Page 190 of Fame & Rhythm

We arrived back home after our final concert to a maximum-capacity crowd in Adelaide at the Adelaide Oval complex, and closing out our first world tour in Australia felt like the perfect ending. The crowd went absolutely wild, knowing it was our final stop, and we gave them everything we had. It was exhausting, exhilarating, and unforgettable all at once.

Even so, there’s something I haven’t been able to shake.

I really wanted to talk to Ella about her and Danger, but she’s been so hot and cold, keeping to herself most of the time, and with how busy we’ve been, finding a moment for proper sister time over the last five months has been almost impossible. Now that we’re home, though, I plan to fix that because, honestly, I’m dying to know what happened between them.

Everything feels right, like all the pieces of my life have finally fallen into place. I love my job, I love my boyfriend, and I love my family, and for the first time in a long time, I genuinely feel content.

Nothing could ruin this feeling…

We’ve only been home for two hours, and even though exhaustion clings to me, sleep refuses to come. Mum’s in the living room, dealing with the same jet lag, while Ella and Dad have already gone to bed, so I decide to try again myself. As I walk past the front door on my way upstairs, the gate buzzer suddenly sounds, pulling me up short.

I frown, wondering who it could be, and then a small smile creeps across my face as I think it might be Aston. He said he was going to spend some time with his parents, but maybe he changed his mind. The thought alone sends a little spark of excitement through me as I head over to the intercom.

“Hello?” I say, unable to keep the anticipation out of my voice.

There’s a pause…

Then a woman speaks, “I’m looking for Annie.”

The excitement drains from me instantly. “Who are you?” I ask, my pulse beginning to pick up.

Another pause stretches out long enough to make my stomach twist.

“I’m her biological mother.”

Everything inside me goes still.

My heart feels like it stops beating altogether as the words echo through my head, repeating over and over until they barely make sense anymore. My chest tightens, my breathing turns uneven, and for a moment I genuinely think I might faint.

My biological mother?

How is that even possible?

Fear prickles across my skin, sharp and immediate, but beneath it something else rises, something unexpected and impossible to ignore.

Curiosity.

Hope.

Before I can talk myself out of it, I press the button and open the gate, my body moving faster than my thoughts as I rush to the front door and pull it open. I stand there waiting, a smile forming despite the storm of emotions inside me, while tears threaten to spill over.

I’m excited.

I’m nervous.

I’m goddamn angry.

I’m everything all at once, and it makes my head spin.

“Who is it, sweetheart?” Mum asks as she steps into the hallway.

I turn to her, and the second I meet her gaze, everything spills over. Tears fall freely as she rushes to me, pulling me into her arms. “Annie, what’s wrong?”

The sound of a car rolling into the driveway makes me pull back, my voice trembling as I speak, “She says she’s my biological mother.”

Mum goes completely still.

Her eyes flick toward the car, then back to me, and the fear in them is unmistakable. “She could be anyone, Annie. You shouldn’t have let her in,” she says, her voice unsteady, and seeing her like this makes something inside me tighten.