Page 101 of Hard Rock Desires
Damn, now I felt bad for the poor guy.
I clapped Micah on the shoulder.
“Thanks for telling me,” I said. “I won’t punch you in the mouth for corrupting our little sister.”
He glared at me, then he sighed as his face softened.
“It’s my problem to worry about, not yours,” he said. “I just thought it might help you to know. Me moving out had nothing to do with you. It doesn’t mean I’m going to leave the band.”
“I never seriously believed you would,” I said. “Not really.”
“You might not have believed it in here,” he said, tapping my forehead with his index finger. “But what about in here?” He moved to tap my chest.
I swatted his hand away. “Quit it.”
“I’m just saying, not everyone is going to leave you,” he replied. “You don’t need to get pissy and push people away just because you’re afraid they’re going to leave you first.”
I stared at him, stunned.
“What?” I said numbly.
“I said what I said,” Micah replied. “Now think about it.”
I sat down heavily on a barstool. I stared blankly at the wall. Grace’s words echoed in my head again.
I can’t be with you…
I won’t stand around and wait…
I guess there’s nothing more to talk about…
And now, for the first time, I could hear my own response back, as clear as if I’d said it out loud.
Fine, then. If you don’t want to stick around, then leave. No one’s asking you to stay.
I groaned and thumped my head against the marble-topped counter.
Well, shit.
Thirty-Three
Grace
I’d gotten so upset at Zain.
I stared down into my mug of tea.
After that phone call with my mother, after finding out what had really happened to Meg, I’d started to see my actions in a new light.
I swirled the teabag with my spoon.
I had yelled at Zain because I’d been angry, scared and overwhelmed. I’d shouted, and cried and then stormed out on him.
Regret gnawed at my chest as the spoon clinked against the ceramic mug.
That wasn’t to say I thought I had been completely irrational. Finn really had done something dangerous. He really could have hurt someone.
But there was no reason why I’d had to go off on Zain the way I had right then and there. I could have waited until I felt less agitated and upset. I could have made sure I was calmer before trying to have that conversation again.
