Get Bent by C. M. Stunich Read Free Book Online Page A

stealing my lyrics, crying my pain? Does he know I'm here? Does anybody?
    I think back, hard. I imagine my hand clamping around the door handle to the bus, pausing at the sound of voices within.
    “ Next time I ask you to do something, I expect it to get done. Smoking pot behind the bus doesn't equate to work in my book. When you're on the clock, you belong to me. Afterwards, I could give a shit less what you do.”
    America. Being a bitch. Nothing unusual about that.
    In my memory, I keep climbing, yanking open the door and ascending the steps to find my manager, hands on her hips, looming over a young girl that looks like she's about my age. I've never seen her before, but that's not unusual. There are lots of staff members I've never met.
    They both look up when I come in, but they're not looking at me. They're looking at someone behind me. America opens her mouth to speak and pain slashes through my skull, dropping me to my knees. I fall forward as a crushing weight grinds into my back. My mouth makes no sounds; only my mind is capable of screaming. And it does. It shouts and fights, lashing out at my attacker, but failing to move my limbs. My eyes go dark, and I pass out.
    And then I wake up here.
    I can taste blood and smell it, too. It's dark, but it's not a trunk. There's too much space above and around, and below, it's too soft. A bed? Am I on a bed?
    A sound jerks my head around, draws my shuttered eyes towards a flash of light. I must be blindfolded because I can't see anything but the change in shadow. A prick in my arm stings painfully, and I scream again, crying out to that angel to come to my rescue. I don't know why. I have no clue how, in my most terrible moment, I could rely on that wolf in sheep's clothing.
    But I do.
    With every slowing beat of my tired heart, I do.

Seeing Skinny Bitch alive and well is like watching a zombie rise from the grave. When this chick went missing, I just sort of assumed she was dead. Unlike Naomi, Hayden has a hole inside of her. Basically, she's weak. Seeing her walk onstage is a shocker to be sure. To their credit, the band keeps playing and finishes the song with a beautiful high note from Miss Lee. Me, I just stand there like an asshole and stare.
    “That happy to see me?” she chokes, coughing and gagging as Dax gets up from his kit and races over with a water bottle for her. The band gathers around.
    “Naomi?” I ask, hoping beyond hope that wherever Hayden was, that maybe Naomi is with her, that maybe we've got a solid lead. She ignores me for the moment and downs the bottle while the crowd's silence fades to murmurs and then rises to deafening screams.
    “What about her?” Hayden asks, looking around at the band with a bit of blood dripping from her scalp towards her eye. She doesn't seem to notice it. Her hair is tangled and she's wearing clothes that look like they've seen better days. What the fuck is going on? Ain't nobody going to shit with me and tell me that her disappearance had nothing to do with Naomi's. Nuh uh. I might be stupid, but I'm not fucking retarded. I resist just barely the urge to reach out and shake her hard.
    “Oh my God,” Blair whispers, getting tears in her eyes. “You haven't heard.”
    “Heard what?” Hayden sniffs, wiping her hand across her face. She's shaking and her cheeks look gaunt, but in her eyes, I don't see any pain or fear, just confusion. “What's going on? Where's Naomi? Why is Turner here?”
    “Where the fuck have you been?” bursts out of Dax's mouth. He, too, looks like he wants to shake the bitch. Hayden tucks some brunette hair behind her ear and sniffles, shaking her head wildly. The buzz in the crowd has gotten so bad that it's almost impossible to hear what she says next.
    “In Hell.” And that's it. Hayden stops talking, and tears fill her eyes. Blair wraps her arms around her bandmate.
    “It's okay, baby. It's okay.”
    “I just want to sing,” Hayden whispers and then starts to full on sob. I