Chapter 16
Chapter Sixteen
GAVIN
Iclose my eyes and tilt my head back, the lukewarm water from the shower washing over me.
I’ve been in here for a while, replaying what transpired with Aly over and over in my head.
After I left her house, I mindlessly drove around town until I came back here and decided a shower might help clear my mind.
Seeing her cry and beg me to trust her shredded my heart, and I keep trying to think what I would’ve done if I were in her shoes.
I would’ve fucking said something right away, but I’ve come to understand Aly’s point of why she didn’t tell me at first. From the beginning, Aly has been interested in getting to know me as a person, not Gavin McNeer, the country music singer, and her actions have always proven that.
She’s never inserted herself into my career and has always been supportive.
When I need her, she’s there for me. It has always been me who would talk business, not her.
Since day one, Aly’s been with me for the right reasons.
“Shit,” I mumble, realizing I’ve completely fucked up. I stretch my arms out in front of me against the tile wall of the shower and hang my head down, trying to come up with a plan to prove to her that I do trust her.
Once I’m done with my shower, I’ll call Aly and see if she can meet me.
I need to reassure her that we’re going to be okay.
This is our first argument, and I’m sure it won’t be our last, but what I do know is I won’t let this break us.
Even though this situation is going to make seeing Kathleen Davidson very awkward from now on, but I’ll do it for Aly.
I’m so deep in my thoughts that I don’t hear the shower door open. Hands wrap around me from behind, startling me. I feel a cheek against my back and assume it’s Aly, since only she and Sosie have a key to my apartment. I sigh in relief, grateful she’s sought me out.
“Baby, I’m so glad you’re here,” I tell her with a smile, feeling her hands slowly moving down my abs, making their way to my cock. I look down at those hands and pause, my smile fading in confusion.
Aly never paints her nails red.
I turn around and my jaw drops open in shock when I see Tori standing there and not Aly.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?
” I roar in fury, my vision going red in anger.
I feel like I need another shower to wash off the poison from her touch.
“Get the fuck out of here!” I twist the shower knob off with one hand, and with my other, wrap it around her bicep and walk her out of the shower.
I grab a towel and wrap it around my waist, not offering her one as I walk into my bedroom to grab my cell phone to call the police.
I look at my screen to see I have two missed calls from Sosie and one from Aly. Fuck!
“Awe, sweetie, why are you acting this way? You know you’ve missed me.” She tries to reach for me, but I sidestep around her and start picking up her clothes that she’s left all over my floor. I follow the trail into the living room, and once they’re all picked up, I push them into her arms.
“Get dressed and get the fuck out. How did you get into my apartment?” I question with narrowed eyes. I had my locks changed after we broke up in case this kind of shit happened.
“Money will buy you everything, Gavin.”
I look at her in disgust, seeing she’s exactly like her father, and it makes me realize I don’t want to be associated with these two anymore.
“It will never buy me! I’m filing a restraining order against your psycho ass.” I watch her throw back her head and laugh, as if I just told her the funniest shit she’s ever heard.
What in the hell did I ever see in her?
“Go ahead, if you want to watch your career go down the drain,” she threatens with a crazy glint in her eye. She walks over to my couch and sits down to start putting her clothes on.
I need to burn that couch.
I turn to go to my bedroom to get dressed, when I stop dead in my tracks at the sound of a key sliding into my lock.
Fuck, that better not be Aly!
I say a silent prayer of thanks when the door is thrown open and Sosie barrels in. She stops short and looks between me and Tori, her face crestfallen as she sees our unclothed bodies. I grip the towel around my waist tighter while Tori takes her time putting her clothes back on.
“Gavin, how could you?” she cries out in anguish, tears looking like they’re pooling in her eyes.
“How could I what? I didn’t do anything! This bitch broke into my place while I was taking a shower.” Sosie looks over at Tori, who smirks at her in confirmation. “I was just about to get dressed to go down to the police station.”
“You’re committing career suicide, Gavin,” Tori warns while hooking her bra back on. She seems calm right now, but I can see her hands shaking.
“My career was just fine before I met you. If anything, being associated with you has probably tarnished it.”
She shakes her head at me and continues to get dressed. Tori’s reputation in the industry is at an all-time low, making me wonder how many of my peers were actually laughing behind my back when I was dating her.
“If nothing happened, then why does Aly think something did?”
My head whips around back to Sosie, panic starting to fill me at what she’s implying. “When did you see Aly?”
“I just saw her downstairs a couple minutes ago, bawling her eyes out. She told me you two were together. Why would she think that?” Sosie and I stare at each other before we both look over at Tori, whose evil smile confirms she’s behind Aly thinking we slept together.
“What the fuck did you say to her?” I slowly move toward her, ready to haul her ass out of here, but not before she tells me what she did.
She stands up from the couch and slips her feet into her high heels.
“I didn’t want to be rude and let your guest think you weren’t home, so I opened the door and told her you were in the shower.
I can’t help she assumed we slept together when she saw I was only wearing my bra and underwear.
” The smug look of satisfaction on her face causes me to stop thinking rationally.
I rush toward her and grip her arms hard, wanting to shake that fucking look off her face.
“If one bruise is noticeable on me, I will tell everyone you assaulted me in the shower.” As if her words were fire to my skin, I let her go, choosing to not waste my time on her any longer.
“You think anyone would believe you?” I snort at her and enjoy seeing her smile falter.
“Your word doesn’t mean shit in this industry anymore.
You’ve tainted everyone and everything you’ve touched.
Your fans will soon follow.” I mentally count to ten while I walk to the door and open it for her to leave.
“I’m done with you and your father. Find yourself another songwriter.
Now get the fuck out of here.” I smile coldly at her, despite my temper being held together by a very thin thread.
She walks up to me and has the audacity to caress my cheek before saying, “See you around, lover,” and walks out. I slam the door after her, wrap my hands around the back of my neck, and look up at the ceiling to gain my composure.
“That girl is straight up delusional,” Sosie says softly after we stand there in silence for a few moments.
I inhale deeply and close my eyes, wishing that today was just a bad dream. But it wasn’t and my first priority needs to be saving my relationship. I exhale out a shaky breath and start walking to my bedroom to get dressed. “I need to find Aly.”
“Maybe you should give her some time. She was in pretty bad shape when I saw her.” Sosie follows me into my room and sits on my bed while I get dressed inside my walk-in closet.
“In this situation, time will only make things worse. I just can’t believe she would think I would cheat on her like that.
” I shake my head at the thought, not understanding why she would for one second think I would not only cheat on her, but go back to someone as despicable as Tori.
Then again, I thought she was only with me for a promotion. Fuck!
“Let’s play role reversal for a second, Gavin.
How would you feel if right after a fight with her, you show up on her doorstep and a hot, half-naked man, who happens to be her ex-boyfriend, answers the door and tells you she’s in the shower?
” She raises a questioning eyebrow at me, knowing full well how I would react.
I would punch his fucking lights out and never talk to her again, assuming the worst.
“You’re right. Thanks for the reality check, Sos.”
“You’re welcome—that’s my job.”
I can’t help the chuckle that escapes me, because she’s the queen at making sure I eat my slice of humble pie and admit when I’m wrong.
“Where do you plan on starting your search for her?” she asks while I finish getting ready. “I doubt she went back to work.”
“If she isn’t at home or work, then I don’t know where she would be.
Maybe Shane knows. She would’ve had to call in and tell him she’s not coming back, and if she didn’t, he would’ve called me asking if I know where she is.
” I don’t want to call Valerie or Willow and worry them in case they don’t know what’s happening yet.
I think Shane would be my best bet to start off with.
If I can’t get a hold of him, then I will just camp out at her place until she comes home.
“I can call him right now if you want?” Sosie offers, and I can tell she wants to find Aly just as much as I do.
“No, I’ll call Shane.” I come out of my closet dressed and place a couple suitcases on the bed.
I reach for my keys and cell phone off my nightstand and put them in my jeans pockets.
“I need you to start packing up my stuff for me while I’m gone.
I can’t stay here any longer. Once I find Aly, I will call you so you can meet me down at the police station. ”
Sosie’s eyes widen in surprise. “You are seriously going to the police?” she asks in disbelief.
“Abso-fucking-lutely. I’m going to file a report about her breaking into my place and get a restraining order against her.”
Sosie gets off the bed, throws her arms around my waist, and squeezes. Hugs are a rare commodity from Sosie, so I take what I can get and hug her back. It only lasts a couple of seconds, and she releases her hold on me.
“I’m proud of you, Gav. It might get ugly with the Langstons, but you’re doing the right thing.”
“I appreciate that, Sos,” I tell her while ruffling her hair, and that annoyed expression of hers that I love comes back on her face.
“I refuse to let anyone manipulate me for the good of my career. I know I’ll be just fine.
” I give her a tentative smile and nod toward the bed where the suitcases are.
“Thanks in advance for helping me pack. I’ll call you as soon as I find Aly. ”
“Good luck!” she calls after me. I briskly make my way out of the apartment and run to the elevators. As soon as the doors close after me to take me downstairs to the garage, I call Shane.
“You have some nerve calling me, asshole,” he growls into the phone, answering my question if he’s heard from Aly or not.
“Shane, I didn’t sleep with that psychopath!
She broke into my house while I was showering.
Aly just happened to show up after she did and assumed the worst, which Tori led her to believe.
” I go straight to the point, not wanting to waste any more time on the discussion of Tori.
“I plan on filing a police report and getting a restraining order against her after I find Aly.”
“Are you kidding me with this? Actually, this does sound very much like something Tori would do. Ugh, why am I believing this nonsense?” Shane sighs with exasperation. “Seriously, this stuff is even too crazy for Jerry Springer!”
“Where’s Aly, Shane?” I try not to sound too demanding while I start my car and drive out of the garage, but I’d rather have a clear idea of where I’m going than drive around without a clue.
“I don’t know if I want to tell you. She told me the whole story, and yes, she should’ve told you and me about Kathleen’s proposition when it happened, but you should’ve never believed Aly would use you for her career.
” I let him chastise me without interruption, because he’s right, and I need to hear it come from someone other than Sosie.
“You’re right, Shane, and I do believe she would never do that. I handled it poorly, and because I needed time to think, the situation has now gotten worse.”
“It sure has! Do you know she quit her job for you? Because I’m still having a hard time dealing with that.”
“What?” I practically run off the road from the shock of the news. I pull over into an office parking lot to try to calm my racing heart.
Aly quit BLM?
“That’s right, you big Texas jerk! She thought quitting her job would prove her loyalty to you. If you would’ve believed in her when she first told you, none of this shit would’ve happened!”
Even though he’s yelling at me, I’m not listening to a word he’s saying as my heart breaks at what I’ve caused her to do.
“Shane!” I yell back, interrupting his next tirade against me. “Tell me where she fucking is! I need to make this right.”
Silence is his response back to me as he contemplates whether to tell me or not.
“You better not make me regret this,” he warns before telling me. “She’s at Radnor Lake. It’s her favorite place to go to decompress from stress.”
I smile at how funny fate works, because Radnor Lake is one of my favorite places to go hiking in Nashville, and Aly doesn’t even know that about me yet.
“She always parks by the visitor center. Her favorite bench is off of Lake Trail.”
“Thanks for believing me, Shane. It means a lot to me,” I tell him sincerely. From what I know of Shane, he’s extremely loyal. I have no doubt it was hard for him to tell me where she is.
“Don’t make me track you down and kill you,” he warns, his tone making me chuckle.
“I promise you I won’t.” I tell him goodbye and drive straight to Radnor Lake, determined to win my baby back.