Chapter 2

Riley

The look on Ethan's face haunted me as I drove home. Had I played into some sick game that Clayton was playing with the handsome playboy?

No. I knew what I was doing, and it seemed that Ethan did too. I needed him to tell me that he loved me, and he stumbled over it three different times before finally blurting it out in a last-ditch effort to appease me.

I knew what real love looked like. A sick smile lifted my lips. I'd seen it in the movies.

Tears burned my gaze as I reached up and ran my fingers down my sticky wet hair. Too much hair spray, which I hated anyway. Why had I let them doll me up?

Right. Because I belonged to them. They could do whatever they wanted to with me thanks to me signing on the dotted line, and all for what?

Fame? Adoring fans that really didn't know anything about me?

Ethan's attention?

No. None of those things seemed to matter as I pulled into the apartment complex that Charlotte and I were renting. Jace's truck was parked in a visitor spot, and I thought about turning my clunker around and heading to the cemetery.

I needed to apologize to my mom again. Maybe if I hadn't been off chasing what I thought was a good dream, I would have been there for her when she needed me most. I couldn't help but think that if I had been home and involved in her drama more, she might still be alive.

My brother Darek most certainly would. None of us wanted to get our hands dirty or end up shot in the head thanks to one of his drug-dealing friends. No one intervened, and he was dead. My mom had blamed herself since the day it happened, and I would blame myself for both of them now. I was the only one left.

Alone.

I forced myself to get out of the car and dragged myself up to the apartment, knowing that I looked like a soaked rat.

"Just hold it together until you can get into the shower." I straightened my shoulders and popped my key into the lock. "You got this."

"Hey." Charlotte turned and glanced over her shoulder from sitting on the couch. I was a little surprised to see Jace there seeing that our last encounter had been weird if nothing else. Charlotte stood as her voice tightened, her eyes widened. "What the hell happened to you? You look like you got caught in a rainstorm and saw a ghost."

"Ri?" Jace walked around her, the sound of his voice causing my walls to come crumbling down. We'd been friends and make-shift lovers since I was a girl. He was always there to catch me when I fell, and if he wasn't, Charlotte was.

A sob left me as I dropped my purse and pressed my hands to my face.

"Baby, what happened?" Jace pulled me into a warm hug, his arms so strong and thick, his smell so fucking familiar.

"Hey. Talk to us. Are you okay?" Charlotte moved up beside us and ran her hand down the back of my head. "Riley. You're scaring us. Tell me what happened."

I tried to catch my breath, but couldn't. Pressing into Jace's chest, I let myself go and cried loudly until I had nothing left to give. By the time I pulled myself together, Charlotte wasn't in the living room anymore, and Jace's t-shirt was soaking wet.

"I'm sorry," I mumbled and moved back, wiping at my face.

"There's nothing to be sorry about." He reached out and cupped the side of my face. "Do I need to go kill someone? If that fucker hurt you..."

"No. There's nothing to do about it. None of it." I walked around Jace and followed the sound of water running. "I just thought I meant something to him, but I don't."

"Don't what?" Charlotte glanced up from sitting on the side of the bathtub as I walked into our shared bathroom.

"Don't matter to Ethan." I closed the door behind me and stripped my clothes off. "I assume that hot bath is for me?"

"It is." She stood up and pulled me into a tight hug. "I'm here for you. Anything you need. You know that, right?"

I nodded and pressed my teeth into my bottom lip to keep from crying anymore. It always jacked me up when someone I loved was nice, and I was hurting. It seemed to call forth more emotion than necessary.

"I appreciate it. I just need a few minutes to myself." I pulled back and slipped into a facade, tightening my expression to reassure her that I was alright.

"Okay. Well, I'm going to make some lunch. I'll be just out here if you need me."

"What's Jace doing here?" I pulled off my bra and slipped out of my panties, grateful to be out of my freezing cold clothes. They just seemed to make things worse, as if that was possible.

"He came over this morning to see us. I guess him and his latest fling ended, and he wanted to apologize for how weird he was in the mall." She shrugged. "He came in with the intent to see you, but we started talking." Her cheeks burned pink. "It was nice. I don't know."

She seemed flustered, a little out of sorts. Did she have feelings for Jace? How fucking weird would that be? The idea only added to the discomfort building in my chest.

"Okay. I'll be right out." I shivered and turned to get into the tub. I'd made it down into the warm water as a soft knock resounded at the door.

"Ri. Can I come in for a minute?" Jace.

"Sure." I pulled the shower curtain closed, why I wasn't sure. The man had explored every inch of my body and knew it better than I did. The click of the door caused me to stiffen, and I stuck my head out. "If you're here to talk about us-"

"Hush." He sat down on the toilet, his eyes filled with loving kindness. "I came by to apologize. You're my best friend, and I'm really good with that title. I don't need anything else from you. Honestly." He shrugged. "I think watching you fall in love with someone else just fucked me up a little. I don't want to lose you."

You might not have to after today.

"I appreciate that." I pressed my head to the chilly tile wall behind me and kept the curtain in place to hide my nakedness. "I would never want to hurt you. You know that, right?"

"Of course I do." He glanced down at his hands as he fidgeted. "What happened today?" The hardness in his voice caused me to worry for a second. I didn't want to spill my guts and have him turn into a monster, going after Ethan and beating him to a pulp on my behalf. It was very much a Jace Dillon move.

"I don't know." I let out a sardonic laugh. "I saw a video of Ethan kissing his agent, our agent, and it fucked me up."

"On a set or like really kissing her?" He glanced up, his eyes a little wide.

"Really kissing her." I let the curtain fall back and picked up the soap before sliding down deeper into the water. I didn't need to see him. The tone of his voice would tell me all I needed to know. "And he said that it didn't matter."

"Didn't matter?"

"No, I mean like it was staged for her boyfriend, but Ethan didn't stage it. It was fake. It didn't matter."

"Why would she stage something like that? She's your agent too? Does this bitch not care about you?" He was getting riled up.

I pulled the curtain back a little so he could see my face. "I don't know what they were thinking. One of them should have said something to me the minute it happened."

"Ethan should have. Especially if you guys are together."

"We're not together." I glanced up at the ceiling. "At least, I don't think we are."

Jace snorted. "Ri. This is not a complicated thing. Either you're together, or you're not. Unless you're friends with benefits."

"We're not." I glanced over at Jace. We sort of were, but I wasn't bringing that up to add salt to the wound. "I don't know what we are."

"You love him?"

"Yes. Unfortunately. And you and I have had this conversation before."

"I know, but I wasn't really listening. I was too wrapped up in the fear that I would lose you." He reached over and brushed a strand of hair from my face. "Forgive me for being a needy dick."

"No. You weren't in the wrong. I was." I closed my eyes and took a shaky breath. "I just wish I knew what to do."

"Give it some time. Give him some time." He stood up. "I don't like the guy in the slightest, but if you really do love him, then give him some space. When you know what you want, step forward and take it. If it's not him, then close down the relationship."

"And come back to you?" I forced a saucy grin.

Jace's expression tightened. "No. We need to just be friends now. I gotta move on with my life. All this shit has shown me that I'm ready for something steady, for this love bullshit too."

I laughed and rolled my eyes. "I never thought I would see the day when you would talk about settling down."

He walked to the door and glanced back, the man far too handsome for his own good. "Me either, but watching you love this guy, even with him being a torrential fuck up, has given me a little bit of hope for myself."

"Good. You'll find her." I lifted my eyebrow. "She might be in the kitchen, cooking our lunch."

"She might." He winked and closed the door behind him.

I berated myself for trying to set him up with Charlotte. That would be beyond weird. Or would it?

Sinking down into the hot water, I let out a long sigh and closed my eyes, which was a mistake. The last scene Ethan and I had done ran through my mind over and over again.

There were parts of it where I wanted to reach out, to save him. He looked so vulnerable, so open and real. His voice echoed in my head, the sound of his brokenness enough to break my heart.

"I need you to love me." Devastation raced through me as I pushed at his chest. "I don't want your fucked up offer. Leave me alone, Ethan Lewis. You're a bastard."

"My offer?" He turned his back to Clay and pulled me into his arms, wrapping me up as someone released the rain machine above us. He was beyond beautiful, intriguing and it took all of me not to fall for him over and over and over again. "Baby. You offered sex and friendship to me. I never wanted lust from you. I've been alone since I was ten years old. Don't leave me alone again."

I'd offered him friends with benefits? No fucking way. "Then tell me what you know I need to hear."

He pressed his forehead to mine. "I'm fucking scared to say it. I've never said it to anyone but Liam and D. Never in the way that you want to hear it."

"Then let me go." I moved up and pressed my lips to his, needing to taste him one more time in case it was the last time. "Take care, Ethan."

"No. Don't go." He choked on a sob.

"Please stop," I whispered softly as sadness threatened to consume me. I pressed my hands to my face and let myself cry again. He'd finally relented and told me that he loved me, but it was forced.

I didn't want him to become something for me, or force a feeling he didn't feel.

Maybe Jace was right. Time healed all wounds. Maybe it would work on my behalf to bring clarity. I needed to know my next steps, but without understanding Ethan's heart, I was going nowhere really fast.

There was one thing I didn't need to think through. One thing I knew without a shadow of a doubt was true. I loved him, and whether we worked out or not, I would love him.

Forever.