Page 18 of Cowboy's Melody
Teddi
Iwant to feel hurt so damn bad but I can’t because tonight isn’t about me, it’s about Brooks and Logan. Margot helps me get a car back to the ranch and promises to text me if anything happens. When I get into the black pick-up truck, I lean my head against the cold window and let one single tear fall down my cheek.
For a brief moment, I was normal again. I wasn’t a country diva and my private life wasn’t splashed all over the tabloids. It was the most wonderful feeling, even if it only lasted a matter of days.
And being loved by Brooks? It was the best feeling. He wasn’t with me for the fame and fortune; he was with the girl who grew up in nowhere Tennessee. When we were together, he made me feel like the most beautiful woman on this earth. He worshipped me with his mouth and with his body.
I had exactly the life I wanted and maybe, I can have it again someday. But not with Brooks.
He made it clear tonight our brief affair was a mistake and my opinion didn’t matter.
When the driver pulls up to the front of the main house, I hop out and head back to the cabin. This place is supposed to be a sanctuary away from the madness of the music industry and Nashville, but it’s just turned into a really bad dream.
I pack up my luggage and make reservations at one of the nearby hotels. It’s not the greatest but it’ll only be for the next two nights. Brooks made it clear tonight what he wants and it’s not me. If he changes his mind, he can come looking for me.
Another Uber picks me up and the driver instantly recognizes me. It’s a twenty-minute nightmare into town dealing with the questions and the selfies and the phone call to his mom. Definitely not five-star service.
Checking into the hotel is a breeze. The front desk clerks don’t say a word; in fact, they barely acknowledge me. They simply slide the key card across the counter with little more than a passing glance. Once I’m in my room, I drop my luggage and fall onto the bed.
When I open my eyes, the hotel room is pitch black and my phone is buzzing loudly next to me. It’s my manager.
“Oh my god, Teddi, where the fuck are you? I called Brooks to ask if he could drop you off at sound check today and he didn’t know where you were.” Her voice is frantic and she talks so quickly I almost don’t understand her.
“I’m at a hotel. I forget the name of it.” I feel completely out of it, but a hot shower will fix everything.
“Well, you need to figure that shit out fast because you have a sound check today.”
“Okay,” I croak. “Let me get cleaned up and I’ll call you back.”
I end the call and check my phone for any other missed calls. There aren’t any. I tap out a text message to Margot asking about Logan before I get up and shuffle into the bathroom.
The hot shower does nothing to calm the ache in my muscles or the hurt starting to form in my heart. When I step out of the bathroom and check my phone, there’s a text from Margot telling me Logan is doing fine and they’ll be releasing her soon.
But still nothing from Brooks.
When I arrive at the concert venue, both my manager and Linda, the cherry festival organizer, notice my lack of enthusiasm. I run through a few songs with my band before Linda stops me.
“Girl, if you ruin my cherry festival, I’m going to have to hurt you,” Linda says without a hint of humor.
“I apologize Linda.” I don’t offer her any more information, but I suspect she’s already been informed of the disaster between Brooks and I since Margot is her best friend.
Performing has always been an outlet for me; a way to not only relieve stress but to express myself. My personal life doesn’t always bleed onto the stage but today, it’s like an open wound. And both my manager and Linda aren’t having it.
“What has gotten into you?” My manager asks me during a brief break. “You’ve never acted this way before.”
I bury my face in my hands because not only am I embarrassed but I’m also aching. When I lift my tear-stained face, I unleash everything on her. I tell her how I was falling so quickly and so deeply in love with Brooks and how cruel he was after Logan’s accident. All of my emotions come out all at once until my tears turn into hiccupping sobs.
“Oh, honey,” I hear Linda say. “You’ve got it bad. I just hope Brooks isn’t too stupid to realize what he let slip through his fingers.”
