Page 61 of Rising Star

And it bled on me.

“You should call him. He misses you. How can he not? If I were him and you kept me at a distance, I would go nuts. It’s been almost ten days since you answered his call.”

I averted my eyes. In the last two weeks, I’d refused every one of Sam’s attempts to visit me and always pretended to be too tired when he called me. He had to focus on his daughters and the tour. I had become the unforeseen variable screwing with the careful balance of his life.

The well of darkness enveloping me was tightening its pincers around me. And I refused to allow Sam to become one of its collateral victims.

“Maddie, I know you. And I’m aware you’ve been pushing him away, thinking you’re doing the right thing. What if it’s not what you both need? What if it makes the two of you miserable instead? Have you thought about it?”

We both stayed silent for a while.

“You should rest,” Jacob said, breaking the awkward silence. “I’ll make sure the pantry is stuffed with cookies and brownies before I leave.”

“You don’t have to.” I returned my attention to him.

He shrugged. “That’s what friends are for.”

“If I go to sleep, will you be there when I wake up?”

“It’s better I’m not,” he said after a stretch of silence.

Tears pooled in my eyes. “Jake, you’re going to be okay. I swear. You’ll find the one. You’re a special kind of someone. Any girl would be lucky to call you hers.”

“Anyone but you—” A smile appeared at the corners of his mouth. “Sorry. I know you mean well. You own the biggest heart in the world, Maddie. Now rest. You need that sleep. Whatever happens between us, I meant everything I said. I want nothing more than for you to get better. To go back out there. And catch up on the tour.”

“Jacob… Thanks for being my friend. I’m sorry you had to put your life on hold to be by my side. I’ll never be able to tell you how much your taking care of me has meant.”

My tears rolled down my cheeks. I blanketed his hand with mine.

He gulped a shaky breath. “Today is the last day I see you, right? It’s goodbye.” He could still read me after all this time.

“Yes. It’s for the best. I’ll miss you,” I said, my voice weakened by my emotions. “I’ll forever cherish the memories of us.”

“You really love him?”

I wiped my teary face with my free hand. “I do. I’m happy. For a long time, you were my entire world. I would never lie to you.”

“Goodbye, Maddie. And for the record, you were the best friend I ever had too.”

He moved to kiss my forehead, and I let sleep claim me so I wouldn’t have to witness him leaving and breaking my heart all over again.

19

SAM

Frustration poured out from every inch of me as I exited the stage. I almost threw my guitar after the third song, unable to get in the mood to perform and deliver my guts out to the screaming crowd. Usually, I could get into my performer mindset even if things in my personal life were a mess or my heart wasn’t into it. Tonight? Impossible. Too many things bothered me and made it hard for my mind to rest.

Every conversation Madison and I had lately ended up with me being pissed. Because she was pushing me away, thinking it was what was best for me. And the tour. Breaking news, it wasn’t.

She was slipping away. I could tell.

And the realization of it shattered the last flecks of hope in me.

Before walking onstage, I called her. She refused to talk to me. Again. And the last time we had a real conversation, she made me promise to not visit her for at least a month. I was going insane. Her sister kept updating me every day, but it wasn’t the same as being there and witnessing it myself.

Yesterday, Emily had confided that her sister’s mood swings were getting harder to handle. They increased around the same time she distanced herself from me. I was aware Jacob had been visiting her for a while and reading to her. One day, he stopped coming over, and it coincided with Madison’s new bout of fussiness. And I was here, playing music instead of there, comforting her. What a joke.

About three weeks from now, I had a stretch of four days off, and I planned to fly to Nashville with the girls to spend a couple of days at home. With her. I was done being on the sideline, feeling helpless.