The saddest part was, deep down, I knew I had no one to blame for my broken heart but myself.
It had beena week since I walked out on Garrett, and each day was steadily worse than the last. I hated the photographers and reporters who still hounded me when I showed up at Bernie’s for my shift. I hated the Civil Corruption superfans who came into the café asking invasive questions or making threats because they were delusional and thought I stole their man. I hated waking up on Corrine’s couch because I was an idiot. But mostly I hated myself for walking away from Garrett and hurting us both.
“Hey, how you holding up?” I looked up from my desk to see Gina standing in the doorway of my office in the back of the café.
“I’ve been better. Just catching up on paperwork to avoid the assholes who have been coming in nonstop.”
“I don’t blame you. I just kicked one girl out. She wanted to know if any of the band members would be stopping in. Chick barely looked sixteen. What she thinks she can do with men like that is beyond me.”
I faked a grin I didn’t feel. “You break it to her that the guysprobably don’t want anything to do with me and wouldn’t be caught dead stepping foot in here?”
She shrugged, a smirk playing on her lips. “Well, I would have… if this dude hadn’t walked in and threatened to make a liar out of me.”
My gaze darted over her shoulder while my heartbeat kicked up rapidly. Hope swelled in my chest at the thought of Garrett being in Bernie’s. But that hope shriveled just as quickly as it appeared when Declan stepped in behind Gina.
“I’ll just give you two some privacy,” she mumbled, exiting the small office and leaving me alone with the famous singer and one of Garrett’s best friends.
“Wh-what are you doing here?”
He plopped down in one of the chairs across from me, dragging a hand through his dark hair and let out a long breath. He looked like he hadn’t slept in days. Dark circles smudged under his eyes and he seemed paler than normal. “Are you okay?”
“No. I’m not okay. I’m far from fuckin’ okay. All of us are.”
My skin prickled and I sat a little straighter in my seat. “What’s going on?”
He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees as he stared straight ahead at me. “We lost someone close to us.”
I sucked in a sharp breath and stood, moving to the chair next to Deck. “Oh God. Who was it?
“Name was Will. Don’t know if Garrett told you about him.”
My stomach dropped as I nodded. “He did. He told me how close all of you were.”
Declan’s face twisted in agony as he said, “He was a brother to all of us. Shit’s been fucked up since we got the news. We’re flying to San Francisco in a few hours, but I couldn’t leave without talking to you first.”
“What can I do?” I asked, desperate to do anything Ipossibly could to help Garrett, to help any of them. I thought I’d left my heart behind when I left Garrett, but I knew right then that I still had a tiny piece, because it shattered for him and what he must have been going through.
“Nothing to do,” Declan answered, leaving me deflated. “I just had to….” He paused and let out a curse. “Fuck, I don’t know… I just know Garrett was already suffering. Now this… it was a huge fuckin’ blow.”
“Is he…?” I swallowed past the dryness in my throat. “Is he okay?”
Declan met my gaze and replied, “Hasn’t been okay since you walked out on him. Never seen him like that, Gwen. Destroyed his drum kit.”
I put my hand over my mouth to hide the tremble in my lips, but it was pointless. The tears streaming down my face gave me away.
“He canned Chris,” Deck continued, throwing me off balance.
“What?”
“He had Ian find out what happened with that goddamn article, who leaked that bullshit. Wouldn’t rest until he had answers. He found out Chris worked with Kimber, got her copies of the photos and everything, so he fired his ass. But not before he beat the shit out of the asshole. Once that was done, he reached out to every contact he had. Chris and Kimber have been blackballed. They’re fucked. There’s no chance of them working with anyone in the industry again.”
“I didn’t—” I had to clear my throat in order to continue. “I had no idea.”
Declan stood, shoving his hands into the pockets of his faded jeans. “Yeah, well, I just thought you should know. Do what you want with the information.”
I shot to my feet when he turned and started for the door. “Declan, wait….” I had no clue what I was going to say, why I’d stopped him. When I remained quiet, he took it upon himself to fill the silence.
“I’m not gonna pretend to know the first thing about relationships. God knows I’ve fucked up in my past, but I do know this: you’re never gonna find another guy who’ll be better for you than him.”
