Redeeming You (Before You #2)(2)
Jax glared at him and for a minute Cam thought he was going to be on the receiving end of Jax’s fist. Regrettably, he’d been in that position too many times lately.
Jax shoved him aside as he walked into the room. “Dawn,” Jax scoffed shaking his head. “It’s after lunchtime.”
Cam slammed the door. For the last month, Jax felt more like his jailer than his friend. “Whatever. Don’t be a f*cking *. As far as I recall, we don’t have a show tonight. I can sleep all day. It’s really none of your business.”
“Have you looked at the internet today?” Jax leaned against the dresser.
“I just woke up. I haven’t done anything yet,” Cam said folding his arms across his chest.
Jax pulled his phone out of his pocket and handed it to Cam. “You’re in for a rude awakening. Take a look.”
After studying Jax’s face for a few prolonged seconds, Cam snatched the phone out of his hand. He’d done so many f*cked up things over the past few months he had no clue what he’d see on that screen, but from the anger on Jax’s face, he could tell it was bad. His finger paused over the play button of the YouTube video.
“Go ahead,” Jax prompted. “Tell me what you think.”
What the hell. He might as well get on with it. Jax wouldn’t leave until he made his point and he needed to take a shower to get rid of the alcohol and sickly sweet perfume coating his skin. It was making him nauseous. Cam exhaled loudly and tapped the screen. “Fine.”
After a few seconds, Cam saw a grainy image of himself naked sitting on the bed with a girl between his knees, her head bobbing up and down while he kissed another girl who ran her hands up and down his chest. Sickened, he tossed the phone back to Jax. “So what,” he said shrugging. “I’m not the first person to have a sex tape blasted across the internet. It’s not even newsworthy.”
“Maybe not, but the drugs littering the nightstand are newsworthy, or at least according to our label.”
“I didn’t see any drugs,” Cam said throwing open his suitcase to dig out a clean shirt. He didn’t think Jax planned to leave any time soon.
“You want to take another look?”
“Not really. If you say they’re there, then you’re probably right. What’s the big deal?” Cam rolled his eyes and shook his head, which was not a good move when it was throbbing against his skull. “Sex, drugs and rock ’n’ roll. I’m living the dream.”
The words came out flat and jaded because his life has been far from a dream since Bre left him. She’d left a big hole in his heart that he still couldn’t figure out how to fill. A quagmire: that’s how he describe his life.
“You’re self-destructing and you don’t even care. That’s the f*cking problem.” Exasperated, Jax dragged a hand through his hair. “You don’t care about yourself and apparently, you don’t give a shit about the band. Did you even notice you were being taped?”
Barely, but he wouldn’t tell Jax that. “Maybe.” Cam smirked. “But I was kind of preoccupied at the moment if you didn’t notice.” He shouldn’t have said it. He should apologize and promise to behave, but he didn’t have the willpower to change his life, so why bother lying?
Jax paced back and forth. “The label is livid. The sex tape is one thing, but the drugs in the background are a game changer.” Jax stopped pacing, and faced Cam, his face angry and concerned at the same time. “Do you have a problem? Do you need help, because if that’s the case—”
“No,” Cam said interrupting him, because he didn’t have a problem. He dabbled when he partied, but he didn’t love it. It made him feel like shit and it was hard to perform the next day unless he took more and as stupid as he’d been the last six months, he knew a vicious cycle when he saw one. Besides, he wouldn’t do that to his parents. His mom would die a thousand deaths if he overdosed.
“The girls on the video said it was all your shit.”
It wasn’t, but he didn’t need to explain it to Jax. “So what if it was?” Cam said pulling his shirt over his head. “Do you want to search my room?” Cam waved his hand in front of his body. “Be my guest.”
Jax’s eyes narrowed. “Do you even remember the night?”
“A little.”
“Did it happen last month, last night or six months ago?”
Cam looked up at the ceiling contemplating the question. “I saw my new tattoo, you know the one going up the inside of my arm, so must have it happened within the last two weeks.”
Jax didn’t say anything.
“Are we done?” Cam asked. He was done with this conversation.
“Unfortunately, we’re not.” Jax handed Cam a letter.
“What’s this?” Cam unfolded the letter.
“Read it.”
Cam flipped through the pages. It was a three-page letter from the label. He couldn’t read this right now, not with his head pounding and his eyes burning from a lack of sleep. “You’ve already read it. Why don’t you summarize it for me?”
Jax ripped the pages from his hands. “The label wants you to submit to regular drug testing or we have to hire a chaperone to follow you around.”
“You’ve got to be f*cking kidding me!” Cam yelled rubbing his eyes. Sure, he hadn’t been an angel for the past six months, not even close, but submitting to drug testing or a hiring a nanny seemed a little extreme.