“Early dismissal,” Ali greeted him with a kind smile when Drew slumped into the back of the car. “Lucky you.”
“It’s been a brutal week,” Drew sighed, rubbing his face with both hands once he was settled.
“It definitely has,” Ali agreed. “I’ll get you home safely so you can sleep.”
Drew was so grateful he felt teary, which was an indicator of just how bad things were.
Had he made a mistake asking Lee for space? Lee wasn’t the one to blame for the shitstorm he was in now. That blame landed squarely on Jessica’s shoulders. But the idea that Lee could stab him in the back by signing a deal to write about him was gross.
And it was just a rumor. A rumor he was letting get in the way of maybe the best thing that had happened to him in a long time.
God only knew how rumors had affected his career and the course of his life.
His phone buzzed in his hand. He’d been staring at its blank screen since getting into the car, seeing nothing. A jolt of relief hit him when Abby’s name popped up along with a text.
“Is today a better day?”
Texting wasn’t going to be enough. Drew dialed Abby, despite the fact that it was the middle of the night where she was.
“What are you doing up?” he asked as soon as Abby answered.
“I’m pulling an all-nighter working on damage control,” she said.
Drew felt sick. “I’m sorry. You shouldn’t have to deal with all this.”
“I’m your manager. Jessica’s, too, for my sins,” Abby answered. “But more importantly, I’m your best friend since forever.”
“You are,” Drew agreed with a tired smile.
“And I’ve got news for you,” Abby went on.
Drew perked up. “News?”
“I had a long talk with Jessica yesterday.”
Those words made Drew’s stomach flip. A wealth of emotions hit him all at once, causing him to go numb. “Did you?” he asked, jaw clenched.
“She’s sorry.”
“Great. She’s sorry.”
“No, Drew, I mean it.” Abby sounded serious. “She’s genuinely sorry. She acted impulsively, and without telling me, I might add. But she didn’t expect things to get as bad for you as they’ve gotten.”
“I want to say that’s nice, but from where I’m sitting, it kind of feels like too little too late,” Drew said, exhaustion pressing down on him.
“I agree,” Abby said. “But it’s a start. You know she’s not a bad person.”
Drew wasn’t sure he knew that anymore, but he said, “I know,” anyhow.
There was a slight pause before Abby said, “How are things with you and Lee?”
Drew had told Abby everything, of course. He’d been telling Abby everything for so long that it felt like a betrayal not to be clear with her from the start.
“I don’t know,” he said quietly, honesty making him feel bad. “He keeps texting to make sure I’m okay. I don’t know how to tell him I’m not, that I miss him, that I just want to be with him.”
Even as he said that, his phone beeped, indicating he had an incoming call. He looked at it briefly, his heart dropping to his stomach when he saw Lee was calling.
He couldn’t answer. Not with Abby on the line. It was a choice between a comfort he knew would make him feel better and an unknown that might send him spiraling even more.