Toxic (Addiction #1) by Meghan Quinn Page A

lot more pressure. She was the lead singer, lead guitarist and it was her words they were singing. She knew they had good songs, but she was also partial. She wasn’t sure how well everyone else was going to accept the feelings and emotions she put into her songs.  
    She liked to think that Twisted Perfection’s sound was like Shattered Souls, but Shattered Souls was a little darker, a little more mysterious whereas Twisted Perfection sometimes bordered on girly. The difference was in the lead singers and song writers.
    Maisy had a rough life growing up. Her mom died when she was young, leaving her to the care of her father. No one thought anything of it since he was such a loving husband, but Maisy knew differently the day they came home from her mom’s funeral. The way her dad looked at her that night was terrifying. Almost every night after that, Maisy was forced to go to bed naked while her dad visited her before he went to bed. Being molested by her father almost became second nature to her, which was sickening to even think about. Whenever he came into her room, naked and horny as hell, she slipped into a dark place in the back of her mind while her dad did what he wanted to her. Not once did she scream or cry because, if she did, her struggle guaranteed her a good beating. Instead, she rested her adolescent head on the pillowcase that was her mother’s and slipped into another world while her dad took advantage of her day in and day out.  
    She was all sorts of fucked up, but what made her different from Rook was she didn’t take it out on everyone around her and spend her time brooding in the back of the bus, making people feel bad when they were genuinely concerned. Her interaction with Rook was still bothering her. She spoke to Kaid about the brief conversation she had with Rook. The grand advice he gave her was to leave Rook alone. Apparently, he heard from Landon that Rook had some serious issues and to not take anything personally when it came to him. Easier said than done.  
    How could she not take things personally when it came to Rook? Especially when he looked at her as if she was the only woman in the world, but when he opened his mouth, what followed were words full of disdain. He didn’t even show up to Twisted Perfection’s first studio session. The rest of the guys and Quinn were there, cheering them on, helping them out, supporting them, but once again, Rook was nowhere to be found. Maisy tried not to think much of it, but she knew one of the reasons why she was screwing up so much in the studio was because of Rook, because she couldn’t get him out of her head.  
    Completely alone, she sat on the couch in the studio playing with her guitar while everyone else went out to lunch. She needed some time alone to get her head together before the next session. The label wasn’t going to put up with her inability to perform for very long, no matter how much Shattered Souls loved them.  
    “Hey.”
    Maisy looked up from her guitar and saw Cruz standing in the doorway. It boggled her mind that one band could be comprised of four amazingly gorgeous and very talented men. They all had their own personalities, but they meshed very well together.  
    Cruz was the ladies’ man; Rook was too, but Cruz made it very well known. He was a shameless flirt with a Latin side to him that he used to his advantage. His dark hair formed into a faux-hawk on the top of his head and his tan helped bring out the almost black color of his eyes. He was handsome, no doubt about it.  
    “Hey.” Maisy said while scooting over so Cruz could sit next to her.  
    “I brought you some tea,” he said, while handing her a to-go cup of steaming liquid. “It will help with the tightness in your throat you’re experiencing.”
    “Thank you. Am I that bad right now?”
    Cruz smiled at her, damn, he really was good looking. “No, you’re amazing actually, just nervous. It happens to the best of us. My first time in the