Worth the Trouble

by Selena Kitt

  When Catherine—just fifteen then—had announced she was leaving, Leanne’s husband had refused to let her go. She was one of his “special” girls. The thought, even now, made me physically ill just to think about. Leanne had ignored her husband’s proclivities, because while Joe was running a child prostitution ring, he was also providing her with as much crack as she could ever want.

  I don’t know what made Leanne finally stand up and say no that day. I had never asked her—and I probably never would. But Catherine had wanted to leave, and Leanne had defended her, and that had started a snowball rolling downhill that would run over everyone in its path. It would lead to Joe’s death—ten-year-old Tyler had shot the bullet that killed his father, while Joe had Leanne in a stranglehold—Leanne’s arrest, and Rob, Tyler and Sarah’s placement in foster care.

  It would be years before they were reunited again. Years before Rob found and married Catherine. Years before their mother was released from jail, and finally put the last piece of the puzzle in place, telling them that Joe wasn’t their father after all. Joe had no interest in women—he liked girls, the younger the better. He found them and groomed them, but he wasn’t the one in charge.

  The whole show was actually being run by Dante Marotta—the man Leanne was involved with, the one who had fathered three children with her. A man who would later become prosecutor for the state of California, who would also threaten the lives of those three children, once Catherine had made their “secret” public.

  He was in jail now—along with several other public figures that could be linked to one of the largest child prostitution rings in the country—and couldn’t hurt any of us anymore. But for a while there, after the scandal was made public, we all worried if Trouble had finally run into the sort of trouble they would just never be able to recover from.

  It was Arnie who had saved them, I thought, watching the portly, balding little man talking and laughing with the band. He wasn’t much to look at—especially in juxtaposition to stars like Rob and Tyler—but he was better at his job than anyone I’d ever known. He was like a magician. He could spin anything into gold. He’d created Trouble from nothing, and then he’d managed to keep them out of trouble, in spite of the incredible scandal that had plagued them.

  He’d turned Rob into a hero. It had been Tyler who pulled the trigger—but Rob who had taken the fall. Tyler’s older brother had taken advantage of Ty’s mute shock after the incident and had confessed to the crime. Twelve-year-old Rob had spent time in juvy, but given the circumstances, his punishment hadn’t been too severe. And when Catherine told the press, she’d wanted to hurt Rob and his image, so that’s the story she told.

  No one, aside from us, knew that it had been Tyler who pulled the trigger. The press had run with Catherine’s story, and Arnie had taken advantage of it to make Rob into some sort of young hero, a boy who had been abused by his father, who had killed the man who was trying to strangle his mother.

  Arnie could spin anything. Now “Robalina” was the darling of the press, with their perfect family. Rob was the ultimate reformed “bad boy.” Even the girls who swooned over him and wanted to marry him—like young Jay, who had been so enamored with him at the age of twelve, she’d snuck on a tour bus to meet him—couldn’t help loving Sabrina. She was beautiful, an amazing singer, and she and Rob were so much in love, it was like a light around them. Add two adorable babies to that mix, and the press couldn’t resist. They loved them all.

  And Arnie had been behind the whole thing, orchestrating. He would feign surprise tonight, when Tyler made his announcement—but Arnie already knew about Tyler’s diagnosis. Tyler had told him, before asking Arnie to find him more dramatic roles. Arnie was smart, shrewd—I thought he’d been planning for this day for a while now, pushing Tyler into acting while raising Sabrina’s popularity in the press.

  I watched Tyler, who seemed so at ease, smiling, laughing, but I wondered if anyone else saw the muscle working in his jaw, the way his shoulders tensed whenever anyone clapped him on the back. This wasn’t going to be easy for him. I didn’t blame him for saying he was only going to make this announcement once.

  I made my way over to Tyler, putting an arm around his waist, and he smiled down at me, but that tension was still there. He didn’t want to do this—and I wished he didn’t have to. It seemed like some cruel twist of fate, to give a man such an incredible talent, only to curse him with a disease that would make it impossible for him to use it.

  Rob went over to the piano and playing something—I only half-recognized it, but it got everyone’s attention—and then ceded the floor to his brother. Tyler’s announcement was brief and heartbreaking. I stood by his side the whole time, and I think I was the only one who knew he was trembling just slightly as he told them all he wouldn’t be playing guitar in the band anymore. And he finally told them why.

  Leanne listened with tears rolling down her cheeks. Sarah and Anne clung to each other, both of them crying silently. Sabrina dabbed her eyes with a Kleenex. Even Daisy, who was taking an empty platter back to the kitchen, stopped to listen, her eyes welling with tears.

  The guys were simply stunned. Rob, of course, already knew. Arnie acted shocked and sad—a perfect acting job. I didn’t cry, but Tyler’s revelation was so heavy it felt like, if his arm hadn’t been there around my waist to hold me up, I would have collapsed under its weight.

  Leanne got up to hug Tyler and tell him how sorry she was—and everyone had an opinion about treatment and doctors and workable solutions. But Tyler was resolute. He was leaving the band. That was final.

  “What the hell are we going to do?” Nick asked. He was back on the sofa with Jon and Kenny—they’d sunk down together at the news, like their legs wouldn’t even hold them up anymore. I knew just how they felt.

  “We’ll find another lead guitarist,” Arnie said, waving their concern away. “I found you three, didn’t I?”

  Some discovery, I thought, but didn’t say, hiding a smirk in Tyler’s shoulder.

  Then Jay piped up—she was sitting on the floor by the sofa, holding Henry in her lap.

  “Why doesn’t Sabrina join the band?”

  I winced, waiting for the “three stooges” to object. They’d never liked Sabrina—even though the tide had turned for her in the press. They looked at her like Trouble’s Yoko Ono, afraid she was going to take Rob—their big meal ticket—away.

  But Arnie spoke up before they could. “Best idea I’ve heard yet.”

  “Thanks!” Jay beamed up at him.

  “Who is this brilliant, beautiful young lady?” Arnie asked, cocking his head and looking at her. Even in jeans and a t-shirt, Jay was a fresh, stunning beauty. I saw Arnie looking at her with “agent” eyes and groaned inwardly.

  “My cousin,” I lied, feeling Tyler looking at me. Since I’d already lied to his mom, I decided to just keep up the ruse, even though Rob and Sabrina knew who she really was. “Jay, this is Arnie, Tyler’s agent.”

  “Jay?” Arnie’s smile widened. “She’s already got a model’s name. You should come see me. I can get a modeling job for you in a heartbeat.”

  “Really?” Jay’s eyes widened, and she took Arnie’s offered card with reverence. “Me? A model?”

  “You want Sabrina to join the band?” Nick asked, changing the subject back to the one at hand. “Are you kidding me? Didn’t you say the label didn’t want her?”

  Arnie shrugged. “That was before she had proved she could sell records. And now that she’s done having babies and she’s got her figure back? I think we could really make it work…”

  “Dude, if anyone can make it work, it’s you,” Rob told him, putting an arm around his wife’s shoulders. Sabrina looked a little stunned, but she had to have known that this was a possibility. Maybe she was still reeling from Arnie’s “figure” comment—he’d never been nice about Sabrina’s curves.

  Soon they were all talking about the possibility, and somehow Tyler’s tragic announcement had bee
n forgotten. Celeste came over to hug him and tell him how sorry she was—but I think she already knew, at least suspected. She’d been the one who got us a doctor on the road who had given Tyler his shots that had helped, at least for a little while. Along with the truckload of Vicodin he was taking at the time.

  “I’ve got to put these two down for a nap,” Sabrina announced, taking a fussy Henry from Jay. “Do you want to help me?”

  Jay was ecstatic at that and followed Sabrina upstairs. Tyler and I sat on the couch with his mother, who was still talking with Anne and Sarah. Sarah was still exclaiming over the baby pictures they found.

  “You didn’t tell me about your grandmother,” I said, nudging Tyler.

  “Oh, sorry…” He frowned. “Sarah called me just before we left, and… I guess I didn’t want to spoil our vacation.”

  “Do you remember her at all?” I asked.

  “Vaguely.” Tyler shrugged, looking over at his mother. “I… I don’t remember a lot from that time.”

  I nodded, putting my head on his shoulder. He’d spent his first year in foster care not speaking at all. They called him an “elective mute.” He’d come out of it eventually—Tyler said it was music, really, that had saved him. He’d thrown himself into playing guitar and writing songs. It had been his calling, even then.

  The thought of him never playing again broke my heart.

  “You need to see the baby pictures,” Sarah insisted. “Ty, you were so adorable. All that blonde hair!”

  “I’d love to see them,” I said again, watching as Jay came down the stairs with Sabrina. The babies had obviously gone down easily for their nap.

  “Maybe you can come over for dinner this week, Mom,” Tyler suggested. “We’ve got Jay with us… but I don’t know for how long…”

  “Indefinitely,” I said, putting my hand in his and squeezing. I heard him sigh.

  “So this little morsel is staying with you?” Arnie interrupted, coming over just as Jay settled on the floor by the sofa. “Where in the world have you been hiding her, Katie? This face belongs on billboards and in magazines, I’m telling you.”

  “Arnie,” I warned, rolling my eyes. “She’s only fifteen.

  “Look at that face.” Arnie ignored me, smiling down at Jay. “That’s the face that could launch a thousand ships.”

  “Hey.” I snapped my fingers, getting Arnie’s attention. “Get the dollar signs out of your eyes. She’s not becoming a model.”

  “Why not?” Jay piped up.

  “Yeah, why not?” Arnie grinned at me.

  “Okay, Ty, I think we should go.” I stood, looking down at Jay. “We need to get her settled. And I’m still jetlagged.”

  Tyler didn’t argue with me, and we said our goodbyes, finding Jesse in the kitchen with Celeste and Daisy. Our luggage was still in the back of the Rolls. Leanne left with us, and so did Sarah and Anne since they were her ride. I didn’t blame her for not wanting to stay, considering the babies were in bed, and Rob hadn’t been too keen on her being there in the first place.

  “I can’t wait to see those baby pictures,” I said, giving Leanne a hug.

  Leanne hugged Tyler, too, then she hugged Jay, who looked surprised.

  “You stay in school,” Leanne told Jay, holding her chin in her hand and looking into her eyes. “Trust me, hon—even if beauty isn’t stolen from you, like it was from me—it always fades. You can’t rely on it forever. Stay in school and find something you love to do. Okay?”

  “O—okay.” Jay nodded, blinking in surprise.

  We got into the Rolls and Jesse circled around and started up the long driveway toward the gate. Jay settled between us in the backseat, her backpack between her feet. It was the only thing she’d brought with her from home, the poor thing.

  I felt Tyler’s hand on my shoulder and glanced over at him, seeing the same exhaustion on his face. What a day it had been—what a freaking day.

  “I love you,” I mouthed over Jay’s head as she snuggled against me, closing her eyes. Tyler looked down at her, his gaze softening. The way he looked at her was sweet, concerned. Almost fatherly. It made my ovaries ache.

  “What happened to her face?” Jay asked, her eyes still closed. “Was she in a fire?”

  “My father burned it,” Tyler said, meeting Jay’s stare when her eyes flew open at his words. “He held her face to a stove—to ‘teach her a lesson,’ or so he said.”

  “Really?” Jay breathed, looking at me for confirmation. I nodded. It had been Dante who had done that, to terrorize all of them, to keep them from telling his dirty secrets.

  “Jeez.” Jay shuddered, pressing against me again. “And I thought I had it bad.”

  “I’m sorry,” Tyler said softly, but Jay was already drifting off.

  I didn’t even know what time it was, but I was exhausted, too. I saw the concern on Tyler’s face as he looked from Jay, up to me. He wanted to know—what are we going to do with her?

  What are we going to do? `

  But I didn’t know. We would have to figure it out, but right then, I just wanted to get my little family home and take a long, long nap.

  So that’s just what we did.

  Chapter Five

  “But my mom lets me drink coffee all the time at home,” Jay protested as we got in line at Starbucks. “Lattes, mochaccinos…”

  “Yeah, and your mom let you go to a Trouble concert by yourself when you were twelve, too,” I reminded her, handing over a twenty. “Decaf only. Got it?”

  “Fine.” Jay rolled her eyes and sighed in true teen fashion, and I managed to hide my smile before going to find us a table.

  I saw Sabrina struggling with the door and waved. I would have gone to help her, but a guy in bike shorts pushed the door from the inside, holding it open to let her wheel the double stroller in. Lucy was in front, and squealed loudly when she saw me, turning several heads. Henry was in back, sucking on a sippy-cup.

  “What do you want?” I asked as Sabrina parked the stroller beside the table, but out of the aisle. “I can tell Jay.”

  “Uhhh… just a white hot chocolate,” she said, making a face. “I’m still nursing Henry and I don’t want to do any coffee. Even the decaf has some caffeine.”

  “It does?” I asked in surprise, looking over at Jay. This whole parenting thing wasn’t exactly easy, and I’d only been doing it for a week. I went over to give Jay another twenty, telling her what to order for Sabrina.

  “You should get a hot chocolate, too,” I advised. “Did you know that even decaf coffee has some caffeine in it?”

  “It’s not like it’s going to stunt my growth,” Jay said, rolling her eyes yet again. “I’m already five-seven.”

  “Jay.” I’d perfected that warning ‘Mom’ tone already. In under a week. Of course, I’d learned everything I needed to know from my own mother, who I found coming out of my mouth more than I ever thought possible this week.

  “Fine!” She tucked both twenties in her cleavage—where she had stashed the iPhone we got for her. This was another thing I didn’t like, the storing of electronics in her bra. It had to contribute to breast cancer, I argued. But I’d learned, even just in a week’s time, to pick my battles.

  “So how’s it going with her?” Sabrina asked as I slid into my chair at the table. She had Lucy out of the stroller on her lap, but Henry seemed content to lean back with his sippy cup.

  “Jay?” I shrugged, looking fondly at the girl standing in line. Several guys had done a double take when they passed her by, and I gritted my teeth at that. “She’s great. We love having her.”

  That was mostly true. Really, she wasn’t that bratty. She was mostly sweet, and helpful, if sometimes a little moody. Compared to most teens I knew—heck, compared to the teenage I’d been—she was an angel. And considering what she’d run away from at home, she was doing fantastic.

  “But what are you going to do with her?” Sabrina asked, narrowing her eyes in Jay’s. “You’re going to have to make a d
ecision… sooner rather than later.”

  “Yeah.” I sighed. Tyler kept saying that, too. Her mother would be looking for her, wouldn’t she? She’d probably filed a police report.

  “I mean, before we start seeing her face on the side of milk cartons?” Sabrina prompted.

  “I know, I know.” I smiled when Lucy reached for me and I took her from Sabrina, settling her in my lap. “I just… I want her to get settled. Let things calm down a little…”

  “Maybe she shouldn’t get so settled?” Sabrina frowned over at Jay. “I mean, she’s a runaway. She’s crossed state lines. I’m not a lawyer, but if I was, I’m quite sure I’d be advising you that keeping a runaway in your house without telling her mother is a bad idea…”

  “Her mother doesn’t care,” I insisted, bouncing Lucy on my knee. “I don’t even know if she’ll even bother with a missing person’s report.”

  “She’ll care if she finds out where Jay is,” Sabrina said knowingly. “If that mother finds out her underage daughter is living with a rock star? Who has a boatload of money? All of a sudden, she’ll care a whole lot.”

  “Yeah.” I made a face as Lucy reached for the silverware sitting on the table. I pushed it out of her reach and she protested. It was easier keeping the little ones out of trouble, I thought, glancing up to see Jay at the head of the line. I decided to change the subject before she came back to the table. “Hey, so I saw you and Rob and the babies on TMZ.”

  “Arnie’s idea.” Sabrina shook her head, wiping a spoon with a napkin and handing it to Lucy to play with. “He’s pushing it out slowly in the press… letting them get used to it.”

  “They love you,” I told her. “And the babies. The whole world loves you guys now. They’ll love you in Trouble.”

  “I just wish Tyler didn’t have to quit.” She looked at me, and I saw the sadness in her eyes. “They’re crucifying him in the press.”

  “He’s fine with it,” I said with a shrug.

  While the media had already warmed up to the idea of Sabrina joining Trouble, printing all sorts of speculation, they’d vilified Tyler. Rumors were flying, judgements being made. It was all over the internet, op-ed pieces and comments on articles—he was selfish, he thought he was too good for Trouble now that he was acting, he wanted more money, he wanted to be the front man—you name it, they’d said it.