ENDLESS: A Less Than Zero Rockstar Romance: Book 1: Ty & Zoey

didn’t get out of bed for days at a time.” I couldn’t help but wince. “We got evicted from our apartment and lived in her car until my grandparents helped her rent the apartment we live in now on Beacon Hill.”
Zoey massaged my temple lovingly. “Where are your grandparents?”
“Dead. A car accident when I was eleven. Luckily, they left money with a trust lawyer who paid our rent until I got through high school.”
Zoey laid against me and squeezed me tight. “That’s so heartbreaking. But you graduated a few years ago, does she pay rent now?”
“No, babe.” I closed my eyes. “I do, I have to, or we’d be evicted.”
Zoey rested her hand on my chest while I stroked my fingers through her mane of golden hair for a few minutes while that bit of information sank in.
“You’ve had so much pressure for someone so young,” she whispered against my T-shirt.
“Well, now at least it’s in my control.” I was spilling my guts now, so I figured that I might as well put it all out there. “When my mom didn’t get the inheritance, she was forced to find a new bartending job at the seedy dive bar where she works now. She’d always had an endless rotation of men she’d have sleep over, and now they’ve become even shadier.”
Zoey kept her head pressed to my chest as she listened. It felt good to unburden myself of these secrets I’d kept for so long.
It felt good to trust someone.
“I always knew that the men who rotated in and out of her bedroom were using her, or more likely paying her. Some of them were nice to me. Some yelled at me. Some ignored me.” I took a deep breath. “Some were worse. One guy punched me so hard, I went to the hospital. I still have these scars on my eyebrow.” I reached up to touch them, Zoey’s small fingers intertwined with mine, soothing me.
“I can’t believe you had to live like that.” Zoey propped her head up on her elbow, looking at me directly in my eyes. “Can’t you make her go to rehab?”
I shook my head. “It doesn’t work like that with an addict, babe. She’ll promise then not go. She’ll scream and cry and threaten. She tried to sell my guitar for drugs, which is why everything that means anything to me is at Carter’s. Zoey . . . I mean, I’m done. I’ve done everything I can. She’s a shell of a woman, she looks like death warmed over. She gives zero shits about me. When we leave on tour, I’m getting out for good, I have to. Nobody in the band knows any of this. Can you keep it on the down-low from the guys, and well . . . everyone?”
Nestling into my side, Zoey tenderly stroked the small scars on my eyebrow again, studying me. “Absolutely. I’ll never betray your trust, Ty. I won’t lie to you, though. It makes me really mad at your mom. I couldn’t have survived it.”
“I’ve learned to be self-sufficient. Writing stories and poetry about how I wished my life could be, became my therapy. When I was twelve, I found some odd jobs around the neighborhood and saved to buy my beat-up Strat on Craig’s List.” I smiled. “Music saved me, and that guitar is still my favorite.”
My teen years had been solitary, but I didn’t really mind. I didn’t play sports, was no academic, and I enjoyed spending all my time learning classic rock songs and copying my favorite ʼ90s grunge bands’ style from YouTube videos. My guitar became an extension of me, and I became proficient, even if I had no one to play for but myself.
“You told me when we met that you were socially awkward and a minute ago you mentioned a ‘geek phase.’ I just can’t see that, you’re so hot. And so together.” Zoey furrowed her brow, studying me. “And cool!”
“Yeah, I’m soooo cool. Well here’s where you’re going to dump my ass.” I laughed.
“Nope. You’re stuck with me Tyson Rainier—er—Rogers.” Zoey smacked me.
“We’ll see. There’s a picture at Carter’s that proves it. When I hit puberty, I was a mess; my clothes were dirty, I smelled rotten, and my hair was an absolute unruly nightmare.” I sometimes still saw that boy in the mirror.
“I’ll believe it when I see it.” Zoey traced my lips with her pink-tipped, manicured nail. I sucked it into my mouth and waggled my eyebrows at her, causing her to giggle.
Releasing her finger, I stroked her shoulder as I finished my sad tale. “Seriously, I was a real outsider. I couldn’t relate to my classmates who had parents who loved them and money. I had no way to go to prom, buy the latest kicks, or participate in extracurricular activities. I didn’t bother making friends. What was I going to do? Invite someone over and risk having them see Mom passed out on the couch with the TV on? Or worse, some naked dude walking through the living room?”
It was true, I became an expert at disappearing in plain sight. I had been so painfully introverted and insecure, and no one took any notice of me. I’m still not sure what motivated me to keep going, it would have been so much easier to drop out. I’d like to say it was because I wanted to get my diploma but, truthfully, it was more about getting breakfast and lunch through the school meal program.
“Ty, I know talking about this is hard. Thank you for opening up. I feel so close to you.” Zoey’s earnestness snapped me out of my thoughts. “I won’t ever let anyone hurt you.”
I pressed my lips to hers, feeling closer to her too. “It is hard. But I’m glad I told you. I certainly never dreamed that I’d be here now, the lead singer in an ass-kicking rock band with the hottest girlfriend in the world.”
“Ooooh, tell me the story of how you guys got together!”
“This is a much