Chapter 4
Chapter Four
Cole
M y mouth felt like sandpaper, and the room spun slightly as my eyes eased open. I groaned, my head pounding. It must have been a wild night.
Too bad I didn't remember.
I moved my hand to rub my eyes, but I couldn't.
It was stuck.
My gaze flashed up, narrowing on the silver cuffs restraining me to the bed. My heart rate spiked as I realized I couldn't move. Panic set in as I yanked harder against the restraints.
I blinked rapidly, trying to piece together fragments of memory. Flashing lights, pounding music, a stranger's laugh. Nothing connected.
"What the..." My eyes shifted down. My first thought was, what the fuck kind of kinky shit did I get into last night? But I was still fully dressed. I glanced around. I was in my hotel room. I never came back to my hotel room after a night out, especially with a woman, because I knew I'd catch a lecture that I didn't want.
"Hey, Cole."
My breath caught in my throat.
That voice. Her voice.
This is a dream.
My gaze slowly lifted.
Taylor.
It wasn't a dream because, in my dreams, she still looked exactly the same as the day she told me she was marrying my brother. Her hair was a darker shade of blonde and a little shorter, but her eyes were the same striking blue they'd always been. She was still just as beautiful as I remembered.
Her blonde hair was a mess like she'd just woken up, her eyes sleepy, and she wore black sleep shorts and a tank top. This was definitely a dream because there was no way the girl who ripped my heart out and stomped on it in front of my entire family spent the night here in my hotel room with me.
Except it wasn't a dream. She was here.
"What the fuck are you doing here?" She opened her mouth but slammed it shut when I started jerking against the cuffs. "Uncuff me now."
"Cole..."
"Don't," I cut her off, avoiding eye contact. My jaw clenched. "Don't." I shifted on the bed, tugging on the cuffs. "I don't know what you're doing here, but you need to leave."
"I'm not leaving." Taylor's jaw clenched, her tone sharp and biting. Gone was the softness from moments ago.
My eyes widened as I stared at her. Was she serious?
She squared her shoulders as she crossed her arms over her chest. "Everyone is worried about you."
I huffed out a humorless laugh. "And you were their best choice for an intervention?"
Everyone had lost their minds.
"Cole, if you don't pull yourself together, you're going to lose everything." A bitter laugh escaped me. Rich, coming from the woman who'd taken everything from me two years ago.
Anger raced through my veins. "I haven't seen you in two years, Taylor," I growled. "You don't know a fucking thing about my life."
"I know that your daughter is in Bridgewater with your parents, and when Kylie leaves Nashville, she's not coming back with her because she doesn't want River to see you like this. I know that after this tour, your record label will barely break even between the money they've had to pour into the PR nightmares you've caused and the canceled shows, and they're on the fence about dropping you after. I know that your reputation is ruined, but it's not unfixable yet."
Confusion spread across my face. "Kylie can't take River."
"She can, and she did. There's not a judge in the world who would side with you right now."
It was no secret that I'd fucked up more times than I could count… Since the day I'd left Bridgewater, I'd been on a downward spiral, but bringing the reason for that spiral here wasn't going to help anything.
"Why didn't Kylie tell me this? Why didn't Wyatt tell me? Why you?" Of all the people in the world, why would they call her?
"I guess they thought I would get your attention." Well, they were right. She had my attention. "It would suck to have gone through all of that for you to throw it all away."
I frowned. "Go through all of what?"
The door flew open with a bang. Wyatt strode in, a grin plastered on his face.
"Oh, thank god." Relief flooded through me. I rattled the cuffs against the metal bars, the loud clank echoing in the room. "Get me out of these and call the police. She kidnapped me."
They both ignored me.
"I brought food." He held up a brown bag. "Taylor..."
"What the fuck, man?" I cut him off. "Are you in on this?"
"Taylor," he continued to ignore me, "I wasn't sure what you liked, so I grabbed a few things. I'll bring some more drinks and snacks up in a little while."
"What the fuck is going on right now?" I shouted.
"This is for your own good, Cole," Wyatt said. "None of us want to see you destroy everything you've worked for."
Blowing out a breath, I fell back on the bed.
"Text me if you need anything, Taylor." Wyatt smiled as he pulled open the door and walked out, letting the door close behind him.
"Are you hungry?" Taylor asked, strolling to the kitchenette and dropping the brown bag on the counter.
"No," I snapped. I didn't want food. I wanted to be free of this bed so that I could get as far away from her as possible. Sucking in a deep breath, I stared at the ceiling. "Why are you here, Taylor?"
"I already answered that," she said, not bothering to look up from the bag as she pulled everything out.
"No," I sighed. "Why are you really here? You could have told them no. You knew I didn't want to see you again. So, why are you here?"
Stopping, she blew out a heavy breath before her gaze shifted to mine. "Because they thought I could help, and I felt like I owed you that much."
I sprang up to a sitting position on the bed. "That's what you felt like you owed me?" My chest tightened, and anger boiled inside me as the very fresh memories flooded forward. "No." I shook my head. "What you owe me is an explanation on why you announced you were marrying my brother after nine years together."
"Cole..." Sadness twisted her features.
"We were together the night before, Taylor," I growled. "Make it make sense."
She shook her head. "There's no point in digging up old bones. It's over, and it's time to move forward." She averted her gaze. There was a long, silent pause before she whispered, "Is that why you drink so much now?"
My lip curled into a snarl. It had everything to do with why I drowned myself in whatever took away the pain, but I would never give her the satisfaction of knowing that. I rose off the bed, my wrist still attached, and her gaze shifted, widening on me. "You are nothing to me, Taylor, and the only reason your name ever comes up is when someone refers to my dead brother's wife."
Hurt flashed across her pretty face, and I almost felt bad.
Almost.
"How long were you fucking my brother behind my back, Taylor?"
"Cole..." Taylor's shoulders slumped, her head shaking in defeat.
"How long?" I hissed. "How long were you two sneaking around behind my back?"
"I need a drink," she said, pushing off the counter and strolling over to the bar.
She was never going to tell me the truth. "And I'm the one with a drinking problem." I dropped back onto the bed. "It's not even noon."
"Actually, it is." Taylor reached for two shot glasses, the crystal clinking as she set them down. "It's almost five p.m. You slept all day."
My gaze flicked to the open window and then back to Taylor. It shouldn't have surprised me. I didn't usually wake up until late unless I was being kicked out. Typically, it was just enough time to get showered, dressed, and head to the bar.
"Look, I know you hate me, but we're stuck together for the next six shows. So, maybe tonight we can figure out a way to tolerate each other for the next few weeks."
"Six shows?" I frowned. "What the fuck for?"
"Wyatt hired me to... to babysit you."
"You're kidding, right?"
Taylor's lips pressed into a thin line. She shook her head, blonde hair swaying. "Nope." The 'p' popped off her lips with finality.
Groaning, I dropped my head into my hand. I had zero intentions of spending the next few weeks with her, but I had to tolerate her long enough tonight to get out of these cuffs.
"I have to pee."
"There's a bucket." She pointed beside the bed.
"You are not serious."
"I am." She squatted, digging something out of a bag on the floor. "I can give you some privacy."
"This is really happening." I slumped forward. "So, how is this supposed to work?"
"Honestly," Taylor circled the room, the legs of a chair scraping against the floor as she dragged it behind her, "I have no idea. I didn't think this was a good idea either, but I'm here, and so are you." She plopped down in the chair, leaning forward with her elbows on her knees. "So, maybe tonight we drink, and we work your shit out."
I had no intention of working shit out with her, but if I was stuck here with her, I was going to need something strong to drink. Blowing out a breath, I nodded. "Pour." I nodded to the bottle in her hand. She tipped it. "Wild Turkey, huh?"
"I knew it was your favorite." Our gazes collided. "Or it used to be."
It was also what we drank in the barn loft the night before she decided she was marrying my brother. Our last night together before she destroyed me.