"It becomes my damn business when you start ignoring me to fuck with some nigga that could probably care less about you and your damn feelings. It becomes my damn business when my best friend is bouncing from guy to guy just because she says she doesn't wanna be tied down but doesn't realize it's because she had fucking daddy issues. Don't play me like that, Demi," Trey stated as Demi ran her tongue over her teeth and clucked her tongue.
"Daddy issues? You're a real ass Trey. I don't fucking have daddy issues and that's not your place. What I do with my sex life or love life or whatever doesn't have shit to do with you."
"Really? So you're telling me that you're not opening up your leg for any nigga that sweet talks you because of your relationship, or lack thereof, with your father? Fuck outta here with that shit Demi. You're treating me like I don't know you at all, like we're not best friends!" He was all up in her face but Demi didn't even bother to shove him back. Their foreheads were basically touching as they narrowed their eyes at each other, huffing and puffing in each other's faces.
"And even if I was that's none of your business, once again! I don't understand why you're acting so hostile towards me just because I ignored a few of your texts! Get out of your damn feelings because I don't have the time to deal with this." Demi shoved past him with every intention to leave the room but Trey snatched her back, their bodies colliding and in an instant, his hand was up her dress, pushing her panties aside as his other arm wrapped around her waist to keep her close.
"Do whatever the fuck you want with Drake." He forced two finger as she released a string of moans, digging her head into his shoulder as he began to pump his two digits inside of her. "Just know that he doesn't have shit on me and never will," he curled his fingers towards her g-spot before removing them and leaving the room. Demi released a gasp as what just happened hit her. What the hell was that?
Daddy issues. Trey had the audacity to accuse her of having daddy issues. She didn't have daddy issues. She was twenty two years old with a rocking body and the ability to make every man that she came in contact with fall at her feet. That wasn't called having daddy issues. That was called being fucking hot and able to have any guy that she wanted. That was called not wanting to settle down when she had barely even had the chance to explore all of her options. That was called being free, and Trey obviously didn't understand that since he would rather pretend to be in a committed relationship while having a side piece instead of being upfront about not fully being ready to commit to one person.
That was the huge difference between her and Trey. At least she was upfront about what she did and didn't do with other guys. At least she wasn't living some lie and accusing her best friend of having daddy issues when he clearly had daddy issues as well, always wanting to please his dad and live up to his standards and expectations since his real dad had left him. But did Demi throw that in his face? No. She didn't say anything when he scratched an entire album because his dad didn't approve of the direction his sound was going on or dated one sister over the other because his dad said that the other sister was too "free spirited."
Daddy issues. He had some nerve. She didn't have daddy issues and to prove that to him and herself, she was on her way to see her "daddy" right now. Of course, she didn't tell anyone because she was supposed to be on a flight to New York for the release of her and Drake's song tomorrow, but she would go there afterwards. Yes, she was on a public plane (in first class) with no type of security and her phone completely shut off but Trey had pissed her off yesterday and she wanted to be alone, completely alone.
She hadn't been to Texas in God knows how long. Her family lived in California because it was easier for them to lure her over their house to get money from her, so she didn't have a reason to go to Texas...at all. That's where the rest of her family lived, sure, but she wasn't close enough to any of them to go out and visit them on a regular basis. And she was a busy person.
Austin Oaks Hospital was one of the nicest mental hospitals in Texas. Demi had made sure of it, even though she should've let him rot in some crappy, understaffed facility after everything that he had put their family through. Whatever. She wasn't completely heartless and as much as she hated to admit to it, he was her father. Fifty percent of her DNA did belong to him. He did help to bring her into this world, even though looking back at her childhood, she wished that he didn't.
"Hi, I'm here to see Patrick Lovato." Demi kept her sunglasses on, not caring if she looked weird or whatever. She wasn't trying to cause a fuss and she wanted to be able to hide her eyes in case she started to cry. Visibly shedding tears in public was such a no-no.
"And you are...?" The receptionist looked way too pretty to be stuck working in a mental hospital but maybe it was her passion. Maybe she loved being surrounded by mentally unstable people all day.
"His daughter, Demi." Her eyes widened in recognition but she didn't say anything. Demi shot her a smile as she wrote her a visitor's pass and directed her to one of the tables where her and Patrick could sit and have sugar free cookies and stale lemonade while pretending that they had some type of normal father-daughter relationship.
Demi looked down at the screen of her blank iPhone 6 as she waited for Patrick to come and join her. She debated if she should turn it on and check all the messages from everyone who was probably freaking out about her suddenly disappearing, but as she heard the scraping of the metal chair against the tiled floor, Demi decided against it and tucked her phone back into her purse before looking up and facing Patrick Lovato, her biological father.
"I wasn't expecting you to come and visit me today, baby girl." Demi shuddered as he spoke and she wasn't sure if it was because of the raspiness of his voice from the years he spent smoking cigars or all the bad memories that came along with that nickname, but it sent chills down her spine as she shook her head.
"Please don't call me that," Demi quietly said, trying not to make eye contact with him because she knew that she probably hurt his feelings. But who cares? What he had done to her was much worse.
"Did you get any of my letters? You never responded or anything, and I've been trying to keep up with you in the news and stuff, just to see what's going on," Patrick said as Demi shook her head again. The inked and wrinkled skin on the edge of his thumb caught her attention, the little "three" there in Roman numerals making her sigh and comb her fingers through her hair.
"No, I don't usually open them. I've just been busy with my music and everything," Demi answered as Patrick nodded, folding his hands together as he leaned forward
"Demi, listen, I just really want to apologize for everything that I've done that has hurt you and your mother and your sister. I know you're bitter and angry and hurting and-"
"What else am I supposed to be?" Demi roared, snatching her sunglasses off of her face so he could see just how angry she was. Was she not supposed to be bitter and angry and hurt about everything that he did to her and her mother and her sister?
"Since I was four years old I have wondered what it's like to have a real father, not whatever you are. And now my mom has Eddie and I'm not much of a fan of him but he has tried to be like the father that I never had but he can't because I'm so messed up from everything that you did to us. I know it's been years and years and I need to let it go and move on and stop letting it affect me but how am I not supposed to be bitter and angry and hurt that the man that was supposed to be my father and protect me did nothing but hurt me and morph me into someone that I don't even want to be?" Demi ranted, but she knew that Patrick didn't have an answer for her. He never did.
"You know what? It was actually a mistake coming here. I have an interview early in the morning in New York tomorrow and I shouldn't have come here. Good luck in the rest of your recovery." Staying there was useless. Talking to him was useless. She didn't feel any better and her mind wasn't any clearer before she had talked to him. She thought that talking to him and getting a little bit of closure and hearing about how he was recovering would help take some of the metaphoric weight off of her shoulders but if anything, it felt as if more had been added on.
As soon as Demi opened the door to her house, she was greeted by her closest friends and most of her family sitting in her living room. What the hell was going on? Demi dropped her keys in the bowl next to the door and slowly walked further into the house, folding her arms over her chest as she took in everyone that was there. It was her mom and Eddie and Lola and Madison and Trey and Drake and Jhene and Namiko and Wilmer and Holly. Literally everyone was there.
"Um, hi?" Demi said, which caused everyone to rush up to her at once and start talking all at once in her face as if she could really understand what all of them were trying to say.
"Demi, we've been worried sick about you! Where have you been?" Dianna exclaimed, taking Demi into her arms as if she hadn't seen her in weeks. As if she had died and suddenly come back to life. As if she actually cared about her wellbeing instead of her money.
"I just went to clear my head, that's all," Demi answered as she slowly pried her mother's arms off of her. She was 22, was she not allowed to just pick up and leave whenever she wanted to?
"Next time could you please call someone? Eddie was on the verge of firing and suing Max for losing you," Dianna said as Demi just shrugged. Her attention was quickly put on Lola who started to cry with her arms wrapped around Dianna's legs. Demi knelt down to her height and reached forward to wipe her tears away.
"Lola, what's wrong?"
"I thought you were missing, Auntie Demi," Lola responded through her little sniffles as Demi sighed and opened her arms for the little girl. Lola walked into her arms and clung onto her for dear life as Demi lifted her off of the ground. Now she actually felt guilty about just leaving without telling anyone where she was going, especially since she had promised Lola that they would hang out before she had to go back to New York.
"Next time I leave I'll let you come with me, okay? I'm sorry for just leaving like that," Demi apologized as she stroked her hair. Lola nodded and a few minutes later Demi felt her grow heavier in her arms, so she assumed that she fell asleep from crying so hard.
"Okay guys, I think we can all clear out now. Demi has to pack because we're leaving for New York tonight," Holly said, which caused Demi to mentally thank her. She handed Lola back to Dianna and they were the first to leave. Jhene engulfed her in a really tight hug, practically picking her up off of the ground since they were basically the same size, and Nami hugged her and kissed all over her face like Demi always did to her before they left.
"I'm glad you're safe Hermosa," Wilmer said, gently patting her elbow as Demi nodded and let him kiss her forehead before he left. All that was left was Drake, Trey, and Holly, but Holly was staying to help her pack.
"Demi-"
"You should go home, I have to pack," Demi told Trey, folding her arms over her chest as he clenched his jaw with his hands in his pockets but nodded anyways before leaving out of the door.
"Demi, you scared the shit out of me. I think I texted you like a 100 times. Please, don't do that again, okay?" Drake said as he came up to her. Demi just nodded as she chewed on the skin around her thumbnail.
"I'll see you at the airport Drake," she bluntly dismissed him. She didn't even wait to see if he left. She just headed up the stairs with Holly right behind her because she honestly didn't feel like dealing with anyone.
Today was the day that Take Care was debuting, and even though Demi had kind of been ignoring Drake since they got on the jet and flew to New York, she was still super excited for the song to come out. She just wanted to see how people were gonna reacting to them collaborating since no one really saw it coming. It was pushing late morning and they had a radio interview where they were gonna drop the song and then the music video would be coming out in two days. Demi was more than excited, and even though Drake wasn't saying anything, she was sure that he was as well.
"Here's your chai tea latte, Demi. You wanted soy milk, right?" Max said as he climbed into the passenger seat of the car and passed Demi her usual Starbucks drink as she nodded. Drake was right next to her since they were getting driven to the radio station together but he didn't want any of that "overpriced trash."
"Thanks Max," Demi beamed, taking a long sip of her latte as the car took off. Things were a little bit tense between her and Drake since they hadn't really been talking but she wanted those tense feelings to go away. When they had arrived late last night, she hadn't said a word to him. And originally they had booked a hotel room together but Demi had requested a separate one because she really just wanted to be alone. Was it bad that she had ignored him?
Through the near silence in the car, Demi could hear the beat of the song that was currently on the radio playing so she reached forward and turned it up a little bit, her face lighting up as she realized whose song it was.
"Baby it's your song!" Demi exclaimed. Maybe other artists didn't feel like she did when it came to hearing their songs on the radio, but it always made her so happy because chances were that tons of other people were listening to it as well and singing along with their friends and listening to a tiny piece of her that she had revealed to the world.
"Came up that's all me, no help that's all me, stay true that saw me, all me for real. Came up that's all me, no help that's all me...HOE SHUT THE FUCK UP! I got way too much on my mental..." When Demi looked over she noticed that Drake was recording her while shaking his head and trying to hold back his laughter.
"Baby you need to stick to singing," he advised as Demi fake gasped and knocked his phone out of his hand.
"I can rap that song better than you can," she retorted before sticking out her tongue as he picked his phone up and ended the video. Now that she was thinking about it, it was kind of selfish for her to play the silent game with Drake. He had nothing to do with what she was dealing with, and it was petty for her to be taking all of her inner frustrations out on him, especially since he had been nothing but an absolute gentleman to her since they met.
"In the studio today we have the most surprising collaboration ever, it's Demi Lovato and Drake, and they're here to release their new song, which is called Take Care, am I right?" They were at the Sirius XM studios with Sway and all of them had Beats over their ears as they got comfortable.
"Yeah it's actually my song and it didn't sound right with just me on the track and I've heard about Demi and I thought that she could bring the perfect sound to the track, which she did, so we went from there," Drake explained. He was calm and cool and collected. Demi had quickly noticed how he didn't over exaggerate any of his emotions. He was like her in the way that instead of always expressing how he felt, he mostly expressed it through his music.
"I still can't believe that you, Demi Lovato, is featured on a song with a rapper, especially given your background in the music industry. What has made you want to go in a different direction with your music?"
"I love pop music. I always have and I always will, and I don't want to throw anyone under the bus, but on my old label, all they wanted me to do was make pop music and you know, I just wanted to do something different. I don't think my voice was just made to sing bubblegum pop songs that are gonna be played over and over on the radio because they're catchy and annoying. I wanted something more and so I switched labels and I started working with Timbaland again and exploring different sounds and now I don't ever want to go back," Demi explained. She always felt like she talked too much in interviews but sometimes it was just so hard to get her point across and listening back to them, she felt like she never did.
"So what is Take Care about?"
"I think-" "It's really just-" Her and Drake answered at the same time, causing them both to laugh, but since it was his song, Demi let him speak.
"It's really just open to interpretation. I know what it means to me and Demi knows what it means to her, but I think that the great thing about music is that everyone gets a different message or a different story out of it. So I'm gonna see what our fans think it's about," Drake answered as Demi nodded in agreement.
"Now let's get to the interesting stuff. Are the two of you dating?"
"Is my music not interesting?" Drake jokingly questioned as Demi just sipped her tea. Did they really have to confirm it? Couldn't the pictures and stuff just speak for itself?
"It is but you know that even though you're about to release a song, people don't care about that. They care about your personal lives and what you're doing when you're not making music and-"
"Which isn't any of their business. I want my music to be what people know me for, not who I'm dating. So I don't think it matters if we're dating or not," Drake shrugged and leaned back in his chair, and since it didn't seem like he was gonna get an answer, Sway shrugged as well and made some announcement about the song being released after the advertisement break.
"You wanna tell me what was up with you yesterday or do you just wanna fuck?" They were back at the hotel and Drake had insisted on coming into the room with her when all she wanted to do was sleep the rest of the day away. She really hadn't gotten much sleep lately.
"I'd rather just fuck to be honest. Does that make me a hoe?" Demi questioned as Drake sat on the hotel bed next to her and removed his shirt.
"Nah, I think it makes you more of a nymph than anything else," Drake nonchalantly responded as he tugged Demi's skirt off of her hips and flung it to the floor.
"I'm not addicted to sex. I can stop at any time I want," Demi giggled as Drake leaned down to kiss her.
"Really? You can? Then tell me when you want me to stop," Drake's lips began to make a trail down her body until he stopped and began to suck on the sensitive skin of her inner thighs.
"You're not telling me to stop," he whispered against her skin.
"Because I don't want you to..."
Tremaine: we need to talk
Demi: you had more than enough to say at the club the other night.
Tremaine: you're not even gonna let me explain myself? I thought we were best friends.
Demi: oh we were. Until you used something that I told you against me. Daddy issues? Really Trey? Fuck you and your friendship because I don't want either of them anymore. Now stop fucking texting me because i'm busy.