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I'd cut my hair and dyed it platinum blond, moved house, turned off my social media, and had someone manage my emails, so I didn’t have to see the amount of abuse and death threats I got from Tanner’s fans. The funny thing was, their messages were because they thought we were together.What would they send me if they thought I’d left him for cheating on me?
But no matter what I did, I couldn’t deny that I missed them all; I missed the life I’d tasted for a few months, but what I refused to admit was who I missed the most. My rock star.
I wandered over and lifted the lid on Shelly’s enclosure. He glared at me, still fuming that I’d left him with Quinn for so long. “Are you ever going to forgive me, little one? What if I gave you a dandelion?” I watched him wink, and I realized I really needed to get out more. “Are you winking at me, shell monster, or am I losing my mind? Could I ever have had Tanner Hastings, lead singer of the Cosmic Gods, as my forever? Who am I kidding? I’m much better at being invisible. I should stick with that.”
My phone pinged, breaking me from wallowing in mywhat ifs.
Quinn:Why are you all over the news? Did the Cosmic Gods release a book today and name you as the author?
Me: I guess.
Quinn: And you weren’t going to tell me. Also, that note Tanner wrote on the first page. You can’t ignore that, Em. He’s obviously still hot for you.
Me: Did you forget the part where he cheated on me?
My phone rang, Quinn’s name appearing on the screen. Sighing because I didn’t want any more drama, I canceled the call.
Quinn: Did you send my call to your answering machine? Rude. Call me NOW. We need to talk.
She didn’t wait and called back instantly. This time I answered.
“Are you ignoring me, Em? I know you’re hurting, but this isn’t fair. I’ve not done anything except pack up your old apartment, look after the tiny one, and find you a new place to live, but yeah, go ahead, ignore me. I’ve been trying to call you for days. I need to talk to you. It’s serious.”
Shit, I am the worst friend.
“Sorry, Quinn. What do you need to talk about?”
“Well, it has to stay a secret and you can’t tell anyone I told you because I would lose my job, but I can’t live with myself if I don’t tell you this.”
I sat on the sofa and closed my eyes.Tanner has met someone.I could hear it in her voice.
“Okay, spit it out.”
“You know the night he cheated on you?”
I groaned as I remembered. “How could I forget? That image is burned in my mind forevermore. Why?”
“Well, he didn’t. Cheat on you, I mean. Turns out he was given some water when he came off stage. It was laced with a date rape drug. Someone paid two women to party hard around him while he was out of it.”
I huffed loudly. “Great story that Addi’s spun, Quinn, but I saw them draped all over him and he had a condom on that full of… you know.”
“Yeap. He came. Even though he was full of the same drug they use to tranquilize horses. That’s impressive, Em. But he wouldn’t have known a thing about it. They assaulted him, just like that dick who forced himself on you. They were paid to make it look like he drank and got fucked up, but he didn’t.”
“If that was true, why didn’t he call me and tell me?” I argued, a sick feeling growing in my stomach as I listened to Quinn.
“You blocked him.”
I cringed. “I did, but Thomas would have told me. Someone would have told me.”
“Emmy, you ran away in the middle of the night. You didn’t give him a chance. Maybe he’s as angry with you as you are with him.”
A sob escaped my lips as I thought about what I’d done to him. Of what I did to them all.
“There’s something else. His mum was arrested. For arranging the assault, but she was refused bail. Then there was a break-in at the hotel they were at. They presumed it was Tanner’s mum, but that would have been impossible because she was in a cell in London and not in America. They don’t think this is her anymore, Em. There is someone else after him and maybe after you. I am breaking every rule here, but I couldn’t have you not know. Now, you need to choose what you do with all of this.”
I rubbed my hand over my heart that felt like it was crumbling,again. “I—I don’t know. I need to think.”
“Emmy, I love you, but please don’t let him slip through your fingers. You don’t get to live a half-life anymore. I won’t allow it. You deserve so much more.”
