Mad Boys (Blue Ivy Prep, #2)(50)

“Before you go,” he said as we were heading outside. Dix waited at the car for me, and Johnny had driven himself. He handed me a red enveloped card.

“Please tell me this isn’t another pic for Mom,” I said without opening it. If it was, I’d just deliver it unopened, thank you so much.

Johnny chuckled. “No, it’s a present for you, sweet girl. Your birthday is soon. Probably won’t see you before next year, so I didn’t want to forget.”

“Should I wait to open it?” I grinned.

“You can,” he said, though a smile flirted with his lips. “But I don’t mind if you open it early.”

I slit the envelope and pulled out the birthday card. The front of it read 18 Years of Being a Bloody Legend. I laughed, then opened it up. The interior made me laugh harder. Now you can use your own ID.

Johnny had signed it Love, Johnny.

Inside was a photo of me and Mom from her first time at the Golden Globes. I must have been all of six in the picture, wearing an identical dress to my mother and our hair was done in the same style.

On the back of it, Johnny had written, “Legends are born and made. You’re the author of your own story. Never forget.”

I blinked back some surprising dampness. I didn’t even know there was a photo of this night. I had so much fun. Mom and I had been like besties all night. She didn’t win, but it didn’t matter. It was one of the few times where she seemed to just enjoy the moment.

Looking back on it, maybe one of the only times.

I gave Johnny a hug and he squeezed me gently. “I don’t know where you found this, but I love it. Thank you.”

He chuckled, then pressed a kiss to the top of my head. “Trade secret.” He winked, then glanced at Dix. “Look after our girl.”

“Always do,” Dix said with a smile. They shook hands briefly. “C’mon, gorgeous, I think you’ve already been spotted.”

One of the drawbacks of a famous face. L.A. was usually a safer space. Even if I was noticed, most of the locals let me do my thing. Tourists though? Yeah.

“Take care, Johnny.”

“You too.” He waited until we were in the car before he headed to his own. I had a flight back a few hours later, the redeye to get me back to the East Coast. I crashed as soon as I got back to the dorm, then went out for a run.

I put the note for Jonas on his door. We’d added clips so we could just leave things for each other. I carried mine into the bedroom and dropped it on the bed before I went to shower.

Thirty minutes later, I settled in with pizza, a fresh drink, and my homework. The rest of the night was just—nice. Quiet, easy, and without any interruptions. By the time I went to bed that night, I was feeling good. Ahead on my assignments, lyrics floating around in my head for Jonas’ latest song, and relaxed.

I crashed hard. The sun was already up when I woke. My phone had a bajillion messages on it, but I’d left it in do not disturb. I also needed coffee before I went through that many.

The first one that popped up once I had coffee was from Aubrey.

Aubrey



I’ll be back on campus this afternoon. Don’t look at the articles.





There were a couple from Bronson, too.

Bronson



You know, I’m impressed at how busy you’ve been. Based on the press reports, you must have 48 hours in a day. Ignore the h8ters





The haters?

I took a long drink of the coffee before I scrolled past general messages. A couple from our manager. Several from our social media manager. Two from our agent and a third one from the label rep.

What the fuck broke in the press now?

Deep breath, I switched to the news alerts. I had to read them three times.

Problem Child or Wild Child?

Looks like our pop princess didn’t even wait for the birthday to start celebrating.





What the hell…?

Below that the first picture that jumped out at me was Ramsey carrying me out of the burning building. His whole attention was on me, his expression fierce. It stirred a vague memory, I thought he might have been pissed about me going back for the guitars.

Maybe?

Problem Child Burnout

Not even one day back on campus and our favorite girl’s dorm suffered a massive fire. It burned down, leaving the school to find new accommodations. Thankfully, the injuries were minor, though a rumor had it that the Problem Child’s voice might have been compromised. Is this another reason for retirement? And who is the hero here? Neither the school nor Torched’s representatives answered our requests for a comment.

The next image was Lachlan and I dancing at the club. Goddammit. It was from the summer and right after he’d yanked my hat off. Another image was him kissing me.

Problem Child Raises Hell on the Club Circuit

Rumors were alive this summer about the Problem Child and her club appearances. One lucky reader snapped these pics and shared them. Who is the lucky guy? Definitely not the boyfriend, RJ Wallach.

Problem Child Keeping Secrets

The image below that lovely headline was a snap of me and Jonas. I had no idea when it was taken. Clearly somewhere on campus, because we were in our uniforms. I was laughing at something he said. There was also a half-smile on his face. Honestly, it was a great picture.