The Muse and the Fairy Tale (New Hampshire Bears #1) (17 page)

Chapter Twenty-Five

Meadow

I stared at my computer’s black screen as I petted Puckhead on my lap. Even though writing was what I loved to do the most, right now, I hated it. The thought of putting words on paper turned my stomach. It was Kyson’s fault. He had tainted my job, my love.

My stomach grumbled so loud, it made Puckhead jump off my lap. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d eaten. I came home two days ago from Kyson’s apartment and lost the contents of my stomach. The thought of the two of them together still made me sick, especially after the way he’d played me.

It was just what he did. I was just someone to play with until Angela waltzed back into his life. I was a rebound. They’d had five years together, and it was a lot of invested time together. But, I got caught up in my fairy tale with Kyson Wick.

Fuck the fairy tale.

Fuck Kyson Wick.

Who was I lying to?
It was my fault for listening to my heart, the dumb bitch.

Going to spin class?

I stared at my screen when Maxima’s message popped up.

Busy.

I’d called Maxima yesterday morning and told her about Kyson. I planned to call Harlow, but stopped because she would have actually killed him. While part of me wanted that to happen, my heart said
no
.

My heart was such a dumb bitch.

I decided a nap was going to be highlight of my day, and I crawled back into bed.

When I opened my eyes, my house was completely dark. My muscles and bones ached, and they were stiff. I moaned and groaned as I made my way to the kitchen. I grabbed a pack of peanut butter crackers and a bottle of water. I curled up on my couch with Puckhead tucked in the back of my legs. I brought up my Netflix, but all there was were happy faces and mushy love stories.

Fuck love.

I clicked the TV off because I didn’t want to see anything about couples and happiness. I didn’t even care about happily ever after, either. It all sucks. All of it.

The knock jarred me from my angry, fist beating down on imaginary love. It had to be Kyson because Harlow would have just walked in, Maxima would have texted first, and Puckhead was next to me, even though he didn’t count. There were no other people–or cats–in my life.

The next set of knocks came harder.

Yep, it’s Kyson
.

I debated if I would roll off my comfortable couch to talk to him and or just ignore him,

“I know you’re in there, Meadow. I’m not leaving.”

“Kian?” Why would he come to my house? Was there something wrong with Kyson? Was he hurt? I jumped off my couch and rushed to the door. “What are you doing here?”

“I need to talk to you. Please, may I come in?”

I should have said no and I easily could have, but I was nosy. Although, it didn’t take a genius to figure out what the topic was going to be. I stepped to the side and Kian walked into my house.

“Nice place, Meadow.”

“You don’t need to make small talk. I know you’re here to talk about Kyson.”

“He’s messed up.” He took a deep breath and sat on my couch. “And you don’t look much better.”

“Kyson made his choice.” As much as I hated it, he’d made it.

“You’re wrong, Meadow.”

“Huh?” I couldn’t stand any longer, because my body was tired, and I took a place next to Kian.

“She was lying.”

I blinked several times trying to process his words. “What?”

“Angela lied. She wasn’t pregnant. She was trying to get back at Kyson. Nothing more. She’s a conniving bitch, and I told Kyson years ago to dump her ass.”

I was in shock. Not from the way he’d described her, but from her actions.

“He loves you, Meadow. In fact, I’ve never seen Kyson so in love before. He is…well…he’s broken right now.”

I wiped the stray tear rolling down my cheek.

“He doesn’t know I’m here, and I think he’s been trying to give you some space for the past couple days, but he misses you deeply. I know you miss him too; I can tell.”

I looked down at my hands and picked at the hem of my sweatshirt.

“Don’t try and pretend you don’t care. Kyson told me you came over and told him you were acting immature. You’re doing it right now, because you’re not rushing out to the door to him.”

“Yes, I did overreact and it was the reason why I went over to his house, but she was there in his shirt.”

“He hasn’t been with her in over a year. She staged all of it.”

“But, he let her into the house; obviously he wanted
something
to happen.”

“No.” Kian roughly shook his head. “No, Meadow. Kyson only wants you. Angela made her way into the apartment. He did not want her there. I swear it to you.”

My heart said he was telling the truth, but my head kept saying to think it through rationally. The fairy tale was over, and it had been childish to believe in it in the first place.

I rose to my feet. “Thanks for telling me everything, Kian. Be sure to tell Kyson there are no hard feelings, and I hope he finds someone special.”

“Meadow.” Kian sounded pained. “You two belong together. You know I’m right.”

I shrugged. “Well, it’s over now.” I opened the door.

Kian stood and walked onto my porch, before turning around. “You’re going to regret it, Meadow.” He whipped around and headed toward his truck.

Once, my mother described her depression as a cancer eating away at her soul and sanity. I never believed it until today, as I went through the motions of taking a shower, getting dressed, and heading to the Latte Bean.

It had been a week since Kian was at my house, and still, Kyson and I hadn’t communicated. There was no need to. It was over for us both. As I walked downtown Manchester, the decorations were bright and cheery for the upcoming holiday season.

I didn’t even want to decorate my house this year. Even though I don’t have any family, I still put up tree and yelled at Puckhead most of the time it was up because he kept getting into it. But nothing seemed to be jolly in my life and the thought of putting up a tree exhausted me.

Harlow waved me over when I walked through the door. Keaton was sitting next to her, and he didn’t seem pleased to see me. I prayed Kyson wasn’t going to show up. My brain couldn’t handle it. Hell, neither could my emotions.

“Hi.” Harlow’s smile was bright, and I still hadn’t told her about Kyson and me.

“Hello.” I tried to smile, but it felt unnatural.

“I was just heading out.” Keaton stood. “Nice to see you, Meadow.”

I nodded as he walked by me, and I took the chair across from Harlow.

“How have you been?” she over enthusiastically asked.

“Um…fine.”

“Aw.” She tilted her head with her bright smile. “Aren’t you just a big fucking liar?”

My shoulders dropped. She knew.

“Were you planning on telling me?” The smile was gone and the stern look took over.

“It’s over,” I simply explained.

“No,
Friends
is over. You and Kyson have taken as small detour off a long and happy path.”

I shook my head. “It’s over,” I repeated again.

Harlow leaned back in her chair and studied me for a moment. I was always more worried about what she would say when she was quiet.

“Just say it,” I thundered, almost slamming my hand on the table.

She tilted her head from one said and to the other. “I’m not going to say one damn thing. Want to know why?”

“You’re going to tell me anyway.”

“Because you’ve wanted this since the beginning. You first bitched about your age difference. The when he confessed his love, you pretended to be on cloud nine, but you were faking.”

“I was not,” I stated harshly. “I did fall in love, and I did care for him.”

“
Did
? So, you have the ability to flip your emotions on and off like a light switch?” She slowly clapped her hands. “Impressive.”

Anger was pumping through me. How dare she act like this toward me? “You’re a bitch, Harlow.”

“Not the first time I’ve heard that one.” She was never fazed by my words. “You can get pissed at me all you want, but I’m not the dumbass who let her fairy tale walk away.”

I opened my mouth to tell her she was wrong, but nothing came out. I didn’t need to hear her shit. I got up and left.

It had been two days since I’d seen Harlow and that hurt me as much as Kyson. She was my best friend, actually, my only true family.

I’d not left my bed for those two days. The bed had molded to my body and I’ve done nothing to change it. The covers have become a protective shield hiding me from the world, and as long as I stayed here, I didn’t have to face the heartache or the pain.

I swore all through my years of watching my mother’s depression, I wouldn’t succumb to the same disease, but it was staring me in the face. I almost welcomed it now. I understood more clearly how it worked with my mother.

I heard my front door open and my name being called out. It was Maxima. I didn’t answer, but as soon as she passed my bedroom door, our eyes connected.

“Spin class starts in thirty-five minutes,” she cheered. “Let’s go.”

“Does any part of me look like a spin class will be on my agenda for today?”

“Yes.” She clapped happily, and I almost wondered if she was drunk.

“No,” I corrected her. “I’m not going.”

Maxima took a deep breath and sat on the side of my bed. “You and I both know you can’t stay locked up in this house.” She dialed back the bubbliness.

“Worked for the Hunchback.”

Maxima rolled her eyes. “He eventually left the tower.”

“Well, I’m working on the fan fiction part of the story where he never left the tower.”

“Now, who’s being silly? Come on, let’s get ready and go. You need to work out.”

“I need to drink more wine,” I countered.

She stared at me for almost a full minute. “How long have you been in this bed?”