The knock on the dressing room door brought him out of his pre-show ritual. Smiling, he stood and crossed the dressing room to the door. Keira always tried to give him his space before a show, but knew he might need a little special attention to keep his nerves at bay. He flung open his door and his face dropped.

“Talia, what are you doing here?” She stood in the doorway, leaning against it with one arm stretched up over her head. Her smoky eyeshadow, halter top and leather pants screamed rocker chick.

“I was in town and knew you were too, so I thought I’d drop by,” she said, pushing past him into the dressing room. He glanced out into the hallway before allowing the door to close. Talia dropped down onto the couch, spreading her arms out along the back of it.

“That’s not a good enough reason. Why are you here at my show and how did you get backstage?”

She flashed the ultimate access laminate that he’d given her months ago. “I still had this.”

“I don’t know why you thought it was a good idea to come here,” he said, backing away from her.

“I wanted to see you, Eric,” she said, big doey eyes peering up at him.

“And you didn’t think about what I might want. Namely, not being anywhere near you. We’re over. You made that very clear when you cheated on me.”

“Eric, what happens on tour sometimes isn’t what you’d normally have happen in a relationship, but that doesn’t mean it has to end. We all have our fun on the tour. I’m sure you’ve had some.”

“I don’t have to justify anything I’ve done on tour to you and I certainly don’t think that cheating on someone is okay, no matter what the circumstances are.”

“You’ll learn, don’t worry,” she said, standing up and crossing to him.

“Talia, I’m not playing games with you. I don’t want anything to do with you. Your song is done and that chapter is closed. I’m with Keira,” he said, his eyes blazing with anger. He didn’t want her there, he could only imagine what Keira would think if she saw Talia there.

“I know it’s all for show. They told you to keep her close on tour for your image, but that doesn’t mean we can’t still have our fun, like old times,” she said, trying to run her finger down his chest. I grabbed Talia’s hands to keep her off me, but she used my grip to pull me in closer. Her pungent perfume threatened overwhelm me as it invaded my lungs and set them on fire. I tried to turn away, but she followed.

“Eric, the studio will be fine with it. She’s here for show, being the good little girlfriend. That’s why she’s here. Keeping her close was to keep them happy, but you’re headlining now. You can make your own choices,” Talia said, batting her eyelashes and not letting up, practically backing me into a corner. It seems Smithy was right, there wasn’t anything or any information she couldn’t get with a little time on her knees.

A startled gasp from behind him had him closing his eyes. Keira. He turned slowly, hoping he was wrong and she wasn’t there.

“Did they tell you to keep me close during the tour?” she said, tears filling her eyes. The gut punch from the look on her face, nearly took his breath away.

“Keira…” he said, reaching for her.

“No,” she said, whipping away. “Did they tell you to keep me close and make sure that things looked good for your image while you were on tour?”

“Yes, but—”

“Oh my god! It’s all been a lie. This whole time, you’ve been playing me! Talking about my art. Telling me that Talia meant nothing to you!”

“Keira, no! All of that was true. I do care about you. I’m over Talia. I told you that! You’ve heard the song. I’m over her. I don’t want anything to do with her. I don’t have any feelings for her,” he whipped around to Talia. “Get out,” he ground out. It took everything in him not to wrap his hands around her throat. She sauntered out of the room. The damage done.

“But what about me? I was just a convenient placeholder? Someone who would look good in the press and keep you sympathetic to the press and fans?” she said, her lip quivering. The gut punches kept on coming. He should have been honest. He should have told her, but he didn’t want to run the risk and now it was imploding right in front of his eyes.

“They did, but that wasn’t something I cared about. I care about you. I want to be with you. They made the suggestion, but I didn’t start things with you because of that. I was into you before I even spoke with them.”

“So why didn’t you tell me this was their plan? The part I played in it?”

“Because I didn’t want you to think I was only with you because of what they said. I care about you Keira. I…I love you.” She scoffed and turned away. He reached for her.

“Seriously? You pull this now,” she said, rounding on him, her eyes burning with tears and anger. “I’m not going to be your play thing. I’m not going to let you use me like some accessory for the tabloids.”

“It’s not like that at all.”

“Did you tell them to go screw themselves when they said this is what you should do? How you should use me?” Her voice cracked and he longed to pull her into his arms and let her know it would all be okay.

“I couldn’t tell them to go screw themselves, they are holding my future in their hands. Not just my future, but the future of my family. What they want and what I want are two different things. I don’t care what they say or what Talia said, I’m not with you for the image. Screw my image,” he said, throwing his hands up and striding over to her, trying to wrap her in his arms. She pushed him away, eyes blazing.

“How do I know you’re not lying now?”

“Keira, I’ve never lied to you.”

“What do you call this?”

“I’ve never lied to you. Everything I’ve said to you has been one hundred percent true. Did I leave this out? Yes, because I didn’t think it mattered. Have you never held something back from someone because you knew that bringing it up would only cause them more pain?” She dropped her eyes and started fiddling with her hands in front of her.

“I need some time, Eric, some space.” she said, her head down, curls covering her face. The burning sting of rejection and abandonment coursed between him.

“Don’t do this Keira, don’t leave,” he said, his throat clogging.

“I can’t stay right now, Eric.” She shot up and raced out of the dressing room. The door slammed against the wall and the deafening silence of the room rang in his ears as he stood frozen in the middle of the room. He sank down onto the couch, his head in his hands. She’d walked out on him, just like that.

The door pushed open a little later and he glanced up, hopeful that Keira had changed her mind when Talia came slithering back into the room.

“I saw your little friend running off. I hope it wasn’t something I said,” she said attempting to look innocent. He jumped up.

“You know exactly what you did.”

“It’s not my fault she doesn’t know when she’s being played.” She stalked closer to him as he stood rooted to the floor.

“No one was being played Talia. Everyone isn’t like you,” he ground out.

“You don’t mean that? We’re all doing everything we can to get what it is that we want.” She ran her fingers along the buttons of his shirt and he froze, not even breathing.

His stomach revolted as she breathed on him. He stared at her, he couldn’t remember a single thing that had drawn him to her. Everything he could think of in the past didn’t even make sense seeing her up close. Her makeup was pancaked on and her eyes, the ones she always tried to make so sultry with her heavy eye makeup were equal parts calculating and completely hollow. Taking her chances, Talia wound her arms around his neck and brought her mouth to within inches of his.

Pulling Talia’s arms from around his neck, he stepped back and dropped them like they were venomous snakes.

“You must be out of your mind to think that after what you pulled that I would ever want anything to do with you,” he sneered. “I loved you. I did things to put my own career in jeopardy to support you and you fucked Owen behind my back. You did it while we were staying in the same hotel.”

“I’ve told you already how sorry I am about that, baby,” she said, moving toward him with her arms out. He backed up farther.

“You can say you’re sorry all you want. I’m not even mad about it anymore. Being mad would require me to feel something for you that I just don’t feel anymore.” He crossed his arms over his chest and attempted to get by her. He needed to go after Keira. She’d left him, but he couldn’t let things end like this.

“Eric, come on. We’ve been through so much together,” she said, stepping in front of him as he tried to get around her. She batted her eyelashes at him and he rolled his eyes. Her sultry sexy way of slinking across a room had once drawn him to her. She thought that a bit of her attitude would bring him out of the funk he’d been in, but he saw through her now. It was a façade she put on to get to guys like him. Playing up the mysterious and aloof vixen. She needed their angst, anger and passion to make her feel less hollow and alone than she did when she was on her own. And chasing the next rising star she thought she’d need to advance her own career.

“We’ve been through a lot together, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to come back to you like some abused dog. You made your choice. And now that Uncharted’s tour has been cancelled you’re back here with me right when I’m headlining a tour.”

She at least had the good sense to look embarrassed when he pointed that out. “Yeah, you don’t think I knew about that? Caden sent me a message about their tour being cancelled last night and then who should appear, but you.”

“I only slept with him that one time. I wasn’t even looking for something serious with him. It just happened.”

“I’m sure it did and I’m sure you couldn’t wait to get back here as soon as you heard about my tour.”

“It doesn’t have to be this way, Eric.”

“It does. You can leave now. I don’t need you anymore, although I have to say you’ve certainly inspired a hell of a lot of songs for my next album,” he said, pulling the notepad from his back pocket.

“So, you do still care?”

“Didn’t I tell you how it goes when I write? I write it down to free myself of the chains of whatever emotion had me all wrapped up in that moment. A hell of a lot of rage, heartbreak, and sadness when you first cheated on me. But now when I look at you, there’s nothing.” He stared at her, free from all the baggage he’d carried about their break up. She stared back, mouth hanging open, unable to utter a word. They were done, he strode to the dressing room door, heading for the tour bus.

“You can’t mean that,” she whispered, tears in her eyes.

“Don’t worry Tal, you’ll land on your feet. An opportunist like you always does,” he said, closing the door on her and the past he’d been wrapped up in for way too long. By the time he got to the bus, Keira’s clothes and everything else were long gone. He called her phone at least twenty times before the bitterness of her abandoning started to close in on him. She’d left. After he told her how much that would hurt him, she packed up and left without another word to him.

He picked up his guitar and notepad. Running his fingers over the cold strings, he slid his hand up and down the fretboard, plucking out random notes. A melody filled his head as thoughts of Keira clouded over his mind. He grabbed his pen and wrote down the lyrics as they tumbled out of him. He started on her song. Another song for another person who’d left him behind.

* * *

Scrambling up the stairs of the bus, Keira made it all the way inside before she completely lost it. All her fears were coming true when it came to Eric. She’d known he hadn’t left Talia behind, that she still had a hold on him and he wasn’t ready to let go. She’d dropped her guard when it came to him and all the havoc he would be able to wreak in her heart. It had happened so quickly, she hadn’t had time to put her guard up. But screw him for not having the balls to tell her. Why would anyone want to be with you? You’re a mediocre artist. If he had the choice between a best-selling musician and a girl hawking her sketches outside of a stadium, who did you think he’d choose?

Putting her hands over her ears, she pushed her way into the bedroom, sliding down the wall and covering her face. Tears clogged her throat and the suffocating pressure was back on her chest. Barely able to take a breath, she let it all out. Sobbing uncontrollably, Keira squeezed her eyes shut, trying to stop the tears that continued to flow.

It was Paulo all over again, she would never measure up. What she did would never be good enough. Why would someone successful want to be with her? And worse, the secret she kept from Eric could blow everything up. He needed to know, but she’d made a promise to his mother. The secret about his father burned in her chest. He’d kept this from her, but she’d kept an even bigger secret from him. His dad was out there, wanted to see him, and his mom was keeping them apart. How could she tell him that? What did she do? How would he react if she told him? She needed to get out of here and clear her head. She sent off a text as she grabbed her things out of the drawers. The best thing to do was leave the tour—for now at least. Maybe for good. There had been a few people interested in what she did. Other bands, even someone from another label.

Stuffing her clothes into her suitcase, she went back to the closet and pulled the rest down all in one go. Hangers and all, she crammed them into the suitcase. Storming out of the bedroom with her smaller bag, she grabbed everything from the bathroom shelves and threw it into the open bag. Glancing up at herself, her tear streaked face, red and puffy. She splashed some water on her face as her phone vibrated. She grabbed it out of her back pocket. She knew exactly where she needed to go and she needed to go now!