Friday comes in the blink of an eye. The Invisibles have a show tonight, but I lied and told Brady that I wasn’t feeling well, not that I’d be good company tonight anyway. There’s no reason for us to both be down, especially on a night when he’s performing. I wouldn’t want to mess that up for him.

Changing into my pajama pants and a T-shirt, I curl up in my chair and pop in a movie. Jessa applies another coat of mascara when there’s a loud knock at the door. I sigh heavily, wishing Rob had just waited for her outside. Jessa opens the door and kisses him in greeting while I try to concentrate on the beginning of the movie. She makes an annoying yelp, turning my attention, only to find Rob’s hand leaving her ass.

He walks into the room, and the tension in the small space is suffocating. I choose to ignore him. If he wishes to address me, he can, but I’m through with being polite.

“Hey, Gucci.” His eyes look me up and down. “You look like shit. What? Daddy didn’t pay someone to develop a cure for the flu yet?”

There’s his first snide comment.

“No, Rob. I guess I’m not important enough to him,” I sneer back. The truth stings even me a little.

“Surprise! Gucci has Daddy issues.” He puts his hands up in the air, waving them back and forth.

“Go to hell.” I glare at the television screen, disregarding him.

I wish the comebacks would roll off my tongue with some sort of smart-ass comment. Theo was always better at that than me. He would have hammered back an insult to Rob that would have shut his mouth.

“All right, you two, stop it.” Jessa playfully hits Rob in the chest before pushing him toward the door. She glances back at me. “Call me if you need me, okay?”

I give a dismissive wave of my hand.

“Feel better, Gucci.” Rob’s voice travels in the room from the hallway.

I’m not sure what Jessa did, but I hear him apologize, “Jeez, sorry, okay?”

She giggles, and the door clicks closed.

Thank God.

My hand flies up, flipping him the finger. I’ve never loathed anyone as much as Rob in my entire life.

Well…except for one person.

I’ve been immersed in the movie for a half hour when my phone starts ringing on the table. I pick it up without looking at the caller ID, assuming it’s Brady. He said he was going to call right before they went onstage. If I wanted, I could stay on the line and listen to him play. It was sweet of him to offer, but it only brought the guilt from my dishonesty to the surface.

“Hey, you ready to rock your crowd?” I answer.

“Excuse me?” There’s a long pause. “I’m looking for Sadie Miller, my daughter.” My mom’s soft voice comes across the line.

“It’s me, Mom.” I roll my eyes. How does she not recognize my voice after twenty-two years?

“Oh, Sadie, good. Your dad and I were just calling to wish you a happy birthday.” She sounds like she’s in a tunnel.

“Happy birthday, Sadie!” my dad’s deep voice shouts in the background.

Speakerphone. Great.

“Thanks, Mom. Thanks, Dad.” I hate talking to one of them, let alone both at the same time.

“Are you doing anything special?” my mom asks.

“No, just staying in,” I admit.

“You should go out and celebrate,” she insists.

“Don’t push her, Mags,” my dad chimes in.

I fear there will be some sort of bicker, and I’ll be stuck listening to the whole thing until they realize I’m still on the phone.

“She can’t hide out forever, Junior.”

My parents begin their conversation without me—another reason I hate speakerphone.

“Well…thanks for calling, Mom and Dad. Have a good night,” I say, attempting to end this conversation.

“Hey, Sadie, your father and I are coming out at the end of the month for Parents’ Weekend,” she adds in at the last minute.

“Mom, Parents’ Weekend is more for freshmen. I’m a senior. I appreciate it, but there isn’t really a reason for you to come.”

“We’re coming. You don’t have to take us to a football game or anything. We want to come and make sure you are all right,” my mom says. For the first time in a long time, she sounds almost like she cares.

I don’t know why they want to come. They didn’t even come to that during my freshman year at Drayton.

“I’m fine. You don’t have to make that trip. I’ll be home on Thanksgiving.” I try to change her mind, which is usually an easy task when it comes to me. Lately, she has been going out of her way to ignore my existence.

“I told you, Mags. She’s a tough cookie,” my dad says, giving me a backhanded compliment. He despises women with opinions or any strength of character.

“Don’t come, Mom. Really. I’ll be home just a few weeks after that. You would be so bored anyway. There’s no good shopping or nice restaurants around here.” I pull out all the stops, knowing quality time without a way to distract herself from a conversation will make her back up immediately.

“Are you sure, Sadie? We’ll come.” Either she has gotten better at faking her concern, or she’s really worried about me.

“Yeah, Mom. I’ll see you on Thanksgiving.”

“See? I told you she doesn’t need us. She never has. Right, Sadie? You were born independent!” my dad shouts loudly in the background.

“Yeah, Dad,” I agree, not mentioning that they raised me to be independent.

They groomed me not to rely on others, except for Theo. A pang of sadness hits me, remembering I could always depend on Theo.

“Okay then. Well…happy birthday.” She’s reluctant to hang up. “Bye, Sadie.”

“Bye, Mom and Dad.” I click the phone off, releasing a breath because the awkwardness is over.

Our relationship was never stellar, but in the last couple of years, it has gone dramatically downhill. I think that conversation was more than I’ve said to my parents since I told them I was transferring out of Drayton last summer. It baffles me that my mom feels some motherly obligation to come and check up on me here.

I press play on the remote, starting the movie back up.

Right as the girl is about to get the guy, two short knocks hit my door. I glance at the clock and find it’s only eleven, and since I’m not expecting anyone, I ignore it. They must have the wrong door. The knocks get louder and more persistent, so I shrug off my blanket and stomp over to the door, assuming it’s some drunk ass at the wrong room.

But, when I fling the door open, ready to direct the person somewhere else, my breathing stops. Brady’s hands are gripped on each side of my door as he leans in with a smile on his face.

“When you didn’t answer at first, I thought maybe you were sleeping.” He walks right in without an invitation.

I kind of like that he feels that comfortable with me.

“Why aren’t you at Aces?” My voice is harsher than I intended.

“Oh, Sadie.” He turns around, shooting me a smirk. “I’m thrilled to see you, too,” he sarcastically replies.

“No, I didn’t mean it like that. It’s just…you didn’t leave on account of me, did you?” I shuffle my feet back and forth as I try to cover my chest, regretting taking my bra off earlier.

“Would it bother you if I did?” He raises his eyebrows at me.

“Of course not. I would just hate for the rest of the band to be upset,” I admit. Well, everyone but Rob.

“Oh, forget them.” He throws his hand out toward me. “Let’s go.” He starts to walk to the door.

“I can’t go anywhere. Not to mention, you don’t want to get sick.” I keep my lie going.

He’s not going to drag me to that show.

I want to be depressed tonight. I want to hate myself, and there’s no way I can do that with him in my presence.

“Sadie, look at me.” He places his finger under my chin, raising it until my emerald eyes meet his caramel ones. “Are you really sick?” He narrows his vision. “And don’t lie.” His one eyebrow rises in question.

“No.” I tip my head down, ashamed that he caught me in a lie.

“That’s what I thought.” He pulls me to the door again.

“Brady, I’m not even dressed.” I stagger back, covering myself.

“It doesn’t matter. We aren’t going anywhere public.” He reaches for my hand again.

“Where are we going?” I leave his hand hanging, waiting for mine.

“It’s a surprise. Come on.” His smile is so wide, and I wonder what he’s up to.

He couldn’t have found out it was my birthday. I didn’t even tell Jessa.

“What about your show?” I persistently ask, not giving in so easily.

“Did I sign up for Twenty Questions? What’s my prize if I win?” His eyes move slowly up and down my body. “If you’re the grand prize, I’ll answer as many questions as you want.”

My body zings with excitement as his eyes roam across me. “Brady,” I sigh, struggling to hide my smile. “Why aren’t you playing tonight?” I ask him again.

He releases a big breath, exhausted by my need to know. “I canceled the show. Well, not exactly. I played a couple of songs and then told the guys I had to go. Rob sings, so he took my spot.” He shrugs, as if it’s no big deal.

If I wasn’t racked with guilt before he showed up, it’s at maximum capacity now.

“Why did you do that? I’m fine,” I insist, upset with myself.

People showed up to see him sing, and he left because I was feeling sorry for myself and hadn’t gone.

“Let me get dressed. We’ll head back to Aces now. If we hurry, you’ll probably still have time to finish the set.” I walk over to my closet and sift through my clothes. If anything, I can make this right tonight.

“Sadie,” he calls over.

But I ignore him.

“It’s over. Rob is finishing the set. Now, get your little ass over here, so I can take you somewhere.” He stays where he is with his head cocked to the side and his finger pointing to the floor.

I surprise myself by following his directions. “All right.”

Usually, I’m not so submissive, but Brady does something to me that no other male has done before.

“Finally.” He wraps his arms around me and presses my face to his shoulder. “I swear, girl, sometimes, you make things so much more difficult than they have to be.”

If he only knew.

Brady intertwines our fingers and leads me out to his car. I know autumn has officially hit when the cool night breeze rises up under my shirt, pebbling my nipples.

He opens the car door, and I’m prepared to slide into the passenger seat, but he stops me.

“As much as I don’t want you to cover up, it’s getting cold outside.” He reaches behind me and pulls a sweatshirt from the backseat.

When he places it over my head, I notice it’s the one he wore earlier in the week, leaving the smell of Brady filling my nostrils. I smile, knowing he’s never getting it back.

“Thank you,” I say.

I stand outside the car door, waiting for him to motion me in, but he shuts the door after grabbing a bag. He swings his guitar over his shoulder and takes my hand again, walking us away from the car.

“Um…” I tilt my head.

He looks back to his Camaro and then to me. “We don’t need the car.”

I already know where we are going halfway there. We are going to his place—the spot where he first saw me, his hideout from the world.

There’s so much I don’t know about Brady. Why does he favor a spot where no one can see him? I have to find out soon because that part of my heart for him is growing bigger every day, and I can’t afford to get hurt again.

By the time we get there, I’m freezing. Brady grabs a blanket from his bag and spreads it across the lawn.

“Take a seat, Sadie.”

He points to the blanket, and I sit down. I might be a little too obedient.

I wrap my arms around my legs in an effort to keep myself warm. “So, what are we doing up here?” I ask, peering around the dark and deserted campus.

“All right, Sadie, we need to make a deal.” He sits down across from me on the blanket.

“What kind of deal?” I hesitantly ask, my eyes fixed on his.

“If you stop asking me questions and answer one of mine, I’ll play you a song.” He brings his guitar closer to him, positioning it in his lap.

“How do you know I want you to play a song?” I hope my voice sounds casual because I would do anything for him to sing, especially only to me.

“Uh, that’s another question. Do you ever stop? Because you love my voice. Not to mention, you really need to hear this song.”

He leans in closer to me, and my heart beats faster.

“All right, shoot, Carsen.” I release my legs and cross them over each other.

He starts to strum the strings a few times while he turns the knobby things.

“Wait, I thought you had a question.”

“I think I want to play the song for you first.” He grins, and his fingers flow down the strings.

I recognize the song from the first cord he plays. When Brady’s voice tenderly begins to sing “Happy Birthday,” he takes a little more of my heart.

It’s the most romantic act anyone has ever done for me. I don’t know how he knew it was my birthday or when he found out, but I couldn’t have asked for a better gift than him.

I quietly sit there, taking him in, relishing in his act, until his voice fades with the last word. He places his guitar back in the case and instructs me to close my eyes, which is an easy task since I need to push back the tears forming. A flick of a lighter echoes through the air, telling me he must have a candle.

“Open up your eyes,” he whispers.

With the sound of his voice, I know he’s closer to me than before. When I open my eyes, I see a chocolate cupcake with white frosting, topped with a mound of toasted coconut shavings and one lit candle illuminating our private area.

“Happy birthday, Sadie. Make a wish.”

“Brady…” I take a deep breath in, composing myself from the thoughtful act. “You shouldn’t have.”

Our eyes meet again, and I hope he can see how grateful I am, despite my words.

“Make your wish.” He inches the cupcake closer to me.

I close my eyes, smelling the sweetness of coconut and frosting. On my face, I can feel the heat from the small flame on top, and I inhale a deep breath, secretly making my wish, before releasing it to extinguish the flame.

“I hope I was a part of that wish,” he whispers so softly that I’m not sure if I was meant to hear it.

Shivers run along the back of my neck.

Brady takes out the candle and places it inside the box, seeming to snap back to reality. “So, are you ready for my question?”

“Just so you know, I’m a true believer in not telling anyone what I wished for. It’s bad Karma, and I really want this one to come true.”

“Me, too. I’ll never ask, but…if you ever feel compelled to tell me, I wouldn’t be upset.” He laughs. Then, his lips straighten, and his eyes bore into mine, as though he’s going to ask me a very serious question. “Sadie Miller?” he says.

My heart races.

Has he figured out my secret? Does he know about Theo or Drayton?

“Did you have a good birthday?”

My heart skips a beat when a smile crosses his lips, and my body can’t be wrapped in his arms soon enough.

“The best, Brady. Thank you.” I thoroughly kiss him with every fiber of my being.

How this man found me is beyond me because I don’t deserve him. I might lose him someday, but until then, I’ll make the most of every second I have with him.

“Sadie, you’re a mysterious girl.” He places his hands on either side of my face, bringing it closer to his, until our lips find one another again.

I’m happy he doesn’t ask me any questions regarding my past. He hasn’t asked me why I kept my birthday a secret or why I faked being sick. As much as I feel guilty for not telling him about Theo and my life at Drayton, it scares me that he’ll run, and I selfishly want a little more time with him.

“Can I ask one question now?” I peek my head up.

“You aren’t as sneaky as you think.” He begins to answer my unasked question, “Jessa found some confetti on the floor the other day and was curious. She might have checked out your driver’s license to find out, but don’t tell her I told you.” He grins, pulling me tighter into him. “She didn’t tell me until tonight when she and Rob got there, which is why this was so spur of the moment. If I’d had more time, I would have done more.”

“It was perfect, Brady. I wouldn’t have wanted to celebrate my birthday in any other way,” I confess. I kiss his cheek.

While I’m nestled in his arms, a foreign feeling of safety comes over me.

“Happy birthday, Sadie,” he whispers in my ear, tightening his arms, as though he’s my protector from everything evil.

I wish he could continue to keep the memories from surfacing.