Page 86 of Down Beat

But then after a while it made sense. She made me fight for her attention. She didn’t gush over me, or try too hard to get my attention. She stayed true and genuine to who she is, and that creature, the one who stands before me chewing on her lip, is a breath of fresh air.

And God knows I need one when the tour suffocates me to the point of delirium.

“I won’t be held accountable, Rey,” she whispers as she takes a step toward me. “I get what you’re saying, and like I told you, I want to help. I will help. But the guilt doesn’t land on me. This is your fight, your victory. Don’t burden me with the responsibility of keeping you around.” She sets a palm on my chest, eyes locked with mine. “That stays squarely on your shoulders, okay?”

“I can’t carry that weight anymore.” I hang my head and chuckle. Who is this pussy I’ve become? “To tell you the honest truth, I’m scared, kitty. I’m scared of what I’ll do when I hit my next low.”

“Then we make sure you don’t get that low, again.”

“Tabitha,” Kendall pleads. “He isn’t your responsibility, honey.”

“No,” I agree, reaching for Tabby’s face as I answer Kendall. “She’s mine.”

Fuck her roommate.

If I want to kiss this goddamn woman, then there isn’t a fucking thing that’s going to stop me.