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“Not always,” he said. “You’ve had good times, remember? Just like you mentioned before.”
I put a hand to my mouth and hauled in a deep breath, then another. I nodded. “Yes, you’re right.” I gave a watery laugh. “God, I’m a mess today. Sorry for falling apart on you.”
It was all this stress from always being on alert and wondering if someone was watching.
“Hey,” he said sharply. “Never be sorry for that. I’m always here for you.” He paused, then added, “Keep it in mind that your siblings are grown now. Jamie and Joel are living in a frat house for most of the year, right? And Mina is renting an apartment with some friends?”
“Yes.” I frowned, not sure where he was going with this. “So?”
“Well….” He drew the word out. “If you need to leave L.A. for a while, you can. There’s nothing tying you there now. Your siblings are adults, and while I don’t know your full financial situation, I’m sure you have enough money to survive without working. Am I right?”
“You are.” My tears dried up as I considered the implication. Could I actually do that? Pack up the life I’d built here and move on? Realistically, there was no reason I couldn’t. “I guess I’ve been stuck here for so long that it didn’t occur to me I was free again.” I smiled tremulously. “Thanks for the reminder.”
“No problem. If you ever need to fly to the bottom of the world to escape, my door is open.”
He was sweet.
“I’m not sure Mikayla would appreciate that,” I quipped, trying to lighten the moment.
At this, he grinned. “Mikayla would probably be more excited to see you than I would. Did you know that when we met, she had no idea who I was but fell all over herself when I told her we’re friends?”
Despite the crazy thoughts whirling through my mind, I laughed. “I bet that was hard for your ego.”
“Eh, could have been worse. In fact, it was kind of nice to have a clean slate with her.”
“I bet.” If I gave up the acting career I’d never really wanted and moved elsewhere, I could have a clean slate too. But nowhere else would be Destiny Falls. And nowhere else would have Liam. Perhaps what I needed wasn’t a clean slate. It was the chance to make amends and reclaim the life I’d once wanted more than nearly anything.
There was a crash in the background, and I looked over my shoulder, cringing. Whenever the boys were home, something inevitably got damaged. They didn’t seem to know their own size and strength. Especially Joel.
“Thanks for calling, but I’d better go. It sounds like Joel managed to break something again.”
“See you,” he said. “Good luck with damage control.”
I hung up and hustled off to play the part of responsible older sister slash mom figure. I’d been doing it for so long, it had become second nature.
But now, Gray had challenged my usual cycle of thoughts. He was right. My siblings were adults. Young adults, sure, but fully able to care for themselves. I didn’t love my job, and there was every possibility someone dangerous was following me around. Watching me.
Things didn’t have to be this way. If I was brave enough, I might be able to have everything I’d once yearned for—even if it was over a decade later than planned. Could I do it? Could I give up everything I had and take a leap of blind faith?
Yes. I smiled. I rather thought I could.
* * *
