Page 31 of Tattoos and Heartbreak
I didn’t know what the guy meant, exactly, and couldn’t even remember his name—had I ever known it?—but I didn’t want him hanging around any longer. I also didn’t know what I was supposed to do now. What the hell had this guy said that had set Rivers off? He’d been talking and laughing with me like everything was fine—like he hadn’t left me standing in the hall on my own last night—and then suddenly this guy shows up and...
Wait.
Last night when I was talking to this guy, Rivers had called me up on stage. Now the guy showed up again and Rivers stormed out in a huff. Was there something about this guy that specifically set him off? Or was it the jealousy I’d thought it must be last night? Could it be that Rivers had gotten so attached to me that he didn’t want anyone else talking to me?
Was he the sort of guy who not only had the tattoos and heartbreak, but also a healthy dose of protective jealousy?
Or was he just too dramatic to bother with?
Honestly, I didn’t know which was a better option. Neither was going to be okay if he didn’t learn to express his emotions a little bit better. This stalking off in full-on brooding mode didn’t do anyone any good. It just left room for doubt.
Maybe I should swear off breakfast with rock stars, I thought. Maybe I should go back to Nashville where I knew what to expect and who to expect it from. Get myself out of this whole rock-and-roll world full of guys who did things that didn’t make sense.
Leaving, though, would mean leaving my chance at a contract behind. Right now, I had a good shot at that contract. Taylor had practically promised it to me. All I had to do was keep pretending to be with Rivers and keep him on the straight and narrow.
The problem was, I was starting to have real feelings for the guy.
Things were getting a whole lot more complicated than Taylor had probably intended. And I wasn’t sure how to protect myself from that.
I got up slowly, still not sure what I wanted to do, and walked toward the door. One thing was for sure: I wasn’t going to sit here and eat breakfast by myself when Rivers Shine had just walked out on me again. I’d go outside, get some fresh air, and try to get my brain working. Maybe I’d go find Anna and see if she she had anything useful to say on the subject. I might also find Taylor and tell her that this whole thing was getting too complex. If I was lucky, maybe she’d let me out of the deal early for good behavior.
Except that would mean losing my right to spend time with Rivers.
I wasn’t sure I was ready for that.
I pushed through the door, still thinking, and came to a sudden, lurching stop.
Just in front of me, maybe 20 feet from the restaurant, Rivers was standing looking back at me, his expression torn between sorrow and something that looked a whole lot like resignation. My eyes rose to meet his and something passed between us...
And then a girl came running in from the side and threw herself at him like she knew him way better than I ever would.
I watched her grabbing at him while he tried to push her off, his eyes still on mine, but then saw him shake his head at himself and give it up. He turned to her, a slight smile on his face, and put his arms around her.
While I was left standing alone.
I turned, my heart breaking, and walked quickly back toward the hotel. Of course. Of course there was another girl waiting in the wings. What had I expected? I’d already been thinking about calling this whole thing off due to Rivers’ behavior, right? I’d already had a plan to talk to Taylor and drop it. Tell her it was too much. I’d gotten in too deep and now I wanted back out again.
I wanted my equilibrium back.
And Rivers, it appeared, wanted to live a life where he was free to turn away from me and talk to other girls whenever they appeared at his side. He’d basically deserted me last night in that hallway, and really, I should have known right from the start. When we first got on tour, he spent entire days ignoring me. He didn’t want a girlfriend. He’d never wanted a girlfriend. He’d only been hanging out with me because Taylor had told him he had to.
I’d only been another contract for him.
Well, now I was going to end that contract.
And that was going to be all there was to it.
LILA
“Stupid hotel,” I hissed. “Stupid place, having their building set up like this.”
I hustled down the stairs and paused at the door, absolutely hating that I had to do this. I’d spent about ten minutes arguing with Anna upstairs and telling her exactly why I had to leave—namely, Rivers Shine himself—and that I was leaving her behind to try to salvage the contract deal with Taylor James.
Granted, that deal had been with me, not Anna, and my friend was going to have a time talking her way into Taylor’s good graces. But Anna could be charming when she wanted to, and she was just as talented as me. I was hoping she’d pull it off.
Because I couldn’t stay. I couldn’t keep my spot at Rivers’ side or fulfill the terms of the deal I’d made. Rivers had crawled right into my heart and made himself at home, and then he’d taken out a knife and stabbed me.
I didn’t trust myself to be around him anymore. I didn’t trust him to be around me.
