Total pages in book: 62
Estimated words: 57804 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 289(@200wpm)___ 231(@250wpm)___ 193(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 57804 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 289(@200wpm)___ 231(@250wpm)___ 193(@300wpm)
It wasn’t a quick, friendly hug. It looked like a passionate, long embrace.
I couldn’t picture a broken up couple holding each other like that.
Were they really broken up? Or did Ryder lie to me? Because this just didn’t make sense. I remembered all of those sweet words that he said to me. How he kissed me. Touched me. That felt real. This felt like a nightmare.
Seeing how he rested his hand on the back of her head made a ringing noise fill my ears. I couldn’t move or think for a second, becoming utterly numb at a sight that I didn’t expect. That I couldn’t bear.
Once my thoughts flooded through my mind once again, I remained frozen in place, not wanting to exit the car and have them see me. Once again, Ryder found a way to shatter my heart in a million pieces. How many times was he going to hide the truth from me? I felt like an idiot for thinking that I could exist in Chalice Falls without a broken heart.
“Drive,” I gritted out as I took my hand off the handle.
Angry, hurt tears filled my eyes as I tore my gaze away from Kerrie and Ryder. I couldn’t stomach looking at them any longer and thinking about how Ryder betrayed me. He probably lied so that he could sleep with me, and it killed me to realize someone I cared about was so shallow.
“Ma’am? We’re at your destination,” my Uber driver questioned me with a confused look on his face.
“Just drive. I’ll pay you double whatever your rate is,” I told him as I narrowed my teary eyes. I didn’t care about my things or saying goodbye. I just couldn’t face anyone right now.
My Uber driver soon realized that I was serious.
“Okay, where do you want me to take you?” he asked as he put his hands back on the steering wheel.
“The airport.”
Chapter 22
Delilah
New York City’s twinkling building lights illuminated the night as I stood in front of my living room window, taking in the sight and trying to conjure up a feeling of relief or happiness. No matter what I looked at, I didn’t feel either of those things.
All I felt was loneliness and pain.
I had lost everything the moment I saw Kerrie and Ryder tangled up in each other’s arms in his kitchen. The sliver of hope I had for being with my first love and his amazing bandmates went up in flames, leaving me burned. I supposed that I was a fool for thinking that was even a possibility.
I blinked my eyes rapidly, batting away the tears that threatened to spill once more. Ever since I left yesterday, it had been a feat trying not to cry anymore. I was tired of shedding tears over Ryder. Over what I couldn’t have.
My phone buzzed on the couch behind me, but I ignored it. One of the five guys was trying to reach out to me again, or maybe it was Brianna. All I knew was that I didn’t feel up to talking to anyone right now.
They would ask questions. Plead me to come back. Apologize. No amount of words mattered to me right now because I couldn’t even trust them.
When a knock sounded on the door of my apartment, I flinched, my eyes widening as they shot to the foyer. I froze, listening for another knock to make sure that I wasn’t making up things in my mind.
Another impatient knock answered my question.
With a sigh, I tightened my fluffy white robe around my body and headed to the door, my heartbeat thudding heavily. Was it one of the guys? Did they really come all this way just for me?
I breathed in slowly and deeply before unlocking the door and pulling it open, revealing Ethan on my doorstep with a bottle of red wine clutched in his hand. A bewildered expression filled my face as I gripped the door tighter, preparing to slam it shut.
“Wait! I heard you were back in town and just wanted to talk to you,” Ethan said as he lifted his free hand in innocence.
I narrowed my eyes as I stared at him, grinding my teeth at how he was dressed—his v-neck t-shirt and faded grey jeans, gold rings on his fingers, and his dirty blonde hair styled into a faux hawk, he looked like a typical producer douchebag.
“About what? You made it clear that you weren’t interested in me,” I questioned him.
“I’m sorry. I thought you were in it for the business with a little fun on the side. We had fun, right?” Ethan asked with a grin as he stepped closer to me.
I immediately put my hand against his chest to stop him from getting any closer to me.
“Don’t. You lied to me. You said you liked me,” I told him, feeling my face burn from embarrassment. He made me look desperate, but it was my fault for getting involved with him in the first place.