In a matter of seconds, Chloe’s face wiped clean of emotion. When she spoke again, her voice was detached, monotone. “My mistake. I assumed. It’s none of my business anyway.” Chloe turned for the door, causing Reid to snap out of his daze.
“Wait. Hold on a second.” He grabbed her arm and gently tugged her away from the door. “The only person I’ve talked to on the phone today is my mom. She called right before I went on stage.” Reid released her arm and took a step back. “I don’t want to leave things like this.”
Chloe’s shoulders drooped as she turned to face him. “I don’t even know what this is. What I do know is I don’t want to feel the way I did last night—the way I feel right now—ever again. You’re supposed to be my friend and . . .” Chloe let out a frustrated sigh and threw her hands in the air. “I’m not sure about anything right now.”
“Reid, it’s time for the meet-and-greet. Let’s go,” Tom said from the other side of the door, his voice causing both Chloe and Reid to jump in surprise.
“I’ll be right there,” Reid said, his eyes locked on Chloe. “Are we going to be okay?”
Chloe looked away. “Go do your thing. I’m going to take off. My first flight leaves soon.”
“Chloe . . .”
“I gotta go, Reid,” she choked, turning away from him.
Reid tensed, his body locked with indecision. He wanted so many things, and every one of them contradicted the other. “Be safe.”
“You too,” she whispered before slipping out of the room.
Reid stood motionless in the empty room, torn with indecision. Every step he made seemed to land him further and further from the direction he was supposed to go. He laughed, his jaw tight. He wasn’t even certain he knew what direction was the right one anymore. Nothing was easy. He was so tired of second-guessing every aspect of his life.
With a heavy sigh, he walked out of the room toward the meet-and-greet. He smiled, signed autographs, and took fan pictures, but no matter how hard he tried, nothing could distract him from his conversation with Chloe. How his stomach had dropped and his chest burned when she turned away from him. The hurt in her expression. The tremble in her voice. He had been about to kiss her again. He hadn’t planned to do it, but when he saw her, all thoughts of reason vanished. He felt desperate. For her. Now she was gone, and instead of making things better, he’d only made them worse. He wasn’t certain how he was going to get through the next two weeks with his last image of her crying as she walked away.
The glowing red numbers blur and fade,
They’ll mark every second you’re gone away
Reid blinked, his vision blurring as a melody started taking shape. He looked around the room wide-eyed as he searched for Tom. The moment he saw him, he rushed over, ignoring the shocked gasps of the people around him.
“I’ve got to go,” Reid said, breathless.
“What do you mean? You have at least another half hour.”
“I can’t,” Reid stressed, gripping his hair. “I have to go now. I need you to trust me.”
Tom searched his face. “Are you going after Chloe?”
Reid let out a frustrated groan even though the thought had crossed his mind a dozen times. “No. I need to go to my room. I’ll explain later.”
“Okay,” Tom answered, his voice wary.
Reid wasted no time sprinting to his dressing room and grabbing his bag before disappearing out the back into his waiting car. Over and over, he repeated the words, praying he wouldn’t lose them. As soon as he entered his room, he ripped his notebook from the bag and flipped to a blank page, jotting down the lyrics from earlier. Consumed, the words began to pour from his mind.
In the dark, I tell the lie: as time goes by, it’ll be all right.
But in the light, the shadows fade, exposing the truth of this masquerade
Hard to admit, hard to say, but there’s no use pretending
I’ll ever be the same.
For more than an hour, Reid unleashed every secret, every thought, and every desire that had been trapped inside his mind for more than a year. He smoothed his hand over the page and swallowed hard. The truth was, the words hadn’t been locked away for more than a year. The words now covering page after page were new, and nothing about them was random. He felt sick. He knew what was happening, why the crushing weight of longing and loyalty were tearing him apart. Falling for Chloe would do the one thing he promised he wouldn’t. He would break Jess’s heart all over again. The problem was, he didn’t know how much of a choice he had in the matter. Not anymore.