Then I grew up and became amom. I had to make new plans and dreams and realize that my happiness didn’t matter anymore. My job became making sure my son was happy. That he knew he was loved. And I had to provide him with the love of two parents.
Now I have Matt too. He has become an orphan in a blink. I can’t let him lose the only home he’s ever known.
“Were you expecting company?” Delilah asks, drawing me from my thoughts.
“What?” I blink, realizing we are in my driveway.
“Company? Visitors? A salesman?” she nods towards the house.
I finally see the beat-upblue sedan sitting in the drive. I inhale sharply, not in the slightest bit prepared to deal with what’s on the other side of that door.
“I take it you know who it is?”
I nod in distaste. “Nova.”
“As in the sister that missed her own parents’ funeral.”
“The one and the same.”
Ryder
World So Cold
“Where in the bloody hell are you taking me?” I bite out with as much venom as I can muster given my two-day hangover and four hours of sleep. Or maybe it was two hours. I don’t even know. I’ve spent the last forty-eight hours in a rage of drinking and fucking.
Yesterday was the fucking icing on the goddamn cupcake. The meeting with Davis was an absolute joke that nearly led to all of us walking, contracts be damned. If it weren’t for Nichols, who we’ve realized is actually Liam’s ex-brother-in-law, we would have. (His little secrets have been pouring out left and right lately. I can’t wait to find out what’s next.) And it was only because of the rest of the guys that Angel and I didn’t land our asses in jail. Although, with Davis adamantly defending his golden boy, Erikson, Angel definitely had a reason.
I really couldn’t be too angry over my mother’s appearance. At least, not at Davis or his wife. Those were the types of events she was regularly invited to. No, my mother was the one who knew I would be there. She was there to take credit for her son’s achievements.
The truth is, I was pissed before we made it to the fifty-eighth floor. I was pissed before we stepped on the elevator. The moment I laid eyes onher, every single memory my mother stirred, increased ten-fold. I could feel my blood pressure spike as my heart began to race, fueled by anger, resentment, and rage.
It didn’t matter that December 23rdmade nine years since I last saw her. It didn’t matter that she let her cropped purple hair grow out to its natural copper. Nothing would’ve made her unrecognizable. Not to me.
That pixie would be forever ingrained in me, etched into my mind and the place where my heart would be, if she hadn’t taken it with her when she left. She was branded on my soul and inked in my skin— something I could’ve covered or removed, but never did.
After all this time, I believed I would never see her again, but I always knew what I would do if I did. If she’d hung around, I’d finally had my chance to do it. She didn’t, of course. No, she just ran like she did all those years ago without so much as a goodbye.
“You going to answer me, mate? Or do you enjoy dragging me out of bed at the crack of dawn?” I grumble some more.
“Remember when we were talking about a place where we could get away to write or relax?” he asks me as he weaves his oversized SUV through traffic.
“Yeah. We all agreed to check out a few places when the tour was done. Why? You found a place?”
It was a conversation we had multiple times over the last several months. Maddox and I were well accustomed to nosey paparazzi trying to get a glimpse of our lives on occasion. Hell, we used to live our teen years trying to get in those papers just to piss our parents off. Since the band had gone from new rising stars to the biggest band in the world, occasional had become constant. Fans have gotten a bit invasive at times as well. When you want to speak to the world with your music, it’s the price you pay. We’re gladly paying it too, but we need a place to get away from time to time.
“I found a place,” Maddox confirms. “A couple hours outside the city. Fucking huge. Over a hundred acres, huge house, a building that would make a perfect studio, pools, ponds, stables. Everything.”
“Sounds perfect,” I say with a suspicious undertone. “But I get the feeling you’re hesitating.”
“No. No, hesitation.” He stares straight ahead, but I catch a hint of guilt in his expression.
“What am I missing here, Mads?” I ask, knowing my tone still borders towards asshole.
He rubs the back of his neck with one hand, while keeping the other on the steering wheel. “I sort of bought it already.” He watches me from the corner of his eye.
“You bought a place for the band without consulting the band?” I’m a little at a loss. It’s not like Maddox to make unilateral decisions.
“No. I want the place. That’s not up for discussion. I fell in love with the pictures. It kind of reminds me of home, but it’s also perfect for the band. If you and the rest of the guys want part of it, there is more than enough to split. If you don’t, then you’re welcome anytime.”
