“It won’t come to that,” Mae says, enunciating each word. She squeezes my hand in support despite the discomfort it causes her. “If they ever got rid of either of you, they would lose me too. They know that. If they don’t, it will become very clear to them within the day.”
The silence that follows is one full of reflection. As Raleigh’s fingers skate across the bedsheet and link in mine, I’m reminded about how much better of a man I am when she’s beside me. She is everything to me, and despite the uncertainties of the days to come, I know I’ll be okay as long as she’s there. There is no one else I would rather have in my corner.
I hope she feels the same about me.
There in that hospital bed, linked at the hands, something new is created between the three of us. An unsaid pact of trust and respect is fused with a fierce feeling of protection. I challenge anyone to come to Raleigh or Mae with the intent of harm again. It will never happen again, not on my watch.
Epilogue
Raleigh
“OKAY, LET’S GET YOU mic'd up,” Genelle says, moving from her equipment bag to where Mae sits on her couch in front of us.
When my shining star asked for this interview, I feared that she had gone mad from the break she’s on. When she told me her reasoning, I realized it was the best option for her.
Since the accident, Dalton and I were both let go, but true to her word, Mae swiftly followed, losing out on millions on her contract and shocking the entire industry. It’s been a week since that news broke, and it’s still in all the headlines.
I thought we might be a team of three navigating these waters alone, but most of Mae’s band and crew followed her when she told them about what was said by Trenton the night of her car accident. Trenton, of course, has somehow managed to hang on to his contract despite the footage from the hospital and leaked voice memos coming to the surface. It definitely wasn’t me who leaked them.
Regardless of the fallout and the drama, Mae elected to stay silent until she had real news to share. A real girl’s girl, Genelle was her first and only call.
Satisfied with her work, the curly haired reporter steps back and smiles. “Okay, remember this isn’t a formal interview. You have things to say, and I’m going to let you. It’s live, so shy away from cursing and try to understand the repercussions if you name drop anybody.” She flips the screen on her camera. “I’d be so okay with that, though,” she adds with a laugh.
Mae glances at me, and I give her a nod. She wrote her own statement, but I signed off on it. This is her story and her trauma, there’s no strategy today, just a young woman sharing her truth and championing what she’s gone through.
“You ready?” Genelle asks, far too giddy for the dourness of the past few days.
“I am,” Mae answers simply.
With a nod, Genelle pulls on a headset and counts down with her fingers. Before we know it, the light is blinking and the livestream has started. From my phone, I watch the immediate jump in numbers. It’s the first time she’s shown herself on social media since we posted a short video of her band greeting her at the hospital so the world will be chomping at the bit to see if she’s well. When the word spreads within seconds throughout the fan groups that Mae is streaming through Genelle’s account, all hell breaks loose.
“Hey ya’ll,” Mae says through a somber smile. She hasn’t allowed herself to gleam since the accident so I’ll take it. She’s been miserable, but hopefully the news she shares today will be the break in the storm. “I’ve asked Genelle to host this stream today so I can address a few things. She’s behind the camera and has allowed me the space to share what’s been going on with me.” She takes a breath and then dives into her spiel.
“I’m sure you’ve seen a lot of different headlines about me and my team this week. I’ll be quite honest, nothing happened the way I wanted it to. I’ve left my label, due to certain choices and actions that were made in regards to my team and…collaborators.” Her voice chokes on the words. There are much harsher words she could use when referring to Trenton. “Trenton Travers and I have ended our relationship.” She sucks in another harsh breath, and she looks to me.
“Just breathe,” I mouth.
“I’m sure you have seen many clips with him in them. I’m asking you to not respond to these in any way. I want to move forward, and I want you all to feel the love and joy that we have in this community. Those videos are not something that I, or my team, condone. But our relationship was broken long before that. I ask that you respect his privacy, and that if you can find it within your hearts, forgive both of us.”
As she goes on to discuss the break with the label, I take a moment to check out the livestream. There are 50,000 viewers, and that number is growing by the second. I’m relieved to find that, besides a few diehard Trenton Travers fans, it is a comment section full of love.
To end the live, she leaves her fans with the news that I have been dying to share. Only the band and I know the details about her new record deal. It’s something that not even Dalton knows about. He’s been so busy with his start up that Mae and I thought it would be fun to surprise him.
“I am overjoyed to share good news with you today. Though I loved my time on Broadway and all the opportunities it afforded me, I’m honored to announce that I’ve been signed as the first artist of a brand new company. Don’t worry, I will still be based in Nashville, but I’m going back to my roots for this next step in my career so there are going to be changes to my recording andproduction practices.” For the first time, a real smile ignites her face and the old Mae returns.
The fans see it too.
Mae laughs. “I have already said more than I’m legally allowed to say about my new contract so I will have to leave that there.” She laughs again. “I’m just kidding, I have one more thing for you before I turn it over to Genelle.
“The first single under my new label is titled ‘Good Men Make Mistakes’ and will be out sooner than you think.”
At the announcement, I immediately glance down at my phone. The stream is exploding with teary eyed emojis and comments saying, “I’ve been praying for times like these.” Mae is going to love going through these later.
“I can practically hear you screaming through my phone,” Mae croons. She lifts her hand into frame and frowns. “Sadly, I’m still healing from my car accident so no guitar playing today, but I thought I might share the spoken intro with you.”
Mae clears her throat and then bares her soul with an intro that will be backed with guitar andharmonica straight out of a spaghetti western. It’s her revenge era, and we’re all here for it.
“Only a good man makes mistakes. He screws up once and then finds a way to never cross you again. Then there’s the bad man. He’ll hurt you once then twice and then again, ‘til you just can’t take it anymore. This is the story of a man at war with himself and a girl stuck in the crossfire. Oh, and that girl? She is fed up.”
