Julie opened her mouth to push me again, but I held up a hand. “Fine, I’ll talk to Kyle, okay?”

“Yes! Go forth and conquer!” She raised her beer to me while Carla patted my arm and wished me luck before going back to her phone.

I returned to the living room and found Kyle in the crowd, dancing close with Alexis. “You made it!” Kyle said when he saw me. “Want to check out the studio now?”

“Sure.” I’d promised Julie I’d talk to Kyle, but I hadn’t actually agreed to bring up Jared, after all. “Or I can find it myself. Just tell me where to go. I don’t want to interrupt.”

“Nah, I’ll take you. I locked it so no one can steal our gear.” He paused to smile at his girlfriend. “You coming?”

Alexis kissed Kyle on the cheek. “No, you two go ahead.”

“You sure?” He pulled her in by her waist and gave her a ridiculously long kiss while I stared pointedly at the floor.

“Go,” she said, laughing and shoving him away. “Get your music geek on.”

Kyle started to lead me through the crowd, but a bottle smashed near us, loud even with the music blasting. In the corner, beer and green fragments of glass dripped down the wall above Jared while Becca glared at him from a few feet away. Conversation died as everyone turned to watch the scene.

“Another girl, Jared?” she yelled, her words slurred. “How many tonight?” She reached for another bottle to throw, but Hector appeared at her side and yanked her back.

“What the fuck, Becca?” Hector asked. Jared slowly wiped beer off his face like he couldn’t believe she’d just done that.

“Don’t touch me!” She flailed her arms to fight him off. Hector immediately released her, but she stumbled into someone behind her. “Stay away from me!”

“Shit, not this again,” Kyle muttered. “Here—the studio’s at the end of that hallway.” He handed me a key and then darted over to grab Becca’s arm and help steady her. “Hey, let’s get you sobered up.”

“I’m fine,” she muttered. Her eyes closed as she swayed next to him.

Jared stepped forward, fists clenched at his side. “Becca, this has to stop.”

Kyle shot his brother a sharp look. “Let me handle this.”

“Then handle it! We can’t have her on The Sound like this. Either she gets her shit together, or she’s out of the band.”

Becca’s eyes snapped open, and she jerked away. “I’m done anyway! Done with you, done with your band, done with all this shit!”