Page 59 of If the World Was Ending

“Yeah. He would. But like…well… You must know it. Deep down.” She stared at him so intently that he felt slightly uncomfortable. It was like she’d just referenced an inside joke he was supposed to get. She smiled. “Oh my God, you are too innocent for your own good.”

Hannah dropped a hand on his foot and tickled it. He pulled back instantly and almost slipped out of the chair to the ground. She smiled as he got up, and she started patting the space his feet had vacated.

“I won’t make a pass at you. Men and sex are the last thing I want in my life right now,” she promised, and he could feel her conviction in that statement. It weighed heavily on him for some reason. Colby dropped down onto the edge of the mattress beside her. “You’re the pick by the label because you’re the It boy. Colby. In the world of boy bands.”

“We aren’t a boy band.”

She ignored him and continued talking, pulling up her knees again and resting her cheek on them while she looked at him. “You’re the Timberlake in NSYNC. The Styles in One Direction. Nick in Jonas.”

“I’m not any of that. I haven’t done a single solo thing.” Colby argued, but he did like the idea of it. That he would have a career after Tidal.

“Yeah, but we both know you will, and the label knows it too,” Hannah assured him. “So, it has to be you. And I promise, I know it’s all fake. It’s not my first rodeo. I won’t catch feelings.”

“You’ve been in a fake relationship before?”

“Yeah. Ty Blackwell,” she offered easily. Colby looked shocked. “Well, I mean we never confirmed it was a relationship, which actually hooks them even more, by the way. Anyway, all the paparazzi photos were staged. All the nights out were faked. But I was new, and it got people talking about me. He had an album coming out after a huge break, so it got people talking about him.”

“This is just so fucked up,” Colby whispered and fell back onto the bed. He pushed the heels of his hands into his eyes.

“He assaulted me,” she says in a weak voice. It was so faint that Colby took a beat to fully process that she even spoke, and then, when the words sank in, he moved his hands from his face. She was looking down at the carpet. Or maybe her eyes were closed. It was hard to tell from this angle. “Not Ty, but Mike. My ex. The hockey bro, as the media called him.”

Colby slowly pulled himself back up to a sitting position. “When? Are you okay?”

She shook her head and took a long, slow breath. “Seven months ago. It took that to get me to leave him. If only his gaslighting and cheating before that had been enough for me to fucking get it. Anyway, I wanted to report it. I was told no. It would make everything worse. My… my people said they’d handle it. Get rid of him. And they did. I haven’t seen him since. And now… well, karma has stepped in, so I guess I can breathe.”

“The DUI?”

She nodded and finally looked at him. Her face was a mask of resignation. Acceptance. But not… forgiveness. Or healing, and Colby’s heart started to ache for her. He laid a hand on top of hers, and she offered him a rocky smile. “Is it perfect? No. But I’ve seen enough sexual assault cases play out in the press and courts, especially against athletes, and I know that even if I went against the wishes of the label, I wouldn’t win anything. Not a fucking thing.”

She didn’t cry, but she looked so sad that Colby wanted to cry for her. Jesus fucking Christ, what the hell world did they live in? He hugged her. He didn’t know what else to do. And then, because Hannah thought Colby still needed convincing. “If you’re interested in someone, you can still be with them. Privately. I’ll help you make it happen.”

“I don’t have a girlfriend,” Colby said.

“Yeah, but I mean, if you have someone else. Anyone.” Hannah said, pulling back to look at him.

He nodded. “Same with you. FYI.”

She laughed, and it was so bitter he could almost taste it in the air around them. “That’s not happening.”

She hugged him again, quickly this time. “I should go.”

“Okay. See you tomorrow for the meeting.”

She nodded and then gently cupped Colby’s face. “It’ll be painless. Promise.”

After she left, Colby lay in bed and thought of Hunter. He’d have to tell Hunter about this before he found out from the press. Because… well… because Hunter was… Colby suddenly felt like an idiot. Hunter was just his best friend. Like Briar. Only with a night or two of benefits. He didn’t need to know about this. He shouldn’t care.

Chapter 19

Surprise!

FIVE WEEKS LATER…

Hunter’s mom gave him a disapproving look but didn’t say anything as she cleaned up after dinner. He felt her judgment, like he always did. She was the queen of passive aggressiveness. She sprinkled guilt like it was fairy dust all over him. He tried not to take it personally. She’d grown up with parents who only knew how to be strict. Her mom, especially as an immigrant, was all about rules, grades, and appearances. Her dad was the standard absentee dad—a big, burly Scottish second-generation Canadian who was there physically but not emotionally.

Hunter’s mom’s only act of rebellion had been to date and then marry Hunter’s dad. After that blew up, Catherine went back to leading an excessively unadventurous life on purpose. And she wanted her son to make smart, safe choices too. So the whole dropping out of McGill University’s architecture program after one year to move to Hollywood to become an actor was her worst nightmare. And now, in this moment, she wasn’t thrilled with his current choice to leave the family home and head off to a venue downtown to see some band play. By himself.

“It’s a Thursday night, Hunter,” she argued finally. “Can’t you just stay in? Play Scrabble with me? I haven’t seen you in almost a year. And I’m lonely without Zeus.”