One Man's Trash

by Yolanda Allen

  Diamond left the dressing room. JT never looked at her the whole time she was in there. Frankly, she could care less. If it wasn’t for her job, she wouldn’t speak to him or look at him or even be in the same room as him. He didn’t even deserve to breathe the same air as her. But she had to put her disdain for the man to the side and be professional. She didn’t want to look bad in any way in Philip’s eyes.

  Although she would never admit it to him, JT was responsible in a teeny tiny, can-barely-see-it, way for her getting noticed by Philip. Who knows how long it would have taken to get the opportunity to present her music to the execs had she not wrote that song for JT’s demo.

  Fifteen minutes later, JT joined the background singers on stage. Philip and a few other execs stood nearby. JT didn’t look the same. He was less attractive. He looked like scum to be honest. Those big brown eyes that were so easy to get lost in looked like dark pits now. He had his dreds pulled back, neatly, into a ponytail. She remembered the many days he would lay his head in her lap and she would play in his dreds until he fell asleep.

  She still cared for him because he was a person. But her attraction for him had been replaced with something more negative. Not quite hate. Definitely not love. A strong dislike.

  JT did a mic check and then told the DJ he was ready. The music started. A nice beat filled the room. JT made eye contact for the first time. She couldn’t turn away. He started singing. To her relief it was a song she hadn’t heard. Good. Maybe she can trust that he wouldn’t use any of her lyrics now that he knew she had a backup of everything. JT winked. What the hell? She rolled her eyes and turned her head. To think that she had dated this dude. Loved this dude. The rapper Eve said it best when she said love is blind. That was the only explanation she could come up with for the reason that she didn’t see his true colors sooner.

  The other artists went through their sound checks successfully. Everything was set in place and the doors were ready to open to the public. Diamond ordered two Cosmos at the bar and waited for Kimmy to arrive.

  She was halfway finished with her drink when Kimmy sashayed to the bar. She wore a miniskirt with a black and silver swirly print on it and a sleeveless sheer black top. Her perfectly toned legs were anchored securely in four inch stilettos. How did she walk in those things?

  “Hey pretty lady!” Kimmy kissed her cheek.

  “Hey sexy mama! Thanks for coming.” Diamond twirled her finger in the air. Kimmy spun around. “You look awesome as always. What, you trying to pick up a hot date or something?”

  Kimmy grabbed her Cosmo and toasted Diamond. “Hey, you should always be prepared. You never know who you’re gonna meet.”

  “Did you know that they’re recording this event?” Diamond pointed out the camera crew stationed at different posts throughout the venue. “This is my first ‘official’ listening party. It’s kind of exciting. Like, I feel like, important or something.”

  “Girl, you are important. You’re a superstar!” She threw up her hands like Molly Shannon did in the movie.

  “Girl stop! Put your hands down!” Diamond giggled.

  She noticed Philip making his way to the stage. “I guess it’s about to start. Let’s get closer.” She grabbed Kimmy’s hand and led the way through the crowd until they reached the front of the stage.

  “Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for coming out to Tri Records’ artist listening party. We are much appreciative of your support. Tonight we want to showcase some music from our newly signed artists. This is a way to get feedback on the music, and the artist. So get ready for a great night. We have some very talented people to take the stage. Our first performance is from a singer by the name of JT. So help me give a warm welcome to JT, everyone!”

  The crowd cheered as JT walked out onto the stage. He shook Philip’s hand and took the mic.

  “Thank you everyone for coming out tonight. This means a lot to us. I hope you enjoy.” JT looked down at her.

  She had an urge to give him the finger but she knew that people were watching. Instead she gave him the coldest stare that she could muster. He closed his eyes and started to sing.

  I have a desire for you

  built up inside

  A passion for you

  that I try to hide

  Diamond’s mouth dropped open. Her heart sank into her tummy. She held onto Kimmy’s arm to steady herself.

  “Diamond, what’s wrong?” Kimmy whispered.

  JT made eye contact. Her tummy danced in circles. A warmth ran through her body.

  I have this feeling that just won’t go away

  A feeling, I admit, I want to stay

  I become overjoyed

  whenever you speak

  My heart aches for the love

  only you can give me

  He hadn’t erased it like he said he would. Diamond looked over to Philip and the execs. They were enjoying the song. Her song. He stole her song. She felt her feet move but she wasn’t sure where she was headed until she landed on stage yanking the mic from JT’s hand.

  “You bastard!” She dropped the mic on the floor. “You stole my song!”

  A darkness filled his eyes. “What are you talking about?”

  As if he didn’t know. “Don’t try to play me, JT. You stole my song. You thought I wouldn’t recognize my own music just because you put another beat to it?”

  Philip walked up behind her. “What is going on here?”

  Diamond turned around. Her and JT yelled over each other trying to get their point across. “Wait! I can only hear you one at a time. Diamond, what’s going on?”

  “That’s my song, Mr. James. He stole my song. I recorded it at his house one day and he promised me that he would delete it. He didn’t delete it.” Diamond tried to gain control over her emotions. Her chin trembled. Do not cry. Do not cry.

  “Mr. James, I did not steal her song. Why would I do that? I know you have all your songs copyright so why would I steal your song?”

  Diamond spun around on her heels. She pushed him hard in the chest. “You know that is my song. Do you really think I’m going to let you take my song and pass it off as if it’s yours? I wrote that song when I was seventeen years old. I told you to erase it because it holds sentimental value to me. How could you do this, JT? I got you here! You’re here because of me and you want to steal from me? What did I do to you?” So much for not crying. “What did I do to you?”

  “Diamond.” Philip soothed her back “Diamond, sweetie, we can get to the bottom of this. But we have to do it offstage.”

  She faced Philip. Tears streamed down her face. She looked around the room. Time had stood still. Everyone was frozen, watching them. Cell phones recorded the moment JT had made an ass out of her. In front of her boss and her co-workers and other industry folks that she didn’t know. Not to mention the millions of people that would probably see this on YouTube in the matter of hours.

  Philip told them to meet him in the back. He then apologized to the audience and introduced Token to the stage.

  Diamond walked briskly to the backstage area near the dressing room. JT moved with no urgency. Philip showed up seconds after them.

  “Diamond, now please tell me that you have some kind of proof that you wrote that song? You’re going to need proof that you wrote the song or it’s just his word against yours.”

  “It’s not her song, Mr. James. I wouldn’t do that.”

  “Diamond?” Philip didn’t acknowledge JT. “Can you prove it?”

  Thoughts whirled through her mind. Could she prove that song was hers? She pulled at her lower lip. She had proof. She just didn’t have the proof. She looked at Philip. “I can prove it.”

  “Okay, JT, you can’t sing that song anymore until this issue is resolved.”

  “How can you do that? You’re just going to take her word over mine?”

  “JT, there is no reason for Diamond to get this emotional over a song if she didn’t believe that it was her song. I have to take her reaction in
to consideration. I can’t just ignore this accusation. It’s a very serious one. So for now, you can’t sing that song.”

  JT huffed. “So I can’t perform tonight?”

  “You can perform. Just pick another song.”

  “But—”

  “Pick another song,” Philip interrupted. He placed his hand on her shoulder. “Diamond, are you okay? Do you need me to call you a cab?” He asked with genuine concern.

  “No, sir. My friend will see that I get home alright.” Embarrassment settled in.

  “We are going to settle this okay? I take these things very seriously. Go home, get some rest and we will speak about this on Monday.”

  She nodded, texted Kimmy to meet her out front, and exited the side door. She had to prove that it was in fact her song. There was one person that could put an end to this whole ordeal. But did he still have the copy of the CD she made for him in high school? How would she contact him? He hadn’t talked to his family in five years. He definitely wouldn’t talk to her. But she had to try. He was her only hope. Ryder Gillian was the last person that she’d ever imagined needing to come to her rescue. Ever.

  TEN

  Diamond sat on the edge of her bed and replayed the video of last night’s events for the fifth time on her phone. Kimmy had texted the link to her early that morning. The title of the video was ‘Tri Records Scandal’. It showed her yanking the mic from JT and she heard herself call him a bastard. She watched them argue back and forth, and Philip rush on the stage. She cringed at the part where she pushed JT in the chest.

  She shouldn’t have done that. Pushed him. Never hit a man unless you are prepared for him to hit you back, her mom would always say. The video ended with them walking off the stage and the person filming the scene with his cell phone saying in the background, “what the hell happened?”

  She fell backwards onto the bed and let out a huge sigh. The past few months had taken a crazy turn. One day she decided to move to New York to pursue her dream. She ended up working for a big time record label. Then she met this guy that she instantly felt a connection with. A connection that seemed to get stronger and stronger the more they hung out with each other. A like that quickly evolved into love.

  She cared for him. Wanted nothing but the best for him. She wanted him to succeed in fulfilling his dreams as much as she wanted herself to succeed. There was nothing she wouldn’t do when he asked. Hell, she did things for him without him asking. She hardly ever told him no.

  To show how much she loved and cared about him she agreed to help him get to the next level in his music career. She did work for a record label and had a close working relationship with the decision makers. What kind of girlfriend would she be if she didn’t try to look out for her singer boyfriend?

  She wanted to be a good girlfriend. This was her first real relationship. Not some silly crush on a guy that barely knew she existed who always referred to her as little Diamond, my brother’s best-friend. This was real. Reciprocated love. But with all the things that started to take place after agreeing to get JT that meeting with Philip, she questioned if the love was real at all?

  Was this all about his career? She didn’t doubt that he liked her, but who would purposely hurt the one that they loved? Cheating on the one that they loved? Steal from the one that they loved? Who did that?

  She’d instantly trusted JT. One of her flaws, trusting people too quickly. She’d shared a deep part of herself with him. A part that she had only shared with one other person. He betrayed her trust. It was like her innocence had been stolen. She tried to wrap her mind around the crazy road that she was now on. A road that took her from helping her boyfriend get a meeting with one of the top execs at Tri Records, to being told that the top execs wanted her to present some of her music to them, to accusing her ex-boyfriend of stealing her song.

  Who wrote this movie? It had to be one of those crazy low budget student films? Whoever wrote it, the script sucked. She hadn’t signed up for this. This was supposed to be her opportunity to get her foot in the door. But her foot was now stuck firmly in her mouth. The way she reacted was unprofessional and embarrassing yet warranted. To hear those words being sung by JT violated her. They were etched in her heart and no one was supposed to hear those words but Ryder.

  Those words were created for him. They were given to him. And she prayed that he still had them. The one song that she didn’t have backed up in writing or electronically. Those words only existed in her head, in her heart, and on a CD that she made five years ago. Well that was the truth until she foolishly shared them with JT. Now they lived on his computer as well.

  Diamond dialed Ryan’s number. He picked up on the second ring. “Hey Diamond.”

  “Ryan, I need to talk to you, are you busy?”

  “I always make time for you. What’s up?”

  She sighed. “It’s so much to tell but I’ll keep it as short as possible. JT stole a song from me and I need to prove that I wrote it. The only problem is, I don’t have the proof anymore.”

  “Oh. My. Gosh. JT stole your music? Wait, isn’t that your boyfriend?”

  “Ex. He’s my ex-boyfriend. But he became my ex when he cheated on me.”

  “What now? He cheats on you and then he steals your music? What type of men are you dealing with, Diamond?”

  “I didn’t know he was trifling, Ryan. He did a whole 180 from when we first started dating. Trust me, I feel stupid. I allowed myself to get played.”

  “I’m sorry, girl. I didn’t mean to make you feel bad. I’m just surprised, that’s all.”

  She rubbed her temples. She had the same headache from last night. “Do you think you can possibly talk to Ryder. I mean I know that he hasn’t talked to you in a few years but is there any way you can convince him to talk to you just to ask him one question?” Her chest ached. It would be a miracle if Ryder had even listened to the song let alone still had the darn CD.

  “He’s out,” he said.

  She heard the smile in his voice. Diamond sat straight up. Her heart fluttered. “Ryder’s out of jail? How? When? Why didn’t you tell me your brother was out of jail?”

  “I’ve been meaning to, there’s just so much going on right now, Diamond, I can barely think straight. I was just as surprised as you are when I got the call that he was being released from prison early.”

  Diamond sat in disbelief. Ryder was out of prison. Her mind instantly went back to the last day she’d seen him.

  She paused in front of his bedroom door. It was cracked but she couldn’t see him. Her hands trembled. Why was she so nervous? She’d been in his room countless times with Ryan since they were young kids, and had talked to him countless times even if it was just saying hello. She looked down at the CD in her hand. It was now or never. She took a deep breath and rapped on the door.

  A few seconds later, Ryder appeared, bare-chested, exposing the tattoo of a lion on his chest. She stared at the lion, then down to his six pack abs, then down to his pale bare feet. She looked back up when he cleared his throat.

  “Hi,” she said, shyly. “I umm,” she swallowed hard, “I wanted to give you something.” She held out the CD.

  He took it from her hands slowly. She bit down on her bottom lip as he read the front of the disc. To Ryder G. From Diamond aka DeeAye Undeniable Love was written in black Sharpie on the case. He opened the cover and pulled out the yellow lined notebook paper that had the lyrics to the song. She had gone over this moment countless times in her head before showing up tonight. She would hand him the CD and walk away before he read the words. But her feet were glued to the floor. Her legs locked. She was literally paralyzed. The only thing that moved were her eyes as she scanned his perfectly sculpted body that stood in front of her.

  When her gaze reached his face again she noticed he was reading the piece of paper. Oh shit. She wasn’t supposed to be around when he read the words. Why didn’t she just stick to the plan? Why did he have to come to the door with no freaking shirt on? It sho
uld definitely be against the law for someone with Ryder’s body to walk around shirtless. It should be mandatory that he stayed fully clothed at all times. Well at least in her presence. Even his darn feet were cute for goodness sake.

  Ryder folded the paper, put it back inside the case and closed it. He eyed her. “You wrote this?”

  She nodded. She didn’t trust herself to speak.

  He tapped the CD against his hand. “Cool.” He stepped away from the door.

  Diamond turned around to leave.

  “Aye.”