Her eyes widen slightly, like she’s picturing it in her mind. “That would be sad,” she whispers, “but beautiful.”
“Exactly. Something that tugs at the heartstrings.”
She nods, her fingers idly strumming a few chords on her guitar. “That could be a good one. But we need more than just one song. I’m supposed to have one for my album, and you’re supposed to have one for yours.”
“True,” I agree. “How about... a father struggling with addiction who wasn’t there for his daughter? I could write from the father’s perspective, you could write from the daughter’s.”
Her face lights up. “That’s deep, Ash. And powerful. I love it.”
“Great, let’s start with that one then,” I say, grabbing a notebook and pen from the table.
What she doesn’t realize is that the inspiration behind this song is the relationship—or lack of relationship—that Polly has with her father.
“Okay,” she says, shifting so she’s sitting cross-legged. “Let’s dig in.”
Time seems to blur as we dive into the lyrics, bouncing ideas off each other, tweaking verses until they resonate perfectly.
Hours pass in a whirl of creativity and collaboration.
The lines flow seamlessly, each word heavy with emotion and meaning.
“Man, this is turning out amazing,” I say, leaning back and stretching. “Can’t wait to get into the studio and record this.”
“Me neither,” Sydney replies, her voice tinged with excitement. “We’ll pitch it to Bellamy after we have it recorded. I’ve come to realize you have a better chance of getting the green light if she can hear it—hear the emotion in your voice.”
“There’s no way she’s not gonna green light this, Sydney. It’s brillian,.” I say, smiling at her enthusiasm.
“By the way, what are your plans after the tour’s over?” she asks, tilting her head curiously.
I suck in a deep breath, feeling the weight of the question settle on my shoulders. “Honestly? I’m not sure. Dealing with a custody battle with my ex-girlfriend right now.”
“That sounds tough,” she says softly.
“Yeah, it is,” I admit. “But I’m also dating someone—Poison. Ideally, I’d like to be close to her.”
“Poison would want you close,” Sydney smiles gently.
“Yeah, I know,” I nod. “But I need to get this custody stuff figured out and process all this biker life shit.”
“What’s there to process?” she asks, cocking an eyebrow.
“Just... it’s taking some getting used to. I don’t fully understand what the hype is about it,” I confess.
“The club’s a family,” Sydney explains patiently. “A family most of them never had. They’re people who will always be there for you.”
And just like that, it clicks. It’s the one thing she always wanted—a family.
“Want to grab a drink? There’s a bar nearby,” I ask, motioning toward the door.
“Sure,” she says with a grin. “Let’s celebrate, but we have to wait on the rest of them to come back before we go.”
“Okay, got it,” I reply, appreciating her words more than she knows. “What about you? Any big plans after the tour?”
“Well,” she says with a mischievous grin, “I’ve got a few ideas, but nothing set in stone yet. Just taking it one day at a time.”
“Sounds like a plan,” I chuckle, feeling a little lighter. “One day at a time.”
“Exactly,” she agrees, her smile widening. “Now, let me text them and tell them I’m done, then we can go get a well earned drink.”