“It’s silly. I mean, we barely know each other. It’s only been a couple of weeks.”
“Oh. Well, if you don’t feel you can talk to us.” Jo twisted her lips into a frown.
I realized how they’d interpret what I’d said. “No. I don’t mean you. I meant Shane. How can I be so upset about a guy I met two weeks ago?”
The two exchanged a look, then Eden said, “My mom once told me that time doesn’t matter. She said that some couples take years to figure it out, but for others it’s as obvious as night and day.”
“Oh. I don’t think—” I wasn’t sure how to explain that things were as clear as mud with Shane.
“Then again, my mom has a lot of terrible advice.”
I actually snort-laughed, and it felt great to find something funny.
Jo laid a hand on mine. “Did y’all have a fight?”
“I think what we had was a breakup.”
“Are you sure?” Jo shot a concerned look at Eden.
Eden picked up on a signal. “Jo and I know a thing or two about musicians.”
Jo nodded. “You wouldn’t believe how close we both came to relationship-ending drama.”
I looked up to the heavens for strength. They were going to hate me, but I had to come clean. “Oh, I know all about it.”
“Sure.” Eden tapped her finger against her bottle. “Did you know Adam wanted me to stay with him after the gossip articles came out, but I left him without giving him a chance to work things out?”
That wasn’t in any papers. “No, I—”
“Yup. I could have saved myself quite a bit of pain if I’d just talked it out with him, but we both had some things to learn.”
Jo leaned forward. “Did you know that Micah never broke things off with me? I needed the space, but then we dated in secret until the gossip about us blew over.”
“What?” That wasn’t the story anyone knew at all. “I thought—”
“I walked out on him because I couldn’t take the pressure, but I realized he was worth putting up with all the scrutiny.”
“I don’t understand why you’re telling me all this.”
Eden stood and drained her bottle. “You and Shane started out at a breakneck pace.”
“You just said—”
She dropped the bottle into the trash and pulled open the sliding door but stopped long enough to say, “What I said about time? It’s true. Jo and I are telling you that you were in for a crash at some point. It happened faster than I would have predicted, but I’m not surprised. Shane’s going on tour for a week. Take the time to step back and re-assess what you need.”
As she disappeared into the kitchen, Jo squeezed my hand. “Eden’s right, but you know, don’t mind her sharp way of framing things. What she means to say is, things have a way of working out.”
I sniffled. “Thanks. I appreciate that.”
“Do you mind if I ask what you were fighting over?”
Shane’s wish that I break things off with everyone might come true if I confessed, but it was going to all be out there sooner or later. Better if it came from me.
I covered my face with both hands for a few seconds, then peeked out through my fingers. “I run a fan site.”
Eden stepped back out with two bottles in one hand. She held one out to me and sat. “You do what?”
Time to rip off the bandage. “Jo was asking why we fought. Shane found out about a fan site I run, and it upset him.”
“Oh.” Eden’s mouth pinched ever so slightly. Or maybe I was imagining it. “What kind of fan site?”
I closed my eyes. Moment of truth. I took one breath, then a second, then opened my eyes. “It’s a Walking Disaster fan site.”
Her lips folded into her mouth, pressed together, like she was holding back her initial reaction, but then her chest shook, and I realized she was trying hard not to laugh.
“It’s something I started when I was in college. Really, I just wanted to learn how to write the code, but then people showed up. Plus, I made some money on ads. Then it kind of blew up.”
“You run Talking Disaster?” Eden looked more amused than I would have expected.
“Yeah.” I decided to shut up and let her process it.
“Kind of blew up is an understatement. It’s bigger than the official fan forum. By far.”
“I know. I helped with the official fan forum when the label