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28
There’s a saying in music about beating the drum.Basically, it means that you’re being really vocally supportive of something.Well, that’s how I feel during our studio session three days later as Trent and Robbie talk strategy with me for how to deal with Kasen—who is also noticeably absent today.
I thought my dad and Rikki were great cheerleaders, but they havenothingon Trent and Robbie who can’t stop praising every idea and suggestion I come up with.I’m thankful they’re so supportive, but the pressure to not let them down is starting to be really overwhelming.I’ve brought up the idea more than once that they should hire a real publicist and I’d be happy to shadow for free to gain the experience they seem so eager to give me.
“Okay guys, that’s enough.Let my girlfriend breathe, will ya,” Miles says as he comes out of the booth where he was recording his part of the song they’re working on today.
My girlfriend.Sigh.It’s still so weird to hear him call me that.It’s even weirder to think about how far I’ve come the past few months.Miles is everything I’ve ever dreamed of that I thought was impossible.He’s shown me what it means to not only trust a man with my body, but with my heart.
It’s a little terrifying how important he’s become in my life.
He wraps his arms around me and pulls me against his body.I melt into him as I tip my head up for a kiss, which he grants immediately.Our kiss is light and sweet—the kind of kiss where you know there will be time later to kiss deeper and longer.
His phone vibrates in his pocket and he pulls it out, glancing at the display.“I gotta step out and take this.Be right back,” he says as he drops a kiss to my forehead and then rushes out the door, not answering the call until he’s halfway out the door.
“What was that about?”Robbie asks me.
“Not sure.”
“Well, I hope he doesn’t take too long.Decker wants to get one more with the whole group.We’re hoping to wrap up this track today.”
“I’ll go out and let him know,” I say, gesturing toward the door and already taking steps in that direction before he nods in acknowledgement.
When I step out, I see Miles down the hall, one hand holding the phone to his ear, while the other rests on his hip.
“You’re absolutely sure?”he asks as I get closer.He spins around—whether because he sensed someone was coming up behind him or just because.A smile lights up his face, but there’s a darkness in his eyes that I can’t quite name.I know his brother’s been calling him, but he’s refused to answer.I wonder if that’s what this call is about.
“That’s great news, Greg.Thank you.I’ll call you when I know what our next steps are.”
Our?
He hangs up and walks up to me, his hands sliding into my hair at the same time that he pulls me up into a fierce kiss.This one is nothing like the one we had only moments ago—this one is heat, fire, passion.I don’t know what the call was about, but clearly it was good news, so I eagerly kiss him back, relishing in every small way that my body responds to him.
He lets me go, and I have to use his arms to steady myself.
“Good news, I take it?”I ask once I catch my breath.
He smiles.“I found him.”
“Found who?”I ask with a smile matching his because he seems positively thrilled about whoever he’s found.
“Him.The guy who raped you.”
It takes a second for the words to register in my brain, but when they do it’s like being doused with ice water.Before I even have a chance to open my mouth and question what the fuck he’s talking about, the worst possible thing happens.
“Someonerapedyou?”
My eyes close as dread filters through every vein until it feels like it’s replaced every ounce of blood in my body.
“Tamsin,” my dad’s cold voice booms through the hallway.“What the hell is he talking about?”
I open my eyes and pin Miles with a glare so fierce it could bring him to his knees.I’m shaking with rage when I turn to my dad, my brain frantically trying to figure out how to do damage control.Dad’s body is stiff, his arms tight at his sides, his chest moving quickly as he breathes at a rapid pace, and his eyes shooting between me and Miles as he waits for an explanation.I can see that we’re reaching the limits of his patience.
“Dad, I can explain.”
He takes a step closer and his voice breaks when he says, “Who hurt you?When?”
My heart shatters as tears fill his eyes, the anger just a brief mask to cover the pain and guilt in his eyes.I shake my head when I see the guilt and fight against my own tears.This is everything I was afraid of and the main reason I never told him.
