Page 67 of Forever Flames: Padraig & Stevie
“You can’t believe her.” I step forward, pleading. “I would never cheat on you. I swear to God—”
Her eyes dart between me and Felicity, who’s sobbing into her hands.
She walks out without a word.
I follow.
We pass the stage door, the ringing amps, a tangle of cords and backstage ghosts. I don’t call her name. I can’t. Not after what she heard. Not after what she saw in my face.
She stops near the loading dock. Faint orange streetlight spills through the cracked door. The air smells like ozone and dust. Her back’s to me. Shoulders stiff.
When she speaks, her voice sounds like it’s been clawed raw.
“I nearly sacrificed everything foryou.”
I reach for her but don’t dare touch her. Not now. “Stevie—”
“For you. For Liam. For Fireball. Not because I wanted a front-row seat to every petty fight and ego storm, but becauseI loved you. I believed in what you were building.” Her hand trembles as she holds herself upright against the wall. “I gave up classes. Pulled all-nighters so you could have press kits. Blew off interviews for my own major because you needed help booking a tour. You asked me to stay. So I did.”
I don’t breathe.
“Even after Linus took over, I ignored the times when Felicity treated me like I was nothing. When she made digs in every meeting. When she rolled her eyes every time I spoke.” She turns. Slow. Deliberate. “You never once stepped in to take my side.”
“I didn’t know how to fix it.”
“Bullshit.” Her eyes narrow. “You didn’t want to hurt her feelings because you were afraid she’d quit the band.”
There’s nothing I can say. She’s right.
Her eyes are glassy, locked on mine. “And now the truth comes out. You’ve been lying to me for fuckingyears.” She jabs her finger at me. “You knew she wanted to fuck you. I have no doubt she came on to you when I was in Switzerland. You never said a word. How many times has it been since I moved to New York? Yet you said nothing. You let me walk back into her web, over and over. Why? Were you mad when I decided to pursue my own career? Is this some grand ‘fuck you, Stevie’ sort of gesture?”
“It wasn’t like that—”
“Oh, it is like that.” Her voice hardens. “My gut told me I needed to find my own path. I wasn’t sure why, exactly, because I’ve always believed in us. Our love.”
Stevie is shaking so hard I have no idea what to do. I’ve never seen her like this.
Ever.
“I was so blind,” she wails. “The reality is with you, everyone but me comes first. Always. You paint this pretty picture like you need me so badly you’re going to give up everything, but youdidn’t, did you? Instead of figuring out what you want, you chose to stay in a college town in a band you’re not sure about with a woman who was out to destroy us. I didn’t have a fucking clue. Shame on me. It’s all there in black and white now.”
My mouth opens. I don’t have an answer that doesn’t make it worse.
“Congratulations. I’mdevastated.” She blinks hard, swallowing whatever new round of sorrow is rising in her throat. “I thought we were forever.”
Here tears are now silent. Unstoppable. “I thought we were built on honesty. In the end, you chose her comfort over my safety.”
“I didn’t sleep with her,” I blurt out, hoping it lands.
“I don’t care if you fucked her.” Her hands tremble at her sides. “You let her gaslight me for years. Lied by omission. Watched me shrink and blamed the schedule. Don’t stand here and tell me you love me when you protected her more than you ever protected me.”
“I was trying to hold it all together.”
“No.” She bites her lip. “You were trying not to lose her. And in the process, you’ve lost me.”
My chest caves in. “Please—”
“Don’t.” She shakes her head.
