A/N: This fic contains potentially triggering subject matter including but not limited to: suicidal references, gun violence, sexual trauma, homelessness, drug abuse, depression, homophobia, and cancer. It may contain inaccuracies. No copyright infringement intended. Thanks for reading!
BOOK TWO - PART ONE - CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
"Okay, so… why am I here?" Robbie asked in confusion, looking around at Jade, Tori, and Cat. They were all seated in the living room. It wasn't often they involved him in their business, so his curiosity was peaked.
"Well, we had the idea that if we put some songs out, it'll show our fans that JTC isn't broken up," Cat explained. "The only problem is… we need a temporary recording studio. Just 'til we get signed to another label."
"Is that something you can help with?" Tori asked.
"Robbie's boyfriend is Bryson Karter, you guys," Cat told them. "His dad is—"
"Jaxon Karter?" Jade interrupted, "Like, the actual owner of SteelRoad Studios? Seriously?"
"Yeah, that's him." Robbie looked hesitant. "I don't know, you guys. It would be a lot to ask. He's never really liked me that much."
"Can you have Bryson ask?" Cat suggested. "We wouldn't need the studio for long. We could probably get it all done in a few days if we really try. We could even pay him."
"That… actually might work," Robbie admitted. It was no secret that Jaxon Karter was always looking for ways to make an extra buck. "And Bryson knows his way around a studio. He could help you guys produce it."
"How much should we offer for three days?" Cat asked. They all looked around at each other.
"Seventy-five grand." Jade looked determined. "We need to make sure he doesn't refuse it—this is our only shot."
"And we'll make it all back in profits, most likely," Tori added. "I'm in for seventy-five. We'll each put in twenty-five. If you guys are good with that?" She looked at Jade and Cat.
"You guys are really willing to do all of this for me?" Cat asked gratefully.
"It's not just for you. We need to show Shawn Quincy that JTC—all of JTC—is not to be fucked with," Jade stated firmly.
"And it definitely won't hurt to do a little damage control for your reputation," Tori added. "We've got your back, Cat."
Robbie stood up. "I'm gonna go call Bryson. We'll head out as soon as he gives us the okay."
Cat stood up too. "Can you guys wait out here? I'm gonna go check on Sam." She made her way out of the living room and back down the hallway to Sam's bedroom. The bathroom door was still closed. Cat went to it and knocked. "Sam?"
Sam groaned and forced out, "Cat? You can come in."
Cat opened the door and entered the bathroom to find Sam in the exact same place she'd left her in. She was sitting on the toilet, leaning forward, clutching her stomach. "Any luck yet?" Cat quietly asked.
"No," Sam whimpered. "How long do those stupid pills take to start working?"
"Robbie said around two hours," Cat admitted. "But the suppository things are supposed to take less than an hour."
Sam looked desperate. She eyed the container. "How do they work?"
Robbie had explained to Cat how they worked, but Cat just wanted to be sure. She read the information on the container and said, "It says you're supposed to put one of these little things up your butt and wait fifteen minutes and then try to go."
Sam groaned at the idea of that. "Uh, yeah, no. It's exit-only back there; thanks."
Cat unscrewed the lid of the container just to see. The suppositories were cone-shaped, and made of some sort of slippery, waxy substance. "They're really small, Sam. Are you sure you don't want to try?"
Sam was chewing her lip and looked somewhat tempted. "Do they hurt?"
Cat skimmed through more information on the container. "No. It says it's not supposed to hurt at all, and it only needs to go in, like, an inch deep."
Sam whined and covered her face with her hands. "Fuck my life…"
"I… I would help you with it, if…"
"No," Sam adamantly shut her down. Then she sighed. "Can you give me a minute?"
"Of course." Cat turned to the door. Then, remembering, she turned around again. "Oh, right. I was gonna tell you—I'm going out for a while with Tori and Jade. We're trying to put together an EP."
"Now?"
"I'll explain later. Are you gonna be okay here by yourself for a while?" Cat asked. Sam seemed almost scared, which Cat was surprised by. "If there's an emergency, I think Sikowitz is just down the hall. Is that okay?" Sam still looked nervous, and Cat felt bad—she hadn't realized she was still so afraid to be alone. "Look, if you really need me to stay, I can ask everyone if we can just do all this stuff later. It's no big deal."
"Uh, Cat?" they heard Dice call from outside the bathroom.
"Just a minute, Dice!" Cat shouted back. Then she turned to Sam again. "Should I tell them we should wait?"
"No. You should go," Sam grumbled—she could tell that whatever this was about was important. "Just don't… don't stay out really late, okay?"
"I'll be home as soon as I can," Cat assured her, kissing her forehead. She went to the door. "See you soon, Sam." She stepped back out into the bedroom to find Dice sitting on the couch with his laptop open on his lap. "Hey," she greeted him, "Thanks for coming over so quick."
"Octavia's in New York, so I didn't have much else to do anyways," Dice shrugged. "But what exactly do you need me to do?"
"Okay, so—we had a song that we were working on, and our record label dropped JTC and scrapped it," Cat explained. "We were just wondering if you might be able to get it back somehow."
"Hmmm." Dice looked intimidated, which Cat didn't find very reassuring. "Well, it depends on whether they truly deleted it or not. Chances are, it's still in their system somewhere, but hidden—like in a virtual recycle bin, basically. If that's the case, I can get it back no problem."
"So how do we find out if it's really gone or not?" Cat asked.
"That's the hard part. I may be able to hack into their mainframe and revert the deleted files," Dice told her, "But I'm not sure how sophisticated their security system is. It'll be trial and error."
Cat had no idea what he was talking about, but it didn't matter. "But you can get our song back if you do all that stuff?"
"In theory, I could, yeah," Dice replied. "It'll take a while. A few hours at least. Does the studio have a company email address or something I could use to trace their IP?"
"I'm not really sure," Cat admitted. "You might be able to find it online."
Dice nodded. "Alright. I'll do my best. What was the name of your guys' song? I need to know what I'm looking for."
"It's called Save Me Romeo," Cat answered. "And would you mind staying here while you work on it? Sam's not feeling well and she's scared to be alone right now."
Dice shrugged. "Sure. Are you leaving?"
"We have to find a recording studio to use," Cat explained without really explaining anything.
"Oh. Uh, okay. Well, I'll text you if anything comes up," Dice told her.
Cat smiled. "Thank you, Dice." She glanced at the bathroom door one more time, then forced herself out of the room.