Prologue
Della Austin
I was a liar. A low down, dirty one.
Spiral notebooks littered my room, proving that it was true. It wasn't like I hadn't tried to resist it. I practically reeked with the rejection of the idea but still, I had failed.
Words on pages didn't always translate into lyrics, some things made more sense in your head. But not these. These were flawless, each word paired perfectly because I had never written anything more truthful in my life. I had notebooks full of lyrics about the L word. Countless songs about how it was supposed to make you feel, act, and live. How it could burrow itself into your soul and change the very makeup of the person you thought you were. How it could make you better, how it could make you worse, and how it was worth it either way because at least it made you feel.
But how could that be? I'd never felt any of it because I'd never been in love. At least that was what I had been telling myself. It made everything easier.
But since we've already established that I'm a liar, I'll be honest. The best love falls into your lap when it's the last thing on your mind. When you don't even want it.
For me, it was meant to be transactional.
If only I had realized then just how much it would cost me.
