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“You’ll figure it out. Just believe in yourself.”
“Is that what Nate is telling you to do?”
Mia hesitated before answering. Nate was a treacherous topic for her to discuss with Ivy. “It’s the message of every positive affirmation ever written. Believe in yourself. Do what you love.”
“Are you doing what you love?”
“Sure.”
“I mean with me.”
“You’re my sister. I love being with you.”
“I bet you’d love it more if you were with Nate.”
Mia sensed the mines beneath her feet, and stepped carefully. “I’ve enjoyed working with him at the studio. I’m learning a lot. It’s something I could see myself doing in the future.”
It was the closest Mia had come to sharing her aspirations with Ivy. That she’d dared to confess something so personal terrified her. Ivy didn’t like change and might view her
twin’s dream of having her own career as a threat.
“I wasn’t talking about working at the studio. I was talking about Nate himself. You like him.” Ivy’s voice had taken on a coolness that made Mia shiver. “You like him a lot.”
With a shaky laugh that wouldn’t fool anyone, Mia said, “Everybody likes Nate.”
“But everybody’s not sleeping with him.” Ivy’s eyes glittered in the dim light. “You know he’s using you, right?”
“I’m not sleeping with him.” How many times had she lied to Ivy to keep her sister in the dark about Nate? A hundred? More? When was she planning to stop? Mia’s chest tightened. She was barely able to draw breath enough to defend Nate. “And he’s not like that.”
“Did you do it because you knew I liked him? Have you been saying bad things to him about me? Is that why he criticized everything I did in the studio? I’m trying really hard to make him happy, but nothing makes him look at me the way he looks at you.”
How did Nate look at her? “We’re colleagues,” Mia said. “That makes things easy between us. With you he’s pushing so he can get the best possible song. It might seem like he’s not happy, but he thinks this will be some of the best work you’ve done.”
But Ivy wasn’t listening to her. Mia had seen that look before. She got up and went to Ivy’s purse. Her sister noticed what she was doing and protested. Mia ignored her and started digging through the bag, unsurprised when she came up with a small bag of pills.
“Who gave you these? Skylar or Riley?”
Ivy stuck her lower lip out and stared mutinously at Mia. “Give me those. It’s none of your business.”
“What’s the matter with you?” Sorrow and rage collided inside Mia’s chest. “I thought you were done taking prescription meds. Damn it, Ivy.”
“I just need something to take the edge off after being in the studio all day. It’s exhausting and the pressure... You just don’t understand.”
“I understand that you almost died because you were taking this stuff.”
Mia took the bag into the bathroom and dumped the contents into the toilet. When she turned, her sister was glaring at her from the doorway.
“You had no right.” Ivy’s voice slashed at her.
Discovering a bag of pills in her sister’s possession both angered and frightened Mia. “I’m your sister and I love you. I’m always going to do what’s best for you. Even if you hate me for it.”
“It’s your fault, you know. The reason I have the pills. You haven’t been around for me lately.”
“I’m with you all day at the studio and when you’re working with Melody on the songs you’re planning to record.” Mia was having trouble catching her breath. She hated conflict and usually gave in to whatever Ivy wanted, but not when it came to her addiction. “The only time I’m not around is when you go out with Skylar and Riley. They’re bad news, Ivy.”
“They’re fun.” Ivy scrubbed the tears from her cheeks and shook her head. “I can’t have any fun without you being all over me. You used to be fun. We used to hang out.”
“That’s not my fault.” Mia’s temper flared at the unfair accusation. It hurt that the two of them had stopped spending time together as sisters and friends. “You’re the one who treats me more like an employee than your sister.”
