Read Jaded (Rock Star Trilogy) for Free Online Page B

music competitions. They became obsessed.
    My older sister, Stacy, essentially got ignored because of me. By the time I was 10, and she was 17, our parents uprooted us from our home in Seattle, and moved us to LA. They had plans for me. Forget the fact that Stacy was a senior in the middle of the school year. They were obsessed with me becoming a star . Nothing else mattered to them.
    We were only in LA for a few months when Stacy disappeared. It's been nine years since I've seen her, and I'm not even sure if she's alive, honestly. My parents didn't look for her. They said it was her decision, that she ran away. She was almost an adult. She could take care of herself, so they said.
    I still think about her everyday. I wonder how she is, where she is, or if she's even alive. But she is the reason I tried so hard. For her. I figured if I could prove to her that it was worth it, that she would somehow come back into our lives. And now, I'm sick of trying. I just want to be me. I want to live my own life. Which is why I'm here.
    When the song ends, I turn off the electric drum beat and turn toward Stephan. He's standing there, staring at me.
    “What did you think?” I ask.
    “Tell me something,” he pauses. “If you could play, and sing like this, why the hell were you singing that crap they play on the radio ?”
    I shrug. “Because I do what I am told. Or, at least I used to. Not anymore.”
    “Well, I must say, I like the real Scarlett . She's really talented,” he steps closer. “You are incredible.”
    “Thanks,” I say. I turn off the amp, unplug my guitar and put it on the stand.
    “So what happened to you? Why did you just give in, and do what others wanted you to do?”
    I sigh, and take a seat on the black futon. Stephan sits beside me. I think about his question, and I'm scared to answer... I'm scared of what he will think of me.
    “Fame happened,” I answer. “Music awards, chart topping songs, money , houses, cars... Millions of screaming fans...” I shake my head. “It goes to your head, no matter how hard you fight it. I let myself go, and I became this... power hungry girl. I wanted more. It was never enough.”
    “I can see where it would be easy to lose yourself.”
    I nod, sadly. “I could drink more alcohol at 16 than most grown men. I partied hard, and stayed drunk a lot. I even got into drugs for a little while. Nothing too hard, thankfully. I think I was just trying to fill the emptiness. I guess I thought that fame and money would be more fulfilling than it was.”
    He looks at me, not saying anything. I'm pretty sure that I scared him.
    “Sorry,” I say. “I shouldn't have sprung all that on you.”
    “No, I... I'm glad you told me. I'm just shocked. You're nothing like the person you described,” he admits.
    I laugh, bitterly. “Well I woke up one day, and I didn't know where I was or how I got there. I lost two whole days of my life. During that time, I have no idea what I did. I know that I played a show, and I only know that because I saw the video of my performance. I was out for all of it. Two months later, I bought this house, and here I am,” I shiver at the memory. “It scared me, Stephan. I'm 19. I thought I was invincible. But I'm not. I was well on my way to being a young, dead celebrity. Just another star who OD'd on drugs.”
    “Wow, Scar...” he looks at me like he's trying to figure me out.
    I nod. “Yeah, I know. I just... I feel like I got a second chance, and I'm not going to screw it up.”
     
    11:21 pm
    You know you're hot.
     
    Stephan and me stay in my studio, chatting. I tell him my whole story. I start by telling him how I started playing. I talk to him about my parents. How much they used to love each other, and how they now can't stand to be around one another. When I told him about Stacy, I broke down and cried. It was the first time I had spoken about her to anybody outside of my family. It felt good to be so honest.
    After I opened up to Stephan,