“Is everybody decent in here?” Rylee calls out from the front door.
I’m getting dressed in my bathroom while Grayson went out to grab a few things to help me pack.
I’ve been waiting for Rylee to come home, anxious to tell her about what Grayson has talked me into. I’m certain she’ll thinkI’m crazy, but I’m not going anywhere without her. I wonder if convincing her to come will be as easy as Grayson thinks.
“Hello?” she calls again. “Mia? Grayson?”
“Hey,” I say, emerging from my bedroom. “He’s not here—you’re safe.”
“He didn’t show?” Rylee fumes, her face growing as red as her hair. “Oh, I could justkillhim! I just slept on my friend’s crusty ass couch fornothing! If I could just—”
“Whoa, Ry,” I laugh, rushing over to her to keep her from throwing something in her rage. “Slow down. He showed. He’s just running errands so I could have a moment alone to talk to you.”
Her mood shifts on a dime.
“Oh, good!” she gushes. “I honestly didn’t know what I was about to walk into. But he came! Wait, what did you want to tell me?”
I fumble for my words.
“I—he wants me, or both of us really, to move,” I say. “He wants us to move to LA. He wants us to be the exclusive media managers for the band, tour with them, everything.”
Rylee’s eyes widen. “Hewhat?”
I watch and wait as she stops for a moment, closing her eyes before she responds again.
“Are you thinking you want to go?”
“I think I do,” I say hesitantly. “But I can’t do this if you’re not going to come with me. You’re my closest friend. I need you.”
She pauses again. I can tell she isn’t sure about anything I’m saying, and she’s trying hard not to rush to judgment.
“I don’t trust him yet, Mia,” she finally admits. “I want to—for you. Ireallydo. But I just want to make sure you’re making the right decision foryou. Youknewhim before, sure… but do you know him now? Do you even like him in theafter?”
“So, you’re saying no? It’s a bad idea?” I huff.
She hugs me, tightly, before looking directly into my eyes. “You’ve never asked me for anything, not once. Besides, I’m never going to figure this shit out with Eric unless I’m able to see him every day. So, if this is what you really want, we should go. I’ll go.”
A wide smile spreads across my face. I didn’t realize how invested I was until it seemed like she wasn’t going to say yes, but she did. We’re really going to go, and maybe, just maybe we can both end up with everything we’ve ever wanted.
A knock sounds on the front door and Grayson enters, retail bags and lunch in hand.
“I had a feeling I’d need to bring food for three,” he says, setting everything down on the kitchen table before making his way over to me and kissing my cheek. “Hi, beautiful. Welcome back, Rylee.”
My cheeks redden as Rylee makes her way to the kitchen to check out the food situation.
“So, what do the guys think about this half-assed plan of yours to move us to LA? Have you even told them?” she asks as she pulls a box of French fries from one of the bags.
She looks up at Grayson and glares, waiting for his response. Leave it to Rylee to be anything but subtle.
“I’m sure Eric will be thrilled,” Grayson shrugs. “Your brother will be excited to have you closer, too. And you know Tony always goes with the flow; he’ll just be happy to have more people to play those awful games he comes up with.”
“I could pretend that I hate this idea,” Rylee says slowly. “Because I don’t trust you, Grayson, and if you hurt Mia… If you hurt her, I will do to you something ten times worse than anything you could imagine. But I want to trust you, and I do want to come to LA. This seems like it could be good, for all of us.”
Grayson has planned for everything, truly, I thought. There really is room in his and the band’s life for me and Rylee both, and he isn’t afraid of her protectiveness of me. I smile at Rylee, staying beside him and holding him as close as I can, trying to assure them both that it really is going to be okay.
“So, we’re all in?” Grayson asks both of us. “I didn’t go get all of this stuff to help you girls pack for nothing?”
“I’m still in,” I say, looking at Rylee, who has turned her interest back to her French fries.
