Wasted

Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve

Cole

S tanding at my hotel door, staring through the peephole, I watched as Taylor paced the hallway floor in black leggings, an oversized sweatshirt, and bare feet. Her long blonde hair was pulled into a loose ponytail, and her pretty blue eyes were deep in thought as she talked to herself. I had no idea what she was doing. I'd made my plans with Wyatt clear. I wanted to eat, drink, and sleep, so I doubted he sent her to stalk my hotel door.

It was the night before our last show, and after tomorrow night, I wouldn't have to see Taylor again. That should make me happy, but it didn't. The pain was just as raw now as it was then.

My lips twitched with amusement as my gaze followed her. I wasn't sure what Taylor was fighting, but she looked pretty fucking cute doing it. If this had been before, I would have opened the door, jerked her inside, and kissed her until she didn't remember whatever it was that was bothering her, but it wasn't.

She turned to the door and sucked in a deep breath like she was preparing for a war, but I wasn't in the mood for a battle tonight. She raised her hand to knock, and my smile faded as I jerked the door open.

Her eyes widened, and her lips parted as her gaze dropped to my bare chest. The corner of my lip curled into a smirk. She might have married my brother, but she was still attracted to me.

"What are you doing out here?" I drawled, leaning against the door frame.

She dropped her arm. "I, uh... um, well..."

"You can take the night off," I cut off her mumbling. "My room is empty, and I'm not leaving. I just want to order some food and chill."

"Oh, no," she said, fidgeting with the hem of her sweatshirt. "I was actually just wondering if you wanted some company."

"Company?" I echoed, my eyebrow arching skeptically. "From you?"

"Yeah, I'm just a little homesick," Taylor admitted, her voice barely above a whisper. "And it's so quiet next door."

Crossing my arms over my chest, I leaned against the door frame and cocked a brow. "And I was your best option?"

"I don't really know anyone else. Your comments..." She paused, pressing her lips into a tight line. "Well, they didn't exactly make me super popular." I didn't say anything because I had no intention of making things easier for her. "Never mind." She turned to leave.

"Hold up." My hand shot out, grasping her wrist. Her gaze flicked from my hand to my face, surprise evident in her eyes. "Are you hungry?"

"Yeah." She nodded.

I dropped her wrist and stepped back. "Come on," I huffed out. "I ordered enough for both of us." A part of me didn't want to be around her; it was too painful, but another part couldn't let her go.

She stepped through the doorway, and I threw the door shut.

"You still love pizza and wings?"

She flicked a glance over her shoulder, her lips pulling into a grin, and my heart clenched as the girl from my past flooded my memories in slow motion.

The first time I talked to her, she'd given me that same look. It was that glance, that smile, that made me fall in love with her before I was even old enough to know what love was.

"Beer?"

"Yes, thank you." She turned and dropped onto the couch. I grabbed two beers from the mini fridge and twisted, handing her one. Sinking into the chair on the opposite side of the coffee table across from Taylor, I twisted off the cap at the same time she did.

"Wyatt told me you decided not to take the money to pay off your parent's land."

She raised her shoulders. "I didn't feel right taking it. When I get back to Bridgewater, I'm going to sell it."

"Why?"

"I think it's time for a change. Nothing is holding me there anymore."

"But that's where your mom is buried."

She nodded. "My dad, too."

"Is that really what you want? To give up your family's land?"

"I don't really know what I want anymore."

Everything had always been so clear when we were growing up. We were going to move to Nashville. I was going to make it, and then when it was time, we'd buy our parent's land and combine them, and when I wasn't touring, that was where we'd raise our family. "It was never part of your plan to sell it..." I paused. "But I guess it was never part of our plan for you to marry my brother either."

"Cole." She exhaled slowly, her eyes searching mine. "I was actually kind of hoping we could talk."

"About?" I scratched at the label on my beer bottle.

"Us." She smiled softly. "The past."

I shook my head in disbelief. "Can we not?" My gaze flicked up to meet hers. "I just want to forget about the past and move on with my future."

"After what you said the other night, I think we should talk about it."

"I shouldn't have said that." I wasn't sure why I said it. Even though it was the truth, I'd never meant to say it out loud. I never wanted to be that vulnerable with her ever again, and yet I couldn't stop it from coming out.

"That's not the point," she insisted, leaning forward with an intensity that caught me off guard. "The tour is almost over, and I feel like you should know what really happened."

Anger raced through my veins. I didn't need her to give me all the details of how they fell for each other. "I know what really happened," I growled. "You left me for my brother. I don't need you to fill in all the details in between."

"But you don't under?—"

"Taylor," I snarled, slamming my beer bottle against the table. She flinched at the sharp sound. "There is no way for you to justify what you did, and there's no reason to unless you're hoping to get back together."

"What?" She shook her head. "No..."

"Good, because that will never happen. I'm not your second choice now that Caleb's dead. You made your choice, and now you have to live with that."

"That's the thing, Cole," she said. "You..."

"This conversation is over, Taylor." My phone buzzed against the glass table, drawing my attention. "I'm going to take this outside, and when I come back in, I hope you're gone." I pushed to my feet and snatched my phone off the table without giving her a second glance.

Shoving the sliding glass door open, I stepped outside, closing the door behind me as I pretended to answer the phone while I hit the 'end call' button in case she was watching, but she wasn't. Lifting from the couch, she pulled a white envelope from the waistband of her leggings and stared down at it for a long moment before dropping it on the table by my food and leaving my room.

Shoving my phone into my pocket, I opened the glass door and stepped inside. I already knew what she left behind. It was the letter I received from my brother after his death. I'd returned it several times because I had no intention of ever reading it. I picked up the letter with my family's logo on it, and my chest tightened with anger as I bunched the envelope in my hand.

"Fuck this." I stormed out of my room and pounded my fist against her door.

"What the..." The words died on her lips as she jerked the door open, her eyes widening at the sight of me.

"Why did you leave this?"

"Because it's addressed to you. It's your letter."

"Is this just a bunch of excuses for why he did what he did?"

"I don't know what that letter says. I didn't even know he wrote the letters until after he passed."

I crumbled the letter in my fist and threw it at her feet. "I'm not interested in anything either of you have to say."

"You know what, Cole," Taylor said, her voice taking on a steely edge as she shrugged. "If you want to throw it away, go ahead, but before you do, remember those are the last words your brother will ever say to you." She stepped back. "I did my part, and I gave you the letter. What you do with it now is up to you." She threw the door closed, but I shoved my arm out, stopping it.

My gaze dropped to the letter, and a mixture of anger and hurt swirled through me. "I'm not sure what hurts worse." My eyes flicked up, meeting hers. "The fact that you knew how important my brother was to me or that he knew how in love I was with you."

"Cole," she sighed, leaning down and picking up the letter. "Just read the letter." She held the crumbled-up envelope out. Sucking in a deep breath, I exhaled as I took it from her.

She closed the door, and I stared at the envelope.

My brother and I were best friends growing up, but this had destroyed our relationship. After I left town, I never spoke to him or Taylor again. I hadn't even gone to his funeral. My brows furrowed. None of this ever made any sense. Caleb was so in love with Kylie, and I thought Taylor was so in love with me, but out of nowhere, they announced they were engaged. Maybe this letter explained it. Maybe I should have let Taylor explain it. Maybe this was the closure I needed to move on with my life.