Page 58 of The Masks We Wear

Her eyes glaze over and a tear streams down her cheek, “I could’ve gone with you.”

I never considered the possibility of that. I never considered uprooting her and Mom but Mom has never been tied to one place. She could find one of her boyfriends anywhere. Lucy? I never considered her moving. She’s young and in school, it wouldn’t have been fair to make her start all over again. “I would never make you move because of me.”

She cracks, more tears pouring down her cheeks. “Harvey, I hate it here.”

My brows furrow, this grabs my attention. I never thought she didn’t like it here. She’s never given me a reason to think she wasn’t happy. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, you travel a lot for work and I get stuck alone with Mom. I don’t fit in at school and I’m not happy here,” she cries.

I stride over to her with hurried steps and wrap my arms around her, her face pressing against my abdomen with our height difference. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because you pay so much money for me to go to that school. You’ve made so many sacrifices for me,” she sobs and I rub gentle circles on her back.

I feel my own eyes glazing over. How could I have been so blind? How could I not tell she was unhappy? “I’m so sorry. I should’ve known.”

She shakes her head, “Not without me telling you. I’m sorry,”she apologizes.

I drop to my knees so that we’re on eye level. “You never have to apologize to me. Not ever.”

She breaks out of my arms and places her small hands on my shoulders, “Do you love her?” She doesn’t have to say Brody’s name for me to know she’s talking about her. My feelings for Brody are that obvious.

I close my eyes, nodding as my head lowers. I was so afraid of admitting the truth because I was afraid of being vulnerable, of not having control. But the truth is, nothing within the world of Brody Drake is capable of withholding any semblance of control. The girl is a whirlwind of chaos and I hated it at first but I fell in love with it and couldn’t picture my life without it in just three months. I’ve never had anything I loved aside from Lucy and then when I did, I crushed it in my fist and left its ashes at my feet in Florida of all places. “I love her so much.” A single tear, the only tear I’ve shed since I was a baby rolls down my cheek with my confession.

Lucy gasps but grabs my face in her hands. She smiles as she looks into my eyes, her face so similar to mine. “Then you need to go back to wherever she is now.”

I shake my head, “I can’t. It’s too late. I broke her heart and lied to her.”

She frowns, “So make it right. Fix it and move to Los Angeles to be with her if you really love her. Mom and I will move with you and if you take the job there, I’ll be able to see you more since you won’t be traveling anymore.”

What she’s giving me is a chance to finally live my life for me. Could I actually take this chance? There’s no guarantee Brody would forgive me. There’s no confirmation that she’d evenwantme to move to LA to be with her. I could’ve ruined everything when I left but not trying to fix things is even worse. If I don’t take a chance on us, on love, I’ll never see her again and thatidea sits even worse with me than the idea of her never forgiving me. I’d drop to my knees and beg for her forgiveness, tell her I love her a million times, or whatever else it takes to get her to forgive me. I’m willing to do whatever it takes for Brody Drake’s love and my sister just gave me her blessing to do so. I smile wide at my sister, a genuine smile. “Lucy, grab your bag. I’m bringing you back to Mom’s and then I’m getting on the next plane to New York.”

“Will you make it in time for her show?” Lucy asks, worry in her voice.

I look at the clock and then back at my sister. “I’ll find a way.”

Lucy gives me a toothy smile and sprints upstairs, grabbing her overnight bag. I hurry to my own room, grabbing basic necessities and throwing them in a bag before packing Lucy and I into my car and bringing her to Mom’s. She jumps out of the car and nods, “Good luck. Don’t mess it up again.”

“Are you sure you want me to be happy or is all this because you want your favorite celebrity to be your sister?” I raise a brow, teasing her. I’m sure her idol being with her brother is part of what made her so quick to grant me her blessing, but my happiness weighed more heavily in the decision.

She rolls her eyes, “You caught me,” she raises her hands in mock surrender. A second later, she pushes the amusement away and points a scolding finger at me, “Now go, hurry up before you miss the show.” She goes to shut my car door and hesitates, “Love you.”

“Love you, too,” I say before she closes the door and I’m pulling out of the driveway. I speed down the street, pulling my phone out of the cupholder.

I click on Selene’s contact and press the call button. She answers on the fourth ring, just when I think she’s going to ignore my call. “If you’re calling to ask me for updates on Brody, you’re out of luck because I’m not going to tell you anything.”

I smile to myself. Selene’s unwavering loyalty to Brody runs so deep and it relieves me to know that she has someone on her side always. Especially in Hollywood where celebrities are exploited by their managers and publicists everyday just for paychecks. No, that’s not Selene Stone. Selene has been Brody’s best friend since they were kids and that’ll never change. “That wasn’t why I was calling, but your loyalty is admirable.”

She sighs into the phone, annoyed. “What do you want? I have a show to organize and huge problems to deal with,” her voice sounds exhausted.

I frown, my brows knotting together, “What kind of problems?”

“Thanks to you leaving, Brody’s been MIA and doesn’t want to work so they never finished the album. They were one song short and now the label wants to drop them and sue them for everything they’re worth. And guess who has to deal with it?” Her voice holds so much resentment.

No.Come on, Brody.“Selene, I need a VIP ticket to the show, that’s why I’m calling,” I demand, changing the subject with urgency in my voice.

She scoffs, “And why the fuck would you need that?”

I take a deep breath, “Because I’m coming to New York and I’m telling Brody I love her. Then I’m gonna fix this fucking mess and if I have to fight the label in her honor, I will do that because I’m never walking away from her again.”

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