Page 168 of Fame & Rhythm

“Lennox,” he says firmly, taking my hand as he stands. “That’s not happening.”

I let him pull me up, holding onto his hand a little tighter than I mean to.

“We go in together, yeah?”

I nod.

Together.

We walk back toward the music room…

Toward whatever comes next.

Chapter Thirty-One

Annie

As we walk toward the music room, I hear them all talking. I grip Aston’s hand tightly, and he turns to look at me.

“I’ll be right here, with you, okay? You and me, we’re in this together now and always,” he says, and it eases my nerves just enough to let the joy and excitement of his words seep through me.

He loves me.

Of that, I am completely and undeniably sure.

Aston Soulding really loves me.

Who would have thought?

He leans in and kisses my temple. “Okay, let’s do this. You ready?” he asks, and I nod, rising onto my toes to press a quick kiss to his lips. He smiles and grips my hand tightly as we walk through the doorway and into the music room.

Everyone stops talking and looks at us, their attention dropping straight to our joined hands.

“What the hell is this then?” Dad asks, and I tense up.

“Dad, Aston and I have sorted things out. And before you go ballistic about how bad an idea this is, please just think that this is what has been making me so depressed. Not being with Aston was slowly killing me and definitely causing me to make really bad choices. I can see now that he does love me, and I was the one standing in our way. So please, Dad… don’t go off about how you hate this. I already feel bad enough about my actions. I don’t need another reason to argue with you,” I say.

He smirks and raises an eyebrow. “You think it’s okay to talk to me like that?”

I huff and shake my head. “No, but I just needed to get it off my chest before I chickened out,” I say, and he smiles wide and stands, walking over to us. I raise my eyebrow, unsure what he’s about to do.

Dad leans down and hugs me tightly. I freeze for a second, completely thrown. Aston lets go of my hand, and I slowly bring my arms up, hugging Dad back, still trying to process what the hell is happening.

“It’s about bloody time,” he says, then leans back, holding me at arm’s length.

He looks at Aston, smiles, then pats his shoulder. “Thank you. She’s been a mess without you, and hopefully now that you’re back together, you can help Annie back to the right path.”

“Wait… what? You approve?” I ask, and Dad chuckles.

“Annie, when you were with Aston, you made better choices. You were happy, and he made you feel good about yourself. Without him, you fell into a cycle none of us could pull you out of. I don’t like that you rely on him so much for your happiness, but if you two can make this work and I get my Annie back, then I’m all for it.”

“What the hell?” I whisper, completely thrown. “Wait till your mother finds out. She’ll be ecstatic.”

I shake my head, a quiet laugh escaping me.

This is not how I expected this to go at all.

Maybe Dad’s right. Being with Aston steadies me. Without him, everything felt off balance… like I was drifting. I know I shouldn’t put all my happiness on one person, but with him beside me, things feel clearer and brighter, like I can actually breathe again. And for the first time in months, I feel like myself.