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My heart pounds when her shoulders rise and fall with her heavy breaths. Without turning to look at me, she utters words I never thought I’d hear.
“Despite you assfaces deciding to ditch me for no reason or letting me explain. Even after the restraining orders and the fucking check I tore up, I wanted Lyric to know where she came from. She knows exactly who each of you is.” She shakes her head and turns on her heels, glaring at me when my mouth hangs open in shock at the tears rolling down her cheeks. So much hurt sits behind those beautiful eyes. My damn mouth goes dry.
“My mother never gave me the chance to know my dad. But don’t mistake her calling you daddy as a chance for you all to swoop in and play fathers of the year. I won’t let Lyric get hurt like you hurt me. Because you all discarded us like trash, and I won’t let you do that again. Not to her. She deserves better.Ideserve better than some fuck boy rock stars who break their promises.” River’s eyes screw shut as she heaves a breath, collecting herself before she speaks again. When her mouth opens, every ounce of hurt and emotions wipes from her tone as she says her next words, “Now, go get your shit and go to the band house. Or your contract will be voided immediately.” Wiping the tears from her face and with one last huff, River marches away, leaving me in a confused-filled fog that threatens to send me on my ass.
The world spins as I move down the hall, attempting to find the exit and get the hell out of this place. River’s words live rent-free in my mind when I finally stumble to my car. Resting my head against the headrest, my thoughts continue to swirl. But there’s one thing she said that stands out and makes me question everything from before.
What fucking restraining orders? What fucking check? What the fuck is she talking about?
Me
Anything? Can we get out of it?
Constance
Short answer? No.
I grit my teeth,my fingers tightening around my cell phone. Anger storms through my body, tensing every inch of me. But that’s nothing new.
Me
No?
Constance
It’s in the contract, K. Nothing you can do about it unless you walk.
Me
Any other offers?
I drum my fingers on my thigh, nervously bouncing my leg. All we need is another offer, and we can flip West Records the finger and walk. We don’t need them. We don’t need her.
Constance
I’ll keep my eyes open. But right now? No. Good luck. Stay nice.
“Fuck,” I mumble, pinching the bridge of my nose, eager to lash out at the gym and relieve myself of all this anger festering inside me. It’s the only thing that chases any sort of feelings away. I can’t afford to feel around her.
“Didn’t go well?” Rad asks, staring down at his phone with longing in his dark eyes.
The edge of his finger runs over the picture he doesn’t think I know about. The one he stares at day in and day out like a hurt puppy dog, waiting for his master to come back and claim him. It’s never escaped me that he’s still madly in love with her, even after what she did.
Rad sighs heavily, biting into his bottom lip as we pull up to Callum’s condo. The limo comes to a complete stop, idling on the curb as we wait a solid three minutes for him to appear. Callum’s bulky form comes into view with his hands tucked in his pockets. A large, black hoodie swallows his body whole, and the hood covers his eyes. The moment he flips it down, I know the evidence will be on his face in the form of blackened bruises and swollen flesh.
Callum doesn’t utter a word as he shuffles into the limo and finds a seat next to Rad, not bothering to meet our curious gazes. Leaning back, he rests his head and closes his eyes, tuning us completely out with his earbuds snug in his ears. Like so many years before, Callum only speaks when spoken to, but worse. He only opens his mouth if it pertains to the band, and that’s it.
Lead fills my stomach at the onslaught of memories banging around inside my head. Five years ago, something fundamental fucked us all up. We’ve thrived in our own ways. Some more than others, finding hobbies to take our wandering minds off the woman who crushed us with one single action. We don’t speak her name. Or mention our past in passing. Together, we’ve avoided the topic altogether and moved forward. Well, mostly. Sometimes the ghost of my past comes back to haunt me, pulling me into unwanted memories.
Marching through the parking lot of River’s apartment building, I tightly ball my hands into fists. Rage consumes every molecule in my body when I see the familiar red Mustang parked right in front of River’s apartment. I stand, frozen next to it, when the front door of River’s apartment slams open, and out walks Van with a victorious grin spreading across his face. His shirt hangs over his arm, and he whistles gleefully under his breath.
“You fucking her?” I accuse, stepping out of the shadows with a scowl and folding my arms over my chest.
Seeing the picture Callum had taken didn’t satisfy my curiosity one bit. I had to see for myself. River and I have way too much history for me to just walk away without investigating what the fuck is going on. But now, the scale is sliding in an unfavorable direction, leading me to believe that everything is true.
“For a few months,” Van says with a cocky grin, pulling his shirt over his head.
My fists clench at my side, and before I know what the fuck I’m doing, I grab Van by his arm and throw him against the side of his car. “You’ve been fucking her for months?” I hiss, getting right in his face.
