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“Not just RDA.”
She gave me a thoughtful nod. “Black Cat and Zenith too.”
“How did you know? Did Rachel tell you?”
“Yeah, while she picked up a new boyfriend.”
Miranda went to the driver’s side, and I went to the passenger side. Separated by the width of the vehicle, we exchanged a commiserating glance across the glossy green hood.
My sister was friends with Miranda too, and Rachel was a handful lately. The band taking off had made her even more popular with the guys, but she didn’t stay with anyone long. Once she hooked them, she moved on.
I knew what she was doing. She didn’t want anyone to get too close. It disturbed me, but she shut me down whenever I brought it up. So, I continued to do what I could to keep her safe, while planning for our escape from our mother, and hopefully Southside too.
But away from the stage, her life—our life—sucked. She didn’t feel there was a guy out there who could understand our situation, or that was my theory.
I was afraid to overshare with Collin. I’d kept him away from the apartment since he’d seen my mom hit me all those months ago. Just another month until I graduated. Surely, if I worked hard and saved harder, Rachel and I could make it until then without anyone knowing how badly things had deteriorated at home.
“Hey.” Inside the Volvo again, Miranda touched my jean-clad knee. “Where’d you go just now? Your face is all pinched.”
“Nowhere.” I tucked away my worry, smoothing the wrinkles from my brow, but my doing so didn’t remove the matching ones on hers.
“Huh-uh.” Removing her hand, she pointed to herself. “Your best friend isn’t buying it.”
I didn’t dispute her claim. Despite our differences, Miranda and I understood each other. I could tell her things I couldn’t tell Barry anymore. Not that he wasn’t interested, it was just that he was so busy with his job at the garage, with schoolwork, and with the band.
And nowadays, he didn’t just have a few hookup-type girlfriends. He had many, both at school and at the club. Andy had his pick too. The only monogamous member of the band was Collin.
Collin constantly had offers, just like the others. He was friendly with his fans. An ever-increasing number of them were women, but he never once made me doubt his fidelity. He was handsome, kind, and wonderful.
There was only one problem.
“Work was terrible. My mom sucks. And Collin ...” I trailed off, noting the shadow that passed through Miranda’s gaze at the mention of my boyfriend, her former one.
“What about Collin, honey?” Her voice was soft, but now her expression was the one that was pinched.
“Same problem,” I said with a sigh.
“Still?” Her dark eyes rounded.
“Yeah.” My cheeks burning, I dropped my chin. “He keeps putting me off when things get too heated between us. Says he wants to wait until we graduate. Knowing what happened with my parents, he doesn’t want to take that risk.”
Miranda nodded. “An unplanned pregnancy would complicate your relationship, for sure.”
“I know.” I lifted my head. “But I’m on the pill.”
Another expense. But one I was willing to take on.
“He can use protection too,” I said. “I don’t want to wait. He has so many ...” I bit down on my lip hard, not wanting to voice that worry.
“He’s not interested in groupies, honey.”
“I know, but—”
“Collin’s a one-woman-at-a-time guy.”
Blinking hard, I nodded, knowing how Miranda knew that. Even though she tried not to let it show, I could tell that it hurt her when I went into too much detail about my relationship with Collin. She wasn’t over him.
“Change of subject, please,” I said quickly.
