My Faraway Star | Book #1

Chapter 22 - What happens in that park did not stay in there.

It was an oddly quiet day in the agency, some trainees here and there, Skyla in her office sending email and listening to music. Bun Buns and Theo were running down the hallway after each other, it filled Skyla's heart with joy to see them like this. Theo happy and laughing, and how worry-free he was now that his mother was safe.

Then Skyla at her 11 am break wanted to go grab a cup of coffee, and bumped into Jax, he told her to wait for him, he will grab his facemask and sunglasses and join her.

When they reached the elevator, she told him, "Go wait in our favorite spot in the park, I will grab the coffee, it's better to avoid being seen together."

Skyla walked to the park and sat next to Jax. He told her about the song he's writing, and she asked what it was about, to which he said: "It's about the first love that we can never forget that haunts us for years." "I love you Jax; I love you more than you know," she said with a tear on her cheek as she came closer to him, holding his face between her hands, kissing his lips.

They sat on that bench for a while, the weather was so beautiful, he didn't let go of her hand, they walked back to the agency hand in hand, people looking at them, because Jax have a unique style, and you can never get confused when you see him.

Skyla returned to her office, while Jax went to the studio to record the final song for their upcoming album with the boys; Ben enters the studio with coffee cups. "Your crazy ass coffee, skimmed milk with half a spoon of sugar and hazelnut flavor," he said as he handed Faye her cup. "You remember how I drink my coffee," she remarked, with a grin on her face. He winked at her and passed the iced coffee to Jax and Ace. Jax asked Faye if she had time while they were all having coffee and chatting. "For you, always!" She said. "You made me blush," he said cynically. She replied with a smile, "Asshole." Then Jax told Ace to stay and said to Faye, "Ace and I are writing a song, we're almost done, and when we're done, we want to submit it to the agency board. Will you help us produce it?" "Do you want to take my job now?" She stated that with a grin on her face. "Let me rephrase that," Jax said, laughing. "We write and compose the song, and you produce it." "Now we're talking!" She exclaimed, clapping her hands. " Yes, I can; my schedule for the rest of the day is clear; let's order some food, I'm hungry; and we'll get to work." "You're always hungry!" Jax exclaimed. "That's what Skyla and James always tell me, and food is life, so yeah, I don't care what you all think." Ace and Jax were very happy, since it was the first song they will sing together without the boys, the first song they wrote from scratch, and now Faye, one of the best producers in town, is about to deliver a masterpiece.

They ate lunch, and as Jax and Ace finished up the lyrics, Faye double-checked the music notes they'd written. After that, Jax handed the lyrics to Faye, who was blown away and exclaimed, "This is going to be the best goddamn love song ever made in the history of music!" Jax chuckled and told her, "exaggerating much!" Faye said, "Yeah a little bit." and Ace burst out laughing. "But I am serious, this is goddamn good song!" Faye added. They reviewed the music as a group, and then Ace and Jax began recording. Faye would occasionally interrupt them to correct something, usually by cracking a joke or making a remark about their singing. She tried to kick them out so she could work on the production and told them: "I will call you after I am done!" They both yelled, "No!" She replied, "Fine, fine, stay! However, if you interrupt me, I will kill you both. When I finish you will drop your comments." They listened to the song one last time and emailed it to the director so he could discuss it with the board. The recording procedure took the entire day and part of the evening. They were all exhausted and hungry, so they phoned Ben to join them for a bite before parting ways.

Skyla was getting ready for work early in the morning when Faye burst into her room and asked, "Why are you so calm?" "Why shouldn't I?" Skyla asked, looking at her. Faye told her to look up the internet. Skyla then opened Instagram, which caused her knees to weaken, and she sat on the edge of the bed. "I was kidding when I said why you are so calm, please be calm till we figure out what to do. Ben called me and asked me to tell you that you should stay at home today." Skyla remained silent, and Faye assured her, "You will be fine; Ben will fix this. I'll leave in a moment," Faye said, "keep talking to me, text, call, whatever you want, and please don't look at social media today." Skyla remained silent.

Faye left the room and Skyla stayed at the edge of the bed, shocked, and all she was thinking about was Jax. All she was worried about is her man. Not the hate messages she'll get or the world's judgment of her. She is hating herself right now for being so careless and kissing him in the park without considering that someone would see them kissing, she was always the one who warned him to be careful and she was always there to protect him in order to avoid situations like these.

She wanted to text Jax so badly but she did not because she knows what he is dealing with right now, so decided to call Ben, he was so kind despite everything that happened, because he already took their side from the very start. He told her not to contact Jax for the meantime and that he was trying to fix the situation. He told her to hang in there and he promised her that no matter how long it will take that he will not let this situation affect her relationship and Jax. Knowing that the contract will finish in one year anyway.

The idea of staying away for one year made her breathless, and tears welled up in her eyes as she asked Ben, "one year?" "No, you won't be away from him for a year," Ben said, "but promise not to go find him, and don't accept his calls until I tell you so." She agreed with him and hung up the phone.

Skyla spent the day in bed, not even eating, and when James got home, the first thing he did was go into her room to see how she was doing. She was soundly sleeping, holding her baby panda as she always does. James' heart hurt for her, and he realized that this baby panda was her way of coping with Jax's absence. He slid the blanket over her and turned off the lamp. Faye had a recording session and was worried that she might be late, so she asked James to make Skyla eat and look after her. He assured her that she did not need to be concerned and that he would take care of her regardless.

Because it's Skyla's favorite, James ordered fried crispy chicken and beer, and when it arrived, he set the table and woke her up. She barely ate, but at least her stomach wasn't empty. He offered her a beer and asked her, "Soju with beer?" "Anything that let me forget what happened today, anything that makes this day disappear!" she stated. He brought a bottle of Soju, and while he was pouring the drinks, Faye burst through the door, dashed to the table, grabbed a slice of pizza, and exclaimed, "I'm hungry!" "You always are!" James responded. Skyla used to giggle and tell her what James had already said when this happens. Nevertheless, she was gloomy tonight; no spark of life in her, sorrowful, and her eyes were puffy from sobbing so much.

"How is my baby holding up?" Faye asked Skyla as she brought a can of beer and a glass to pour Soju with it. "I wish I could disappear right now," Skyla said as she looked at her. "Hey, don't say that!" Faye said. "Ben promised to help us with this mess! You and Jax have all of our backs; therefore you're not allowed to have a meltdown."

Skyla became drunk and began babbling and explaining everything that was on her mind, including how she was blaming herself for what had happened and that she would abandon Jax. She will leave her job because she does not want to jeopardize Jax's dream; that if she did not lose her job already, and that she will go back home and spend the rest of her life in her parents' home.