“What…” I held my breath and popped it open. My beautiful green guitar had been repaired, and you couldn’t even tell it had been broken except for a small ring of lighter wood on the neck. I ran my hands over it, my eyes tearing up. My guitar was scarred, but it was whole again. Like me. “You got it fixed?”

“I wanted you to have your guitar, even if you didn’t come back.”

“Thank you.” Jared knew how much this guitar meant, and my heart softened a tiny bit, knowing he’d done this for me. I closed my eyes and strummed a chord, enjoying the familiar weight in my arms. This must have cost a fortune, especially to have it done so quickly. “How much was it? I can repay you…” Eventually. Somehow.

“No, definitely not.”

“But—”

“Please, I want to do this for you. Let me try to be a hero for once.”

I dropped my gaze. “All right.”

He stood there a long moment, looking anywhere but at me, and our unspoken words hung between us. I felt like apologizing, but for what? For being honest about how I felt? I’d told him I loved him, and he’d let me walk away.

“I should go,” he said, clearing his throat. “I just wanted to bring you that and to say I’m sorry for everything that happened and everything I said the other night.”

“I’m sorry, too.” Because I was, even if I wouldn’t take back anything I’d said. I hated hurting him, but I couldn’t let him keep hurting me either.

“I’m really happy you’re back,” he said. “And I know I might not be able to fix things between us, but I’m going to try.”

I waited for him to say more, but he slipped out the door without another word. I wasn’t sure how he planned to fix things. Nothing had changed between us since that night, even if he had gotten my guitar fixed. He obviously cared for me, at least a little, but that wasn’t enough. He was still the guy who would do anything to win, who flirted with other girls, who flashed his stage smile for the audience and kept his real self hidden away. Maybe he wanted to fix things, but I refused to be his secret anymore.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

It was time. One last day of performances, with four bands competing for the prize: a contract with Mix It Up Records, plus all the opportunities that came with it. Spots on late night talk shows. Songs on the radio. Performances on future seasons of The Sound. Plus, the headlining spot on the tour next month.