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“No!” Callum said, walking toward me. He was trying to touch my arm, but I pulled away. The kitchen was too small, and I rushed into the living room, holding my arms tight against my chest.
“Darcy,” he said, following me into the room. “I was trying to help you.”
“By tearing my dad’s legacy apart? I won’t let you!”
“Liz told me how special the place is to you. She said no amount of money can replace that love. I totally get that. I just thought that maybe I could get close. Maybe I could offer enough to make you feel alright to sell it.”
“And so you offered double the asking price?” I asked. It didn’t make any sense. My brain swirled with confusion as I tried to work out what was happening. “You weren’t doing that for me. You were trying to give a number I couldn’t say no to. Just so you can have your precious recording studio.”
“I wasn’t!” Callum cried out. “I was just trying to make things easier for you.”
“So, you don’t intend to put a recording studio in there?”
“Of course I do,” Callum said. “Why would I buy a building and leave it to sit empty?”
“You see?” I asked, my eyes round as I accused him of something he had just admitted to. “You are out for yourself!”
“I thought it could benefit both of us!” he said back, raising his voice. His body was tense as he observed me, and I sensed his own frustration growing as he looked at me.
“I want you out!” I yelled, and Callum threw up his hands, trying to figure out for the last time what he had done wrong.
“I didn’t think this would make you so upset,” he said. “I was trying to help.”
“I don’t know how I let myself trust you,” I said. My voice was low and cruel, intended to hurt him. “I knew when we were teenagers that you were bad news. I should have known you would never change.”
Callum looked back at me, and I thought he might say something. He even took a step forward, ready to continue this argument. But then I saw him close his mouth. He shook his head, and I saw that my words had found their mark. He looked hurt, but I kept my face cold and impassive, an unmovable scowl.
Callum turned away and stomped toward the entryway. I followed to watch him grab his coat from the hook, nearly pulling it off the wall in the process. With one final glare at me, he threw open the front door and slammed it behind him. Wanting to see him truly gone, I rushed to the front window and saw him slam into the driver’s side of his car. He turned it on and sped away, moving much too fast down the street.
Good, I thought. Get out of here.
It had been a mistake to let Callum into my house last night. It had been a mistake to bring down my walls and let him get to know me better. Right then I promised myself it was a mistake I wouldn’t make again. Callum Jones had shown me who he really was, and I was finally ready to believe him.
16
CALLUM
“Today we’re honored to have musician and recording artist Callum Jones with us! Welcome, Callum.”
“Thanks for having me,” I muttered, doing my best to force excitement into my voice. I sat stiffly in front of a microphone, headphones pressing too tightly against my ears. After I spoke with my marketing team about how to clear up the confusion regarding my career and my commitment to my band, they arranged a radio interview with a local station. They were hoping other stations and news outlets would pick up the interview, finally clearing up any confusion once and for all.
“We’d like to start with the question that’s on everyone’s mind: Are you leaving the Horizon?”
“Thanks for letting me clear that up,” I said. I had reviewed the talking points my team sent over as I waited in the radio station’s lobby. Now I sought to remember the words, wanting to get things right. “I am not leaving my band. I remain committed to the music and artistry of the Horizon and my bandmates.”
“So what caused the confusion?” the DJ asked. He was a young guy, called Wesley, with shaggy hair on the top of his head that was shaved along the sides. He wore a nose ring and a lip ring and I thought I saw the hint of eyeliner around his eyes. He had also been given a list of pre-approved questions, so we moved through the interview like two actors doing a cold read of our scripts.
“I’m visiting my family this summer, so I’m back in my hometown. I wanted to do something to thank them, so I decided on a concert. My bandmates are on their own vacations right now, and I wasn’t about to ask them to join me.”
“But what about the new music?”
“As an artist, I’m always working on new material. And a show like this was the perfect opportunity to try some things out ...”
As I continued the speech I’d rehearsed, my mind floated to Darcy. I saw her angry face and the way she was close to tears. I had never meant to hurt her like that, but it was all too clear that I had done completely the wrong thing. I knew now that I shouldn’t have put in an offer without speaking to her. But hindsight was twenty-twenty and I had no idea if she would ever give me the chance to explain myself.
After storming out of her house, I drove much too fast back to Liz’s place. After nearly blowing through a stop sign, I forced myself to calm down. I drove carefully with my hands squeezing tight on the steering wheel until I pulled up outside of the house. I was glad to find no one home. It meant I didn’t have to explain myself to Liz who would certainly press me for details about where I was last night.
With only forty-five minutes before I had to get to the radio station, I kicked off my clothes and jumped in the shower. The warm water against my skin was rejuvenating, and I felt my muscles relaxing under the warmth. I found parts of my body were sore from my time with Darcy last night, and I couldn’t help thinking about Darcy in bed. My mind flashed to her lips surrounding my length, and suddenly I felt a pull deep in my stomach.
