her desires. She refused to engage him in conversation until she was strong enough to stand her ground.
Bryce had a way of turning her into putty in his hands. Not only was he tender with her, but he had dreams as big as hers. When he shared them, he made everything sound like a great idea. Not because he was manipulative, but because he was so passionate about what he believed. Sometimes it worked to her benefit to trust him and those passions. Singing at the fair had been a good thing. It got her out of her comfort zone, giving her a glimpse into the future of her career. Whatever dreams he had concocted in his head now, she didn't know if they were the same dreams as hers. They might have been close to being on the same page, but it was hard to be sure. She needed to strengthen her resolve to keep from following him around blindly.
I did that back at the farm and nearly forgot who I was. Things felt better between her and her family, so in a way it had all paid off. But why should I have to give up one thing in order to have the other? Why can't I have both? It's not fair. She didn't ask others to give up their dreams for her.
The party would get her back in the swing of things. She would be back to feeling like herself in no time, and hopefully she'd be able to forget about the empty hole left behind when she left Ohio. Was there any way she'd ever be able to find a happy balance and have all of the things she wanted? Possibly. For the time being she would focus on getting ready for Marcus's party. The first thing she would need to do for that was sleep.
****
Bryce woke up groggy and unrested. When he glanced at his clock, he saw that it was much later in the day than he would have preferred. Nearly dinner time, actually. He groaned and rolled out of bed, wondering how he could have possibly slept for so long.
He grabbed his phone. A smile crept onto his face when he saw there was a message from Arial. Opening it, he let out a soft sigh of relief when she said she was in fact in Los Angeles. Her not wanting him to call troubled him more than he anticipated, but she did say she would call him in a couple of days. She would never lead him on.
I don't want to wait, but what other choice do I have? He scowled. His heart skipped a beat when his phone rang. Without looking at the caller ID, he picked up.
“Arial?” he answered hopefully.
“No,” the rough voice of his younger brother said from the other end of the phone.
“Sorry, I —”
“Was hoping it was someone else? I figured as much. Just wanted to say I got your text, and I thought I'd call.”
“Thank you for getting back to me,” Bryce said. He was trying his best to hide the agitation in his voice. His brother Riley always brought out the worst in him for some reason.
Riley snorted. “I've been thinking a lot about us, too. This isn't how Mom would like things. She always said that brothers are forever, right? So we have to learn to get along. But you still bother me, a lot. I'm still mad at you for a lot of things, and it's not something I can just forget.”
“I know,” Bryce said. “And I feel the same way about a lot of things, too.” Like how much his brother hated him for things that were outside of his control. But I need to try and make this right. I promised I would, and I know I should. He is my brother.
“We can save the sentimental chat for another time. How's that? I called because I wanted you to know I got your text. Yeah, I do feel the same way. I'll start cutting you some slack, but you've gotta start coming around more often. Now that your schedule isn't quite so crammed, maybe you can make it happen,” Riley said.
“Yes, I can.” Bryce nodded animatedly. Even if his brother couldn't see him, he couldn't help it.
Riley laughed. “I saw what you did out in Ohio. That was interesting.”
“I'm sure you thought so.” Bryce rolled his eyes. “I was trying to help out my friend. She needed to experience it.”
“Arial?”
“Yes, Arial.”
“She's