“To music?”
“To… all of it.”
“The attention. The expectations. The way it changes people.”
“You mean the way it changed you.”
I wince slightly.
“Yeah.”
She nods.
“That’s fair.”
I glance up at her.
“You’re not going to argue?”
“I’m not going to push you into something you’re not ready for.”
“That’s new.”
“I’m evolving.”
I smirk.
“Careful. That’s my line.”
She smiles faintly, then grows serious again.
“But I am going to say this,” she continues.
I brace myself.
“You don’t have to be who you were.”
I blink.
“What?”
“You’re not that version of yourself anymore,” she says. “You don’t have to repeat those mistakes.”
“It’s not that simple.”
“No,” she agrees. “It’s not.”
She steps closer, her voice softer now.
“But it’s also not impossible.”
I look down at Jesse.
At the way he’s leaning into me, completely unbothered by the weight of the world.
At the way he trusts me.
Completely.
