Tell Me Why (19 page)

“It’s incredible,” I replied with a sigh. “I’ve heard about it before, but I’ve never seen it in person. It seems almost otherworldly.”

“I’ve only seen it one other time myself, and not this close before. It’s definitely magical. We’re lucky to get to see it.”

“Are they safe?” I asked as they floated closer, allowing me to see individual specs of light in certain places. “Should we move?”

“No, it’s fine. They’re just micro organisms.”

“With a very bright light,” I said with a smile. Dipping my hand into the water, I lifted it to see a few of the glowing spots scattered across my palm. “Look!” With child like glee, I held my hand up for Tyler to see.

“Gorgeous,” he replied, never taking his eyes off me. I recognized his look and found myself frozen as his lips descended to mine. Soft and warm, he kissed me gently, slowly wrapping his arms around my waist and dragging me closer to him. He deepened the kiss, parting my lips with his tongue, dipping farther into my mouth.

Water lapped at
our bodies, the cool mixing with the heat of our skin as we stood together, and I felt . . . nothing. Absolutely nothing. The fire that sizzled in my veins with every touch I got from Caleb was clearly absent. It didn’t matter that I was hurt, that I was tired of crying, or that Caleb’s betrayal ate at me.

I was still in love with him . . . hopelessly, irrevocably in love with him. He was it for me, but was it too little, too late?

Lifting my hands to Tyler’s shoulders, I pushed him away. “T . . . Tyler,” I stuttered. “I’m so sorry, but I need to go home.”

A look of disappointment crossed his face, though he nodded and stepped away. “Are you sure?”

“Yes,” I whispered, barely hearing my own voice over the water. “He’s still waiting—hoping I’ll come back. I owe it to him to try and fix things. He’s always been there for me, for as long as I can remember.”

“You don’t need to justify yourself to me, Anna. I get it. I really do.”

“I just didn’t want you to think I intended to lead you on.”

He raised his hands in defeat. “In all fairness, you did warn me.”

Biting my lip, I nodded and began walking toward the shore.

“I have to say, whoever this guy is, I hope he realizes how lucky he is.”

Smiling, love infused my heart. “I’m the lucky one,” I replied. I couldn’t wait to get back to my apartment and call my mom. I was ready to go home.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Caleb-

“Did you hear the news?” Stix
burst into the loft so loudly that I jumped, dropping my glass of water and it shattered into the sink.

“What the hell, Stix? You scared the shit out of me!” Carefully, I began gathering the shards so I could dispose of them.

“Forget that!” Stix practically hollered, grabbing me by the shoulders and shaking me. “Did you hear the news?”

“What news?” I asked, experiencing a moment of panic as Anna’s image flashed through my mind.

“Man, you need to start answering your damn phone! Rick just got a call from that Hensley dude who came to listen to us play. His record label wants to sign us! They are paying for all of us to fly to LA to talk to the bigwigs!”

“You’re serious?” My mind was having difficulty forming a coherent thought at the moment. “Don’t mess with me, Stix.”

“Do I look like I’m messing with you? This is for real! What do you think?”

A whoop escaped me as I grabbed him, hugging him tight. “Damn! This is huge! I can’t believe it! Where are Rick and Riley? This calls for a celebration!”

“They’re on their way over from the island, right now. I think we need to go out and party!”

“Definitely! Let me go change so we can leave as soon as they get here.”

Anna’s picture greeted me as I entered my room. It wasn’t a very clear image, just one I’d snapped of her as she walked across the stage at her graduation. I’d had it printed off and framed it, setting it on my nightstand so I could always see her. Night after night, I’d fallen asleep with her image the last thing I saw. When she’d texted me after the altercation with Hank, it had taken all I had to tell her to take her time and then not reply to her again. I’d left her texts on my phone, rereading them over and over like some sappy, lovesick fool. I missed her.

How could
we accept a record contract without Anna? She was the one who’d gotten us the recognition in the first place. This guy had initially come to hear her, not realizing she’d left. We’d been lucky enough to still make a good impression on him.

My lyric book lay open where I’d left it on the bed earlier and I picked it up, glancing at the song I’d just finished writing, reading through the words once again:

Bleeding

The color drains away, my life begins to ebb,

Only I can’t really die, because I’m trapped inside my head.

Mistakes are looming large,

Widening into ugly scars,

But I don’t know how to stop the

Bleeding …

It’s running out of me

For all the world to see

This can’t end happily,

Because I just keep

Bleeding…

It’s a loss of my soul,

And the one I want to hold,

I’ll regret this till I’m old,

I’m bleed, bleed, bleed, bleeding

Time is not my friend, it drags on so slow,

Everyday a reminder, of what I’ll never know.

The look inside your eyes,

Shows the horror of my lies,

But I don’t know how to stop the

Bleeding…

It’s running out of me

For all the world to see

This can’t end happily,

Because I just keep

Bleeding…

It’s a loss of my soul,

And the one I want to hold,

I’ll regret this till I’m old,

I’m bleed, bleed, bleed, bleeding

Is there any hope?

An escape from purgatory.

Can I somehow make amends?

Get a chance to try again.

Or is this all that’s left?

This dead ache inside of me.

Staring at my blood red sins,

For the rest of eternity

I don’t know how to stop the

Bleeding…

It’s running out of me

For all the world to see

This can’t end happily,

Because I just keep

Bleeding…

It’s a loss of my soul,

And the one I want to hold,

I’ll regret this till I’m old,

I’m bleed, bleed, bleeding

Snapping the book shut, I knew there was something else I needed to do before I could take the next step in my life. Unfortunately, it was probably going to piss off a lot of people.

***

“Another round on me!”

My eyes widened as I watched the crowd cheer and toast Stix. Shaking my head, I glanced down at the beer in my hands. Stix was going to be broke before he made a dime off this record deal—if any of us made a dime at all, I amended in my head. I still hadn’t mentioned my plans to anyone.

“Hey sexy, Caleb,” someone said in my ear, and I turned to find a cute brunette I didn’t recognize standing there. “You seem awfully solemn for a guy who just got such great news. I bet I could think of something to cheer you up.” She slid onto the stool next to me.

“Really?” I asked, not the least bit intrigued. “And what might that be?”

She set her drink down on the bar and slid her hand up my thigh. “Why don’t you follow me into that closet over there and I’ll show you
?” she tempted, a wicked gleam in her eye as she bit her lip.

“You know, I’m curious. What makes girls like you act like sluts?” I arched an eyebrow at her. “And what makes you think I might be interested?”

Her attempt at a sexy look immediately turned to a scowl. “What makes lead singers think they’re all that?” she threw back at me.

I laughed. “Girls like you. And I’m not the lead singer.” I stood and pushed my way through the crowd, heading for the exit.

The fresh air hit me in the face and I made my way over to one of the outside tables, thankful that everyone was celebrating inside tonight, instead of sitting out here. Taking another swig of my beer, I watched the traffic making its way down the street.

“You gonna tell any of us what’s wrong?” Rick asked, sliding into the chair across from me.

“Nothing’s wrong,” I muttered, wanting to evade the interrogation. Taking another swallow, I stared at him evenly.

“Go get her, man. You’ve given her plenty of space and time to think things over.”

I snorted. “And I haven’t heard a word from her. That’s not a good sign, Rick.”

“Maybe she simply doesn’t know how to approach you. She was hurting when she left. I know you don’t want to discuss the details with any of us, but when have you ever known Anna to not be fair? She loves you. Go talk to her. You know you want to.”

“I do want to. Her mom told me to give her space though, and let her have the time she needed to sort things out. Her family has been so good to me and my mom with everything that’s going on. I can’t step on their toes by hounding their daughter. It could make things awkward between them and my mom. Danica has had enough trauma without me messing things up even more.”

Rick sighed and leaned back into the chair. “Then go talk to her parents. Maybe they can feel things out for you. You know, see if Anna might be receptive to seeing you.”

Shrugging, I glanced away. “That could be a possibility.”

“What else is eating you?” Rick asked, clearly not off the scent of my troubled heart.

“Honestly? I feel guilty. This whole contract thing? We got the initial look because the agent heard about Anna. Now we’re going to sign a deal without her? It doesn’t seem very fair after all she’s done for us.”

Rick was silent for several moments, twisting his beer bottle in his hand absently. “You’re right,” he finally spoke. “But you need to remember, Anna was the one who left us high and dry without a word. It was a struggle for us to continue on our own and it was this guy listening to you that got us that deal. You need to take credit where credit
is due. Anna was right. You can sing too. I think she’d be happy for us.”

“Hmm,” I muttered
, noncommittally.

“What if things were just the opposite?”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“What if she was the one with a record deal instead of us
? Would you be upset about it? It happens all the time, you know. Lead singers get signed and have to dump their bands and leave them behind. What if that had happened with her?”

“I’d be thrilled for her. How can you even ask that?” I rubbed my hand through my short hair, still missing the old familiar length of it.

“Well, I happen to think she’d feel exactly the same.”

“Maybe,” I said, wondering if I’d ever actually have the chance to find out for myself.

***

“Caleb! This is a surprise! I didn’t expect to see you here this late. Is everything okay?” Melanie had worried crease
s between her eyebrows.

“Yeah. Sorry, I should’ve called first. I need to talk to someone.”

Stepping aside, she waved me in. “Come in. Your mom and James are in the den watching television. Would you like to join us?”

“Sure,” I replied with a nod, shoving my hands into my pockets.

Closing the door, she turned and led me down the hall.

“Caleb!” Danica called with a smile when I entered. Jumping up she came and threw her arms around me.

“Hi, Mom. How’re you doing?” I asked, hugging her back tightly. It was so nice to see her happy again.

“I’m doing wonderful. Things have been going so good.”

Smiling, I kissed the top of her head. “Awesome. I’m glad to hear it.”

“Come sit down.” She hooked her arm through mine and pulled me over to sit on the couch beside her. “What brings you to the island
, tonight?”

Sighing, I was a little nervous about how to broach the subject. Danica and James weren’t aware of everything that had transpired between Anna and
me. “Well, I need some advice,” I began. “I found out today that a record company wants to sign the band to a deal.”

“Caleb! That’s wonderful news!” Melanie exclaimed, clasping her hands together.

“It is, indeed,” James added with a smile. “Congratulations. All your hard work with the band is starting to pay off, it seems.”

I nodded. “It certainly appears that way.”

“Why do I get the feeling you aren’t happy with this?” Danica asked.

“Because Anna is the reason we got the look in the first place. I don’t feel right signing without her.” Pausing, I briefly glanced at the bleeding heart tattooed on my arm. “Nothing feels right since she left. I miss her
; but I don’t know what to do to fix things between us. The record label wants us all to fly to LA for talks in a couple days. I was wondering if you’d tell me how to find Anna so I can go talk to her. I need to see if there is any hope for us to work things out before I move ahead, without her. Do you think there is any chance she would agree to talk to me?”

Staring between Melanie and James hopefully, I felt my heart rate pick up, as if my whole future rested on their answer. Melanie opened a drawer in the end table next to her, retrieving a small notepad of paper and a pen. She quickly wrote something down on it and ripped the top sheet off, handing it to me.

“Anna called about an hour ago. She misses you and asked if she could please come home as soon as the semester was over. She said she loves you and wanted to see if the two of you could patch things up. There’s her address and phone number. Go find her, Caleb.”

Staring at the sheet in my hand, I felt like someone had just handed me a winning lottery ticket. Hope bloomed like a room full of flowers in my heart. “She said she loves me?” I asked quietly, unable to stop the grin from spreading across my face.

“She did.” Melanie smiled. “Go get your girl.”

“I will,” I replied, standing and hurrying toward the door.

“Wait! Hugs!” Danica said, chasing after me with a laugh.

I laughed too, feeling like a huge weight had been lifted from me. “Sorry.” Grabbing her
, I embraced her tightly, glancing over her shoulder to where Melanie and James sat, happily watching us. “Keep it a secret, okay? Don’t tell her I’m coming. I want to surprise her.” Truthfully, I didn’t want her to freak out and change her mind.

“Your secret is safe with us,” James said. “Have a safe trip.”

“Thank you. For everything you’ve done for my family.”

“Your family is our family too,” Melanie replied and
, for the first time in a long time, I finally felt like everything might end up right in the world.