Page 127 of The Drummer

“Casey!”

Her fingers cut into my arm, and I wrench it away. “Let go of me! It’s not happening, Jana. Ever!”

I storm back toward the restaurant and stop cold.

Callie.

Oh god.

Shock turns to panic at the look on my girlfriend’s face. How much of that did she hear? All I want is peace to be with her and start over, and now…

“Callie…” Her name is all I can get out. I don’t even know what else to say.

Her gaze scans me briefly before settling on something to my right.

“I think he’s made himself pretty clear,” she says to Jana. “Even a ‘country slut’ like me can understand his message.”

My tension eases. The fear melts away. She’s coming to my defense! She should be pissed, and instead?—

I don’t even see the hand before it’s colliding with my face. Pain spreads over my cheek as I stare after Jana in disbelief. She’s already several yards away by the time I process what just happened.

Fire rips through me, every muscle rigid as I watch her go.

Callie is immediately in front of me, but I barely notice until her soft touch fans over the sharp sting.

“Hey, are you okay?” Her voice is gentle, even though she must be furious. Probably because she knows I need compassion more than rage right now.

And god, I want so much to be the person she believes I am.

My eyes slip closed as I try to control my labored breaths. “Fine.”

But I don’t sound fine.

I sound like the broken teenager who wrote “Argyle.” The bloody and shattered kid who hid in Luke’s room for a week after the beating of a lifetime. The boy who had no idea what to do with the pain so he started turning it into music with the help of a best friend who was desperate to do the same.

“Casey…”

She drags my conflicted gaze to hers.

I swallow the memories. My cheek burns, but not as much as the seared edges of my soul.

My head, my heart… I don’t even know. All I know is things feel manageable with Callie’s hand in mine.

“It’s definitely not you… it’s her,” she says with a straight face.

A smile breaks through the pain. The air lifts. “Yeah, I know. I saw that coming after our third date. That’s why there were only three.”

Her laugh soothes the burn in my soul as much as her touch soothes my skin.

“Well, I’m sorry if part of that was my fault. Ironically, I came to find you to give you this.”

Confused, I search her gaze until she leans in to wrap her arms around me. She holds on for several long seconds, and I feel my blood pressure easing.

“Thanks, Callie. I needed that,” I breathe out.

“Me, too,” she says softly.

My heart is still pounding but at least I can breathe again.

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