Page 38 of The Twisted Beats

“Thanks, Mom.”

Mrs. Hemings nods once and leaves. Livianna glares at me. Her face is red and splotchy.

My heart shrinks. “About what you heard.”

She races around the huge granite island and gets right in front of me. I’ve grown taller and tower over her, but she still comes at me like she’s a giant.

She brings her burning, hurt-filled gaze to mine. “You promised me you would wait for me every day until you got permission to date me. I knew you were a liar.”

Fire ignites in my stomach. “Do not call me that.”

“Why not? It’s true.”

“No, it’s not.” My blood races and my defenses go up.

I wanna grab and shake her so she’ll understand I want her and only her. The other girls are just something to play with to kill the time and reward myself after a grueling day on tour with a band I hate.

I spin away. This isn’t gonna come across the right way.

“Why can’t you face me, Callum? Are you not man enough to admit it, or are you still just a little boy?”

My chest rises and falls rapidly. I’m about to lose my shit.

She keeps provoking me. “I guess you don’t need to be a man to fuck, so it doesn’t matter if you’re still a boy. You did what you promised me you wouldn’t.”

I’m so close to turning around and fighting back, but I remember what her pops told me. If I wanna date her, I have to prove to them I’m gonna treat her well.

I take a deep breath and face her. “Lily, I’m sorry, but I didn’t lie to you.”

“How can you say that?”

I motion to two stools. “Can we sit and I’ll explain.”

I always knew she’d find out about what happened while we were out on tour. I was just hoping I could beat the tabloid stories and tell her myself. And I definitely didn’t think Bren would be the one to sell me out.

She studies me for a second. “Fine,but if you lie to me, you can forget about ever taking me out. I’ll tell my mom and dad not to consider it anymore.”

“Sound.” I show her to a stool and pull it out.

Her face bunches together. “Sound?”

“It means fair in Europe.” I wave it off. “I was saying I understand you and your terms are fair.”

Her shoulders come down a notch. Good. She’s not so pissed now. Maybe she’ll listen to me before she kicks me to the curb.

She sits and gets situated, hiding her eyes from me. “Are you going to tell me you don’t want to be involved with me anymore?”

I turn the stool, straddle it, and rest my arms on the top of the back. I need some kind of barrier between her and me. She’s a little spitfire and I wouldn’t put it past her to haul off and hit me, even if I deserve it.

I wait for her to give me her attention. Once she does, I stare into her eyes, trying to show her my sincerity.

“Lily, I wanna date you. That hasn’t changed. I’m still waiting for you.”

Her eyes gloss over. “You say that, but I heard what you guys were talking about downstairs.”

“I’m sorry you learned about it that way. It wasn’t how I planned on telling you, but I was gonna. I swear on my pops’ grave I was.”

“Callum, I don’t understand.”