Ace's Fall Read Free Page B

nothing but a piece
of shit. I should have listened to everyone, but I was the naïve
idiot who believed in you.”
    “ I’ve been tellin’ you that
since the beginning. This,” I gesture my hand between us, “isn’t
going anywhere.”
    Her hand suddenly cracks along the side
of my face. “Fuck. You.” She forcefully nudges me out of the way to
walk out. I let out a breath of frustration. I should probably feel
angrier in this situation, but I don’t. I feel relieved more than
anything else.
    I watch Bree walk to the end of the
bus. “Good riddance, Gold Digger!” I wave with a friendly smile.
She sticks up her middle finger in return.
    Well, that’s one problem I don’t have
to worry about anymore.
    Blondie is laying on the
bed twirling her hair around her finger. When she notices me
looking at her, she leans up on her elbows, “So, are we
going to do this or what?” she asks as if she didn’t just witness
Bree go bat-shit crazy on me.
    I shake the disbelief off my face and
replace it with a smirk. “Hell yeah, we are.”
     

 
     
     
    s tage t hree:
     
    Substance Abuse/
    Risky Behavior
     
     
    i finally made the move out of L.A., and I have to say, it was
definitely worth it. There’s always a party in Vegas. Alcohol,
drugs, and new flings happen daily. If I want
to, I can stop, but why would I want to? I’m young; I
should be acting wild while I can.
    Although I have been partying it up,
I’ve also been writing new music. The band has a meeting with the
record label to discuss the new album, and I want to make sure
everything is prepared for them. I may be irresponsible in my
personal life, but I take my music seriously. It’s the one thing
I’d be lost without.
    I hit another milestone when I moved to
Las Vegas—I am now officially a homeowner. Another thing to add to
my “Surreal Moments in Life” list. I tried not to go too overboard,
even though it’s still way too big for one person. But why not buy
it if I can afford it? The house is in a small gated community.
It’s a gorgeous four thousand square foot two-story with views of
the desert. There are palm trees surrounding the property, and I
have a huge pool in the backyard, which is a must for Las Vegas.
The summers here are brutal.
    The band is scheduled to go into the
studio in a couple weeks, and after that, we’ll be going on a
nine-month world tour. We’ll be opening for Ignite; their music is
great, but according to some, Zee, the lead singer, is a douche.
There’s a lot of those in this business, including myself, so I’m
not too concerned.
    I’m soaking up the downtime while I can
because I know once we start recording, my life is going to be in
the hands of the music execs and Bill, the band manager.
     
    ***
     
    The meeting with the record
label was a disaster. When we signed, they told us they’d only make
our sound a little crisper and a lot less choppy. I agreed
with that change because we sounded like we were straight out of a
garage. Which, we were. I hadn’t expected the complete one-eighty
they threw at us.
    I was nervous about the meeting as it was, but then they informed me that the
lyrics were already written out.
    All. Of. Them.
    I walked out—I couldn’t handle that. I
had signed to get my lyrics out there. To spread my inner
self.
    The label just shit all over it. They
said they read what I sent them and didn’t think it was the right
message. It was angry music, but isn’t that what all of the
teenagers are these days? A bunch of angry kids looking for an
outlet. That’s what they want. But, according to the record label,
sex sells. They wanted music filled with lust and wanting, not
music filled with pain and emotion.
    I didn’t handle that well. Why not
inform me of this before the meeting? It was complete bullshit. I
began to wonder if they were planning on trashing everything I had
given them and go with their songwriters.
    I started doubting myself
and my musical abilities. Every single