Total pages in book: 62
Estimated words: 57804 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 289(@200wpm)___ 231(@250wpm)___ 193(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 57804 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 289(@200wpm)___ 231(@250wpm)___ 193(@300wpm)
“I shouldn’t… but I do,” I sighed. When Delilah left, I thought that I would be able to move on, but she always lingered in the back of my mind. I couldn’t shake her.
“Look, I know you want to be loyal to Kerrie, so you should break up with her before you pursue Delilah,” Jesse said.
My eyes grew wide as I stared at Jesse, his words seeming to echo in my head.
“Break up with her?” I repeated, trying to wrap my mind around ending mine and Kerrie’s relationship, which had lasted years. Our lives would change. I might break an innocent woman’s heart.
Jesse nodded.
“I know you think you’re hurting Kerrie, but you’ll hurt her more by stringing her along in a relationship that you aren’t happy in,” he pointed out.
Why did he have to be right? Why did this have to be so damn hard? I pinched the bridge of my nose, fighting off the aching pressure in my head as I tried to figure out what to do next.
“It’s not right,” I muttered.
Jesse grabbed my arms and gave me a light shake so that I looked him in the eyes.
“You deserve to be happy too, Ryder. You keep making sacrifices for other people. Do something for yourself, damn it,” he told me firmly.
I peered at him, taking in his words. I always tried to put others first, to spare people from the heartbreak that I felt years ago. It had left me feeling lonely and unhappy. I finally had a chance at being happy again. Happy with who might be the right person.
“Go after the woman you actually care for,” Jesse sighed before letting go of me. “Choose for yourself for once.”
“The woman everyone, including you, likes?” I asked, knowing that whatever move I made had consequences on other people.
Jesse held my gaze for a moment before nodding.
“I’m not going to stop you from being happy. If she wants to be with you, I’ll just be glad she’s with someone who adores the hell out of her,” he replied.
The tension in my body gradually faded away as I let out a slow breath. My friends weren’t threats. They were there for me, and I was there for them. I didn’t know who Delilah would choose. Hell, she probably wouldn’t choose any of us since her life was back in New York, but I would support whatever happened.
All I knew was that I needed to make a decision about my own love life first. But that was way easier said than done.
Chapter 14
Delilah
I couldn’t believe that it had already been a few weeks since I first arrived back in Chalice Falls. I didn’t have much time left here since the song was nearly done, and dread weighed on me heavier and heavier as each day passed. I didn’t want to be finished.
I should’ve been excited to leave this place behind and flee to the city again where my new life was, but I wasn’t in any rush to get back there. Too much was going on here, and I hadn’t ever felt so connected to my hometown before. There was so much to do.
In the past, there was nothing for me to do but to dream about being somewhere else. I wanted to crawl out of my skin because I felt so out of place, so eager to leave. This place had no promise for me back then, but that wasn’t the case now.
I found a sense of home in the guys and in the life that we had been living together here ever since I arrived.
That was probably crazy for me to think after only a few weeks, but there wasn’t anything more connecting than being locked up in a studio with them, letting our thoughts and emotions flow through the music we made together. It was raw and real.
No gimmicks. No lies. No hiding.
I couldn’t even properly wrap my mind around what I felt for all of them. They were all so different, but it felt like we all shared something special together. We were bonded in a way that was impossible to explain, but I still needed to talk to someone about the conflicting thoughts in my head before I went crazy trying to sort them out myself.
While the guys hung out in the living room after dinner, I excused myself and took a walk out into the field, hoping that I had good enough service to make my call. I tapped on a familiar contact and hit the call button, pressing my phone against my ear as it rang.
“Hello?” Emery’s voice sounded through the speaker.
I sighed in relief, glad to hear her voice. I hadn’t spoken to her in about a month because we had both been so busy. Me with the band. Her with her bodyguard boyfriends.