Page 18 of Wasted

His eyes narrowed, and my stomach growled again. "Please, eat the damn sandwich." He pushed the plate closer to me. "I'll go to bed so you can eat."

I raised my eyes to meet his, hope flickering faintly. "So, are we calling a truce?"

Cole leaned forward, the table creaking under his weight. His eyes bored into mine, unblinking. "I want to be very clear." He paused, jaw clenching. "I'm not your friend. I don't want to hang out with you or catch up." He exhaled slowly, as if reining in his temper. "But for the next two weeks, I will refrain from calling you names and telling everyone you fucked my brother behind my back."

I wanted to correct him and tell him I'd never slept with his brother, but I didn't want to cause another argument because I knew he wasn't going to believe me. "Okay."

"I will tolerate you being in my space and on my bus, but after the two weeks, you and I will go back to Bridgewater together." My brows pulled together. "You'll help me get my family back, and then you'll go away, and we'll never see each other again."

"Your family?"

He nodded. "Yes, you'll help me convince Kylie that I've changed."

"Are you going to change?"

"Yes." His expression was so serious that I believed him.

"Okay. I can do that."

He nodded to my food. "Eat." He twisted to leave.

"Are you and Kylie a thing?" The question slipped out, barely louder than the hum of the bus engine before I could stop it.

He stopped, turning back to me. "That's not really your business, is it?" Cole's words came out sharp, his eyes flashing with barely contained anger.

"No." I shook my head. "It's just Kylie seems to think..."

"That I'm still in love with you," he cut me off, finishing my sentence. My heart lodged in my throat, but I nodded. Even though I knew better. He was about to cut me in half. I would never say it out loud, but I never stopped loving Cole.

He huffed out a laugh. "Kylie is the mother of my daughter. She is my family. She was there for me when you... well, you know what you did. Taylor, I stopped loving you a long time ago." Even though I knew it, his words hit me like a physical blow. He paused for a moment. His tongue swept across his bottom lip as his eyes sized me up like he was deciding just how deep he wanted to cut me. "I need you to hear me. I do not love you anymore, Taylor."

I'd known that, but hearing him say it felt like a million tiny shards of glass cutting through my heart. I guess a small part of me hoped that maybe he did. "Got it." I swallowed hard, fighting back tears. After a long pause, I added quietly, "I told her that, but..."

"I'm going to bed." He paused at the doorway, his back to me. "Please eat the damn sandwich."

He disappeared, and my gaze dropped to the sandwich on the plate in front of me. My stomach curled and growled at the same time. Groaning, I shoved the plate away from me as I dropped my head to the table.

"You can do this, Taylor," I whispered, gripping the edge of the table. I took a deep breath, steeling myself. "It's only two weeks."

Chapter Ten

Cole

The roar of the Virginia crowd was deafening as it pulsed through the arena. Usually, that sound was a rush, but tonight, it didn't have the same effect. I leaned against the wall, my shoulder pressed against the cool concrete, my eyes fixed on Taylor's hunched form across the room, sitting alone in a corner, mechanically shoveling fingers full of cookie dough into her mouth.

I'd wanted to isolate her, to make her so miserable she'd leave and I'd never have to see her again. I won—she was obviously miserable—but she wasn't leaving, and it didn't make me feel any better.

What she'd done was unforgivable, but I probably didn't need to be so cruel. I didn't need to let the entire crew know our past.

A small part of me wanted to go to her, comfort her, but the part she'd broken stopped me. I shoved off the wall, flipping my hat forward and pulling my hoodie over my head as I turned to stroll away.

It wasn't that I needed to hide from the fans because it was too early for fans backstage. It was my team I wanted to avoid.

The tall, lanky man leaned down to the short brunette girl as they passed me. "What is she even doing here?"

I recognized both of them as part of the stage crew. I didn't know their names, but I'd seen them around.

The brunette's eyes darted around before she whispered, "I heard she was here to babysit him." My ears perked up, and I froze mid-step. "After all that bad publicity last month." I spun on my heels, slowly following behind them back through the dark hallways.

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