Page 128 of Hope & Harmony

He ran.

Back in my student house with my bedroom door locked behind me, I opened my laptop.

It took me less than nine minutes to gather the evidence.

Jaxon Messier. The man I’d been seeing for the past three months. My official boyfriend of less than a day.

He wasn’t who he’d told me he was, after all.

CHAPTER 6

JAXON

Burying my head in my arms, I let the tears finally fall.Fuck. I’d ruined the best thing that had ever happened to me. I was completely alone in my cold, empty apartment, and I only had myself to blame.

There was no way Curtis wouldn’t put two and two together. He was clever—the only reason I’d managed to hide who I was from him without outright lying was because he genuinely didn’t know or care about Morningside. And that fact was unsurprising, given that he didn’t really listen to pop music, not unless it was playing in Revolve, the gay club we’d been to a few times where Cole, Huxley’s boyfriend, worked part-time as a bartender. Add that to my previously mentioned fact that Morningside had never been popular in the UK, and…yeah. I’d let myself become complacent. I’d originally put off telling Curtis about my past because we didn’t know each other, and there was no way I’d ever give a stranger that kind of information about me, even if he was cute. Then, the more time I spent with him, the harder it became to tell him I’d been hiding something so big from him.

I’d been meaning to tell him before we made things official, but I’d been so scared that he’d leave me, and now… Now, I’d fucked it all up, anyway.

Dragging myself upright, I scrubbed a hand across my face. Nausea was churning in my stomach, but I forced myself to climb to my feet, making my way into the kitchen, where I downed a glass of water with shaking hands.

What was I going to do?

There was no one I could talk to who’d understand my position?—

Wait, no. There was one person. The one member of Morningside who’d stayed in touch with me, the one guy who’d been a true friend rather than just a bandmate.

Picking up my phone, I called Joe Garcia.

“Jax! Hey, man, it’s good to hear from you. How’s London? Rainy? Does everyone eat cucumber sandwiches?”

I huffed out a laugh, my mood already improving. “Hey, Joey. Sorry to disappoint, but it hasn’t rained yet this week, and I haven’t seen anyone eating cucumber sandwiches.” Pausing, I thought for a moment. “I did see a tuna and cucumber sandwich in my local convenience store, though.”

“Gross. You’ve got to try it. For me?”

“I can’t make any promises.” Taking a seat at the kitchen island, I rested my elbows on the smooth wooden surface, staring out of the window at the rooftops of the houses across the street. “Listen, are you busy? I could use some advice.”

The teasing tone immediately disappeared from his voice. “What’s up?”

As quickly as I could, I detailed everything that had happened with Curtis. Joe already knew that I was incognito in the UK, but I’d avoided mentioning Curtis in our infrequent conversations. As I spoke, I realized I’d been trying to keep the two parts of my life separate, as if they existed independently ofeach other. It could never be sustainable, and I should’ve had a plan in place sooner, rather than burying my head in the sand.

When I finished speaking, Joe cleared his throat. “Yeah, you fucked up, man.”

“I—”

“Not in my eyes. Inhiseyes. He…he’s a normal guy. He has no idea what it was like for us, ya know? If I’d been in your position, knowing how you shy away from the spotlight—or have done over these past couple of years—then I probably would have done the same. But you need to speak to him and make him understand what it was like for you.” He sighed. “If he means something to you, then you need to fight for him.”

“Thanks. That’s…that’s surprisingly insightful.”

“I’m not just a pretty face. I was the brains of Morningside.”

“If you say so.” We both laughed and spent another fifteen minutes talking, catching each other up on our lives. By the time we ended the conversation, I was feeling much more positive.

If Curtis would let me explain, hopefully, I could make him understand.

“We’re giving you one chance, and you’d better not fuck it up.” Huxley stared me down, his arms folded across his chest as he glared at me.

“Hux. Calm down. We don’t even know what happened,” Cole said, before turning to me and clearing his throat. “But just so you know, if you make things even worse for him, you’ll have me to answer to, as well as the rest of the band. Okay?”

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