I feel like shit,” I say with a shrug. “I just told James all the details today, and it made me feel even worse. Like it was all my fault.”
“Well, I don’t know if it wasallyour fault,” Rob says, “But you definitely are your own worst enemy when it comes it comes to love and adoration.”
“Love and adoration?” I ask incredulously.
“Yeah, I mean, you would do anything for your fans. And that’s great, to a certain extent. Your fans adore you. But you’ve also got to know when to put yourself and your personal life first.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean these bullshit ‘incest’ rumors are the perfect example. You were so stressed about losing fans—”
“That I was willing to sacrifice Lacy.”
“Yeah man. You let something real go. Why? So you could keep your Insta followers?”
“I fucked up, man,” I say, looking down at the bar. “I’mfucked up,” I add gloomily.
“Nah. You just need to make a change,” Rob says. “Like when I met Ella, remember?”
“I remember,” I say with a nod and a smile. Of all our bandmates, Rob had been the most stereotypical ‘rock star,’ always partying, a new chick every night, that kind of thing. Then Ella came along. And he just stopped.
“Remember how pissed my fans were? They hated that I was this boring dude in a relationship. They wanted me to keep being that drunk, hard-partying rock-and-roll cliché.”
“Yeah, the backlash was pretty wild.”
“And Ella got all kinds of online hate from trolls, man. It was brutal for a while.”
“But now?”
“I regret nothing, man. I made a change. It sucked for a while. Change always sucks. But I came out the other side, and it’s all fine. Yes, I’ve got less followers. Yes, I lost fans. But I’m happier, man. So much happier.”
“Yeah,” I say thoughtfully. “Maybe I’m ready for a change myself. For something real.”