Page 152 of Next to Everything We Wanted

He looked at me with an unreadable expression. I dared to look into those blue eyes one last time, to see the pain and hurt in them. There was nothing. No ocean waters, no hurricane. They were just blue.

Without a word, he turned away and followed his bandmates.

My hurt and frustration flaring, I faced my mom.

“Sienna,” she said, her eyes glassy. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t know that it was him until he started performing. I had no idea he’d told you his secret, I barely know anything?—”

“You keep causing problems in my life.” My voice was steady, despite the tears that trickled down my cheeks. “Maybe it wasbetter to pretend that I never existed in the first place. You were good at that for seven years.”

Her mouth dropped, hurt washing over her face. A few of my friends gasped, but my mind didn’t register who.

After a few moments of silence, Mom cleared her throat. “Well, I wish I’d known you still felt that way. I would’ve never come back.” With that, she spun on her heel and walked down the hallway, her heels clacking.

I sighed, facing my confused friends. What did I even say to them? How much did they know? I’d kept everything about Gavin’s past so close to my chest, and now it’d exploded all over the place.

Dallas broke the ice for me. “I have no idea what just happened.”

Typical Dallas.

“Your mom kind of explained it,” Hayden said, sounding hesitant. “She used to work with Somewhere in the Sky before they moved here, and they had a bad experience with her. And I’m guessing that’s why you and Ivan broke up with you—and why you got upset with her.”

“Can we just forget this?” I pleaded. “I’ll find a new place to take the twins Friday night, you can go What Do You Bean without me?—”

“Sienna.” Raina dragged out my name, releasing Dallas’s hand and stepping forward. “Breathe for a moment.”

“I can’t.” I backed away from everyone, heading in the direction that Mom had gone in. “I can’t do this right now.”

“Can we hug you?” Arielle asked, extending her arms.

“I’m sorry, I—” My emotions fogged my mind, making me forget how to speak. Unable to say anything else, I bolted down the hallway.

I didn’t make it far before Jimmy Cook appeared, asking me what happened. I ignored him and everyone else in my path. Isprinted out of the building, the music thumping as hard as my pulse. Even with tears clouding my vision, I knew the way to the car.

I drove home as fast as I could without getting a speeding ticket. I couldn’t let myself fall apart—not until I was at home in my bed, cuddled up with my stuffed animals.

When I unlocked the front door and slammed it, Dad jerked backward from where he sat in his chair, dropping his phone. His face fell as he took me in, rising from his seat.

“Sienna, I’m so sorry,” he said as he put his hands in his hair. “If I’d known your mom was going to the club, I would’ve stopped her?—”

“It’s not just her.” I crossed my arms, shivering as the coolness from the air conditioning took over me. “Ivan and I broke up. For real this time.”

He rushed over to me. “What happened? Do I need to have a word with him?”

“No, it’s—he—” I sniffled, staring at my shoes. “We just didn’t work.”

Dad wrapped his long arms around me. The dam of emotions inside me finally broke, pain bursting throughout my body as I collapsed against his chest, releasing tear after tear.

“I’m right here, Sea,” he said as he rubbed my back. “Let it all out.”

CHAPTER 37

Gavin

No one spoke on the ride home. No music, no small talk, no complaining about how bad we smelled, nothing.

I’d never hated silence so much.

When we finally arrived in April Springs, I didn’t hesitate to jump out of the shotgun seat and run up the stairs to our apartment. I unlocked the door and slammed it, not waiting for my bandmates to follow.