Page 137 of From Drummer to Gamer

Such stark contrast to my messy insides. But that was how I felt.

I knew, right then, I just knew.

Matty Evans was too big for someone small like me.

As bitter as it was to swallow, I knew what I had to do.

CHAPTER 31

SIERRA

It was a cold, dark morning, the skies in various shades of plump gray clouds that were ready to wash over our little town.

Like me, an emotional bubble that could burst anytime.

I walked to the little park near my house, where I promised I would meet Matty. I only had to round the corner to find him. His tall, brooding presence was hard not to notice. He was leaning against the fence, cross-legged, his hands deep inside the pockets of his black bomber jacket.

I just wanted to stand there and keep looking at the sharp lines of his face and the brooding glint in his eyes, and commit it all to a sacred place inside my head.

As if he sensed my presence, he looked up, and his lips pulled into a wide smile as his eyes met mine.

And my heart thundered the way it only did for him.

“Sierra,” he breathed, and in two beats of a second, he was right in my face, lifting me into his arms as he took my lips in a kiss that left me breathless.

“Hey, firecracker,” he said softly, and I couldn’t help but smile at that.

“God, I missed you so fucking much,” he grumbled, kissing my lips once again, and I gave it my all, kissing him like he was my last dying breath.

His hands were still loosely draped over me when he finally set me to the ground, and in the distance, I saw lightning flash through the clouds, followed by a loud crackle of thunder, and it felt like a wake-up call from our moment of bliss.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, immediately noticing the fall of my smile.

I took a deep breath before my eyes dragged to his. “I called you here because I wanted to tell you something.”

He nodded grimly.

“I’m not coming back. To New York, I’m not coming back. I’ve made the decision to stay here,” I explained.

There was a slight tick in his jaw as he regarded me. “Did you decide, or did your mom decide?”

“It doesn’t matter.” I mustered a smile. “It’s for the best.”

“So what, you are going to give up on your finals? Something you worked so fucking hard on, Sierra?” He pinned me with a reprimanding glare. “You’re going to let your team down? The people who have stayed by your side through thick and thin.”

Each question out of his mouth felt like a nail to my pre-booked coffin, and I didn’t even have it in me to cry. I felt so cold on the inside.

“Yes, I won’t be making it to the finals.”

I waited—waited for the disappointment to shine in his eyes just like my parents did when I did something they didn’t agree but it never came. Instead, they softened, andthatmade me want to cry.

“Sierra,” he said softly, his lone finger grazing on my cheek. “I know you. I know you more than you think. And I know this is something your parents want you to do. You come alive when you’re up there playing your games, firecracker. Don’t let them dim it.”

A single warm, salty tear trickled down my cheek.

Why was everyone in my life saying the same damn thing?

It felt like I was being pulled in three different directions all at once.