The Rocker That Needs Me(24)

Disgusted with myself, I scrubbed until my skin ached and then got dressed. I only had to toss a few things into my case and I was ready to roll.

Downstairs, I found everyone already loaded up. Jesse and Layla were staying for a week as a kind of honeymoon and would drive Shane’s car back. So of course we all had to get into the Escalade. The only seat not taken already was the front passenger seat. Lucy and Lana had taken the smaller back seat with Emmie, Mia, and Shane in the middle one. I glanced back to check on Lana, but she had her head leaned against the window and her eyes were closed.

“Did you get everything?” Emmie asked as she tucked Mia into her car seat.

“Yeah, I made sure I packed everything.” She was such a mother hen sometimes, but I didn’t know what I would do without her.

“Then let’s go.” Emmie grimaced. “I have things to do when we get home.”



Lana

How I made it through saying goodbye to my sister I will never truly know. Somehow, I was able to put on a smile and keep it on while she hugged me and Lucy. To my surprise, it was Jesse that saw through my façade and took me aside for a private talk.

“What’s up?” he asked, his unusual eyes scanning my face. “You have circles under your eyes, and you’re as pale as a ghost.”

I avoided his eyes, trying to push my emotions down when they threatened to surface. “I’m fine. I stayed up all night watching television when I should have been sleeping.”

“Liar,” he accused.

I glared up at my new brother-in-law. “Look, I don’t want to talk about it. Especially now. I don’t want Layla to worry when she should be having a good time with you on your honeymoon.”

He clenched his jaw, wanting to argue with me but unable to do so. He didn’t want to upset Layla anymore than I did. “We are going to talk about it as soon as I get home. Understand?” I nodded. “Good. Until then, if you need anything let Emmie know…And make sure you take care of the college issue this week, Lana. I expect your decision when we get home.”

Again, I nodded. I had already made my decision. It had been all I had thought about once I had fallen onto my bed in the early hours of the morning. For the first time in my life, I was willing to let someone buy me something expensive. A college education wasn’t something that I was going to turn down, and it was my way of escaping which made it all the more appealing.

When we all piled into the Escalade, I was relieved to find myself in the very back. When Shane and Emmie took up the middle row, I pressed my head against the cool glass of the window and closed my eyes, thankful that I wouldn’t have to be so close to Drake for the next five hours. When he finally slid into the front passenger seat, Nik pulled out into traffic and the long trip home began.

Everyone was quiet around me. Lucy was playing with her iPad while everyone else was doing what I was pretending to do. Drake’s snores made me glance up at one point to see him fast asleep. Shane muttered something under his breath about waking the dead, and I felt the slightest of smiles tease at my lips.

Emmie, seeing that I was awake turned in her seat enough to face me. “Jesse said that you will have an answer this week,” she whispered so she wouldn’t wake the baby.

I nodded, my eyes still on Drake. “I’d like to talk to you about it when we get home, actually.”

“Good. I can start the paperwork in the morning and get everything paid on time.” She smiled. “I’m really excited for you, Lana.”

Three bathroom stops and six miserable hours later, Nik pulled into the driveway in Malibu. As soon as my feet touched the ground, I grabbed my stuff and pulled Lucy toward the guest house. Emmie was going to have the new house decorated this week so we could be moved in by the weekend. Until then, I was sticking to the guesthouse.

“I’ll carry your cases in, Angel,” Drake called after me.

“Yeah, sure. Thanks.” I pushed Lucy faster. As soon as I had her settled, I grabbed the two piles of paper work that I had narrowed down from twelve the week before and rushed into the main house.

Emmie was pulling a bottle of water from the fridge when I found her. Something in my expression must have told her that she wasn’t going to like what I was going to do, but she didn’t say anything as she led me down the hall to her office and closed the door. “Sit down, Lana.” She sighed. “I have a feeling I’m going to need a drink after this,” she said half under her breath.

I had narrowed my choices down to two schools. Both had everything I wanted in a college. UCLA would have been my first choice—had been my first choice up until the night before. So I tore up the acceptance letter and handed over the one that was about to change my life.