Page 103 of Aria

“Freeze Frame,” I corrected with a chuckle. “And yes, that’s right.”

Lilah clicked her tongue as she removed the magazine from my hands and plopped it down on the table. “I heard about your attack. How are you holdin’ up?”

Swallowing, I touched a hand to my throat, where a burgundy scarf hid my fading bruises. “It’s been a tough week.”

“I’ll tell ya what,” Lilah said, placing her hands on her hips. She tilted her head to the side, eyeing me up and down. “This one is on the house. Tell your friends to come see me, and we’ll call it even. You deserve a little pampering.”

My eyes widened at the offer. “I can’t accept that…”

“Nonsense. Now, go sit your pretty butt down.”

I wasn’t well-versed in accepting favors or handouts, but it was as if this woman somehow knew that as she took me by the crook of the arm, guiding me to the first chair on the left.

“You have such a pretty face to be hidin’ behind all this hair.”

I watched in the mirror as Lilah ran her chocolate brown fingernails through my long, drab locks. She removed my scarf and set it on the small tabletop in front of her. The bruises beneath it stared back at us, boasting their purple and green composition.

Lilah only glanced at them for a moment before resting her hands on my shoulders. “Are you ready for a new you?”

I couldn’t help but smile. “I’m ready.”

* * *

Noah

It was the night before the Grammy’s.

I was tuning my Gibson guitar while the guys chain-smoked in between songs. Sean was pacing the room, finalizing details for our very public performance tomorrow evening.

“You keep fucking up that note,” Devon scolded Miles, a cigarette dangling between his lips. He took a swig from his flask and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “When I sing ‘believe in you,’ you’re supposed to play anE.”

Miles scoffed at him. “I got it.”

I ignored the bickering. I couldn’t wait for the Grammy’s to be over so I could announce my break from the band.

It had been a daunting decision, but I needed to take a step back. I needed a goddamn soul cleanse.

Music had always been my life, but it wasn’t speaking to me the way it used to. My muse had been bogged down with politics and bitter grudges. Tad and Devon were getting loaded almost every night, and the entire band’s integrity was slipping. It was eating at me.

Besides, I wanted to spend more quality time with my son. I had enough money saved up to take a few months off. Sam and I could travel the world together. And hell, maybe a few months was all I needed to find my muse again.

Maybe I could finally forget about her…

I’d been avoiding Chelsie since she left my house that morning. I needed to. She’d broken my damn heart, and she didn’t even know it.

I had been nothing more than a shoulder to cry on, a warm body to escape to, and I was stupid to think we would wake up the next morning and our new life would begin. We’d be a happy little family.

Ridiculous.

Chelsie Combs had softened my once-cold heart to the point of believing in fairytales and it made me sick.

My phone buzzed in my pocket, and I reached in to grab it.

Chelsie:Tell Sam I said hi.

I blinked at the message, holding the phone in my hand for a long time, wondering if I should call her.

I wanted to. I wanted to hear her voice. I wanted to tell her how much Sam missed her… how muchImissed her.

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