Total pages in book: 70
Estimated words: 69266 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 346(@200wpm)___ 277(@250wpm)___ 231(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 69266 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 346(@200wpm)___ 277(@250wpm)___ 231(@300wpm)
My words landed like a jab to the kidney.
West winced. He knew exactly what I’d gone through when Campbell first left. How broken I’d been after the death of our mother and then Campbell just up and leaving me all alone. I’d never quite gotten over my abandonment issues, and it didn’t look like it would be happening anytime soon.
“So, you’ll stay here, and I’ll go there. Just like we planned.”
“Neither of us planned this,” I shot back.
“The deal was that we would try this until I went back to LA.” His eyes hardened, as sharp as daggers. “You said I made my choice. So, I made it. You can’t expect me to give up a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
“Of course not. I would never tell you to give up the band.”
“There’s no compromise here,” he said. “Neither of us will bend. You won’t leave, and I can’t stay. Not for you. Not for anyone.”
My heart crunched like broken glass being stepped on.
Why had I thought we could work this out? Why had I thought that love would be enough? When in my life had love ever been enough?
I’d loved my mom with all of my heart, and still, she’d chosen Campbell over the rest of our family. I’d loved Campbell, and he’d chosen LA. I’d loved August, and he’d chosen Tamara.
It tracked that when I fell in love again, I’d have my heart ripped out of my still-beating chest. Every person I’d ever held on to picked someone else over me. I’d thought that I was moving on from it. West had shown me how to move on, but he was a new source of the same problem.
I wasn’t enough.
I’d never ever been enough.
I took a step back as the realization slammed into me like a high-speed train.
“I can’t do this,” I said and brushed past him and toward my bedroom.
“Nora, what are you doing?”
“Leaving.”
“What?” he asked in shock. “Where are you going?”
“I don’t know. To Hollin’s.” Then, I shook my head. “No, my dad’s. I can’t stay here.”
“I’m leaving tomorrow.”
“Then, you can spend your last night alone,” I said with a shake of my head. “Go live your big dream. I can’t be here and love you. Everything about this place is you. It’s all you.”
“Nora…”
“You made your choice, West.” I whipped around to face him. “Tell me you love me. Tell me we can work this out.”
I waited. I hoped. I prayed.
But West stared at me and remained silent. Those words didn’t pass his lips. He wasn’t going to try with me. It wasn’t worth it for him.
I’d settled for less than I deserved once before. I wouldn’t do it again. So, I turned my back on his silence and packed my suitcase. I held the tears back long enough to get into the car, but then they unleashed until I couldn’t even see the windshield. I pulled over and let all the devastation loose.
27
Weston
I couldn’t sleep.
Nora’s words rang through my mind. I’d totally fucked it up. Utterly and completely. There was nothing I could say to fix it. I couldn’t tell her I loved her. She wouldn’t go, and I couldn’t stay. Long-distance was never going to work. There was no compromise here. There was only the end, like we’d planned from the start.
After tossing and turning all night, I packed my suitcases, picking my closet clean. Without Nora here, I’d have to figure out what to do with the place. Whitt would probably look over it until I could decide.
Two knocks came from the front door, and then it opened.
“Knock, knock,” Whitt said.
I’d asked him this morning if he’d drive me to the airport. He’d texted back, asking why Nora wasn’t doing it. I hadn’t been able to tell him the truth and just said she was busy.
“Wow, you look like shit,” Whitt said with a laugh. “Too much partying last night?”
I ran a hand along the back of my head. “Nora and I…fuck, I don’t know what you’d call it. We got into a huge fight, and she left.”
“She left the house?” He arched an eyebrow.
I nodded. “I guess we broke up.”
Whitt crossed his arms, but he didn’t look surprised. “Because you’re leaving?”
“Yeah.”
“Hmm,” Whitt said. He reached for one of my suitcases. “All right.”
“What does that mean?”
“Don’t you usually know?”
Yeah, he was right. I sighed. “You think it’s for the better.”
“Isn’t that why you did it?”
I ran my hands down my face. “I don’t even know anymore.”
Whitt put a hand on my shoulder. “Look, I like Nora. I like you with Nora. You seemed steady. She seemed happy. But how would it even work? You’re going to be a thousand miles away. And then on tour for most of the year. That’s not even possible.”
“That’s what I said to her.”
Still, it felt like every inhalation was glass in my lungs.