Page 189 of The Song We Lost

My chest caves inward.

I can’t do this.

I can’t…

My knees buckle and suddenly Luke is there. His strong hands catching me before I hit the floor.

The crowd gasps somewhere far away but all I can hear is Sadie’s voice echoing through the arena.

“I can’t,” I whisper against Luke’s chest. “I can’t do this.”

His hand slides against the back of my neck, grounding me.

Then he gently turns us toward the microphone. Behind us the guys keep playing while the videos continue rolling across the screens.

Sadie laughing in the truck with the windows down.

Sadie singing off-key.

Sadie alive.

Then through the speakers her voice cuts through again.

“Come on Bailey,” she laughs softly. “Sing for me.”

A sob tears out of me and Luke closes his eyes briefly like the sound physically hurt him too.

Then I hear his voice beside hers. I feel it in every fibre of my being, the low steady familiar voice I love.

“There’s no place I’d rather be…”

The words slam through me instantly. They are not the same anymore. They aren’t the words that blew up the remains of our marriage, they aren't how I tried to rebuild myself after… Not after everything.

Now they mean:

I am here.

I came back.

I choose you everyday.

My tears fall harder and Luke keeps singing. He isn’t performing for the crowd. He isn’t even looking at them. He is entirely focused on me.

He is here for me.

And somewhere between his voice and Sadie’s laughter and the videos behind us…

I found mine again.

Soft at first, broken. Then stronger. The crowd is so silent I swear the entire arena stops breathing, not wanting to interrupt this moment.

By the final chorus I’m crying openly while Luke faces me completely, singing like nothing else exists. Like there really is nowhere else he would rather be.

The song ends to absolute silence.

Then the screens shift again and another video starts. Me and Sadie in the truck on the drive back from the beach. Windows down, hair everywhere. Both of us scream-singing Wild Again while laughing hysterically.

Rhett steps toward the mic smiling sadly. “Luke,” he says quietly. “You wanna do me the honour?”