Faded (Rock Star Trilogy)

will. Right now.”
    I follow her down the stairs. “I'm not going, Bridge. I don't even know what to say to him! He probably hates me.”
    “You can start with I'm sorry ,” she suggests.
    I shake my head. “You didn't see the look on his face when he came to get me in LA. I broke his heart when I didn’t come back with him. He definitely doesn't want to see me.”
    “And you haven't seen him in a week, Scar. Yes, you broke his heart, but he misses you like crazy.” She pouts. “Please, apologize to him. Even if he doesn't forgive you right away, at least you will feel better. You owe him an apology. It’s the only way either one of you can move past this.”
    Damn, my sister is smart — a lot smarter than I am.
    “Okay,” I agree. “But let fix my hair and makeup first.”
    She looks at the messy bun, and nods. “Only because if you go to his house looking like this, he will think it's me.”
     
    8:03 PM
    Beautiful mess.
     
    I am a nervous wreck as I walk over to Stephan's house. My palms are literally sweating, and my heart feels like it's going to beat its way out of my chest. You’d think I was about to donate a kidney, not apologize. It shouldn’t be this hard.
    I walk up to his front door, take a deep breath, and then ring the doorbell.
    There. That wasn’t so hard.
    Ethan answers.
    He looks at me for a few seconds. I think he's trying to figure out if I'm Scarlett or Bridgett.
    “Scarlett?” he asks, still unsure.
    I nod. I try to say something, but I can't. I'm having a hard enough time breathing. Words would be impossible right now.
    “Stephan is in his room,” he says, knowing exactly why I'm here.
    “Thanks,” I choke out.
    I walk up the stairs to Stephan's bedroom. His door is closed, and I hesitate before knocking. I put my hand up to the door, and pull it away a few times. Finally, I get up the courage and knock twice.
    I feel like I'm going to vomit while I wait for him to open the door. Every second feels like an hour. But, at last, Stephan opens the door, and he freezes as he sees me.
    When I see his face, it is then that I realize just how much I missed him. Without hesitation, I throw my arms around him. It catches him off guard, and we stumble back a couple of feet before he steadies us.
    After a few seconds, he hugs me back, and every part of my body is aware of our closeness. I missed this. I missed him. I missed us .
    Stephan is the one to pull away.
    “Scarlett...”
    Wow. My name sounds good on his lips.
    “I'm sorry.” My voice breaks as I apologize. “Like you said, I am a selfish bitch. I can't believe I just left you without saying goodbye.”
    He looks at me for a few seconds before responding. I can tell he still hasn't gotten over the shock of me being here.
    “I missed you,” he says. “So fucking much. And I am so mad at you for leaving, but you're here now, and that is what matters.”
    “I missed you, too,” I tell him.
    He looks down at me. “Why did it take you so long to come back?”
    “I didn't think you wanted me to come back. Not after what happened in LA.” I shake my head at the memory. Why didn't I just go with him? Why do I have to be so stupid and stubborn?
    “I should have fought harder to get you to come back.” The way he says it, I can tell he's given it a lot of thought. “I just couldn't. You broke my heart, Scar. Dammit, I hadn't even realized you had my heart.”
    “Do you think we could ever go back to how we were?” It's what I want more than anything... to just will the past week and a half away.
    He shakes his head. “Things will never be like they were. How could it be? But it's not necessarily a bad thing. It's just different . My feelings for you haven't changed. If anything, they've grown stronger. We can only move forward from here, not back.”
    “I hate this person I am. Instead of facing my problems, I ran. I am a pathetic mess.” I feel a tear slip down my cheek, and I hate that I’m weak. I haven’t cried since I was fifteen, and now I can’t seem to hold my tears in. “I want to move forward, Stephan. But for me to move forward, I have to face my past. The past is the part that scares me.”
    He nods knowingly. “I know, Scar. Me too.”
    “Are you sure that you want to move forward with somebody like me?” I have to ask. He deserves better than me, and I know it.
    He laughs, almost bitterly. “Are you sure you want to move forward with me ? I’m pretty screwed up myself. And what’s