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“She is. Aiden knows, so he made sure Addison would be here. I didn’t want to mention it to her and then you back out.” I nod in agreement. That was a good plan. I’m not up there yet.
A few minutes thereafter, with a couple nudges along the way, we’re standing in front of the penthouse. My nerves are firing off sparks inside of me, shocking my heart. Max stands silently next to me while I stare at the door.
“You should knock,” he finally says.
I should have done a lot of things.
I squeeze my eyes shut, inhale and knock. We hear noises on the other side. My body’s flight or fight response kicks in and I take a step back. Max’s hand stops me.
“Uh-uh. Too late.” I glare up at him and he smirks. He’s enjoying this too much.
The door squeaks open and our eyes meet. Hers widen to the size of saucers and she jumps forward, wrapping her arms around me into a hug. “Sydney!” She pulls back and looks at me again. “Oh, my god! You’re here.” She looks over at Max and mouths, “Thank you.”
She looks back and I sheepishly say, “Hey.”
“Come in.” She opens the door wider and Max and I walk past her into the spacious penthouse. The last time I was here, it had boxes piled everywhere. Aiden walks up to me and gives me a warm hug.
“Good to see you,” he murmurs into my hair.
Memories of why I left bubble up inside me, bringing me to tears. I should’ve stayed and dealt with everything instead of running away.
“You look good,” Addie says, her eyes roaming over my entire body. “Different though. I’ve never seen your hair so long.”
I smile and pull on my hair. “It’s not real. They want me to resemble a Barbie.”
“They?” she asks.
“Oh. Sorry…” I hesitate, reminding myself that she has no idea what I’ve been doing the last year. “My manager. When I’m on stage, he thinks I should look like what every girl wants to look like.” I roll my eyes at how absurd that sounds. What happened to being original?
Addie narrows her eyes at me and crosses her arms. “On stage? Have you been performing?” Her words come out slow, a hint of irritation laces them.
“I have,” I whisper, biting my inner cheek. I should’ve slowly eased into what I’ve been doing.
Her lips twist and she swallows. “You mean to tell me I’ve searched high and low for you, written letters every goddamn day because of the guilt I felt for not being there for you and you’ve been what” —she flails her arms out— “out chasing your dreams to become a singer!”
“Addison,” Max warns.
“You stay out of this!” she yells at Max and then shifts her fury to me. “I can’t believe you, Sydney. We all grieved for Damon. We were all here for each other, but you ran away!”
I can’t say anything as I choke on my emotions. She’s right. I left, but I can’t get the words out to explain. The disappointment in her voice tears at my heart.
“Addison, you need to back the fuck off. Right now!” Max roars. His voice echoes throughout the penthouse. He steps in between us, blocking my view of Addison.
“Whoa, brother.” Aiden steps forward, putting a hand on Max’s chest. Max shoves it off, taking a step closer to Aiden. His eyes shoot daggers.
I put my hand on Max’s arm. “It’s okay, Max.” I don’t need him to end up with a wall between him and his best friend too.
He turns to me, his face carved in stone. “You had your reasons. Don’t let her make you feel bad.” Nothing he says will help. I feel guilty and ashamed of everything.
Max storms out, slamming the door behind him. “We’ll be down at the bar,” Aiden grumbles, following him out.
Once he’s out of the room, Addie and I stare at each other. Tears flow between us.
“I’m sorry,” I whimper.
She rubs the tears off her cheek. “Why did you leave, Syd?”
The words I need to say stick in my throat. “The night of the funeral…” I pause, the lump making it hard to breathe. “I lost our baby, too.”
