Frankie Blade continued to make headlines. Even from the hospital.
I wanted to check on Ashton and grab a few things before returning to Malibu. My brother had been texting me all night, asking about Frank. There were a couple of messages from Levi and one from my mother. She’d read about the incident on Facebook.
And then there was everyone else. Thirty-five new emails in my personal inbox and another sixty-three in my Rewired folder. I drew a tired breath through my teeth and looked at the Twitter feed. It was becoming too much. The tabloids, the people, the messages waiting to be answered. My head was a raging volcano, ready to burst any second from the overload of information.
The car merged with the morning traffic and continued its drive through the streets of L.A.
Drained, I shut off my phone and closed my eyes. My body went lax against the crisp leather of the back seat. The engine’s hum lulled me to sleep. I passed out almost instantly and didn’t wake up until the car came to a stop outside my apartment complex in Burbank.
Chapter Three
Levi’s shadowed eyes stalled on my face. “Come again?” His brows pulled together. The thrumming vein on his neck told me he was in panic mode.
“It’s for the best.” Anxiety coursed through me as I spoke.
“Tell me this is a fucking joke, Cass.”
“It’s not a joke.”
We were in Levi’s living room. He was sprawled out on the couch across from me, his laptop and a large box of pizza sitting in front of him.
I occupied the chair. My heart pounded like a hammer. Everything had been falling apart. I felt it. He felt it too. We simply didn't have the courage to begin this conversation.
Frank’s accident was the final straw.
Gotta get your priorities straight, Cass, my gut kept whispering. Now is the time.
“I’m still going to cover all the events I’ve already committed to. Stewie can help you with the rest.” I tried to soften the blow, but my argument seemed weak.
Levi looked like he’d been hit by a truck, and I, Cassy Evans, was the damn truck.
I’d just told him I wanted a break from Rewired.
“Are you still pissed at me for not censoring Shayne’s review? Is that what this is?” He leaned forward, his Red Bull hitting the coffee table between us.
“No. It’s just become too much. The magazine and the documentary…” And Frank.
The silence between Levi and me dragged on. His foot was bouncing. He rested his elbows on his knees and absently stared at the slices of pizza inside the box.
“You knew when we jumped into this how much work the film was going to be. I can’t keep doing both,” I said. “It’s wearing me down.”
“Don’t lie to me, Cass. It’s because of him, isn’t it?”
“It’s not only him.” I shook my head. “But I can’t be in three different places at once. I’m exhausted.”
Levi was right. Frank was one of several reasons why I needed to give something up. He was still a hot mess after the surgery and Rewired ate up all my time.
“I need us to see it through, Cass,” Levi argued, his gaze focused on a stray pepperoni. “For Isabella.”
“We will. I promise. That’s why I want to dedicate more time to the project.”
“The odds aren’t in our favor.”
I knew exactly what he meant by that. Frank's involvement was now up in the air. Frank's career was up in the air.
He'd been released from the hospital two days ago into an immediate madness of countless meetings with the lawyers and a disaster in the press. Mind dulled by the physical pain and the pills fighting it, he hadn’t been able to produce a single coherent sentence.
My thoughts spun. I didn’t know how to explain to Levi what was going on in my life right now without jeopardizing Frank’s privacy. I didn’t know how to tell him I hadn’t been able to sleep at all since the accident. Instead, I’d tossed and turned in the huge empty bed in my lover’s Malibu mansion, hugging the sheets that still smelled of him, wearing his shirt, pretending he lay near, pretending he was still his charming, sexy self, pretending his name hadn’t been dirty-laundered online, pretending he hadn’t been severely medicated in the hospital.
“I know,” I said softly. “And trust me, I hate this as much as you do. I’ve given everything I have to this magazine, but I can’t split myself apart. I need to take a step back.”
We sat in silence for a little longer. My chest was heavy and stiff, and I felt the pain of the entire world gathering within me.
“You think I’m a traitor and a coward, huh?” I swallowed past the lump in my throat.
“I don’t think you’re a coward,” he corrected me. “I think you’re stupid, Cass. We’re on a fucking roll.” They were mean words, but there was no cruelty in his voice. He sounded more disappointed.
“Okay. Maybe I am.”
“Trust me, I know what’s going on in your head.” Levi sat back, his eyes on mine. “Too bad you don’t give yourself enough credit, Cass. If the two of you are for real, why hide it?”
“You know why.”
“Paparazzi is always a great excuse. You're throwing away all your hard work for a rich dick.”
“Well.” I drew in a deep breath. “Thank you for your honesty.”
“Hey, if it looks like shit and smells like shit, it’s definitely not daisies, baby.”
“You’re just jealous,” I called him out.
“Of course I'm fucking jealous.” Disdain and anger tweaked his face. “We spent seven years creating something meaningful, and
