Total pages in book: 115
Estimated words: 107630 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 538(@200wpm)___ 431(@250wpm)___ 359(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107630 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 538(@200wpm)___ 431(@250wpm)___ 359(@300wpm)
Sean doesn’t answer, and my eyes jump up to his, only to find him staring at me intently, his face entirely blank and stony.
“Is that Ben?” I demand, my voice harsher. Not as harsh as the singer’s, but then, I don’t think anyone’s could be.
“What do you think?” Sean finally says.
My body’s gone numb. I click the recommended videos on the side of the screen, watching more and more Midnight Destruction videos and becoming more and more sure with each one that Ben is the lead singer of what I can only assume is a metal band.
Is that what this is? Metal? I don’t even know what it’s called, all I know is . . .
“He lied,” I say hollowly. “Over and over, he lied. Said he was a business consultant. Sat at my parents’ dining table and told them that. And he was lying to them.” Another video, another concert. “He said he has stage fright and can’t sing in front of people. Acted like it was a big deal that he sang a Beatles song for me, like it was special. Like I was special.” Click—another dramatic audience-conducting move. “But there are definitely some people in that audience, and he seems perfectly fine.”
The list goes on and on, song after song, some production videos and others live concerts. In each one, Ben is front and center, pouring his evil heart out as he confidently casts a spell over the crowd.
Through blurry, tear-filled eyes, I pin Sean with a pleading look. “Why would he lie?”
He doesn’t answer my question, but rather asks one of his own. “Does this change things? Would you still choose him over anyone, over anything else?” He flashes that acid-filled smirk and raises his left brow this time. He’s laughing at me. Maybe not outright, but inside, he’s laughing. Like I’m the butt of a joke everyone knew about but me.
“You’re in the band, too, aren’t you? The drummer,” I realize, matching his body to the one in the videos.
He drums his thighs with his palms, creating a rhythm. I never even saw him set his food down when I was lost in his phone. “In the flesh.”
“Is this some sick joke? Is messing with people’s heads fun for you?” I snap angrily. But my voice is too pain-filled to hold any real venom.
Sean laughs outright at that. “Turnabout’s fair play, right? We’ve been fucked over by life, so why not spread the fun a little?” he says bitterly.
“That’s . . . that’s . . .” I have no words to describe what that is. Horrible doesn’t seem even remotely enough. Appalling? Soulless? Evil?
Maybe all those and more.
Of course that’s when the front door opens.
“Hey! Wasn’t expecting to see you this morning,” Ben says, coming in with his easy smile and sexy confidence. When he sees my tear-soaked face, he freezes. I watch as his gaze drifts to Sean, taking in his wolfish grin, and then Ben hisses, “Shit! What the fuck, man?”
He knows exactly what Sean’s done, what he told me, and is furious with him for spilling their secret.
I stand, dumping my box of delicious french toast to the floor, my appetite completely gone. “You lied to me. Manipulated me as you lied over and over. Was any of it even real?” I scream, the realization slamming into me that if he lied about this, he might’ve lied about everything—his mom, the circumstances of his arrest, his feelings for me.
I am such a fool.
Ben holds up his hands, trying to placate me. But I refuse to be controlled like that anymore. I escaped years of Roy’s manipulations only to find myself in one infinitely worse. Oddly, this one hurts so much more.
Ben lifted me up, supported me finding myself while building me up bit by bit. Was it only to make the crash that much more devastating? Is that who he is?
“Hope, let me explain—”
“No! You said to tell you what I want? Tell you the truth? Fine,” I say, throwing my hands wide. “You want to give me what I want? Stay the fuck away from me, Benjamin Taylor. Is that even your real name, or is that part of the joke?” I shake my head, not wanting an answer. All I want is . . . “Leave me alone.”
And, as has become my habit lately, I run.
I bump into Ben as I pass by him, knocking his shoulder almost like I did a few minutes ago when I was trying to shoulder my way past Sean, and he tries to grab me, wanting to control me and keep me here, probably so he can lie to me some more. I jerk out of his clutches, simultaneously planting my palms on his chest to push him hard. He takes a step back, and I use the space to burst out of the trailer, sprint to my car, and climb in, slamming the door as I rush to start it, fumbling clumsily with the keys because I can’t see through my tears.