Page 208 of Fame & Rhythm

I finally drag my gaze away from Amber and find Aston already standing, his chair shoved back behind him, his expression draining of color as our eyes meet. His mouth opens immediately, urgency written across every line of his face as he reaches toward me.

“Annie…” Whatever comes after my name never reaches me.

I don’t want to hear it.

Because if he says the words I’ve already convinced myself are coming, if he tells me he was trying to find the right time to explain, if he confirms the nightmare my mind has already stitched together…

I don’t know if I’ll recover.

“How could y-you?” My voice cracks as it tears out of me, loud enough to silence the nearest tables. “How could you do this to me?”

The devastation that flashes across his face should make me stop.

It should make me question everything I’ve just decided.

Instead, it only hurts more.

I turn before he can reach me and force my legs to move, weaving blindly between startled diners with tears already burning behind my eyes. I hear my name echo across the restaurant, hear chairs scraping and hurried footsteps following after me, but none of it is enough to break through the panic driving every step.

The cool night air hits my face the second I burst through the doors, but it does nothing to slow the frantic rhythm of my heartbeat.

One of our security guards catches up beside me while the other hangs back with Aston. “Miss Slade.”

I barely hear him.

The SUV is already waiting at the curb, its rear door swinging open before we reach it.

“Please…” My voice comes out thin and shaky as I climb inside. I wrap my arms around myself, suddenly unable to stop trembling. “Please just take me back to the hotel.”

The guard hesitates for only a fraction of a second, concern flickering across his features before he gives a quiet nod and closes the door behind me. The vehicle pulls away from the curb, swallowed almost immediately by the chaos waiting outside.

Camera flashes burst against the tinted windows in relentless waves, photographers crowding the sidewalk as if they can somehow capture the exact moment a heart breaks. White light flickers across the leather interior over and over, but I barely notice it. The city disappears into streaks of color beyond the glass, while I sit frozen against the seat, my thoughts replaying the same horrifying conclusion until I can’t tell whether I’m remembering something that happened or imagining something that hasn’t.

My phone vibrates in my hand.

Aston.

His name fills the screen.

I stare at it until my vision blurs.

Every instinct I have screams at me to answer, to let him explain, to give him the chance he’s desperately trying to take.

I can’t.

Because if I hear his voice…

If he confirms what my mind has already decided…

Then this stops being the worst fear I’ve ever had…

And it becomes my life.

The call ends.

A heartbeat later, the phone begins vibrating again.

I close my eyes and let it ring.