Catch 22

29

"What's this about?" Calum asks and I'm tempted to roll my eyes. Surely he knows what this is about just like I do.

"Cal, Sage, I just wanted to call you both in here today to have a little chat."

"Okay." I mumble. I knew this was coming. I don't understand why Calum is pretending he didn't.

He shoots me a sideways glance and this time I can't help but roll my eyes.

"As you both know we've had a bit of an... eventful... start to this tour to say the least."

I sigh and meet his eyes, sensing the shift in Calum as he sits up a little straighter in his chair seeming to finally catch on to the direction this conversation is about to go.

"None of that is Sage's fault." Calum says quickly and Matt holds up his hands.

"I'm not saying it is. But you two know as well as I do that all of the drama we've experienced in the past few weeks, the turmoil amongst the crew, the hospital ordeal, the fight with Caleb, and now the rumor that Sage has a baby-"

"What the fuck?"

"They think I what?" Cal and I say at the same time.

"Your Instagram post yesterday," Matt expands, turning his attention to me. "The fans have had a hay day with it. It's a whole media shit storm." My eyes drop down to Cope who has fallen asleep in my lap.

I groan and sink down farther into my chair while Cal sits quietly next to me in his own seat.

"So, what are you gonna do? Am I fired?" I ask, wanting to just rip the band aid off if that's what we're doing.

"Sage, you're a really good worker. I don't believe that you are the problem, you're just, well, you've just kind of been central to all of them on this tour."

I expect Cal to speak up, to defend me, to do, well, something. Instead, he sits less than a foot away from me a stone wall of silence. I let my anger bubble for a moment before returning my attention to Matt who is still talking.

"..we would have a difficult time replacing you at the moment, and since we've already had to make several crew changes we'd like to keep as much normalcy as possible so you are not being let go today." He says and I blow out a huge sigh of relief.

"What I am going to do is issue a verbal warning with the understanding that should we have any more major events like we have had in the past few weeks then unfortunately we will be forced to terminate your contract."

As quickly as relief had flooded my veins now they fill once more with anxiety. I hadn't caused any of the things that had happened around me recently and that reality makes me acutely aware that my employment is hanging by a thread, one that I am not in control of.

Calum stands quickly and barges from the room, slamming the door shut behind him.

I stand offering Matt a quick, "understood." Before sprinting after Calum, Copeland still attached to my hip. I see my sister, her eyes wide as she surveys the scene and approaches me.

"Just take Cope and go to the green room, we'll meet you in there soon." I tell her handing off my niece before following after the blue haired man.

"What the fuck was that?" I ask once I've caught up to him, grabbing his wrist and spinning him to force him to look at me.

"What do you mean?" He asks, his eyes darkened.

"You couldn't say anything? You didn't think you should, uh I don't know, defend me?" I ask, my voice louder than is probably acceptable in the catering room with bystanders scattered throughout the room privy to our conversation.