Page 86 of A Love Song for Dreamers

Beck laughs, but there’s a hint of sadness underneath as he tugs on the door of the fridge to inspect the inside, sliding the sunglasses down his nose to peer overtop. “You heard about Elle’snickname.”

“What does itmean?”

“Elle called him Not Tyler from the time they started dating because she knew anyone who wasn’t you wouldn’t measureup.”

Forget shutting out the pain. It washes over me in awave.

I cross to the glass doors again, pressing my nose and forehead against the smooth surface as I shut my eyes. It’ll probably leavemarks.

I give zerofucks.

“I wanted to be with her, Beck,” I bite out through my clenched jaw. “So fuckingmuch.”

He snorts. “The Tyler from Vanier wouldn’t have stood by and watched his girl walkaway.”

I fold my arms over my chest. “The Tyler from Vanier was volatile. All I could think about was getting out from under the weight of my dad, hisresentment.”

“But you’ve let it go. The past is the past. The things you were, the things you wanted… you don’t owe them anything. That includes this dream of hiding out here alone in thesunshine.”

“It wasn’t about hiding out. I wanted to fix my hand, get another album done, and buy my security. It wasabout—”

“Freedom? How’s that feel? Without the people you love, freedom’s pretty fucking quiet,Ty.”

Silence hangs betweenus.

“I haveyou.”

“I won’t fuckyou.”

“Pretty sure you grabbed my ass once when you weredrunk.”

“More than once,” he concedes. “But I wouldn’t try anything because you and my Manatee… you’re it. What we all want. I know New York’s cold with a lot of memories, but you gotta see bothsides.”

I arch abrow.

“You could be cold outside in New York or cold inside inLA.”

I stare at my palm, the web of scars onit.

“A long time ago, this girl told me I had a bright future because of my fate line,” I say. “I can’t see it anymore, bright ornot.”

Despite the heaviness in my chest, I won’t be the same man I was, and it’s not just because of what happened two years ago. It’s because of Annie. She’s made me better, more caring andconsiderate.

Like music, she opened me up. Because of her, I’m the kind of person with friends I count on and who count on me. I have people like Jax looking out for me, kids like Shay who look up tome.

I couldn’t have tolerated it, not to mention sought it out. Once, letting people in was like being scorched by the hotsun.

But every day, Annie exposed me to her brightness, whether I wanted her to or not. And eventually, I stopped turning away from it and started turning toward it. “And it’s a problem that your life’s not what you expected?” Beckasks.

“No.” Conviction grows deep in my gut. “It’snot.”

I’ll always love her, but I want more than a fucking feeling. I want to be with her. I want a front-row seat to every success and failure she has for the rest of ourlives.

My phone buzzes and I glance atit.

It’s an email from Annie with anattachment.

I click it open, zoom in on the lines of thescript.

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