“Nate, if you’re not careful people like that can take everything from you.”
“That’s just TMZ bullshit.I’m not dumb?—”
“I know that.I never said you were,” she says, and now I know we’re fighting, and I still don’t know why.
“You know something, Ad, I wonder if you care at all about what I want,” I tell her.
“Care about what you want?All I do is care about what you want!”
“I don’t want to argue with you, but this is happening, and if you can’t support me—” I leave that sentence hanging as I stare into her shining eyes.
“If I can’t support you?”she repeats back.
I nod, like I just made up my mind about something.
“What about our plans, Nate?Our future?”she asks in a whisper I swear I replay a million times over the next decade—I just don’t know it at the time.
There’s a knock on the door.
“Nate.Wait a second.We should finish talking,” she tries.
But I don’t get to hear the rest.
Because there’s a knock on the door, and a message that the rep from the record label my new agent sent over is waiting for me.
I step out of the dressing room, leaving Adrianna inside, and see him—sharp suit, sharper smile—standing there like he owns the place.
“Nate, fantastic performance.The bus is waiting.Contract’s ready.The manager’s onboard.We’ve gotta move fast—momentum is everything.”
He puts a hand on my back, steering me toward the exit before I can process a damn thing.
The world is spinning, but in the best way.
A record deal.A tour.A manager.
My name in lights.
My dreams unfolding like the glittering wings of a butterfly emerging from its cocoon.
This is it.
This is what I’ve worked for.
What I’ve bled for.
Adrianna tries to follow, but the rep cuts her off with a polite, practiced smile that somehow feels like a lock clicking shut.
“We’ll bring him back when we can.Promising career ahead.”
I look back and flash her a grin, trying to tell her without words that we’ll talk later.
I’ve got this.I’ll be back before you know it.Trust me.
She’s still talking.Still trying to say something.Her eyes wide, full of something I don’t understand.Not yet.
Next thing I know, the stage is there.The lights are blinding.The applause is still ringing.
And my head, my heart, my blood—they’re all screaminggo.
