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goodproofingwater · 5 years

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Wildfire Records: Breaking America - Chapter Four

Word count: 2016

Playlist: Amsterdam - Nothing But Thieves

Press play when you see the *

He had been out of hospital for three days before he began attending the groups. The nurse had advised him to attend support groups and see how they went before he made the decision to go to a residential rehab clinic. He didn’t want to go and live in a hospital, he hated being away from everyone, hated the looks that some of the porters gave him, but he knew that he had to kick this drug habit.

Still, he attended the groups, went back into hospital for weekly check-ups and before long he was receiving his 30-day sober chip. He had never been so proud of anything in his life. He had always taken drugs, couldn’t remember a time where he wouldn’t wake up and it be the first thing he thought about. Now he felt like his mind was clearer than ever.

The rehab center had advised that he stay away from any illegal substances, that he could drink in moderation and smoke if he thought he could handle it, but he shouldn’t do anything which would cause him to spiral. He was going to have to be very careful, but for the first time in years, he felt like he actually mattered, that life was worth living even without the powder.

His phone had been ringing off the hook since the three days he had gone missing. He had sent a quick text to Cindy to let her know what was going on but it only made it worse. He knew he had to face it at some point, but he would have breakfast first.

Moving into the kitchen, he bit his lip as he saw Josh and Victoria. He was sitting on one of the stools at the breakfast bar and she was between his legs, their lips grazing softly against each other’s as his hands moved to grip at her waist. His arms had pushed up the hoody she was wearing enough that Andy could see more of her thighs than he thought she would want, but ultimately it was the soft moan his friends hands elicited from her lips that made him clear his throat as he walked over to the kitchen.

Victoria pulled back, Josh’s hands falling from where they had been exploring her body and pulling the hoody down. “Morning,” she smiled, and Andy couldn’t help but match it.

“You don’t have to stop on my account..” he smirked a little and Josh rolled his eyes, leaning up to place a soft kiss on his girlfriend’s neck before she rounded the counter.

“Coffee?” She offered, refilling her and Josh's mug before she poured some into Andy's, “how are you feeling?”

“Amazing actually,” the redhead grinned, sipping his coffee, “I got my 30 day sober chip yesterday”

“Oh man that’s great, well done.” Josh smiled over the counter and moved to slide his hand along his friends and then fist bump him, a small handshake that the three of them shared that Victoria had never witnessed before.

Andy opened his mouth to respond when he felt a buzz in his pocket. Pulling the phone out, he placed it on the side and gripped the counter in an attempt not to smash it with a rolling pin.

“She still calling you?” Josh glanced down at the phone and Andy nodded, jaw clenched. He knew he had to face the music at some point but how could he when they had been instrumental in his overdose? Of course he had been the one to order the drugs that night, he had been the one to take them, but the previous evenings had been laced with David plying him with cocaine and whiskey.

“You know..” Josh started, hesitating as if he was unsure he should be saying this. “You know you don’t have to go back to that don’t you?”

Andy glanced up at the blonde with confused eyes, “what do you mean?”

“I mean you don’t have to go back to that life. If you think that it’s better for you, we always have a place for you.” Andy's heart felt like it melted at the words. He had been so scared to ask, so worried that he had fucked up everything with his friends that he hadn’t even considered it an option, and the fact that Josh was the one who was offering this was something else. He knew he had treated his friend so badly, and yet here he was still offering him a lifeboat in this horrible storm.

“But the contract..”

“There will be a break clause, surely?” Victoria spoke, moving to sit on the counter and Andy licked his lips momentarily as he remembered having her in that very spot. “Do you have a copy of the contract?”

“Uh.. yeah somewhere in my room.” He nodded and went to retrieve it, returning to find Danny and Juliet in the kitchen staring almost angrily at the phone which just would not stop ringing.

Andy handed the contract to Victoria who sat cross legged on the counter, sipping her coffee and reading. She seemed even more beautiful now that he didn’t have the coke to dull his mind, but what was even more beautiful was the way Josh looked at her. He imagined the blondes expression was much like his own when he had first been with Victoria, except it was far more intense. His best friend was so deeply in love with this woman. How could Andy have ever wanted to hurt him?

“Here—“ Victoria spoke, grabbing the pen attached to the folder and underlining the passage before reading it aloud.

15.1.4 Should the artist wish to cancel this contract due to anything but breach in contract by Fieldworks records, the artist must pay the sum of all previous interactions with Fieldworks subsidiaries and studios, plus the break clause fee of 10% of contract worth.

“What does that mean?” Andy shook his head as he tried to make sense of the words.

“It means you’ll have to pay for whatever you’ve already done with them, plus 10% of the total cost of what they would have spent on you.” Danny shook his head, sleepy eyes not matching his words.

“Fucking hell..” Andy whispered.

“How many studio days did you do with them?” Juliet asked, moving to stand in front of Danny and he wrapped his arms around her as if she was the only thing keeping him awake.

“Uh..” Andy squinted as he tried to remember and shook his head, “it was like every day for… how long was I away?”

“4 months” Josh shook his head, “that’s easily £12,000 on the studio itself and that’s if you were only spending an hour a day..”

“Oh fuck…” Andy sat down and put his head in his hands,rubbing his eyes before he took the contract and started leafing through it “god, I can’t… I can’t go back to that. They literally had lines waiting for me in the recording booth, I know I’m sober but I don’t think I could resist that.”

There was only one option. An option that he really really didn’t want to take.

With a sigh, he picked up his phone and dialled the familiar number.

“Dad? It’s Andy. I need your help.”

“I don’t care if you’ve got the money, I’m not letting you out of this contract,” Cindy shouted down the phone, “I will sue the shit out of you!”

“With all due respect, Cindy was it? My client will not be bullied by you or anyone else at the shambles you call a recording company. We will pay the break clause and you will let us walk away, or you will take us to court and we will get out of this contract for free and you will have to pay us damages. That’s your decision.”

Andy sat with a lawyer in a room at Fieldworks that Juliet had shown them to. It was weird to see her at work considering he had seen her walking around in Danny’s shirt and not much else the night before, and he could tell from the way she eyed him that it was strange to see him here and in a suit.

His dad had characteristically sent a load of cash and a lawyer, had not even acknowledged the subtle mention of rehab. He didn’t know what he was expecting really, had been reminded harshly of the very reason he started taking drugs as his dad began to lecture him about his career to which he put the phone down.

He had had troubles with his father since before he could remember. The man had forced Andy to spend summers away from his friends, spending all six weeks of his holiday helping in the studio so that his dad could further his career in classical music. He had been instrumental in the recordings of all his father’s demos, had even played piano or violin in the background of song of them, yet his father had never so much as thanked him. Whenever Andy would complain about having to spend his summers working his dad would gesture wildly at the apartment and ask him if he wanted to remain living like this. He had guilted him since he was 12 years old into giving up almost all of his spare time and it was ultimately this which had forced him to resent him.

Of course, he still loved music, he was thankful to Danny and Josh for catching him at just the right time in his life to show him that it didn’t have to be all bad. They had played with him in Josh’s garage, had helped him when his dad had been particularly harsh with him at home, and had waited, even in an age where technology couldn’t help people keep in contact, for the redhead to return to California for them to pick up where they left off. His dad had always hated the dangers, hated the music they played and thought it was pointless, so it was a surprise that he even sent a lawyer. Still, he supposed it was better to have a son who was doing what he wanted while tearing away rather than a drug addict pop musician.

Cindy was practically shaking in anger. This wasn’t something that happened normally, she had never had an act pull out of their contract early and she was not happy about it.

“You think you can win against us in court?” She spat, and Andys lawyer let out a small chuckle.

“I assure you that we will.” He slid the cheque across the table and closed the fastenings on his briefcase. “If you wish to take this further, you can contact me directly. You are not to have any further interaction directly with my client.”

Andy couldn’t help but smirk, and he stood up as he adjusted the buttons on his blazer, confidence running through him for the first time since he had been off the coke.

“If you call me, and I mean even one phone call, I’ll be calling him to sue you for obstruction.” The lawyer grabbed Andy’s arm and was pulling him out, the redhead fighting him slightly until he got his point across, “fuck you, and fuck this company.”

He pulled himself together, ignoring the eyes of the others on the floor, sending a quick wink across to Juliet who was chuckling to herself at her computer.

*When Juliet got home that evening, she found the speakers pounding with a sound she had never heard before and Victoria dancing around with a margarita.

“What’s going on?” Juliet spoke with a chuckle, taking a glass from her friend as she threw her bag on the couch.

“Do you like it?” Victoria spoke, motioning to the speakers and Juliet chucked, smiling.

“Yeah, it’s great! Who is it?” Victoria grinned wide and took her friend’s hand, pulling her into the studio.

Josh, Danny and Andy sat in the recording booth, playing together once more.

#wildfire records #aayyyyeeeeeee

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