Page 34 of Two Hit Wonder

"What's the issue?"

Maeve opened her mouth. Closed it again. What was the issue? That she'd been controlling? She'd just admitted that. That Cam hadn't spoken up? Cam had, apparently, and Maeve had bulldozed right over her.

"I don't know," she admitted finally. "I don't know what the issue is. I just know we're not clicking and I don't know how to fix it."

Ellie exchanged a look with Cam and Iona. Some kind of silent communication that Maeve wasn't part of. "Can I be honest?" Ellie said.

"Please."

"We've all been walking on eggshells around you."

Maeve stared at her. "Why?"

"Because you're Maeve Maureen MacDonnell," Cam said, rolling her eyes. "Lead singer. Songwriter. The one who made us famous. The one who…" She stopped.

"The one who fell apart," Maeve finished flatly. "The one who drank herself out of the band."

Nobody said anything.

"You can say it," Maeve said. "It's not a secret."

"We're just not sure how to treat you," Ellie said. "You disappeared for fifteen years. You came back. You're clearly different, but we don't know how different. We don't know what's okay to say. We don't know if you're fragile or fine or somewhere in between."

"So you've been tiptoeing around me instead of telling me when my ideas are rubbish."

"Essentially, yes."

Maeve let out a breath. This was absurd. They'd known each other since school. They'd shared everything once. And now they couldn't even tell her when her songs were crap because they were afraid of hurting her feelings. "Right," she said. "New rule. I want you to insult me."

Cam's eyebrows shot up. "Come again?"

"Insult me. Tell me what you really think. Get it out of your systems. I can take it." She looked fiercely from one to the other.

"Um, are you sure about this?" Iona asked.

"Positive. Go on. Tell me I'm a control freak. Tell me my songs are boring. Tell me whatever you've been holding back all week."

Silence. They all looked at each other.

"Someone has to go first," Maeve said. "Cam. You're the least filtered person I know. Start."

Cam considered this. "Your new songs are technically perfect and emotionally constipated."

Maeve blinked. Slightly more direct than she'd expected. "Okay. Good. What else?"

"You hum when you're thinking, and it's really annoying."

"Fair."

"And your accent gets thicker when you're upset, which would be endearing if it wasn't also a warning sign that you're about to bite someone's head off."

"Also fair. Ellie?"

Ellie looked uncomfortable. "This feels mean."

"That's the point. Go on."

"You never ask how anyone else is doing. You just assume we're fine because you're too busy worrying about yourself."