Page 59 of Where the Little Birds Go (Little Bird Duet 1)

“Corbin,” she says in her usual soft tone. She never changes her outlook on me, even when shit hits the fan in my life. “You’re not still sleeping, are you? It’s after ten in the morning.”

Eyes widening a little at the news, I glance at the time displayed on the top of my screen to confirm she’s right. I don’t know the last time I slept this long. It was well past three in the morning before I got back home after dropping Kinley back off at the hotel and making sure she got to her room safely. The color on her face seemed to come back, giving me the tiniest comfort in letting her be for the night without too much guilt.

I scratch my nose and roll my shoulders back in a needed stretch. “Why are you calling, Mom? Don’t get me wrong, it’s good to hear from you. I figured I’d just check in later.”

The pause doesn’t prepare me for the quiet sigh I hear from her end. I never mean to come off like an asshole, but I don’t have time to talk to her as much as she’d like. Occasionally we’ll catch up for an hour or so before one of us has to go, and sometimes we’ll make plans to meet up.

But never in Lincoln.

My mother has travelled to over twenty cities to see me depending on where I’m filming. I’ll buy both her and Dad a ticket, not that he ever uses it, and fly them to me so we can catch up. I get us lunch, coffee, a souvenir, and ask how things are going in her life before zoning out when she tells me about Dad having problems. His problems aren’t mine anymore.

“There are pictures of you and Kinley all over the news,” is the last thing I expect her to say. The exhaustion latched onto me is long gone as I put the phone on speaker and quickly search the internet.

Kinley’s face is grainy based on the cell phone pictures taken, but you can still tell who it is. She tries covering her face with her hair, but it doesn’t mask it completely. And the picture of us walking out with me touching her on the back?

“Fuck.”

“Corbin,” Mom chides.

Rolling my eyes at the fact she still hates me cursing despite seeing almost all the movies I’ve been in that has me doing worse, I scroll through the various tabloid articles.

Most of them are innocent. Some mention the movie and speculate that our outing is purely to boost promotion. Others are nothing more than assumptions to get a rise out of people.

Corbin Callum seen out with new woman.

Author involved with movie star.

New Hollywood affair?

I scooch back until my bare back hits the bedframe behind me for support. “She had a headache that’s all. I took her to get some medicine. People need to calm down.”

“Why were you with her?”

Because I’m sick of not being.

“We’re working together, Mom.” I don’t analyze the piss poor lie that I’m sure she doesn’t believe for a second. I could always fool everyone but her growing up.

When she does speak, my chest tightens at the words she chooses carefully. “I’ll always love her like a daughter. That girl is special, Corbin. She always has been, and she always will be. You need to leave her be.”

My nostrils flare as I sit up straighter. “I haven’t done anything—”

I can picture her shaking her graying head at me. “Sweetie, I will always love you and choose your side, but there are certain situations I will not support. I understand why you left to pursue your career, but you can’t have it all.”

“I don’t want it all.”

She simply hums in disbelief.

“I don’t,” I all but growl.

“Tell me. How is Lena doing?”

That silences me.

Lena and I texted a few times over the past couple of days but haven’t called or Skyped once since Kinley walked back into my life. I know that she’s busy with her family and whoever else in Greece, and I’m trying to scrape by with my sanity here.

The reality is, Lena and I are nothing more than two people who should have never said I do. But we did. We chose to pretend like what we felt was love—like it was enough. I want to believe that I did love her … do love her, but I also know that it’s not the same love I’ve always felt for Kinley.

There’s a soft clicking. “You did the right thing by letting Kinley live her life all these years, Corbin. Why change her world again? She’s been through enough.”

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