❝You know I love you, right?❞
21-year-old Kendall Morgan moves to Los Angeles where she plans to live out her dream. But there is only one problem: She doesn't even know where to start.
One fateful day, while working in a coffee shop, she meets Holl...
KENDALL WAS seated on what was now her and Ryan's bed. She was completely moved in and she didn't know what to do with herself. Ryan was at the gym, and Phoenix was still mad at her.
Kendall stood from the bed, deciding that she would look around. Although she had been in Ryan's house numerous times before, she still had yet to see the large space in its entirety. Kendall walked across a hallway and into what looked like an office. A computer sat on the dark desk, which was placed in the middle of the beige room. A brown leather couch that matched the desk was directly adjacent to it, pushed up against a wall with three neatly hung picture frames, all with different ink blot images.
She sat on the big brown leather office chair and sunk into it. On Ryan's desk was a picture of him as a child, and next to it was a photo of Kendall. Smiling fondly, Kendall picked up the photo of Ryan and studied it. In it he looked about six or seven years old. He was grinning from ear to ear, clad in a raincoat and matching rubber boots.
Kendall gently put the frame down, tracing her fingers on its edge. Her fingers soon wander down to the three drawers below the desk. She paused for a moment, wondering if she should really be going through her boyfriend's things. However, her curiosity managed to get the better of her as she opened the bottom drawer, revealing multiple files labeled A through Z.
Right away something caught her eye. It was her last name, written in bold print on the tab of a file folder. She pulled it out and opened it, and as she read its contents, her jaw dropped and her breathing came to a halt.
Air. That seemed to be the one thing Kendall needed but couldn't get as she pulled out files on almost everyone she knew. Phoenix Adisa, TristanPrice, Robert and Kelly Morgan.
"Oh my God," she muttered incoherently. "Oh my God." She felt sick to her stomach. Suddenly her head ached, and her body turned to ice.
Where did he get this? When did he get this?
All of her information was there. Where she was born, where she went to school. Kendall holds up documents from multiple mental wellness facility visits, which was something she hadn't felt comfortable sharing yet. Kendall was broken. Although she had tried so hard to put the pieces of her soul back together again, she couldn't seem to make them fit. So, she masked over them with a fake smile and cheery attitude. Kendall had attempted to hide the fact that she was still a mess from Ryan so she could be there for him. Knowing that he had known the full extent of her struggles bothered her.
Kendall walked down the stairs, files in hand, just as Ryan returned. She threw the folders of information on the floor in front of him. "What the fuck is this, Ryan?"
Ryan quickly recognized the numerous papers dropped at his feet, and for a moment, his eyes widened in shock, then quickly morphed into an expression of anger. "Why the hell were you going through my stuff?"
Shaking her head, Kendall laughed wryly. "No. You don't get to turn this around on me." She picked up a file from the ground and shook it in the air. "Why do you have this? Where the hell did you get it from?"
Ryan merely looked at Kendall, giving her no response, which caused her to throw her hands up in exasperation. "Oh my God," she whispered, running a hand through her hair. "I can't believe you."
"Kendall—"
"Were you stalking me or something?"
"I— I just—"
Kendall's legs felt as if they had turned to noodles. "Jesus Christ." She looked at the man she once thought she knew with furrowed brows. "And the record deal? Was that you?"
"I did it for you."
Just when she thought she couldn't feel any worse, the universe had proved Kendall wrong. She had thought she was talented and that her hard work had paid off, when in reality, neither of those things were true. She wasn't recognized for her voice—she was recognized for her connection to Ryan.
Kendall's already broken world had once again shattered into a million pieces.
"I need to get the hell out of here," she said, pushing past Ryan to get to the door. He trapped her waist in his hands easily and held her close to him.
"Just relax."
"Relax?" Kendall repeated incredulously, pushing against Ryan's chest to free herself. "The last thing I'm going to do is relax. Get the fuck off of me."
Ryan took Kendall's wrists in his hands in an attempt to refrain her from struggling, only causing her to resist even more.
"Let me go."
"Not until you calm down."
"I can't fucking trust you," Kendall said, finally squirming out of her boyfriend's hold.
In an instant, Ryan exploded.
He took Kendall's wrists once more, gripping them tight enough to cut off her circulation. "Goddammit," he shouted, pinning her against the nearest wall violently. "Everything I do is what's best for you, Kendall. And no one will ever love you the way that I love you."
Kendall's body went numb as a single tear rolled down her cheek. Ryan pouted and wiped it away with his calloused thumb. "I hate it when you cry." He studied Kendall's delicate face. Even as she cried, she was ethereal. "You know I love you, right?"
Close to saying no, Kendall remembered the day that Ryan had threatened to hurt himself. Another tear fell down her cheek slowly. "Right."
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