“Women rarely are.”
We laughed and walked into the room together.
April was sitting up i
n her bed. And she was crying.
Perfect.
“I’m not sorry
,
”
s
he whispered. “I’ll never be sorry.”
Wow. I shook my head at Alec. “You’ll never be sorry for what?”
She sighed and brought her gaze to mine
. “
For giving you up. You’ve had a great life, a great career
—
a family who loved you
,
a brother that would die for you. So I’m not going to apologize for that.”
“
Yeah, I wasn’t going to ask you to.”
She pressed her lips together and began playing with the fabric of the blanket covering
her
. “
Then why are you here?”
“To apologize.” I shrugged and pointed to Alec
. “
We wanted to apologize for everything you’ve gone through, and we also wanted to offer
help.”
She snorted. “After everything I’ve done
,
you
’
r
e
not only apologizing to me
,
but you’re going to help me? Are ther
e
cameras on or something? You don’t have enough charity cases this year?”
“I think I get my sarcasm from her.” This I said to Alec. He chuckled and took a seat,
motioning for me to follow him.
Alec spoke first
. “
Yes. I know we’re both sorry that things got so bad for you. But mainly we want to
help you get back on your feet again.”
“What if I don’t want to get back on my feet?” She swallowed as a tear ran down her
cheek
. “
What if I like my life?”
“You like lying?” I snorted. “You enjoy spending all your money on coke? You like
almost dying? Letting down your friends and family? If that’s your preference of lifestyle
then who am I to judge?”
“But
…
”
Alec cleared his throat
. “
I
f you want something else, let us know. We can help.” He looked at me and sighed
. “
I think you owe your son that much.”
She flinched as if Alec had just slapped her. “I’ll think about it.”
“Great.” I rose from my seat and hightailed it out of there. Alec followed but grabbed
my shirt
,
stopping me in my tracks.
“Aren’t you going to ask who your real dad is?”
I felt my throat clog with emotion. “Doesn’t matter. My real dad died a while ago,
leaving me with the only family I know. My ass of a brother.”
“That was a pretty speech.” Alec hit me on the back and laughed.
“I practiced it.”
“Sure you did.”
We walked to Nat’s room only to find her nervously pacing back and forth as if she’d
been waiting ten years for u
s
to come spring her
from
her prison.
I knocked on the door.
“Thank God! I need real food. I’m starving
.
I swear
,
if you guys don’t feed me in five minutes I’m going to dig through Demetri’s pockets
for taffy wrappers and lick them.”
“She’s all yours
,
man
.”
I slapped Alec’s back
. “
Pregnant ladies be scary.”
Nat glared.
I smiled.
And then she ran into my arms and wrapped her arms around my neck. “I Love you, Demetri
Daniels.”
I sighed into her hair
. “
I love you too.”
How strange that a year and a half ago I was making out with her, making her life
miserable, and trying to keep her from my brother
,
and now? Now I would freaking die for her. I would do anything for her, for my brother.
I loved her so much that it physically hurt to breathe when I thought of anything
happening to her.
Family. She was my family.
“Yeah, that hug went on a bit too long.” Alec separated us, while
Nat slapped him in the stomach.
“Hey!” I clapped my hands in excitement
,
scaring the crap out of Nat
.
She cursed and
pushed me.
“What?”
“It’s not creepy anymore!”
Crickets. I heard freaking crickets in that hospital room. Both Alec and Nat looked
at me like I’d lost my mind.
“We aren’t creepy!”
Alec’s brow furrowed
. “
Get there faster
,
man, because at this point I’m wondering if you’re high again.”
“Why does everyone always assume I’m high when I say random things?”
Alec and Nat gave me that
look
again. Fine, whatever. “Guys, our weird little love triangle, totally not weird anymore.
High five for not being blood
-
related!”
I held my hand in the air. They both ignored me and walked out of the room. Whatever.
I was just pumped that I hadn’t stuck my tongue down Nat’s throat after my own
blood
-
related
brother. I mean, it still gave me a grossed out feeling…
family shoul
dn’t share, not in that way.
“Hey
,
wait up.” I called after them.
Alec
I watched Nat pack up her two bags. I was powerless to stop it. Powerless to stop
what she was doing. Instead of emptiness, I felt a
jarring sense of determination.
“You have
everything you need?” I asked.
She nodded
. “
Yup. I’m just going to be staying at my parents for a while, it’s not like I’m
moving to Siberia or anything.”
“Then why does it feel like Siberia?” I tucked her blonde hair behind her ear and
kissed her hand. “Why does it feel like you
’
r
e
going to be a thousand lifetimes away?”
She pulled her hand back and rolled her eyes
. “
Next door, Alec. I’ll be next door. Plus, now that filming
’
s done I could really use som
e time to rest before the tour. You’ll see me after your counseling sessions with
my mom.”
Right. Like her mother was going to let me have my cake and eat it too. As cool as
Mrs. Murray had been about everything, I highly doubted she would be okay with me
pouring out my heart and soul to her and then running upstairs to sleep in her daughter
’
s bedroom. The same daughter I got pregnant and abandoned. Hell, it was a
miracle I was still breathing.
Exhaling, I pursed my lips together
and asked the question
that had been
hanging over us for the past week and a half. “Are we okay?”
Her brown eyes met mine.
Silence.
Not my preferred answer.
I thought long and hard about what I could say to that, what I could say to make her
stay
.
B
ut in the end it wasn’t about forcing her to do something she didn’t want to do. It
was about loving her regardless of where she was. I knew she needed her space
.
I was just hoping space meant her own bedroom or a day without texting.
Not a different house.
Sibe
ria? Sure as hell felt like it.
We only had three more weeks of Seaside bliss until we had to report to L
.
A
.
to start prepping for the tour.
A bit stressful
,
since
I was trying to fit a lifetime full of therapy in those three weeks as well as trying
to win the heart of my girlfriend back. Hell, while I’m at it I’ll cure a few diseases
and save the world. No biggie.
“Two weeks
.”
Nat picked up her purse and slung it over her shoulder
. “
You have two weeks to make me remember.”
“Remember?”
“The Alec Daniels I fell in love with…
make me remember”
It was what she didn’t say that killed me. Because, if for some reason I couldn’t
make her remember, I had a sinking feeling it meant we were lost.
And then she walked out of my room. Remember? She wanted to remember? Challenge accepted.
I’d make sure she never f
orgot for as long as she lived.
I was hers.
She was mine.
We were permanen
t. And I was going to prove it.
**
**
After Nat left, I have to admit to feeling semi-
depressed
. It didn’t help that Jaymeson was still pissed about everything that
happened
with his step-mom and dad. The good news was he at least got his teeth fixed
,
so now he
wasn’t scaring small children.
He’d decided to stay with us until the tour started. I’m pretty sure it also had to
do with not wanting to go into public with his face all bruised.
“Where’s Nat going?” Jay
m
eson pulled a soda from the fridge and cracked it open.
“Back home.”
“Um?” Jaymeson shook his head
. “
I thought she camped out here?”
“Did, past tense
.
M
ore soda?”
He opened the fridge and tossed me a soda
. “
So, you guys are what, like on a break?”
“We’re on a time out.” I sipped the cold liquid and briefly closed my eyes for a minute.
“I’m going to prove my love.”
Jaymeson cracked a smile
. “
You going to write her some more songs? Croon the hell out of her? Get her to
toss her panties on stage and—”
“—Seriously
,
”
I interrupted him
. “
Stop hanging out with Demetri
.
I
t’s getting freaky.”
“What
’
s freaky?” Demetri called from the door.
Jayme
s
on raised his hand.
Demetri took that as an invitatio
n. N
o
wonder I’d nearly lost my mind.
“So, what’s the plan
?
”
Demetri pulled out a bar stool. “We’ve got three weeks before we all go back to L
.
A
.
, and Nat needs to be wooed.”
“Not to brag, but I’m
really good at wooing.”
This from Jaymeson.
“He knows wooing and sex are different
,
right?” I asked Demetri.
Jaymeson took another sip of soda and snapped his fingers
. “
Probably why Chelsey, Kelsey? Kendra? Whatever
.
I
t
’
s probably why she left so pissed last night.”
“Right, it had nothing to do with your inability to rem
ember her name
,
” I pointed out.
“Not my fault I was too distracted by bedroom activities.”
Demetri sighed
. “
Hopeless romantic. P
.
S
.
, I guarantee Nat will take a machete to your man parts if you listen to his advice.”
“I’m British, which makes me foreign, therefore, good at wooing and causing girls
to swoon. It’s the accent.”
I
laughed and set my soda down
. “
Fine
,
007
.
W
hat’s your plan?”
“Oh
,
I’ve got to hear this.” Dem
e
tri rolled his eyes
. “
Yes
,
British man-whore, what’s your plan to help our brother out?”
“Brother?”
“Guilty by association.” Demetri waved me off
. “
So, your plan?”
Jaymeson cleared his throat and thrust his hand into the air, asking for complete
silence. “Action.”
I waited, thinking surely he was going to say more than that. But he nodded his head
and took another sip of soda as if he’d just cured world hunger.
“Huh?” Demetri and I said in unison.
“Action
,
”
Jaymseon said it
slower this time.
“Dude, my hearing
’
s fine
.”
I scowled
. “
And I can spell so you don’t have to go into that much detail
.
I’m just trying to figure out what the hell you
’
r
e
talking about.”
“Big gestures
.”
Jaymeson threw his hands up in the air
. “
Big gestures and actions, but little gestures too. You can’t tell her the words because
you’ve been lying. When a liar uses words to convince someone to believe them it
’
s like trying to swim with weight wrapped around your legs. It won’t work. Eventually
you’ll tire out and sink.”
“I hate that you just made sense right now
,
” I said.
Demetri sat there slack
-
jawed. I nudged him out of his stunned state.
“Told you.” Jaymeson snorted
. “
Brilliant.”
“Fine, Mr. Brilliant
.
H
ow do I show her? I can’t buy her things
,
because then it seems like I’m buying her stuff to get back on her good side, and
I sure as hell don’t want to stalk her.”
“Good call.” Demetri laughed
. “
I stalked a girl once. Didn’t end well.”
I groaned into my hands
. “
What do I do!”
“Silence, grasshopper.
” Jaymeson patted my hand
. “
I have a plan.”
“Jaymeson and plan in the same sentence make me nervous.” Demetri shrugged
“B
ut…
” H
e looked at me
. “
It’s worth a shot.”
I sighed
. “
Fine. I just
…
I guess I just don’t want to mess up what precious time we have.”
“Oh
,
you won’t. Not if you stick with me, kid.”
“Why do I get the feeling he
is just
quoting movies?” I asked Demetri.
Jaymeson shrugged and held out his hand
. “
You in or not?”
“I’m in.” I slapped my hand over his.
“Me too.” Demetri followed.
Jaymeson smirked
. “
Trust.”