Free Burn This! (A 300 Moons Book)(Bad Boy Alphas) by Tasha Black Page B

anything left of the part of me that used to be Clarence?” he finished, the pain clear in his voice.
    The words bounced in Johnny’s head, eerily echoing his own struggle. It was too close to home.
    “Excuse me,” Johnny murmured, and rushed out.
    He could hear Neve calling after him, but he knew she couldn’t follow since she was leading the group.
    And that was for the best. She shouldn’t get mixed up with a guy like Johnny. He was no good for anyone.

13
    N eve watched Johnny go .
    Damn.
    She had hoped that he was getting comfortable. He seemed like he was keyed in enough that she might have been able to get him talking.
    Something in what Clarence said must have struck a chord.
    She wanted badly to go to him - it could be a moment of breakthrough if she could get to him before the walls went up again.
    But their conversation would have to wait. The room was quiet and ruffled at his departure, and she was in charge of making it a safe place.
    “We all have different reactions to our first session,” she said quietly.
    Everyone in the room tried hard not to look at Jocelyn.
    “Yeah, I know, I know, none were quite like mine, right?” Jocelyn said flatly. But the smile in the corner of her mouth did Neve’s heart good.
    “It’s not that you’re so unique, honey,” Mimi comforted her. “It’s just that we don’t normally see a lot of pets getting loose.”
    To her credit, Jocelyn smiled.
    “I guess I let Tacos down that day. And a lot of other days too. And a lot of other people.” She paused for second, considering. “You know who I think about a lot is the other girl.”
    Neve prayed for no one to ask what other girl? and break the child’s train of thought. Phil leaned forward, as he always did when Jocelyn spoke, but everyone remained silent.
    “A lot of kids want to be on TV, you know, be a star. I only ever wanted to play my music and sing. But my mom thought the best way to become a musician was to be a kid actor first. And hey look, maybe she was right.
    “Anyway, I was up for the part in Punk Rock Junior High . I was up for a lot of things I didn’t get, so I didn’t think too much about it.
    “But then they called back. And they called me back in again.
    “And the part wasn’t just some dumb girl with perfect hair and perfect everything, it was about a musician, like me. I started to get into it. Vanessa Drake was pretty cool.
    “Finally, they called me back for a screen test. And there was this other girl there for a screen test too.
    “She kind of looked like me, which was weird, but I guess they knew the type they wanted for Vanessa - tall, thin, blonde kid, with a guitar case, and a mom who was more nervous than she was.
    “We waited for make-up at benches opposite each other and our moms were chatting in this way that was friendly on the outside, but seemed like it could get hostile any minute.
    “The other girl just sat there, her eyes closed, meditating. I could feel how much she wanted it. She would’ve been great too, I’m sure. I mean meditating on a fuckin’ bench - what could be more Vanessa Drake, right?
    “Anyway, they called me in for make-up first and that was the last I ever saw of her.
    “When we got the call that I got the part, I was over the moon. Everything changed for us. Everything . We moved, I left my school, I became… Jocelyn Wylde.
    “And at first I felt like it happened because it was supposed to - because I deserved it. Or because I was so fucking epic - so talented…
    “But in time, I figured out that I was lucky. In the right place, at the right time, and they liked the way I looked or the way my mom filled in the form.
    “Or maybe they didn’t like something about the other girl. Something dumb, like maybe she didn’t use the same kind of phone as the producer or some shit. I don’t know.
    “Anyway, I never saw the other girl again. Which means she’s probably, like, in college somewhere. She didn’t make it , she’s not special