CHAPTER 59
Lex
When Shane and I arrived at my room later that night, the termination papers were waiting for me. Amie was already there with the envelope in her hands. The paper shook as she handed it to me. It looked as if she’d been crying.
“I talked to the other dancers,” Amie said, still holding the parcel tight. “Everyone was shocked. Of course they were. But no one gives a fuck that you’re dating Theo. Not to the extent Winter is taking it. She’s really letting you go?” She held up the envelope. “That’s what this is, right?” She shook her head.
Shane sat beside Amie and wrapped a comforting arm around her shoulders. Then he tugged the envelope from her grip and handed it to me. I didn’t open it right away. I couldn’t. The moment I read whatever was inside, everything would be over, as if the last two and a half months hadn’t existed.
Shane and I had spent the entire day and night walking the streets of Las Vegas, dipping into different venues to eat, talk, and cry. I’d turned off my phone too, delaying the inevitable and avoiding Theo. In the two weeks I’d been there, I hadn’t seen much of Vegas. I’d taken it for granted. It wasn’t supposed to be over this quickly.
My heart was torn between my dreams and the man I loved. Part of me wished I’d been stronger. I could have avoided the humiliation and devastation by staying away from him. We could have waited out the six months, but it had felt so impossible. The truth was, I didn’t know if I was right or wrong, I just knew it was over. All of it.
“Who the fuck played that video? That’s what I want to know.” Shane steamed as he stared out the window at the Vegas skyline. “That was some dirty shit.” He looked at Amie. “What would the motive be for trying to hurt Lex like that?”
Amie looked at me, and our eyes locked, a mutual thought passing through our silence. We both knew who’d done it. But did it even matter? The issue wasn’t who outed us, it was what we were hiding.
“Reggie,” Amie said, gritting her teeth. “It had to have been Reggie.”
“What?” Shane practically screeched. “Dude was into Lex. There’s no way he would—” His mouth formed an O. “You think he was jealous of Lex and Theo?” His face crinkled. “That doesn’t make sense. What would he get out of having Lex kicked off the show?”
I sighed and shook my head. “I don’t think that was his motive. He and Theo have had a rivalry for years, dating back to their foster kid life. Reggie’s always felt gypped of the opportunities Theo’s gotten over him. After the bonus track got taken away, he completely lost it. I think he saw an opportunity to destroy Theo, and I got caught in the cross fire.”
I remembered the cryptic message Reggie was trying to pass to me before the rehearsal today and told Amie and Shane about it.
“What a douche,” Amie snarled. “I can’t believe we were friends with him.”
Shane’s face had gone stony. “I feel like there’s still something we’re missing.”
I ripped open the envelope and pulled out the thick stack of papers. “It doesn’t matter.” I waved the document in the air. “It’s already done. Terminated without pay for breach of contract.” I looked at Shane, my eyes stinging, but I had no tears left to cry. “I’m going home.”
“To LA?”
I shook my head. “I’m going home, Shane. Back to Seattle.”