Chapter 25

25

All Sadie wanted to do was go home and bury herself in her covers with Cosmo by her side. Instead, she was walking into Austin's office to learn about the fate of her fledgling singing career.

"There you are," Austin said, ushering them in. "It's been quite the day, hasn't it?"

"I guess you could say that," Sadie said, taking a seat in a chair across from his desk.

"It's been a lot," King agreed as he stood behind Sadie's chair and placed his hands on her shoulders, kneading gently.

Sadie closed her eyes briefly, grateful for his touch. She hadn't realized just how tense she was until right that minute.

"First the good news," Austin said. "The song is breaking records climbing the charts. It's number one on multiple streaming stations and is trending on TikTok. You both should be really proud of yourselves."

King reached for Sadie's hand, and she smiled at him as their fingers entwined.

Austin watched the interaction and raised one eyebrow. "Are you two an item now?"

Sadie and King nodded at the same time.

"All right." Austin didn't look terribly pleased at the pairing, but he kept his thoughts to himself. There was nothing in the contracts that said two artists couldn't date each other. Sadie assumed he just didn't want the added headache. "I've got a number of appearances set up for both of you. You'll need to decide whether you want to disclose your relationship to the public or not."

"I'm not keeping it a secret," King said. "I don't care who knows."

Sadie grimaced. She hadn't thought about what it would mean to tell the world about her and King, but she agreed. She couldn't keep him a secret. He was important to her, and if it meant one less person harassed him because they knew he was taken, then it was worth it.

"Okay, we'll get a story out there soon, so we can control the narrative. After today's viral video, I think most people won't be surprised. Sadie, you're turning into something of a legend after you stepped in to protect King from invasive fans," Austin said, smiling at her. "Some are even saying you're a hero. No one likes a fake social media influencer."

"That's…" Sadie shook her head. "I don't know what to say to that."

He shrugged. "It's better than the alternative, I suppose. It's certainly not hurting sales or streaming numbers. So let's not worry about that for now. Let's talk about the appearances I have scheduled for you two over the next few weeks. There's a couple of late-night talk shows, a podcast, a morning show, music interviewers." Austin sat back and smiled. "You name it, we've got someone trying to get access."

"I can't do any live shows," Sadie said. "Not while I'm carrying around this curse."

"Curse? What curse?" Austin stood with his hands balled into fists at his waist. "What did I miss?"

"You didn't think I spelled those girls on purpose, did you?" Sadie asked, shocked. "I'd never do something like that."

Austin cringed. "I used to live in LA, Sadie. I've seen it all. Now someone tell me about this curse."

King told him the entire story and concluded with the sheriff issuing a warrant for Cindy's arrest.

"Your mother did this?" Austin looked like he was ready to explode. "Your own mother?"

"Yes. The worst part is I'm not even that surprised," King said.

Sadie turned sharply to look at King. "You're not surprised she cursed someone? Has she done this before?"

"No, no. Not that I know of, anyway." King waved his hands as if clearing the air in front of him. "I had no idea she'd do this. I just mean that nothing she does surprises me anymore."

"Right. Of course." Sadie was just so tired she wasn't thinking straight. Maybe the potion the healer had given her was starting to do its job. "Austin, listen, I'm nowhere near ready to sing for an audience right now. If I end up casting a spell on them because of this curse, I'll never forgive myself. I just can't risk it. Right now, we think it affects people temporarily, but we just can't be sure, and I don't want to take any chances." She chewed on her bottom lip for a moment before adding, "If you have to replace me on the record, I understand."

"Replace you?" Austin asked at the same time King said, "That's not going to happen."

"I just don't want to stand in the way of the obvious success of the song," Sadie said, trying to hold back tears. "I can't perform, so I can't promote. And I know that's part of the deal. No one gets to sit in a studio and just push music out without touring and promoting it."

"Sadie," Austin said as he got up from his chair and walked to stand in front of her. He leaned against the desk and met her gaze. "You're not going anywhere."

"But I can't—" she started to protest, but Austin held his hand up, stopping her.

"You are a part of this team and a vital part of the success of this song. You're not going to be dropped because you've been targeted by a criminal. That's not how I do things, and I'm certain that King wouldn't stand for that either."

"Nope," King said, crossing his arms over his chest.

"We're a family here. And in this family, we take care of each other."

Sadie stared at Austin, her heart beating too fast as emotion overwhelmed her. She stared at her red hand and said, "If I stay here in this office any longer, I might end up spelling you, too. I'm about five seconds from crying."

"It's okay, Sadie," Austin said kindly. "I promise, these are my real feelings. If I'm cursed to let my guard down, you're more likely to get a sappier version of me. So my apologies in advance to you."

That made her laugh. And then she smiled back. "Thank you."

"We'll hold off on the in-person appearances. Maybe set up a couple of remote ones where you and King can perform. And then we'll take it from there. Okay?"

Sadie nodded and then looked over at King.

"You can't get rid of me now," he said with a cocky smile.

"Good, because I really love this song and working with both of you," Sadie said. "So thank you for talking me down."

"Go get some rest," Austin said. "I have phone calls to make."

Sadie stood on shaky legs and was grateful when King slipped his arm around her. She leaned into him, and for the first time since she'd lost her grandmother, she felt like she had someone other than Melissa and Rachel to call family.

Sadie listened to the soft snores from Cosmo as she stared at the ceiling. King was passed out, sleeping soundly, while she hadn't slept a wink. When they'd gotten back to Brigg's house that day, King had run out to deliver the blackmail note to the sheriff while she'd busied herself making dinner. She'd needed something to keep her mind off the day. And then when it came time to eat the lasagna she finally got around to making, she'd sat at the table, barely touching anything.

It wasn't long after that when she'd given up and gone to bed.

King had come with her, saying he just wanted to hold her while she went to sleep. Too bad his plan hadn't worked. While he'd drifted off relatively soon, it was three hours later and her mind was still racing.

Being careful to not wake King or Cosmo, Sadie silently slipped from the bed and padded into the kitchen. After making herself a cup of tea, she retrieved one of her pieces of the chocolate caramel pie she'd purchased earlier in the day. After the incident at the shop and meeting with the sheriff, she just hadn't been hungry. But chocolate was definitely in order now.

Sadie had just taken the first bite of her pie when she heard faint footsteps and looked up to see a rumpled Briggs walk into the kitchen. "Hey," she said. "Can't sleep?"

"Nope." He ran a hand through his messy hair as he eyed her pie. "That looks good."

"There's another piece in the fridge with your name on it." Sadie should have known that her eyes were bigger than her stomach when she'd bought two slices for herself. It never failed that she overpurchased her favorite desserts and then was never able to eat it all. Better too much than not enough, right?

"Thanks." He got the second slice of pie and a cup of decaf coffee and joined her at the table. "What has you up in the middle of the night?"

"Nothing. Everything." She gave him a weak smile. "You know how it is. The brain can't shut off sometimes."

He let out a humorless laugh. "Yeah. I know that feeling all too well."

"Want to talk about it?" she asked, ready to focus on someone else for a while.

"No." He snorted and then took a bite of the pie. "My god, Sadie. This is sinful."

"Isn't it, though?" She took another small bite and let the sweetness melt over her tongue. "Why can't things like this be good for our health? We'd all live to be a hundred and twenty."

"Who wants that?" Briggs asked.

"Uh, happy people?" she guessed, and then looked at him closer. He had bags under his eyes, and he looked like he hadn't slept in days. "Briggs, what's wrong?"

"Nothing," he said too quickly.

She raised both eyebrows. "You don't have to tell me, but maybe talk to King about whatever it is, okay? Because it's obvious something is up."

"He's the last person I'd talk to about this." Briggs sat back and closed his eyes. "Not now. Not with everything going on with his mother. I don't want to make his situation all about me."

"What do you mean, all about you? Has Cindy approached you, too?" Sadie asked, worried that she'd somehow pulled Briggs into her devious plans.

"No, no. Nothing like that." He shook his head and then sighed. "All this crap with King and his mom… It just serves as a reminder of my own family garbage I had to deal with before I ended up in foster care. You know, childhood trauma and all that bullshit. Don't worry about it. I'll be fine."

Sadie met his gaze and said, "You know it's okay to not be fine, right?"

"Not to me," he said and got up to take his empty plate to the sink. "The sooner I can forget the better."

"Briggs?"

He paused and glanced back at her.

"I'm here if you ever need to talk. I'm not King, but… I've had my own issues to deal with. I can listen if nothing else."

He stared down at his feet before giving her a nod. "Thanks, Sadie. I appreciate that."

Sadie watched as the man rubbed the back of his neck and disappeared down the hallway. She eyed her half-eaten pie, put it back in the refrigerator, and took herself back to bed. Once she was under the covers, she rolled over and placed her head on King's chest.

Cosmo resettled himself right next to her and as she concentrated on the soft sounds of his breathing, this time she fell into a deep dreamless sleep.