The show must go on

Chapter 27 - honest words

"I'm sorry, I really am! But what was I supposed to do? She was so stubborn and adamant about not telling anyone anything that there was nothing I could do! And I tried! I talked to her like an idiot so many times, begged her to be honest, at least with you guys. But she just couldn't. And I couldn't have gone behind her back, look what happened that one time? She broke up with me and then her heart literally stopped, for fuck's sake," I try to make her understand energetically.

"You should have told us. You would have owed us that," she remains stubborn.

"So what now? Are you going to be angry with us forever? Are you going to ignore us from now on and just pretend we're friends for the cameras?" I approach her energetically, seeking her eyes, but she avoids me and doesn't answer me, which only makes me angrier.

"Can't you at least be professional and come to the stupid meetings with the label? Jade wasn't there because she was unconscious. What's your excuse?"

"I wasn't there because it doesn't fucking matter. At least not to me," she says through clenched teeth.

"It affects you as much as it affects us!", I object.

"No, not anymore." I eye her for a moment, trying to make out anything from her facial expressions, but she continues to avoid me.

"What's that supposed to mean?", I enquire.

"Meaning I'm leaving the band," she then says with such an opaque expression that I can't assess how serious the whole thing is.

"Come again, please?" I can't hide the shock on my face and gape at her with widened eyes.

"You heard me right," she returns bitingly. "I'm leaving Little Mix."

"You can't do that," I say immediately.

"Watch me," she stands firm and a chill runs down my spine.

"And why is that? What fucking reasoning are you using to talk yourself into it?", I then want to know, still completely shocked.

"BECAUSE YOU LIED TO ME!" she now screams with tears suddenly flashing in her eyes.

"And that's not how it works in a band! Especially not in our band! I can't do it like this anymore!" I just shake my head, losing control of what I'm saying.

"Get off your high horse for once. I remember well when you were depressed and no matter how many times we asked, you always stubbornly said you were fine. Did you tell us beforehand that you were planning to kill yourself? I don't remember it like that!" Deep down, it pains me to throw those terrible, dark times of our past at her, but I'm so pissed off right now that I don't pay it any more attention.

"That was something else," she says quietly, but it sounds almost like a thread.