The sound of the door slamming echoed in my house. Tasha's parting words still hung in the air. According to her, I was stupid and naive. It wasn't her fault I didn't figure out the truth earlier. 

I'd been so blinded by the childhood image of my friend and the loyalty I felt toward our little group I failed to see Tasha for who she really was — a jealous, self-centered person who would do anything to get what she wanted. She wanted Jim, and I stood in the way. 

When she left, I felt relieved. The toxic vibes Ivy talked about were real, after all. 

"I can't believe she knew," said Isla, sending me a look full of pity.

I sniffled. Instantly, the arms of my two friends were around me.

"She's not worthy of your tears, Ava," Ivy said. "It's high time we got rid of the person who doesn't give a damn about any of us. She betrayed you, and for what? For someone who will never look her way?"

"I don't know if he won't." I wiped the tears off my cheeks with the sleeve of my shirt. "I thought I knew him, but I don't."

Ivy sighed. "That's what Tasha wanted. She waited for his concert to make sure you saw him. Convenient, right?"

"I didn't think she would stoop so low," said Isla. "But what she said was a lie. There wasn't a Meet and Greet. The band rescheduled it. It was all over the Internet. I wanted to see the band answer questions, but they posted an update on Twitter saying that the lead singer couldn't be present because of family circumstances. Some fans were pissed."

"He came to see me," I said to the girls. "But I couldn't bring myself to listen to him. I was...I am too hurt."

Ivy nudged my ribs with her elbow. "See? He wanted to talk to you. Not Tasha. You."

"It doesn't mean anything," I said. 

Ivy huffed. "Yeah, sure. I get that you feel betrayed, and you know it's chicks before dicks for me anytime, but it does mean something. Maybe he had his reasons. Tasha has been chasing the guy like a dog in heat since December, and he never gave her the time of day. What if he was so fed up with crazy stalkers he wanted something different for once?"

"He lied, Ivy," I said, rubbing my temples. The headache was on its way. I flinched at the prospect of working this afternoon in my miserable state.

Isla's soft voice brought me back to our conversation. "He might have lied, but it doesn't mean he doesn't care. He canceled the Meet and Greet of his biggest concert for you. I would say he's not indifferent."

"Thank you, girls." I forced a smile. "My head is killing me. I'm gonna lie down. Talk to you later?"

"Sure." Ivy kissed my cheek. "Hear the guy out, Ava. Don't make things easy for Tasha."

I said goodbye to my friends and went to my room, ready to continue wallowing in my pity.

***

Three knocks on my bedroom door jerked me awake from my restless sleep.

Dad peeked his head in. "Pumpkin?"

I smoothed a hand over my messy hair. "Hi."

Dad squinted at me. Of course, he would notice the state I was in. He knew me too well.

"It smells like guy trouble in here," he said. "Ice-cream? Or whatever they do in your movies."

"I'm not hungry," I whispered. "I just want to sleep."

Dad closed the door to my room and left. I thought he would give me space, but he reentered my bedroom barely five minutes later, carrying two mugs with hot chocolate.

"I knew the day would come, so spill it, Pumpkin. What did he do?"

Tired of repeating the same story, I reached for my phone and googled Rebellious Hearts. Then, I turned the screen around so that Dad could see it.

"That's the guy I've been dating, and I had no idea," I said, taking a sip of my drink to conceal the tremor of my jaw.

Dad's eyes widened just barely.

His mouth twitched, and then, much to my horror, he laughed. It was his signature deep laughter he reserved for his favorite action movies in which the "cool guy" would "blow it all up to hell."

"Have you heard me?" I nudged his bicep. "I told you he lied. What's wrong with you?"

Dad narrowed his eyes. "Did he take your virtue, Pumpkin?"

"What? Oh my God. I can't believe that's what you're asking me," I said, heat rising to my cheeks. "He didn't! What kind of question is that?"

"Well, Jennings would help me kick his ass if he did. I had to know cause Leo and I have plans tonight."

"You're not helping. The guy lied to me, and you laugh?"

Dad did it again, looking at Jim's picture as if it were a funny meme. "Pumpkin's first boyfriend is a mega-famous rockstar. You could have done so much worse. Jennings told me it would be a tattooed douche canoe. Apparently, that's trendy now."

"He does have tattoos."

Dad shrugged. "But he's a good guy. A very good guy. I should have figured it out sooner."

I paused mid-sip.

Dad motioned for me to drink and reached into his pocket. He took his phone out and fumbled with it for a few seconds. Then, he gave it to me.

A picture was on the screen. Dad had his arm around Jim's shoulders. Jim was grinning from ear to ear, and so was the girl next to him— Riley White. The formal setting and Dad's tux told me it was at the charity dinner my dad attended.

"Wait." I looked at my dad. "Do you know him?"

Dad nodded. "Have known him for a while, met him back when he and the band guys were just starting their career. Jim visited his friend at the hospital, and we talked. My friend Thierry knew him. We kept running into each other, both at Thierry's bistro and the hospital. And the last two times were when he got roofied and at the charity gala."

"I can't believe it."

Dad sighed. "Tell me exactly what happened, Ava."

I told Dad the whole story, only omitting the intimate details. He said nothing the entire time, just rubbed his chin and nodded.

"That's it," I said, my voice small.

Dad gulped down the rest of his drink and hugged me to him.

"I get your hurt," he said.

I sniffled. "Gee, amazing."

"But I get him, too."

I put some distance between Dad and me. "For real?"

"Yeah. See, I'm not a woman, Pumpkin. And you might get mad, but I'm gonna tell you the greatest truth about men. Ready?"

I smiled despite myself. "Yeah."

Dad let out a dramatic sigh. "Men are hardwired to screw up. This is true. Ask Jennings; he's a shrink, so he knows. And he will tell you the same thing. There must be something in our DNA, some weird mechanism that makes us do dumb stuff. Everyone makes mistakes, Ava. Every guy does. The best guys do, and the worst ones too, but it's different in their case. Did he lie? Okay, maybe. But not all lies are the same."

"You would never—"

Dad shook his head. "I'm human. I totally would. Maybe in a different way, but I'm not proud of some of the things I've done. Sometimes people lie to hurt others, but sometimes they do it to protect them. I'm more than sure it was the latter in your case."

"Protect me from what?" I snorted. "His fame?"

"Smart girl."

"I would have understood if he told me the truth."

"But he doesn't know that. For someone who has trust issues, letting another person in isn't easy. I met Jim when he was an ordinary guy. Fast forward six months and Thierry had to close the restaurant so that the paps would let Jim eat. Fast forward two more, and Jim played in front of twenty-five thousand people in Paris and London. This is not your reality, Ava, but it is his."

"I feel betrayed," I mumbled, studying my nails. "We grew close, and then I learned the truth from the video Tasha sent."

"Didn't you tell me you were going on a date?"

"He came here. I told him to leave."

"Not your smartest decision."

"Dad, please."

Dad ruffled my hair and kissed my temple. "Relationships are hard. Don't let anyone fool you and tell you it's always smooth sailing. And in this case, you can't listen to your friends. None of your girls dates a rockstar. Their situation isn't yours. I don't ask people who aren't doctors for professional advice."

"So what?" I sat straighter. "I just have to forgive him and pretend it didn't happen?"

"Never," Dad said. "He needs to know he messed up, but you need to hear him out. Tell him how you feel and listen to his reasons. I talked to the guy. He told me he was into someone and that someone had no idea who he was. He looked in love to me. He didn't have to lie, Ava. I'm sure he doesn't even know you're my daughter. Jim is a good guy. Maybe I'll regret my words, but I think you have to be smart and listen to him."

"He looked in love, yet he was at the gala with another girl."

"A friend." Dad shrugged. "Don't forget I was there, too."

"You make it seem so easy — talk, listen, and it's all good."

"You'd be surprised at how effective talking to someone might be. Besides, I'm more than sure you kept something from him, too, because that's how it works at the beginning of a relationship. Am I wrong?"

"No," I whispered. "But my thing isn't as big as the secret he's been keeping."

Dad took my empty mug and got up from my bed. "I'm trying very hard to be unbiased. Had it been any other guy, I'd tell you to block his number and set his car on fire."

I snorted.

"Too drastic?" Dad asked. "Okay. You get my point, Pumpkin. He's a hardworking, talented musician who grew up way too fast. If he was as good to you as you told me he was, you owe each other a civil conversation. Pride is only good if it doesn't prevent you from being happy. Let him convince you he deserves a second chance."

I didn't expect any of it. I had no idea my dad knew Jim, and I would never have thought he would try to understand both our points of view, but I was secretly grateful he didn't tell me how awful what Jim did was. 

All I said to my dad was a "thank you." All he did was smile before leaving me alone.

***

I felt better by the time my afternoon shift at the bookstore started. The throbbing in my temples eased, and I made an effort with my appearance. 

Jim didn't call me, but he left me voicemails while my phone was off last night. I promised myself I'd listen to them after work.

When it got dark, and I only had an hour until the end of my shift, the store was almost empty save for a couple of girls perusing the latest young adult releases.

It was then when a tall hooded figure appeared out of nowhere and tugged at my sleeve, steering me toward one of the aisles.

I gasped, my heart thrashing against my ribs, but when the guy took off his hood, and I saw his face, my breathing returned to normal.

"Fin, you scared me." I exhaled, pressing a palm to my chest.

Fin, Jim's bandmate, gave me a small smile. "I'm sorry. Those two girls were talking about the band. Listen, Ava, I'm here to ask about Jim. He told me where you worked."

It explained Fin's presence at the bookstore. Jim did tell people about me, after all.

"What's going on?"

"I know you had a fight yesterday," Fin said. "Jim was upset and told us what happened. Is he at your place?"

"Why would he be?"

Fin's teeth sank into his bottom lip. "We had a work lunch with the label guy, but Jim never showed up. We went to his condo, and he wasn't there. We haven't heard from him since last night, well, early morning."

"Have you tried calling him?"

"All of us did, even our producer and the manager. He doesn't pick up. It's unlike him. I thought that maybe he stayed with you."

"He didn't," I muttered. "Maybe he needed a break."

Fin put his hood back on. "Jim wouldn't let the band down. We just worry cause he fell yesterday and he was in pain all night. Can you think of places where he could go that we don't know of? We know he's not at his parents' cause they were at the show."

"Sure," I said. "I'll try to locate him."

Reaching into his pocket, Fin pulled out a card. "My phone number. Call me as soon as you know something, okay?"

"I will. Fin," I said when the boy turned around, ready to leave.

"Yeah?"

"You said he fell and was in pain. What happened?"

"He tripped over some cords after the show. We offered to take him to the ER, but you know how stubborn he is. Call me, okay?"

I nodded. As soon as Finlay left, I called Jim. He didn't pick up. 

Scary scenarios ran through my head. I wiped my clammy hands off my jeans and went to look for my manager to ask him if I could leave earlier.

There were two places where Jim could go. I prayed I would find him in one of them.

Sorry for the cliffhanger. Any idea about where Jim is?

Does anyone agree with Ava's dad?

Thank you for still being here ❤