Page 129 of Never Quiet

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Other than jobs where magazines or companies sent photographers to her in Colorado, Amanda hadn’t been seen in public in almost six months.

In April, Hayden and Isabella were photographed kissing. After so many years in the shadows, he forgot that paparazzi followed him looking for news of Amanda.

The celebrity gossip columnists exploded in fury over his assumed betrayal and Amanda quickly took to social media to cool the anger of her fans.

I should have said something sooner and I apologize. I needed to get my bearings and spend time with my family after the man who placed my bounty went into hiding.

I know you understand that even positive change can be painful.

My parting with Hayden last October was mutual and completely amicable. He remains a man I deeply admire and respect. We’re still friends, our families remain close, and I ask that you allow him the privacy and space he needs to reconnect with someone who means a great deal to him.

I wish them nothing but happiness.

Ten minutes later, she received a text from Hayden.

I’m so fucking sorry. Forgive me, Amanda. Please forgive me. It was a callous and unintentionally cruel thing to do. Let me call you, talk to you, and explain.

Barely able to see her phone, she replied.

There’s no reason to apologize and nothing to explain. I understand. I’m glad things are going well and six months was about right. I wish you nothing but the best, Hayden. I mean that. I hope we get the friendship back we once shared. I miss it. For now, I need to put some distance between us.

He texted her several times but she didn’t respond. She was hurting and exhausted. When he continued to reach out to her, she muted his number.

She just wanted to sleep.

Throughout April and the beginning of May, Amanda didn’t leave the warehouse lofts. She knew reporters wanted photos of her crying and she wasn’t about to give them the satisfaction.

On social media, she called her absence a writing sabbatical.

Taking the children’s stories she’d been working on since she was a pre-teen, she handed them off to a company who could turn them into actual books for her.

They were the perfect cover that allowed her to stay inside, be alone, and lick her wounds privately.

With her family, it was only a matter of time before they staged an intervention. The men and women who loved her gathered in the smaller living room of Nate’s Boulder apartment while Tara watched Heather in the gallery.

They figuratively and literally had her backed into a corner.

It didn’t take long for Amanda to break and break hard. Caroline sent every man from the room instantly.

Noel bodily lifted her from the floor and the three strongest women she’d ever known clustered around her on the couch and coffee table.

Amanda tried to sign but shook too hard.

Caroline whispered, “Darling, the time has come to leave this apartment and return to your life. Even if that means coming downstairs to the gallery. I know you feel like the pain won’t stop and if you stay here, alone like this, it truly never will.”

Stroking her fingers through her hair, Zoe reminded her, “This hurts and I imagine it’s going to hurt for a long time. I could feel your happiness and I’m so sorry, so sorry you don’t have that right now…but you can find it elsewhere, Amanda. If you look with your beautiful soul, you’ll find it.”

Noel, as usual, was blunt and didn’t pull her punches. “You’re going to be twenty next month. Your life is just beginning. I get the pain. Rick dragged my ass through it for a decade. Hiding isn’t your style, Amanda. It’s time to pull your shit together, lift your chin, and wait for what happens next. You wanted him to be happy. You wanted them together. I bet it hurts a lot more than you thought it would, but this was your choice…and you have to carry through.”

Turning to look at her aunt, she said, “You are such a bitch.”

“I know it.” Noel winked. “Think of it this way. Isabella is still beautiful but…she’s not a twenty-year-old supermodel. Get your ass out there and show the world you’re not pining over a man twice your age. Soak up some adoration and let those surface feelings sustain you until you find real ones.”

Frowning, she asked, “Noel, what…?”

“If you stay here, if you hide, eventually, Hayden’s guilt will eat him alive, Amanda. After they were snapped kissing in public, he pulled back from her.” Amanda’s eyes went wide. Shaking her head, Noel said, “You want him back? You can have him back. However, there’s a reason you did all this. You must make a choice and follow it all the way to the end. What do you want?”

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