Total pages in book: 65
Estimated words: 60750 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 304(@200wpm)___ 243(@250wpm)___ 203(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 60750 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 304(@200wpm)___ 243(@250wpm)___ 203(@300wpm)
I can’t pretend like I’m not enjoying the shift in general attitudes, the way everyone seems to be getting along. In fact, things have been going so swimmingly with the band that we’re moments away from presenting a rough cut of our debut album to Gregory, all four of us now sitting on the other side of his desk. Alyssa is sitting right between Rhys and Van, and I watch out of the corner of my eye as Van gently pulls Alyssa’s hand into his own, idly tracing shapes all along her palm.
What the hell?
The utter tenderness of it confuses me to no end. I’m not used to Van being that tender with anyone, especially not a woman he seemed to despise when she first walked into the recording studio. Rhys then looks down at the display of Alyssa and Van’s hand-holding too, before he flashes me a knowing grin.
“You’re okay with this?” I mouth over to him, the voiceless words quickly passing over my lips.
“Okay with what?” he mouths back, before he offers me a playful wink.
I turn away from Rhys, beginning to wonder if I’m losing my mind. Didn’t he just rope me into some crazy scheme to try and get Alyssa back? But now he’s completely okay with her being with Van? Is there something that I’m just not seeing? Something that I’m missing that’s been right in front of me the whole time?
Fuck it.
Nothing makes sense anymore.
Just then, Gregory pulls off a set of inexpensive headphones, softly laying them down on the desk beside his laptop. Gregory has never been the type of guy to listen to how music sounds in the studio or even with the band playing live music, since he insists that all that matters is how the average listener is going to hear the song for the first time. It doesn’t matter how good it sounds with high-quality equipment, because it’s all going to come down to how the sound quality transfers over to something like Spotify or iTunes.
“…Well?” Rhys starts the conversation. “What do you think?”
“…I like it.” Gregory slowly nods. “Well, I like a lot about it.”
“You like a lot about it?” Van presses. “What’s that supposed to mean, Gregory?”
“It means that there’s still something missing,” he muses, before he shoots a look over at me. “Cameron, how involved were you in the songwriting process?”
“Involved enough,” I reply. “I mean, I mostly just let Alyssa and Van do their thing. And I followed Rhys’s lead with the instrumental parts—”
“Got it. There’s the problem right there.” Gregory chuckles. “You shouldn’t be following Rhys’s lead with anything, Cameron. Don’t get me wrong. He’s a phenomenal guitar player, but we all know that you’re the heart and soul when it comes to melody and song construction.”
“Right. No offense taken.” Rhys scoffs.
“I think you need to take another pass at these backing tracks, Cameron,” Gregory continues.
“You mean you want us to re-record everything?” Alyssa frowns.
“Not necessarily,” Gregory answers. “But I am going to need a few more standout tracks. Don’t worry. I’ll make sure I let you know which ones need to have a little something more added to them. But tracks like ‘Edge of Disaster’? No one needs to touch that one. It’s perfect.”
Alyssa lets out an overexaggerated sigh of relief, before she beams back at Gregory.
Van and Rhys then start to beam right along with her, like they’re all in sync with each other.
And I turn my attention back to Gregory, no longer interested in looking at the confusing scene unfolding beside me. “When did you want me to start working on the instrumentals, Gregory?”
“As soon as possible,” he replies. “And you’d be a fool if you don’t include Alyssa in the process, too.”
“Wouldn’t you rather have me work with Rhys or Van—”
“No.” Gregory shakes his head as he speaks. “That’s the past and I’m looking at this for the long-term. Besides, I want her to have a better ear by the end of this process, and you’re the ideal person to help in that department.”
“…Okay, then,” I mutter, slightly sinking into my chair. I’ve been determined to avoid spending too much time alone with Alyssa after that strange fantasy of mine popped into my head after our first concert. And with the way Rhys and Van have been acting lately, I’m honestly a little terrified to find out the truth behind their behavior, to get to the bottom of what has them cast under this particular spell.
What has them cast under Alyssa’s spell.
I inwardly groan at the thought of it, even as I offer Gregory a polite nod in return, pretending like I’m up for anything, pretending like I don’t want to run right out of his office and fall back into the seclusion of studio sessions with just me and my keys.