“You have screwed up your entire life. I hope you’re happy.”

I rolled my eyes and lay back against my pillow. “Yeah, I’m fucking ecstatic.”

“What the hell did you just say to me, boy?” he yelled, and my mother was at his side, latching onto his arm to hold him in place.

I pushed to my feet, puffing out my own chest to meet his as I looked him in the eye. “You don’t scare me, old man. You’re just jealous I was better than you ever were.”

“Better? You got kicked off the damn team! You won’t ever get into college now.”

“At least I made the team,” I smirked, feeling no fear.

“Eric! Don’t you dare talk to your father that way!” my mother screamed, and my father’s fist connected with the side of my face.

I stumbled, but I was younger and stronger. I took another step closer to him so we were chest to chest. “You want to kick my ass? Take another swing, asshole. I will lay you out.”

His eyes widened and he shoved against my chest. I wrapped an arm around his and shoved back, sending us tumbling to the floor. My mom screamed and jumped out of the way as we rolled around together exchanging blows. By the time she got us separated, my lip was bloodied and my dad’s eye was swelling and turning purple. I smiled, happy he would finally wear a badge of abuse from me.

“Eric, look what you did!” My mom grabbed his face and inspected the damage.

I touched my lip, pulling back my fingers and examining the smeared blood. “Yeah, it’s all my fault. It’s always my fault.”

“I want you out of my house,” my dad shouted, struggling to catch his breath.

“It’s my house, too,” I yelled back as my eyes met my mother’s, but she looked to the ground and all I could do was nod.

My dad took a step closer to me, his cold eyes locked onto mine. “The wrong son died that day.”

It hurt worse than any physical blow, and I almost buckled at the pain that ripped through my heart. It was one thing to think it about myself, but to hear my own father say it killed me inside.

“Fuck you both,” I spat angrily as I shoved by him and out the door.

I gave up on trying to get some sleep as the sun rose outside my window. I moved around my room, getting ready for the day. I felt empty and spinning out of control. I wanted to see her, to look her in the eye and know that last night had really happened. That the look in her eyes and the love in her voice as she sang to me were real.

I had no reason to knock on her door and it would only raise suspicion in Derek, not that I would mind seeing the look on his face as I pulled Sarah into my arms and pressed my lips against hers.

I stepped out of my hotel room and walked down the hallway, feeling as if I were walking to my execution. I glanced to her door, knowing she was just on the other side, curled up in his arms. I forced my feet to keep moving until I reached Donna’s door.

She answered after my second knock, wearing a silky, pink robe that fell midthigh. She stepped back to let me in without saying a word, her smile faltering as she saw my expression. I didn’t know what I was doing here. Given the way everything had changed between Donna and me, I knew I couldn’t talk to her about Sarah, but I couldn’t be alone, either. I didn’t trust myself.

“What’s wrong?” She closed the door and wrapped her arms around her waist.

“I think I need to leave, get away for a while.” I leaned back against the kitchen counter as I stared at the floor between us. She took a step closer but stopped as she looked me over.

“Is this because of me?”

“No.” I shook my head. “This is because of me. I just need to spend some time . . . alone.” All I did was fuck up everyone’s life that I came in contact with. I was meant to be on my own.

She nodded, but didn’t respond.

“I feel like I’m losing myself.”

“E . . . I’m sorry I kissed you. I know it wasn’t the right thing to do. I’m your manager, your friend . . . I shouldn’t let things get so complicated.”

I took a step forward and wrapped my arms around her body. “Don’t. You don’t need to apologize.” I rested my chin on top of her head as I closed my eyes. “You are one of my closest friends.” I pulled back, placing a hand on either side of her face as I looked her in the eye. “I can’t lose you.” I pressed my lips to her forehead as she sighed, and her hands came up to wrap around mine.

“I’m not going anywhere, E. And neither are you. I won’t let you leave. You don’t run away from your problems.”

I smiled down at her. I wanted to tell her how wrong she was. Running is exactly what I did. I’ve been running most of my life.

“It’s gotten too hard.” I shook my head.

“That’s what she said.” A proud smile spread across her face.

I let out a genuine laugh as I pulled her in for another hug, rubbing my hand over her back. “That is why I love you.” My laugh died in my throat as her body stiffened from my words. I silently cursed myself as I gave her a squeeze and took a step back. I shouldn’t have used that word with Donna, especially given what I meant by it. I knew her trust issues ran deep, and I was only going to make things between us more complicated. I loved her as a friend, deeply, but that would never be what she needed or wanted.

I ran my hand over my messy hair as I watched her. “Let’s get out of this hotel and go do something normal.”

Her smile returned and she nodded before slipping into her bathroom to change her clothes. I sat on the edge of her bed, leaning on my knees as I waited for her to come out.

She emerged a few minutes later in jeans and a white tank top, her hair pulled back in a ponytail. “Where are we going?” she asked with a smile.

“Wherever you want.” I pushed to my feet and walked over to the door, opening it for her. She stepped out and stopped as our eyes landed on Terry and Chris, who were in the hall chatting animatedly about the strippers from last night.

“Where are you two off to?” Chris asked playfully. I rolled my eyes and looked to Donna.

“Um . . . I was thinking about the zoo.” She glanced back at me to see if I approved.

“Sounds good to me.” I nodded at Terry as I continued by toward the elevator with Donna in front of me.

“Enjoy your date,” Terry called after us, and I stuck my middle finger in the air as the elevator doors opened and we slipped inside.

I leaned against the back wall as I shoved my hands in my pockets.

“I didn’t think it was a date,” she said nervously.

I couldn’t help but smile. “Call it what you want. Those guys are just assholes. Don’t let them get to you.” The doors opened and we stepped out into the lobby. I placed my arm over her shoulders as we stepped out into the entirely too bright world. I flagged down a cab that quickly pulled along the curb for us. I opened the door and made a sweeping gesture for her to get in.

“Lockwood Zoo,” I told the cabdriver as he pulled out into traffic as I relaxed against the seat.

“You have fun last night?” Donna asked, and I could feel her eyes on me.

I nodded and looked out the window as I cleared my throat. I didn’t want to talk about last night, about how I had managed to spend some alone time with Sarah. It just didn’t feel right to bring it up to her anymore, and it was too painful to think about. The line between friendship and relationship had become blurry with Donna. I knew she was trusting me more, but my heart belonged to only one person.

“You?” I asked, still not looking at her.

“It was fun. Nice to spend some time without a bunch of drunk guys around.” She giggled.

“That what I am to you?” I put my hand over my heart, pretending to be offended.

“You know what I mean.” She rolled her eyes.

“Yeah, I get it. That’s why I want to get away. Step outside this box we live in.”

“You ever think of what you would be doing if you weren’t in the band?”

“I, uh . . . I think I would have made a good soldier.” I glanced over at Donna, whose mouth was open. “What? You don’t think I could do it?”

“I can’t picture you taking orders from anyone.” She shook her head, clearly amused.

“You want to do what?” My father was clearly not amused.

“The army would be good for me. There is nothing wrong with fighting for your country.”

“How do expect to do that, Eric? You think they let any screwup with a record in?” He flipped the page of his newspaper, not even bothering to look up at me.

“I can explain what happened. I’m a minor. In a few months I’ll be an adult and I can go off to basic. It would get me out of here.”

I hated how much it bothered me that they wanted me gone, but I hoped it would be a good selling point.

“You would just screw that up, too. The army is for men, not boys.”

“Maybe if my father took the time to teach me how to be a man, I wouldn’t be such a fucking disappointment!” The air left my lungs as my father’s eyes locked on to mine.

“What did you say to me? You think you can screw up your life and blame it on me?” He pushed up from his chair, the newspaper falling to the ground. I widened my stance and braced myself for the inevitable blow to come. It was too late to back down now.

“Not everything is my fault.” I yelled, hoping my voice sounded confident. “I want to be a good person. If I could join, I could make you proud.”

“It’s too late for that,” he said with a sneer and turned to leave me standing alone, ready for a fight.