I grabbed her other hand; it was tightly clenched into a fist. I tried to get her to loosen up, tried to break the walls I could see forming around her, but nothing was working. She was shutting me out, more and more with every second. Desperate, I grabbed her cheeks and forced her to look at me. Her eyes watered as she stared at me, and my heart cracked at seeing her pain. He’d slipped into her mind so easily. She was so afraid…but I could understand fear. I felt it often enough myself.

“He’s lying, Kiera. He said that to get a rise out of you. He knows who you are, they all do. I flip through that photo book all the time…” I gave her a soft, reassuring smile. “They all think you’re beautiful…”

I wasn’t reassuring her though, and she pushed my hands off her face. The rejection stung, but I understood. She believed him, she believed I was cheating on her. She confirmed that with her next words.

“Why would he lie?” The inflection on the word “he” spoke volumes. She’d fully accepted that I was the one lying to her because in her mind, a stranger had no reason to lie. But she didn’t know Paul. She wasn’t understanding what was really going on.

I stayed away from her since she clearly wanted space. Feeling more alone than I had in weeks, I shook my head. “Because we were the last band to join the tour and we got bumped to the second in the lineup. Because Lana wanted to sign our band and not his.” I paused to shrug. “Because he’s a childish, immature asshole with a grudge against me, Kiera, and if making you doubt me got us fighting tonight instead of…” With another weary sigh, I tossed my hands into the air. “Because this, right here, is what he wanted…His stupid form of payback for our band being better than his.” Please believe me. I swear I’m telling you the truth.

Her expression softened, but I could still see the pain, the doubt. “Why should I believe you?” she asked.

Her question was like having acid poured over my soul; every inch of me hurt. Could we do this? Was it even possible for us to be together? How can I prove the unprovable to you? How do we win? The pain, the panic, the fear—it loosened my tongue. Tossing up my hands again, I snipped, “I haven’t done anything wrong! Why shouldn’t you believe me?”