“Thank you, girl!” one of them yells at me, wiping tears off her face.
Biting my tongue, I turn and make my way backstage because all I want to do is tell them all the fuck off.
But that wouldn’t be appropriate for me to say, would it?
Yet they could say anything to my face, and it’s fine.
When Fay saw the tears rushing down my cheeks, she ushered me onto the tour bus since we’re making our way to Belgium tonight. She stayed with me until she had to take an important call.
“Love, that live stream has gone viral, and you look like a stone-cold bitch in it.” Thea smiles, looking half awake.
“Thea, you’re supposed to be on my side!” I stammer, staring at my best friend on FaceTime even though it’s early morning back home.
“Do you want me to lie to you?” She yawns, rubbing her eyes, lying on her side in bed.
“Well, no, but?—”
She interrupts, “That’s why I’m telling the truth, even if it’s harsh.” She laughs at my pout. “Girl, your glare could have shattered glass.”
“I wasn’t even glaring! Internally, I was yelling at myself to move, but I was shocked in place.” I slump in my bunk, letting out a dramatic cry.
“Then you have the biggest resting bitch face.”
“All it takes is pressing that red button, and your face is gone.” I flash her a mischievous smile.
“You wouldn’t dare, bitch!” she yells, holding the phone so close to her face that I can see up her nostrils.
My curtain is roughly pulled back with no warning, and I let out a scream that could break concrete.
“She won’t, but I will,” Elijah barks before reaching across my bed and hanging up the phone.
My breath hitches, and my stomach is now on the floor from his sudden proximity. My hands form into fists without me even realizing it.
“What the hell, Elijah?! You just scared the shit out of me,” I yell, standing from my bed and coming face-to-face with the angry rock star.
“Good, because you scared me shitless too.”
I scoff, “Care to enlighten me how I scaredyou?”
“Care to explain why you think it’s a good idea to stand that close to the barricade, and when I signal for the guards to remove the girls from the building, you don’t listen to my orders, and you letthemstay?! Not you, the people who were harassing you.”
My eyes bulge. “And make the world hate me more? Is that what you want?” Looking down at myself, I notice how indecently dressed I am. I cross my arms over my chest to hide my nipples.
Eyes turning a shade darker, he follows my movements. Swallowing tightly, he bites out, “I’ve told you so many times to try and not give a flying fuck what people think about you.” He points a finger to my heart. “You know why? Because they don’t knowyou.” He closes the remaining distance between us. If he comes any closer, our lips will finally touch. “They don’t knowthis.” His pointer pokes my chest. “And that’s what makes you,you.”
“It would be easier for the both of us if you stopped caring. You didn’t ten years ago, so why now?”
“That’s a lie, and you know it. I’ve respected your wishes by not telling you the truth. But I’ve been dying to tell you the reason I left and didn’t say goodbye, but you don’t want to hear it.” His voice is low, yet the sentence carries finality. “Am I supposed to force you to listen?”
“No …” I whisper, my eyes stuck on his like sticky glue. “We should keep our distance from each other. This is getting too messy. I’m here to work. How am I supposed to focus when you’ve grown into an alpha male?”
Huffing and puffing, he looks like he can’t catch his breath when he glances down at my lips. Reaching out, he caresses my cheek with his thumb. “I don’t think you understand. When you’re sad, I’m sad. When you’re happy, I’m happy. When you’re stressed, I am too. You signed up for that when we promised each other infinity. Don’t tell me you forgot?”
“You broke that promise the day you left,” I choke out, hating how I care that his shoulders slump in defeat.
His deep voice breaks as he whispers, “You have to believe me … I had no choice but to leave.”
Yes, he’s hurting. I’m not sure what he’s gone through these past few years, but it’s been rough. However, scars don’t fade, and the ones he carved into my soul are still bloody wounds.
