Page 1 of Part of Forever
prologue - tucker
Just before Igo out onstage, I kiss the tiny rose pendant on my necklace before tucking it back under my shirt. Then, I step out into the lights and can’t help but grin.
The thrill is the same every time I step out onto the stage. I don’t think it’s a feeling I’ll ever get over. Performing and the crowds going wildfor me.
There is absolutely nothing like it.
And still, something is missing.
There’s always something missing. As I walk across the stage, guitar in one hand and waving with the other, I try to push the feeling away.
I take my place at the front of the stage, sitting on the lone stool in front of the mic, and rest my guitar against my legs. I strum twice, making sure everything is still in tune.
“How’s everybody doing tonight?” I ask into the mic, adding a little extra twang to my voice. The crowd cheers. There are phones out as far as I can see, pointed in my direction. It’s surreal to be here.
I’ve been the opening act for bigger artists for the past few years.
This summer, though, I’m the main attraction, and I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to express what that means to me. How many twenty-one-year-olds can say they’re living their dream?
I smile and take a deep breath. I can do this.
I glance up at the sky. It’s clear tonight, but it’s impossible to see the stars with all of the lights shining down on me.Let’s do this.
“Thanks for coming out, y’all.” More cheering. “Tonight is the last show of the ROSIE Tour, and I want to start with a song I don’t normally sing.” While I know this tour is named after my first (and currently only) album,ROSIE,I haven’t sung this song yet.
I know the crowd will eat this up. My manager, Murphy, practically beamed when I told her my plans for the evening—and she’s not an easy lady to please.
“Many of you know about my first single, ‘Rosie.’” A hush of reverence falls over the crowd when I say the title—when I say her name. My heart thunders in my chest, and for a moment, the stadium in front of me disappears. All I see is her.
Her perfect smile, with full lips and auburn hair, pulled into a tight bun on her head. She’s got an eyebrow raised at me, and her mouth opens as if she’s about to say, “Well, are we going to do this or what?”
I blink away the image. As much as I love it, I can’t exactly break down onstage the first time I ever sing her song live.
She’d hate that I call it her song, but it is. I think she’d also hate, just a little bit, that the reason I made it big was because of her;isbecause of her. Everything I have in this moment—in my life—is because of Rosie.
I play the first set of chords and swallow. It’s time.
By the time I’m finished, I doubt there’s a dry eye in the stadium. My face is wet as I stand and welcome the crowd to the tour once more, taking my next spot on the stage. The show must go on.
Life must go on.
Even if it breaks my heart.
three years earlier - rosie
1
This is it.
This is the moment that changes everything. Today’s audition will determine what happens next in my life. If today goes well, my future will go exactly as I’ve hoped and planned since I was nine years old.
One more time,I think as I glance at the clock. I have exactly fifteen minutes until they call my name, until I audition in front of the panel of Paris Ballet Academy dancers. I’ve worked on drills with these dancers and the other ballerinas auditioning for a spot at PBA, but now it’s time for the solo auditions. Thankfully, I have enough time to run through my routine one last time and have a few minutes to rest.
I push play on the stereo, grateful my mom thought to put five seconds of silence before the track started. It left just enough time for me to get to my place in the far corner of the room before the music started. The familiar notes hit my ears, and my body reacts instantly.
I was born to be a ballerina.
Everyone who watches me dance says that. It feels like the music and I are melded together so closely that everyone elsesees it coming to life. It’s as if the melody and my body have become one. Dancing is as natural as breathing for me.
