Page 41 of Love is a Lyric
“Well…” There was that lip biting again. “I’ve known you my entire life, Ben, and you’ve never wanted to hang out.”
“Sure, I have.”
She shook her head. “No, you had Quinn, and I had Chase. We were never exactly a foursome. And the entire time I’ve worked for Quinn, the only time we’ve spent alone together was for a purpose, to help you with the songs. So, I guess I’m just wondering what you need.”
“Need?” Was he really that much of a jerk? Piper gave up her free time whenever Quinn wrote new lyrics to help him learn them. She anticipated his every need, revolving her entire life around the band.
And he’d never treated her like a friend, like the sister he claimed she was. He couldn’t think what else to say to her as she stepped around him.
“I’m going to help Julia with dinner.”
All he could do as she walked away was nod like the idiot his mom claimed he wasn’t.
* * *
He tried to help in the kitchen, but the women ran him off, claiming he was more hindrance than anything. Chase wouldn’t be joining them because he apparently had a date. At least one of the Evans brothers was moving forward.
It was like Ben’s feet were stuck in quicksand as the world moved around him. There were his parents happily in love. Chase and his life of independence, living on his own terms. Quinn and Conner not caring about the consequences.
And Piper… wanting to take care of everyone around her.
She’d told him it was her way to not be a burden, but he didn’t believe that. Some people were special, and he’d started to see Piper Hayes might be the most special one of them all.
Why hadn’t Quinn seen it? He thought back to all the abuse Piper took from her sister, the abuse Ben let happen. He was such a chump. Piper stood up for him, even though he’d never done it for her.
He sat on the couch in front of the Reds game his dad had on the TV. Jonathan Evans was a lot like Ben’s mom in that he’d always known where he stood with him, how much he cared. It was something Ben hadn’t appreciated until he’d entered the music world where the only thing people cared about was how good your next song was.
Except the Rockstars Anonymous group. Wasn’t that why Melanie started it? To prove to them they weren’t alone? That they didn’t have to let that world crush them?
And when Ben probably needed them most, he’d shut them out.
“How’s the season been, Dad?” Unlike Chase, his dad had always been a baseball fan. They were a house divided between baseball and hockey.
“Ah, you know. Has its ups and downs.” He lifted the remote to turn down the volume. “They kick you out of there too?”
Ben nodded. “Like I was some intruder.”
His dad barked a laugh. “Your mother has missed that girl ever since she left us to go work for you all. Let them have their time.”
“I’m her son.” He wasn’t really upset, but he couldn’t help himself.
“And Piper is her daughter.” He reclined his chair. “Did you know Amanda Hayes wanted to be a singer?”
“Piper and Quinn’s mom?”
A sad smile flitted across his dad’s face. “That’s how I met your mother. Amanda performed at an open mic night where my buddy Travis tended bar.”
Travis. Piper’s father.
His dad continued. “It was never the same after that night. The four of us became inseparable. We’d have done anything for each other.”
“Including raising their daughter.”
A sigh escaped his dad. “That was the easiest decision we ever made. We already loved that little girl, and it was like keeping a piece of our best friends with us.”
“So, Quinn took after her mom? With the singing?”
He smiled. “Both of them did.”
