Chapter 31 #2
I took my sweet time driving home. One, I didn’t want to end the phone call with Asher.
He was obviously upset that I wasn’t coming over, but he understood.
He offered to come see me but then remembered my situation with my roommate.
So, we just chatted. About anything and everything.
I laughed so hard my stomach hurt. Teasing each other, flirting, some dirty talk as well, were of course mixed in with everything.
And somehow, I was pulling into my driveway sooner than I’d hoped. Even after taking the long way home, making it so the sun had set, I was here.
“I’m home,” I whispered, and Asher sighed.
“Check your email when you have a minute, okay, Princess?” he replied.
“Okay?”
“It’s nothing bad. In fact, you should probably look at it before you talk with Sydney,” he quickly said.
“Okay,” I quietly murmured, my shoulders sagging.
“I’ll see you soon. I promise. Everything will be fine. Especially after the concert. Everyone will forget about the pictures.” His voice was soft and tender.
“You know, I don’t get why everyone is calling me the slut. You’re the one with your hand in your pants,” I grumbled, and he laughed. Someone in the background laughed.
“Right? The internet should be calling Asher a horndog,” Kieron shouted through the speaker, and I giggled.
“How’d he hear that?” I asked.
“I put you on speaker for like one second because I needed both my hands to put food on my plate for dinner,” Asher sheepishly said, and I giggled again.
“Thank you for having my back, Kieron,” I replied loudly.
“I’ve got you, girl!” he shouted in response.
“Let me know if anything interesting happens with Sydney,” Asher cut back into the conversation.
“Sounds good.”
Silence.
More silence.
“I’ll see you soon, Princess. I miss you,” he whispered tenderly.
“I miss you too.” I couldn’t believe those words were coming out of my mouth. I saw him this morning. Man, was I this clingy? No, it was just the circumstances feeling so up in the air.
“Asher?” I quickly added before he could hang up.
“Yeah?” His voice sounded desperate, excited that I had something more to say.
“You know I don’t want any clout, right? I didn’t do this.”
He chuckled. “I’m very aware that you would never do this. Even if I think at some point, you should do something like this. You know, concerning something else that should have some publicity with it.”
Duvaldi. He was telling me to go public with my identity.
“Ha. Ha. You make the funniest jokes,” I taunted, and could hear him roll his eyes.
“Check your email, Princess.”
“I will,” I answered, and we said our goodbyes before the line went dead. As I stepped out of my car, purse slung over my shoulder, I tapped on the email icon and opened my most recent one.
And grinned.
Shutting the door, I read the message. Our tickets for the Void concert on Friday and Saturday had been upgraded to meet-and-greet tickets with backstage passes. Mmmm, dating the lead singer apparently did come with perks.
Which provided me with a very smooth way of making sure that I could control the conversation that I was walking into.
A conversation with someone that I wasn’t excited to have.
Those rose-colored glasses were no longer on my face, and all seven of those girls no longer held that appeal and power over me that they used to.
Pushing open the front door, I pulled my heels off as gossip quieted down. Heads spun toward me as I rounded the kitchen corner and found not just Sydney on the couch, but most of her usual friend group.
“Hey, guys.” I smiled, forcing myself to feel excited.
“Cosi!” Sydney jumped up. “Did you see the pictures yet?” she asked as I stared at the full sink of dishes and food scraps on the counters. The trash was overflowing, and the clothes strewn about the living space only made it look more cluttered.
“What pictures?” I feigned innocence once again. Easily. Without an ounce of guilt.
I saw Tera raise a suspicious eyebrow, but honestly, who cared? Not me.
“The ones of Asher and his slutbag girlfriend,” Sydney grumbled and turned around.
“Oh, I think a few of my students mentioned that. So, are you not excited for the concert?”
“Uh, obviously I am!”
“Okay, so why are you so upset he has a girlfriend? Isn’t that what you wanted to be?”
“Exactly why I am upset!”
“And you feel it’s justified to call this random girl you don’t know a slutbag simply because she’s not you?”
“Exactly!” Sydney collapsed against the couch.
“So, are you going to be upset that I happened to upgrade all of our tickets to meet and greet with backstage passes simply because he’s not single anymore?” I lifted a brow as all seven faces swung my way.
“YOU WHAT?” Sydney shrieked in excitement.
“I did.” I grinned and held up my phone with the “confirmation” email.
She shot off the couch and nearly tackled me in a massive bear hug. “Oh, thank you. Thank you. Thank you,” she repeated over and over and then froze.
Spinning on her heels, she faced her girls, who all squealed. “We need to go shopping tomorrow for outfits. Brand new ones. How does eleven sound?”
“Perfect!” They all parroted agreements.
I let the fake smile fall from my lips. “I still have work tomorrow.”
She waved a hand toward me, brushing me off. “Text us when you’re done, and we’ll let you know where we are.”
Sydney began gossiping with everyone in the circle on the couch, excluding me. Something I would’ve never been upset about or noticed if I hadn’t been looking for it.
And Tera’s smirk put the final nail in the coffin.
All this time.
Taking a deep breath, I shrugged my purse higher up my shoulders and padded quietly down the hallway.
Funny. Sydney hadn’t even mentioned my new dress or heels.
Funny. I had the upgraded tickets, and yet, she was gossiping with everyone else.
This was probably partly my doing, always pretending like I was mostly disinterested in her taste of music. But that had been with a purpose. A purpose I was slowly beginning to doubt if it was worth it.
Tossing my purse on my dresser, I placed the heels on the shoe rack in my closet and grabbed some headphones. Lying down on my bed, I turned on some music and stared at the ceiling. (14)
Notes thumped in my ears, and then Asher’s haunting voice echoed through the speakers. Of course this was the type of music I chose to listen to. Sitting up, I clicked pause and then scrolled down to my music. The stuff that I’d composed years ago when things were new and fresh. Fun still.
And pressed play. (15, 16)
Immediately, I recognized the difference. Less pain danced across the notes. Less heartache and chaos. Some fear, some excitement, some joy. It was beautiful and poetic. I wanted to write something more like that again. Something a little more free. Maybe even something a little darker.
I wanted to feel this sense of being alive coming through my notes in whatever piece I composed this year.
Eventually, the song ended, and a new one began playing.
Misery Business (12) of all songs popped up since, apparently, I’d hit shuffle.
I hummed the tune and then began singing along.
Closing my eyes, I fell into the memory of yesterday.
That feeling of breaking out of the chains that had once bound me came flooding back.
Even if I wasn’t able to see him tonight, there was a piece of him still imprinted on my heart.
There was a piece of him that would always be with me.
I giggled, rolling sideways and curled up in a ball. I could make it through tomorrow. And the next day. I could make it through until I saw him next.