Page 94 of Hard Rock Desires

That dark, empty space mocked me, almost as if the light fixture was mimicking the gaping hole in my chest.

I should have known Grace was never going to stay, not for long.

No one ever did.

There was a quick tapping on my door before it swung open a few inches.

“Hey, are you doing okay?” Micah asked as he peeked his head into my room.

“I’m fine.” That had been my standard response for the last few days whenever anyone asked. It had gotten to the point where I wasn’t even annoyed at the question anymore. Just tired.

“You know Finn didn’t mean to scare Grace, right?” he asked. “He feels bad about it.”

“I know,” I said.

“Our label is pretty upset with him,” Micah said. “The neighbor is demanding lots of money and threatening to sue. Apparently the car he hit is some kind of classic.”

“I see.”

“The PR team is working their magic to make sure the media doesn’t get wind of this,” he continued.

“Good for them.”

Micah paused. I stayed silent, keeping my eyes trained on the ceiling as I laid flat on my back in bed.

“Look,” he started. “I don’t want this to sound like some cheesy line from one of those stupid teen dramas, but I have to ask.” I saw him adjust those hipster glasses out of the corner of my eye. “Are you mad at me?”

“No.”

He let out a harsh breath through his nose.

“Then why have you been so pissy with me lately?” Now he was the one who sounded mad. “It seems like no matter what I do or say, you’re angry with me, but I don’t know why. And you know what?” His voice faltered. “It really sucks.”

Guilt sucker-punched me right in the gut.

Ah, shit.

I sat up in bed cross-legged. The blood rushed from my head, and I felt woozy. I couldn’t remember how long I’d been lying there, staring at the ceiling. Hours, probably. How pathetic.

I propped my elbow on my knee and rested my chin in my hand. “This is definitely going to sound like some cheesy line from a teen drama.” I turned to face him. “It’s not you. It’s me.”

Micah looked incredulous. He choked out a half-laugh, half-snort as he leaned against the doorjamb and shook his head.

“And I thought Finn was the drama queen of the group,” he said.

“I’m serious,” I told him. “I’m just being a stupid asshole. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

“I didn’t do anything wrong,” he repeated thoughtfully. “But I did dosomething?”

I exhaled deeply and hung my head.

“Did you notice that we never had a housewarming party for you?” I asked.

“Is that something we should have done?” Micah blinked owlishly behind his glasses. “It’s not like I’m some newlywed who needs their friends to gift them appliances.”

“Did you notice that you’ve been in your new place for months and I haven’t been over there once?” I asked.

“Do you want to come over?” he asked, sounding confused. “You know you can come hang out whenever you want.”