Page 16 of Love Unexpected
“Yes. But Isaac is still breaking up with her. Because he is not the kind of man who cares about stuff as shallow as that. That’s why you care about him, right? Because he isn’t like that?”
I wanted to believe her, but a doubt still niggled in the back of my mind, one I didn’t even want to voice. Because I was just too afraid that if I said it out loud, I’d realize it was true.
“What?” Greta said. “What are you not saying out loud?”
“What if—” I said, cutting myself off. I forced a breath out through my nose. “What if he does care about stuff like that? Look at the women he’s dated over the years, Greta. They all look like Bridget.”
“He hasn’t datedthatmany women.”
“Enough to have established a pattern,” I said.
“That’s just it, though,” Greta said. “None of those relationships have lasted. That has to be the most telling thing.”
There was likely truth to Greta’s words, but I couldn’t bring myself to feel any optimism as I drove myself home at the end of the day. It had been almost a week since I’d sent Isaac my message, and even though Jade insisted he’d seen it, he still hadn’t responded. What more could I do? I’d hit a dead-end digitally, and now, it appeared I’d hit a dead-end in person, too.
An hour later, I pulled on my fuzziest socks and crawled into my bed with a bag of Twizzlers, my laptop, and my cat, Reggie, who was excellent at distracting me from my own woes with his very important need to have his ears scratched in just the right way. The day had been somewhat of an emotional roller coaster, and bingeing an entire season ofSchitt’s Creekfelt like the perfect way to recover.
I picked up my phone and scrolled through my notifications, making sure there wasn’t anything important enough to distract me from the binge session I was eager to start.
And then I froze, my hand hovering over the screen as my heart leapt into my throat.
I had a new message on Instagram from@RandomIOfficial.
I dropped my phone onto my bed, too afraid to read the message, and nearly hit Reggie. He scrambled to the side and jumped off the bed with a disgruntled meow.
I stared at the phone, forcing air in through my nose and out through my mouth, just like my mother had always taught me. Social interactions had been crippling for me as a kid, so she’d armed me with as many coping mechanisms as she possibly could. “Whatever you’re dealing with,” she’d always said, “it’s never going to be made better by not breathing.”
Three deep breaths later, I was ready to reach for my phone. This wasn’t a big deal. It was what I wanted. For Isaac to respond. To give me the chance to talk to him, to let him see the real me.
The message was longer than I expected.
Okay. You’ve got my attention. Your artwork is impressive—impressive enough that I’d love to buy a print to hang on my wall, if you do that sort of thing. But first, we need to have a serious conversation about Red Renegade’s most underrated song. “Wings that Weep” is amazing, yes. And I’d give it the number two spot on the list of Renegade’s “should have been loved more” tracks. But it isn’t number one. I’ll give you three guesses.
I scrambled onto my bed and pulled the covers over my legs, anticipation making me jittery. I had no idea how to respond. OrwhenI should respond. Were there rules to this sort of thing? Reasons I needed to wait a day or two to reply? Would it look too desperate to respond right away?
And only three guesses? That hardly seemed fair. Red Renegadehad released nearly two dozen albums over the span of their career, including two different collections of their greatest hits. I opened the music app on my phone and scrolled through their track list, eliminating any of the songs that had made it onto either of their greatest hits albums. Obviously, none of those could be considered underrated. It took ten more minutes of searching before I’d narrowed down my choices to five songs that, in my mind, were both brilliant and under-appreciated.
I swiped back to Isaac’s message, hardly believing he was on the other side of it. I gnawed on my lip wondering which song to guess first. I could make a compelling case for all five if I had to.
Okay. I’ll play,I typed, willing my hands not to tremble.But don’t think that by doing so I’m rescinding my belief that “Wings that Weep” really IS number one.
I sent the message then looked over my list of potential contenders.
Butterflies at Night, I typed.
Isaac’s reply came through almost immediately.Ohhh, good guess. But no.
I huffed. Who made him the expert?
@Briarsandthorns: Red 87,I tried next.And I might fight you over this one. The guitar solo alone is pretty much priceless.
@RandomIOfficial: Hmm. I’d forgotten about the guitar solo. You’re right. But I’m still not sure it can dethrone the song I have at the top of my list.
I grumbled, debating which of my three remaining songs I wanted to try. They were all amazing songs...but were they songs Isaac would think were amazing? A bolt of inspiration shot through me and I abandoned my list, instead opting to guess a song with a low, brooding melody and an extended piano part. It was the most melancholy of all of Red Renegade’swork, its lyrics raw and revealing.
The song was about fame and how it ate away at the most important aspects of your life. I always felt sad when I heard it, but I’d never felt much emotional connection beyond that. I’d never been famous; in fact, I spent a good amount of effort every day making sure I didn’t doanythingthat thrust me into any sort of limelight. But Isaac had been famous—at least in some respect—since he was sixteen years old. If there was any song that connected with him on a visceral level, it had to be this one.
The Truth About Lies,I guessed, hesitating just briefly before sending the message.
