When we got to my driveway, I didn’t pull in. Instead, I pulled up to the curb. Staring at Denny’s car in the drive, I told Anna, “I have to meet a friend. I forgot I told him I’d swing by.”
Anna frowned as she rolled her head my direction. “Oh, okay. Well, have fun.” Sitting up, she winked at me. “But not as much fun as I’d have.”
Leaning over the steering wheel, I gave her a genuine smile. “I doubt I could, Anna. Have a safe flight back home.”
Her pout returned as she flung her arms around my neck. “I’m going to miss it here. But I’ll be back, I’m sure.” After she pulled away, she poked her finger into my chest and said with a stern expression, “You be good to my sister, okay?”
My smile froze as ice shot through my veins. What did she mean by that? Did she suspect something? Fuck, what do I say to her? Playing it cool, even though my heart was cracking wide open and spilling all over my leather seats, I coyly told her, “I’m good to everybody.”
She smacked my thigh. “Yeah, that’s what I hear. Bye, Kellan.”
“Goodbye, Anna,” I said as she gave me a light kiss on the cheek. Behind her, the house my parents had left me loomed in my vision. Even though it seemed bright and cheery, it wasn’t. It was deceitfully cold, bitter, heartbreaking. No love lived there. Not for me.
I waited two seconds for Anna to get out of the car, then I punched it and stormed off down the tight street. I couldn’t handle looking at my house anymore.
I drove to Evan’s. I didn’t even think about it. I just hopped on the freeway and that’s where I ended up. When I pulled up to his loft above the auto body shop, his car was in his parking space. He cracked open his door a few seconds after I rapped on it. “Hey, man. Whatcha up to?”
With a shrug, I walked through his door. “Nothing much. Want to go over melodies for that new bit we’re working on?”
Evan instantly perked up. “I was just talking to Rain about that last night. I think I came up with something that really works with that last batch of lyrics you gave me. Here, have a listen.”
Before I knew it, it was well past ten o’clock. That was one of the great things about hanging out at Evan’s—time flew by as we got ourselves wrapped up in the music that grounded our lives, gave us each meaning. Purpose. And Evan was right, the new beat he’d dreamt up matched my moody lyrics perfectly. He certainly had a gift, one he didn’t get enough credit for. That was an unfortunate side effect of being the lead singer—everyone tended to focus on me and ignore the others. But they were just as important. Sometimes I wished I could turn my spotlight on them, but I knew I had a role to play. And I played it well.
When things were winding down for the night, I remembered the horror that awaited me back home—Mr. and Mrs. Perfect Fucking Relationship. I still wasn’t ready to face them. Hating myself for being a coward, but needing an excuse to stay at Evan’s, I purposely knocked my beer to the floor. I forced myself to laugh. “Sorry, man, guess I had more than I thought.”
With a laugh of his own, Evan told me to stay and sleep it off. Even though I’d been in the same outfit for a day and I still had spikes in my hair, I took him up on his offer. God, I was pathetic.
I fell asleep with the memory of Kiera’s breath on my skin.
When I woke up in the morning, I’d had enough of couch surfing. I needed an actual bed. And a shower. And clean clothes. I felt like I hadn’t slept at all the last two nights. I was pretty sure I could have added up the total hours I’d slept decently on one hand. My nerves spiked as I approached my house. I didn’t want Kiera to be there. She had school today though, so she should be gone. I hoped. Sort of.
The driveway was empty when I got there, but that was to be expected. Denny was at work. I approached the home with tentative steps. I really hated how Kiera could make me reluctant to enter my own house. She had kept me away on more occasions than I cared to admit. I needed to stop letting her run my life. But I might as well ask to stop breathing. She was the lead ball in this Newton’s cradle—the cause. I was the effect. I had no choice but to react to her.
My hand was shaking as I reached for the knob. I immediately pulled it back and clenched it into a fist to get the blood properly circulating. This was nothing. No big deal. If she was here…so what? We’d ignore each other, ignore all the hurt, pain, and heat between us until it blew up in our faces again. God, we needed to break this cycle. Even I knew that.
Annoyed, I pulled out my keys and unlocked the door. A familiar smell hit me the moment I opened it. I paused as I absorbed the fragrance. I wasn’t sure exactly when it had happened, but at some point during her stay, her scent had permeated everything in my home. Or maybe that was all in my head. Who the fuck knew?