Forever My Girl (The Beaumont Series)

people to feel the words and what they mean. I don’t want them lost in the loud vibrations.”
    Painkillers is the first track we work on. It only takes a few tries before I’m happy with the melody. I’m going to have to push Sam to make this our first single. I want to release it as soon as possible.
    After the guys leave for the night I work on mixing. Playing Painkillers , over and over, until I’m happy. I decide we're going to give it another shot tomorrow before we record the final.
    Papers land on my mixing board. I turn down the track and leave my head phones on. I want to hear myself sing to Josie. This song has to be perfect. Sam is leaning against the board, pissing me off because she knows not to touch my shit. “What’s this?”
    “What do you want?”
    “Were you going to tell me you’re back in town?”
    I turn away from her and move the papers she threw. “You’re my manager, not my mother. You handle my affairs, not my personal life, Sam.”
    “Well, this is my job.” She picks up the stacks of papers and starts flipping through them. “Let’s see… 'Liam Page playing at Ralph’s no cover.’ ‘OMG Liam Page is so hot he’s at Ralph’s free show.’ Oh, and my personal favorite… ‘Liam Page Debuts New Song at local pub.’”
    “Get to the point. I’m busy.”
    “This!” She shakes the papers in my face. “Is my point! You were off doing god knows what with god knows who and decided to have a free show without even consulting me. Jesus, Liam! Do you know how much of a PR nightmare this is?”
    I refuse to answer her because she’d never understand why I did the show in the first place. She doesn’t do nice for any of her friends. It’s all about what-can-you-do-for-me with her and that’s not who I want to be. The show was a success and Ralph did a hell of a lot of business that night. I have no regrets.
    “Are you listening to me?”
    “Not really. I’m trying to work.”
    “I knew you heading back to that po-dunk town was a mistake. Maybe I should go check out Beaumont and see what all the excitement is about.”
    I pull off my head phones and stand-up to face her. “What’s your problem?”
    “You, Liam. I’m sick of this cat-and-mouse game we play. It’s time to make a decision.”
    I start to laugh, anger building. “You're the one playing games. I’m not into you. What we did was a mistake, Sam, a very weak moment on my part because you were available and willing to give me what I wanted.”
    “You don’t mean that,” she whines. I stuff my hands into my pocket, feeling for my phone. It’s time for me to call Noah. I walk away from her, until she grabs my arm. “Liam, what we had was special.”
    “What we had was sex, nothing more.”
    I leave her standing in the studio. I need to rein her in before she gets out of hand. Lately she’s been more possessive and it’s starting to scare me. I should’ve never mixed business with pleasure and she’s strictly business.
    I walk down the hall until I’m far enough away from the studio. Crouching down, I pull out my phone and call Noah.
    “Hey dad,” he answers before the first ring has completed. The sound of his voice sends warmth through my body. I want to record his voice so I can play it all the time.
    “What’s up, buddy? How was school?”
    “It’s okay. I have to do a history report, but mom said she’d help me.”
    “That’s good. You know I’d help if I was there, right?”
    “Yeah, I know.” When he speaks, I know he means it. I can’t detect any remorse in his voice at all. “Can I ask you a question?”
    “Of course.” My knees start to cramp so I stand, leaning against the wall that holds my gold records.
    “Do your mom and dad want to be my grandparents?”
    I stiffen at the mention of my parents. I haven’t spoken to them since the night I left. My dad told me I was a disgrace and stupid for giving up football to pursue music. Said I’d never make it. My mom just stood there, a tumbler of vodka in her hand.
    “What are you doing home?”
    You always know you’re welcome in your home when you’re greeted like that. Sterling folds and sets his newspaper down, pulling off his glasses. Bianca stands in the foyer, her vodka glass permanently stained with her scarlet red lipstick.
    “I need to talk to you.”
    “What did you do, Liam? Are you in some type of trouble?”
    “No, Sir. I…” I can’t look at him. He’s always looked down on me, making me feel two