Page 83 of How to Love a Rockstar

“I promise I’m not breaking up with you.”

He blows out a breath. “Thank fuck.”

His relief causes a tiny bit of hope to awaken inside of me. Not quite a spark, but it’s there. I sip on my beer and ponder where to begin. Have I mentioned how much I hate discussing my past?

Dylan squeezes my hand. “You don’t have to tell me anything you’re not ready to tell me. I can wait. I’m a patient man.”

I want to latch onto the out he’s giving me but I won’t. I love this man. He needs to know the truth about my past – whether I want him to or not.

I blow out a breath. “I need to tell you why I freaked out at the library.”

“Because Jett’s an idiot who broke in through the window of your office and scared the hell out of you.”

“You’re kind. My reaction was over the top and you know it.”

He shrugs. “You have a right to react how you need to react to whatever situation.”

“You always know the right thing to say.” I never stood a chance of keeping my heart closed off from him.

He snorts. “Try convincing my sister Stevie of that. When she had her very first period and I was the only person home while she was freaking out, she didn’t appreciate me telling her to calm down it’s only a period.”

“Poor Stevie,” I murmur.

Dylan groans. “You’re going to gang up on me with my sisters and mom, aren’t you?”

I hope I get the chance to meet his mom and sisters. But once he learns about my past, he might not want to have anything to do with me anymore.

I need to get this over with. I need to get the words out and stop worrying about the what-ifs in the future.

I swallow. “I told you my dad died when I was young.”

“I’m sorry.”

“I don’t really remember him. Mom married my step-dad, Terrance, when I was four.” I wish I didn’t remember my step-dad. “They had two kids. Two sons – Edward and Aaron.”

I pause. Now comes the hard part.

“My step-dad never liked me. It was perfectly clear I wasn’thischild with the way he treated me differently than Edward and Aaron. I’d come home with As in school and he’d ask why one grade was an A-. Why didn’t I put in more effort? Meanwhile, Edward and Aaron were praised for getting Cs. They got Playstations and gift certificates for their ‘academic achievements’. I got nothing.”

Dylan growls. “Asshole.”

“Terrance criticized everything I did. I didn’t wash the dishes right. I didn’t set the table right. I didn’t bring him his beer fast enough. I learned to be quiet and hide in my room as often as I could.”

“You didn’t feel safe.”

“At the start, I felt safe enough. I became the mouse Terrance thought I was.”

He growls. “You are not a mouse.”

I was, though. But not anymore. At least, not most of the time.

“Once Edward and Aaron were older, things got worse.” I steel myself for his reaction to this next bit. “They were constantly invading my room. They’d do all sorts of pranks. Put spiders or dead mice in my room, steal my homework. You get the idea.”

“They tormented you.”

“I handled it.”

He squeezes my hand. “What did your mom say?”

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