A sad smile tugged at my lips.
She mirrored it with one of her own. “I think it’s about time we move on from the past, don’t you think?”
“You’re just going to let me off the hook? I’ve been a real dick,” I said, rubbing the back of my neck.
She chuckled. “Of course not. From now on, I expect fresh coffee every time I come over.”
“I might even toss in a pastry from time to time.”
“Now you’re really spoiling me.”
Molly stood up and extended her hand. “To new beginnings.”
“To new beginnings.” I’d shake on that any day.
* * *
That night, I lay in bed in the dark and reflected on all the dumb crap I’d done in my life. It was a decently long list, but somewhere near the top of it was my current relationship with Charlotte. What had started off as a very casual situation had morphed into me using her to distract myself from Molly and her getting ideas about us being more serious. Or maybe not. Hell if I knew what she was thinking. All I was certain of was it was time to end it.
Molly’s words drifted into my mind.“There was never anything wrong with you.”She was wrong about that.There was a lot wrong with me. I couldn’t read like a normal person. I struggled with learning most things you found in a textbook. The idea of writing a test in a frigid exam room made me break out in cold sweat. That’s why I loved making music. None of that crap mattered when I was deep in my art. This industry didn’t give a shit about academic measures of success.
Molly did, though. At least that’s what I’d assumed until now. She got mad at me for dropping out, called mestupid. God, I hated that word with my entire being. It triggered me. Made me spiral into a miserable state where all I could think of was my father’s words.
“No one but your mom and I are going to love a stupid idiot like you.”
That word had been the crux of it all. I couldn’t get close to her because I couldn’t stand to have her call me that again. To hear it from her mouth again would crush me, just like it did that night. But she’d said it because I’d hurt her first. And now that I knew why she’d been so focused on school, why it was so important for her to succeed… Well, fuck. I wanted to help her.
I jumped out of bed, burst into the hallway, and knocked on Kaz’s door.
“Come in,” he called. Inside, I found my friend sitting at his desk, his fingers tapping something out on his laptop.
“You think we can still convince Trinity to let Molly shoot us?”
The way he whipped his head around to look at me told me he hadn’t been expecting the question. “I don’t know.”
“What if we put our foot down and say we’ll only do it with her?”
Kaz scanned me head to toe, his gaze assessing. “I think that would be overstepping. You know I don’t love the guy she’s chosen, but Trinity’s our manager, and we owe it to her to give him a try.” He turned his chair to face me and steepled his fingers in front of his chest. “Where is this coming from?”
I perched myself on the edge of his bed. “Molly and I talked today. I realized I’ve been kind of an asshole. She showed me her work, and you were right. It’s fantastic. If I’d seen it before the meeting on Monday, I would have backed your suggestion.”
Kaz scoffed. “And here I thought I was imagining you two were finally warming up to each other when we were down in the basement today.”
“We cleared the air.”
“I’m happy to hear that.” Kaz’s voice held the hint of an edge. “I realize you’re trying to do a good thing for her, but I don’t think butting into her business with her boss is the way to do it. Even if you’d backed me up, Trinity would have insisted on using her photographer, and the more we pushed back, the more uncomfortable Molly would have felt.”
“When did you become such a people expert?” I lashed out, frustrated with his pushback. “For someone who’s sleeping with her, I would have expected you to care a little fucking bit more.”
His jaw hardened. “You were the one who told me not to let my relationship with Molly interfere with our work. Or have you forgotten that?”
“Relationship?” It felt like there was gravel in my throat. “You’re in arelationship?”
“I meant that in the general sense.”
The tightness around my chest faded. “Be careful with her, Kaz.”
He gave me a dismissive look and turned to his computer. “Thanks for your concern, but we’ve got it.”
