To where the road begins again.
This is where it all begins again.”
The last note lingered, vibrating through the auditorium, hanging in the air like peace after a storm.My fingers trembled as they stilled on the strings.For a moment, no one moved.
Then starting with the guys, and Micah, and Lillian, and Hazel, applause erupted.
It wasn’t polite clapping, but loud and wholehearted, rattling through me so hard my eyes stung.
I blinked fast.
Don’t cry.Don’t cry.Don’t cry.
But then I spotted my dad in the front row, standing, eyes bright with pride, and I cried.I waved to the crowd as everything blurred.The lights dimmed around the edges of my vision.My throat tightened even as I bowed, so many emotions hitting me.
Somehow I made it safely off stage without stumbling and at this point, that was all I could ask for as I left feeling completely raw after giving it my all with that song.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
The crowd was stillcheering as I made my way off the stage, my nerves making my hands shake as the adrenaline high of a good performance slowly ebbed away.I stepped backstage, the next student to perform slipping by.Toby was suddenly there, practically launching himself at me, nearly knocking my guitar out of my hand.
“Holy shit, candy pop,” he whispered fiercely, gripping my shoulders.“You did it again.The whole school is even more in love with you.If you keep knocking them off their feet with your songs, you’re going to force us to declare war on everyone.Not that I mind fighting for you.”
I tried to smile, still a bit raw from the song I sang.“That’s not—”
“It is,” he insisted.Then he glanced over his shoulder.“But listen.I need you to stand here.”
He physically nudged me to a specific spot behind the curtain, angled so I could see a slice of the stage through the gap.It was oddly precise.
“What?Why?”
He only smirked and tapped my cheek lightly.“Just watch.”Then he vanished toward the stage entrance, leaving me confused.
A murmured announcement came through the speakers.
“Next up, we have Toby Braden and friends.”
