Page 32 of Wylder and the Secret Rockstar
Her eyes slammed to his. "We weren't a cover band. That song was ours." It was calledToday is Our Day."Becks and I wrote it." It was the last song they ever wrote together.
Silence stretched between them as Logan stared.
Devyn scooted from the bed. "I just... he asked me to show him, Wylds."
"Dev." Wylder tried to control her anger. "I love you, but please leave."
She shut the door behind her, enclosing Wylder and Logan like two wild animals ready to pounce. Their moment from before when he saw the drums was gone. Gone was the soft laughter or the way he'd reverently looked at her kit.
When he finally spoke again, the words weren't what she expected. "Why don't you play anymore?"
Her shoulders deflated, and she wished more than anything he'd leave, but she also wanted him to stay. The two warring emotions exhausted her. The music and the secrets exhausted her.
Sinking onto the bed beside him, she stared at her drums as if they were the source of all this pain, all this trouble. "I..."
"I lied before," he said. "You weren't pretty good. Wylder, that video was amazing. The way you played... I've rarely seen anything like it. And that song... When your voice took up the chorus, I knew."
"Knew what?"
"Whatever made you quit, made you want to avoid music so much you'd drop this class, it had to hurt more than I could ever imagine."
"Logan." She met his eyes, unable to look away. "You aren't supposed to understand me. We hate each other, remember?"
One corner of his mouth hooked up. "Oh, I remember. But I also know what it's like to keep a secret, to hold something so deep even the people closest to you don't see it. Especially them. Sometimes it's easier to tell it to someone you despise."
"How do you reckon?"
"Because whatever you say to me... in the end, you don't care what I think about you, so what does it matter?"
The words built up in her throat, words she'd never told another person, until she couldn't hold them back any longer. "My brother's rise to fame was so quick, I never really got to come to terms with it. Ugh, why am I telling you this?"
"Because you know I understand."
She met his eyes again. He was right. If anyone wouldn't judge her for this, it was him. "He left without a thought. It was just assumed that once he graduated,Anonymouswould be no more."
"Why? You guys were great."
"But not great enough for him. He had bigger plans than a small-town band and small-town people. Julian never wanted to continue playing, but me... I didn't get the choice. Becks never even considered that I could come too, that I could be a part of his success. I've never told anyone that before."
"And that made you stop playing?"
"Not at first, but it started the spiral." She couldn't look away from the flecks of gold in his eyes, the way they seemed to see every part of her. "Please don't ask me to play. I-I can't. Not for this."
His throat bobbed as he swallowed. "I won't. You don't have to do anything you're not ready for, Wylder. But... I've seen videos of you playing drums now and singing... Whatever you think about yourself, don't let it be that you aren't good enough. Because you are."
No one had ever said those words to her before, and she couldn't quite believe they came from Logan Cook, the boy who'd done nothing but torment her. Realizing they'd gotten closer, she cleared her throat. "We should probably get to work."
He nodded, leaning back. "Maybe we can write something pretty great after all."
Reaching over, she stole his notebook with a smile and started writing down ideas.
After a while, Devyn dropped by to try to convince them to go to lunch with her. They declined, and she left. A few minutes later, Killian barged in, stopping when he saw Logan on Wylder's bed.
"Hey, guys!" With a shrug, he threw himself down between them. "I just got back from Cleveland, and I'm already bored."
"Isn't your boyfriend supposed to keep you entertained?" Wylder poked him.
He groaned. "Diego had a Zoom meeting with the team in Cali at his dad's company that's working on his app."
