Page 24 of Rising Star

Riley clapped my back. “Go, shine out there. And have fun. You deserve it.”

With my confidence back, I walked onstage, my heart so full I thought it would rupture my chest. The cheers and applauses of the crowd packed more tears into my eyes.

I raised a hand in the air, waving at all those people who came to see me, letting their energy course through me. The grin on my lips matched the dampness of my eyes. Both mirroring all the emotions surging inside me. God, I missed this.

With a tilt of my head, I grinned at my manager who stared at me with overflowing pride.

“Hey folks.” The cries of the crowd intensified. My grin widened. Wolf-whistles. Applauses. People screaming my name. “Thanks for being here tonight. It’s been a while.” More whistles. “I can’t believe I’m standing here right now. It’s a dream come true to be back after over two years. I’ll play some of my old stuff and new material from my just-released album. The last two years have been rocky, but I made it through. None of this would have been possible without Riley Burns, one of my best friends, and the guy behind all this. Without him, I would still be living a life that’s not mine, thinking I shouldn’t play music ever again. Once again, Ry, thank you.”

I saluted him before strumming the first chords of “No Matter What.” The crowd sang along with me. They knew every word. This song was probably the one playing the most on the radio even after all these years. Six years ago, it won the Song of The Year category at the most prestigious country music award show. I wrote it the day Mikaella was born.

Seated on a lone stool in the middle of the stage, I played acoustic versions of “Small Town” and “All Those Who Came Around.” Flashlights from the cell phones became pointer lights in the darkness, thousands of glitters aimed at me.

I closed the concert with “You’re My Whole World,” an emotionally charged song I wrote to my daughters a few weeks back. In the studio version, we could hear their voices and laughter in the background.

My fingers strummed the first chord of the chorus when an unexpected “I love you, Daddy”— Justine’s voice—filled the stadium, and a clip of me running around with my girls played on the giant screen behind me. Emotions I couldn’t contain or define jammed in my throat. Then “Daddy, you’re the best,” out of Mikaella’s mouth, played from the speaker.

My heart bounced in my chest.

Hot tears ran down my cheeks.

I let them roll. They had a healing power I’d ignored up until then.

I inhaled, closing my eyes to steady my voice and everything that screamed to be let out inside me, and after some of my composure returned, I sang with all my heart until my voice broke on the last note.

Cheers and screams mixed with my own pulse pounding in my head.

“Thank you, Charlotte,” I said as I walked offstage, my face drenched with all the fervor this night brought.

Riley pulled me into his arms the moment I walked backstage. “Stevens, that was sick. Incredible. You did it. For some reason, you’re even better than you were when you left. That confidence. You owned the scene. You delivered one hell of a performance. And it’s your first show. Imagine after fifty.” He paused and pointed to the scene with his finger. “Listen to the crowd. They never lie. It’s insane. All for ya, man. Bask in the recognition.”

The rush of the moment warmed my blood.

My body hummed with satisfaction.

He led me further away, but I stopped and pivoted to face him. “Did you do this? The girls?”

We both smiled. “Yeah, we did. A while back. I’m astounded they haven’t said anything to you. We wanted to surprise you.”

“That was the best. You nailed it. I thought I would collapse on the stage. How did you make it happen?”

“Maddie. It was her idea. She’s the one who captured the video. And made the montage.”

“She did?”

“Yeah. All her. She respects you very much. Now go and change. We have a VIP party to attend.”

* * *

Still high on adrenaline, I entered the VIP section of the bar. I had no idea how I survived two years without music in my life. Tonight, I felt ten years younger, and every layer of pain around my heart faded away. They didn’t exist anymore.

Nothing could temper my ecstasy.

Now the addiction had set in, and every bit of me itched to go on tour. To be onstage most nights. To fill stadiums with screaming fans.

To be where I belonged.

The security guard at the top of the stairs moved to let us in.