Total pages in book: 118
Estimated words: 111048 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 555(@200wpm)___ 444(@250wpm)___ 370(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 111048 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 555(@200wpm)___ 444(@250wpm)___ 370(@300wpm)
No, not deserted. Not completely.
There was one person watching the beckoning water…
“Aiden!”
Bennett’s nervous shout had me turning to see he was now standing just feet from me, his eyes wide with a mix of confusion and fear.
“Sorry,” I murmured. “You should go… I have work to do.”
“Jesus Christ, Aid,” Bennett snapped as he grabbed my arm to stop me from sitting down in my chair again. “What the hell is going on with you?”
“Nothing!” I bit back. “I’m fine. I said I’d apologize for missing Lucky’s thing.”
“I’m talking about the rest of it!” Bennett practically yelled. “You’re not answering my calls or responding to any of my texts! You look like death warmed over. Jesus, when was the last time you even slept?”
I didn’t answer him, but when I turned away, he dragged me around to face him with uncharacteristic strength.
“Chase says you’re here all hours of the night… that sometimes you don’t even bother going home. And now… now you’re staring out windows at fucking nothing!” he said as he motioned to the window.
His voice softened and he gently gripped my arm. “Talk to me, Aid.”
If he hadn’t touched me, I might have been able to do it. But something about his hand on my arm set me off. Maybe because I’d been in this very position a week earlier, only I’d been the one offering help.
Only to be rejected for so much more than that.
“Just back the fuck off, okay!” I vented as I tore my arm free of Bennett’s light hold. My skin was crawling all over and suddenly I knew the alcohol wouldn’t do it for me. I needed to keep moving.
Guilt tore through me as I saw Bennett’s crushed expression. “Look, I’m sorry,” I managed to say as I snagged my coat off the hook behind the door and then searched out my phone where it was still sitting on the desk. “I just… I need some space,” I admitted.
“Did something happen with Ash?” Bennett asked just seconds before I reached the door.
I froze in place, but I couldn’t look at him.
“Something… yeah, something happened,” I finally admitted. “But I’m over it.”
Lie.
“I’m sorry, B,” I murmured, resorting to Bennett’s nickname in the hopes I could undo some of the hurt I knew I was inflicting on him. “I just need a little more time. I’ll be fine.”
Bigger lie.
“I’ll call you tomorrow, okay?” I offered.
Big fucking lie.
I didn’t wait for him to answer. I didn’t need to.
Bennett knew me well enough to recognize the lies for what they were. But I wasn’t about to stick around and try to explain to him what was going on with me.
Because I had no fucking clue.
And part of me was too scared to try and figure it out.
Chapter 14
Ash
“I’m going to miss you,” Billy murmured as his mouth brushed over mine.
“Me too,” I said.
His finger traced the line of my jaw as he studied me. “I’m glad we’re back on track, Ashton,” he said softly. “I don’t like it when we fight.”
I nodded, but couldn’t bring myself to say anything else. He motioned to the flowers on the coffee table. The ones he’d brought with him four days ago when he’d issued his second apology of the week. They’d been meant to replace the first bouquet of flowers he’d destroyed when I hadn’t shown enough appreciation for his efforts the first time around.
The day Aiden had walked out of my life for good.
No, the day I’d kicked Aiden out of my life.
“You should water those,” Billy said as he toyed with my healing lip. “Don’t want them to die on you, right?”
“Right,” I said. “You’re right. I’ll water them.”
“Good,” Billy said with a smile. “I’ll bring you back something from Hollywood, okay?”
I nodded. “Thank you, I’d like that.”
My Stepford wife routine worked because Billy placed one more gentle kiss on my lips and then walked out the door. I waited several minutes before I even allowed myself to take a deep breath. I went to the couch to sit down, my eyes falling on the two dozen roses, and took out my phone and waited. An hour passed before the first text came— the one saying Billy had made it to the airport.
I typed Have a good flight and put the phone back down.
Thirty minutes later came the next text.
Billy: On the plane. I’ll miss you, sweetheart. Love you.
Ashton: Me too.
It was likely overkill, but I still waited another hour and then checked the status of Billy’s flight to confirm it had taken off. The second I saw the status update to show the flight had left on time, I stood up and went to my room. It took me less than three minutes to stuff a few articles of clothes and my journal into a small duffel bag and grab my guitar case from under the bed. Fear curdled my belly when I heard what I thought was the front door opening, but when I stepped into the main part of the apartment, I realized it was my mind playing tricks on me.