I used to believe everything happens for a reason, and that all of this has worked out the way it was supposed to, but I also can’t help but wonder what would have happened if she’d have stayed.
What if I would have woken up that morning to her still wrapped in my arms? Would we be together, celebrating our one-year anniversary? Would she have come on tour with me,or stayed behind? Would our spark have died out before it even had the chance to ignite?
After spending the last six months with her, I can’t imagine a future where we walk away from each other when this is over tomorrow night. She might not feel as strongly about me as I do about her, but she does feel something. I know she does, and I am counting down the hours until our working relationship ends, and I can finally tell her how I feel. Lay everything on the table and hope to God she doesn’t walk away again.
The guys and I are playing ping pong in the hallway when I spot Ty and Dani walking our way. I can’t help but smile when her eyes meet mine, my smile growing wider when she smiles back at me.
We spend the next hour taking turns playing ping pong while we wait for the ten-minute warning from Caleb, Josh excusing himself sooner to paint himself up before it’s go-time. He re-emerges from his dressing room right before Caleb tracks us down, his upper body painted with black and metallic gold paint. It’s probably my favorite combination yet. He looks badass.
We walk down the hall together toward the stage, pausing to get our packs and in-ears secure, before launching into our pre-show rituals. My gaze goes to Tyler, and I watch as Josh pulls her close before whispering something in her ear. She smiles and nods, and her eyes follow him as he runs under the stage to take his place.
When I step up to her, she snaps her attention to me, and when she smiles, it doesn’t reach her eyes.
“You good?” I ask, as we touch fists, and she nods.
“Just sad this is almost over,” she says, pouting her bottom lip out.
“Who says it has to be over?” I say, pressing my forehead to hers. She looks up at me and smiles—a real, big, beautiful smile—and that mental image is all the fuel I need to knock this show out of the goddamn park.
When we come off the stage after the encore, I’m surprised that Tyler isn’t standing beside the girls. I look around the group standing in the hallway backstage, but I don’t see her anywhere.
“Hey,” I say, snagging Dani’s attention away from Kate. “Where’s Ty?”
“Not sure,” she says. “She took off before the encore. Didn’t say where she was headed.”
“Did you see where she went?” I ask Kate, who shakes her head. “Okay, thanks,” I say, and I head down the hall toward my dressing room, my heart sinking when I realize she’s not here, either. Something’s not right. She’s always waiting for me after. The only exception was our first show in Nashville when she was still sick and at the hotel.
Suddenly worried she’s come down with something again, I pull my phone out of my pocket. I dial her number as I grab my jacket and start heading toward the back of the building to the RVs, and frown when it rings and eventually goes to voicemail. I call again, and this time it goes straight to voicemail, which means she sent me there on purpose. She looked at her phone, saw it was me, and sent me to voicemail.
What the fuck is going on? This isn’t like her.
I fire off a text as I push the doors open and step out into the cold October air.
Eric: Hey, I just want to make sure you’re alright. No one knows where you disappeared to.
I stare at my phone, willing the three little dots to start bouncing across the corner of the screen, but it goes black before she replies, and now I’m really starting to panic. I make it to our RV and climb inside.
“Ty!” I call, but silence is the only answer. My brain flashes back to the morning after I met her, as I seem to be reliving that same moment one year later, the same panic flooding my chest when I can’t find her. I walk back to check her bedroom, but it and the bathroom are empty.
I swallow the lump in my throat as I check her dressers, half afraid she’s gone, breathing an audible sigh of relief when I find that her clothes and suitcases are still here.
Eric: Tyler, I’m honestly worried, so please just tell me you’re alright.
A minute later, my phone rings and my heart leaps when I see her face appear on my screen.
“Tyler?”
“Yeah, sorry, I’m fine. I didn’t mean to worry you.”
“What the fuck?” I say, forcing a laugh and running a hand through my hair. “You scared the shit out of me. Are you alright? Where are you?”
“I, uh, have something I need to do really quick, but I’ll be back on the RV before we head out,” she says, sounding nervous.
“Okay,” I say, not entirely convinced everything is cool. “You sure you’re alright?”
“Yep,” she says. “I’m good. I’ll see you soon.”
“Tyler,” I say, pulling the phone away from my face when she doesn’t answer, and I see that the call had ended. She…hung up on me?
