Page 106 of Places I've Never Been

He allowed himself to be led to the side of the landing pad, where he watched Mattie fly away.

Chapter Twenty-Five

Tears streamed down Mattie’s face as she watched Adam turn into a tiny dot that vanished on the horizon. So much had been left unsaid, and undone. When she’d arrived on the island everything was exciting and new. The potential of songs not yet written hung in the air, and Adam had stirred her thoughts and imagination in enticing new directions.

It made everything hurt so much worse. Devon never had the power to hurt her like this. She’d never let him get close enough.

Adam, though, had wormed his way past all her defenses and doubts. He was intense, driven, and passionate about music and life, and hesawher in a way nobody else ever had, not even her sisters.

But it wasn’t real. All of it had been a lie, and they’d never even started the third song.

A sob bubbled in her throat. She swallowed it down.

By the time she reached the hotel suite the resort had arranged for her to wait in on the main island she was so exhausted she could hardly put one foot in front of the other.She barely noticed the well-meaning staff who ushered her through the lobby and up to her room, or the tray of fresh fruit, cheese, and coffee on the table in front of the sofa. She collapsed onto the bed, curled into a ball, and waited for oblivion to find her.

It didn’t.

Her brain was too wired to let her sleep. She pictured Adam watching her leave. That twisted, angry, confused look on his face burned her heart.

How could she have been so stupid? After everything she’d gone through with past mistakes, he’d made her believe for a fantastic couple of weeks that she would finally be taken seriously. On the surface, he’d treated her with respect. He’d listened to what she had to say, worked with her as they struggled to find the right words, and he’d made her feel wanted and special.

Then he’d taken her on that romantic picnic and made her nightmares come true.

The image of them under the waterfall taunted her. She’d been happy. She’d felt cherished, and sexy, and alive.

“Nothing lasts forever,” she whispered to herself. Her heart broke into a thousand tiny pieces.

Mattie lay there for hours, until she’d run out of tears and there was nothing left but the numb awareness that the charter would arrive to take her home soon and she still wore the sundress she’d thrown on when Piper had called in the middle of the night. She’d left everything behind. Her bag, her clothes, even her phone. She realized with a start that she’d also left her notebooks. She choked back a sob at the loss.

She was alone with self-recrimination and a broken heart.

A timid knock on the door, followed by a muffled “Mattie?” poked through her consciousness.

She wanted nothing more than to ignore the intrusion, butit was probably hotel staff telling her it was time to leave, and she desperately wanted to go home.

She sat up and rubbed her eyes. The room they’d put her in was beautiful. Fine wood furnishings set off soothing cool white curtains and a lush white carpet.

“Mattie?” The voice was a little stronger now, and familiar. “The charter’s here. Please open the door.”

“Della?” She trudged to the door and opened it. Her sister stood on the other side with Mattie’s suitcase and bag, looking anxious.

“Della!” Raw, shuddering sobs wrenched out of her despite her efforts to hold them in.

“Mattie!” Della dropped the bag and threw her arms around Mattie in a hug so tight she almost couldn’t breathe.

Mattie melted. All of the anger she’d felt about her sister’s behavior vanished in the familiar comfort of her sister’s arms. “You’re here. You came.”

“Of course I’m here. Where else would I be when my sister needs me?” Della whispered.

Della let her go to drag the luggage, and Mattie, inside. Her little sister ushered her to the couch and rocked her back and forth just like Lizzie used to do whenever Mattie was sad or hurt, but she kept up a running commentary in a way that was uniquely Della.

“It’s okay, Mattie Cake,” Della soothed. “It’s going to be okay. We’ll fix this. I swear we’ll fix this. Renic’s legal team is already working on getting the photo pulled down. I’m so sorry this happened. I’m sorry your rock star turned out to be such a jerk.”

“I thought he was different.” Mattie hiccupped. “I thought…I liked him. I really liked him.”

“I know. I know. Piper told me everything.”

“Piper?” Mattie sat back and wiped her eyes. “You talked to Piper?”

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