Page 24 of Wasted

I crumbled the letter in my fist and threw it at her feet. "I'm not interested in anything either of you have to say."

"You know what, Cole," Taylor said, her voice taking on a steely edge as she shrugged. "If you want to throw it away, go ahead, but before you do, remember those are the last words your brother will ever say to you." She stepped back. "I did mypart, and I gave you the letter. What you do with it now is up to you." She threw the door closed, but I shoved my arm out, stopping it.

My gaze dropped to the letter, and a mixture of anger and hurt swirled through me. "I'm not sure what hurts worse." My eyes flicked up, meeting hers. "The fact that you knew how important my brother was to me or that he knew how in love I was with you."

"Cole," she sighed, leaning down and picking up the letter. "Just read the letter." She held the crumbled-up envelope out. Sucking in a deep breath, I exhaled as I took it from her.

She closed the door, and I stared at the envelope.

My brother and I were best friends growing up, but this had destroyed our relationship. After I left town, I never spoke to him or Taylor again. I hadn't even gone to his funeral. My brows furrowed. None of this ever made any sense. Caleb was so in love with Kylie, and I thought Taylor was so in love with me, but out of nowhere, they announced they were engaged. Maybe this letter explained it. Maybe I should have let Taylor explain it. Maybe this was the closure I needed to move on with my life.

Chapter Thirteen

Taylor

It was the final show.

I hid in the shadows backstage, trying to go unnoticed, and so far, I was invisible. This was my last chance to see him in his zone doing what he loved to do. Out of the five shows he'd performed while I was on tour with him, I'd missed all of them because he always managed to get to me before every performance. I didn't want to go back to Bridgewater without seeing him perform.

This was the reason I did what I did. So he could shine in the spotlight.

The stadium was packed, and the fans chanting his name echoed through the arena and backstage. When the arena lights dimmed, I stepped out just in time to see the massive screens light up with Cole in painted-on dark jeans, boots, and a fitted camo green t-shirt. The crowd went wild. He flipped his forward-facing ball cap backward, and my belly swooped as the female audience's squealing screams became deafening. His gorgeous face lit up when he heard the fans.

The camera followed his entire journey from his dressing room to the stage with his whole team, including Wyatt, following him as he sang along with his music, dancing and hyping up the fans. I held my breath, and my thighs clenched before scolding my body for responding to him, knowing I could never have him again.

I couldn't help but get lost in the rush of seeing him like I was his number one fan. I was. Even if he hated me. I was always behind the scenes, cheering him on.

The screens went black, and the spotlights focused on a single spot on the stage as the music hyped up the crowd just before he burst through.

I stood just off stage watching for the entire show, mesmerized as he sang song after song under the bright lights, and electricity buzzed through me.

"It's really something," Wyatt stepped in beside me, "isn't it?"

"Incredible." I smiled, not taking my eyes off him. "Seeing this makes me feel better about the decision I made." Wyatt nodded. "This is what he was born to do."

"He's definitely one of a kind," Wyatt said, shoving his hands into his pockets. "I've never worked with someone so motivated, and he's breaking all the records."

"The fans love him," I said.

Wyatt smirked. "The women love him."

I laughed, nodding in agreement. That was the truth. He had hundreds of thousands of women dying for a chance with him. He might be angry with me, but eventually, he would meet someone new and move on. Tomorrow, we went home, and then life went back to normal for both of us. Cole would continue his rockstar lifestyle, and I would go home to my small-town living.

My gaze followed Cole as he moved from one end of the stage, jumping, dancing, singing, stopping for pictures, shakinghands with fans in the pit, and then working his way back to the other side.

The song ended, and he threw his fist into the air.

The guitar intro to Heartless started, followed by drums as they enhanced the buildup. Cole's gaze shifted to where I stood offstage like he'd known I'd been there the whole time. The corner of his lips curved up, and my heart rate kicked up because I already knew he was about to call me out. It was written all over his face. He wanted to hurt me, humiliate me like I'd done to him. He was going to let all his fans know exactly who he wrote 'Heartless' for.

A lump rose in my throat, and my mind screamed at me to run, but I was frozen. The music stopped when Cole missed his cue to start singing, but he was so focused on me as he moved in my direction that I wasn’t sure he could even hear the music.

Wyatt must have realized what was going on because he stepped in front of me, shielding me from Cole. Sucking in a deep breath, I held it as my heart pounded as I stood waiting. Waiting for him to announce to his fans that I was the one who broke his heart, but it didn't come. Instead, the music started, and this time, he hit his cue and belted out the lyrics.

My heart ached to hear him sing those words, knowing they were meant for me.

After all those years and all that love,

four little words destroyed me.

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