Page 52 of Next to Everything We Wanted

The complete opposite of my life.

We were in the middle of a GIF-sending battle when Phoenix knocked on my door before coming inside my room.

“Hey,” he said. “If you’re done being glued to your phone, everyone’s here for band practice.”

“Huh?” I looked at the clock before sighing. “Sorry, I lost track of time.”

Phoenix leaned against the wall. “You and Sienna are really hitting it off, huh?”

I nodded. “We’re having a GIF war right now.”

“Oh, so she’s a GIF lover. Seems like your type of chick, don’t you think?”

“Oh.” My cheeks flushed, the hairs on my neck prickling. “We’re just talking as friends. Nothing special.”

He scoffed. “So, the way you laugh like a hyena when you text her is nothing special?”

“I donotlaugh like a hyena.” I didn’t laugh that loudly at her texts, did I?

Phoenix shook his head. “Now that you’re friends, you two should do something together. It’s been a while since you’ve made a new friend.”

“Yeah.” I looked down at my lap. It was rare for me to make new friends in person. At least online, I could mask myself into the person I wanted to be. Ivan Hicks couldn’t let anyone get too close.

Gavin Hicks, on the other hand, could let someone get a little closer.

“I don’t know,” I said, leaning my head on my pillow. “Celeste and I were supposed to go to a Whiteout concert on Saturday night. She canceled after we broke up.” It made my heart crumble, but I respected her decision. “I don’t have anyone else to go with since none of you guys like Whiteout.”

“So?” Phoenix nodded to my phone. “What are you waiting for?”

“I don’t know if she listens to them.”

“Maybe she’ll want to go anyway.” He gave me a small smirk. “Spend timealone.”

I sighed. “Fine, I’ll?—”

The door swung open, causing Phoenix and I to jump. Forrest barged into the room, narrowing his eyes at me. “What the hell is taking so long?”

“My bad,” Phoenix said. “I was just talking to him.”

“You can talk later. Get out here, now.” Forrest whipped his head back and stormed out of the room.

“Sorry,” I told Phoenix, getting out of bed.

“He’ll be fine. He’s just been in a mood. Stuff with his family.”

“That makes two of us,” I muttered before going into the living room.

When Phoenix, Forrest, and I had moved into this apartment last year, we converted the largest bedroom into our band room. To avoid annoying our neighbors, we’d hired someone to put up soundproof walls.

Our band practice went well for the most part. The new songs we were working on were going great, and we seemed to enjoy ourselves, though something still didn’t feel right. Maybe it was that my mind was so muddled with thoughts about my family and my budding friendship with Sienna, or the fact that I’d lost my muse since my breakup with Celeste. Whatever it was, it was driving me crazy.

When we finished our practice, we went into the living room to watch TV and eat the cookies Ellis had made with his mom. They were delicious and gooey, just the way I liked them. But I wasn’t devouring them like I usually did.

Celeste and I sat on different sections on the couch, and every time I looked in her direction, she looked back at me with longing in her eyes. I tried not to pay attention to it, but it made my skin prickle. Like just one look from her could make me break out into hives.

“You’re not feeling well, are you?” Celeste asked while the other guys focused on the TV.

“Huh?” I blinked at her. “I’m feeling fine.”