Page 52 of Love is a Lyric
“Yes, yes you are.”
“Just over a week ago, Ben found out my sister was cheating on him. A week. I’ve never had the right to think of him as anything other than a surrogate brother.”
“Piper, I am your brother. Ben is not. You and I were raised together, but even if he’s not a brother to you, he was in love with Quinn for years. He has that whole theory about fate… I don’t want you getting hurt.”
Could she tell him about the songs? Would it even matter at this point? At first, she’d kept quiet to protect Quinn. Even after everything she did, she was still her sister.
But now, when the knowledge could change everything?
She held the words down, not even admitting them to her best friend, her brother, for fear of what they’d mean. If Ben truly believed he was tied to the songs, she didn’t want his affections turned to her.
She didn’t want him falling in love with her because of words on a page.
None of it would be real.
“I won’t get hurt, Chase. I promise. I know who Ben is, and I know who I am. Don’t worry, this head of mine doesn’t have any delusions.”
“Piper—”
“It’s okay, really. I just need to get him back to where he belongs.”
Chase went quiet, and when he spoke again, his tone held a new sadness. “And what about you, Piper? Will you get to where you belong?”
That was the problem, wasn’t it? She didn’t know where she belonged. “Yeah, Chase. I’m going to be fine.”
She only wished she believed her own words. As she hung up, she leaned back on her bed in a room she’d made her own after coming here an orphan, a broken child. The Evans healed her, they put her back together piece by piece.
And she’d do that for Ben. It wasn’t the same, she knew that. Losing a girlfriend, an inspiration, didn’t compare to parents dying, but it wasn’t fair to compare pains.
Because in the end, it all hurt.
* * *
A crash of thunder ripped through the sky, but no rain followed it as the front door crashed open and Chase rushed in, a grin on his face. “Hey, family.”
Piper looked around the empty foyer, lifting one brow. Chase loved entrances, but only she’d been there to greet him. When his car pulled down the long drive, she’d sighed, not wanting another lecture.
But his smile told her he had another reason for showing up, despite the storm that had been building all day.
Crossing her arms over her chest, she stared at him. “Dinner is over, but if you’re here for food, your mom packed some up for you in the fridge.” She’d said he’d come looking eventually.
“Perfect.” Chase brushed by her. “I’m starving.”
Piper followed him into the kitchen. After dinner, Julia and Jonathan went out to get some ice cream. Ben turned them down and retreated to his room. Piper hadn’t been hungry anymore, so she’d stayed on the off-chance Ben would break the silence he’d kept up all day.
Chase bent into the fridge and pulled out a plate of barbecue chicken and mashed potatoes.
Piper took out a covered bowl. “Want some asparagus?”
Chase reared back as if she’d shot him. “Do you not know me at all?”
She laughed. “Okay then. No veggies. Just keep with the carbs.”
“Hush, I know for a fact Mom probably made you pancakes this morning.”
“How do you know that?”
“Because it’s Saturday.” He took his plate to the table and sat, eating as if it was his first meal in weeks. “I had a date tonight, but it was bad. Awful. We both agreed to leave before we got to the main course, so I’m starving.”
