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Jolette.
Her presence alone was enough to make my blood run cold. She wore that cruel smile that always made my skin crawl, her voice dripping with sarcasm as she spoke. "Do try and not embarrass yourself out there," she purred, her words laced with venom. "Who knows, you do well enough, and maybe the public will forgive you for being such a pathetic excuse of a human."
I didn't respond.
The words carved at my insides, like they always did, but I wasn’t going to show her that. She had always been the vampire, sucking out every ounce of love I'd ever had for creating and singing until I was left hollow and broken. I didn’t know if there would ever be a time when she couldn’t hurt me, when the little girl inside me—the one that still held out hope she was worthy of love from someone—didn’t want that someone to be my mother.
But maybe I was feeling a little bit stronger after a weekend in Walker’s arms, where he’d memorized every dip and curve of my body like it was his sole mission in life. Because for once, I was able to keep my face perfectly blank.
After an awkward minute, where she just stood there, waiting for me to fall apart…she finally made a hmmph kind of sound and walked out without another word.
As soon as the door slammed behind her, I released a breath, leaning over the vanity in front of me, trying not to be sick. I felt dizzy, overwhelmed by the memories and the emotions that only she had the power to summon with just a few words.
Shaking my head, I finally straightened up and reapplied some red lipstick, slapping it on like it was war paint and had the ability to transform me into someone else.
As I stared into the mirror, Iforcedmyself to become Olivia Darling.
However much I hated her.
Stepping out onto the stage, I felt like an imposter in my own skin. The lights were too bright and the crowd too loud, their energy draining, like a succubus taking my life force. This was the kind of crowd that I’d told Walker I hated. The kind where they took from me without giving anything back.
The band that accompanied me was a far cry from the familiar faces I used to perform with. My old crew had moved on obviously. I couldn’t exactly ask them to wait for me after I’d said I’d never perform again as long as I was under the conservatorship.
The fact that I’d said that made me feel like a liar as I pasted on a smile for the screaming fans.
Taking a deep breath, I tried to find my voice and my composure.
“Hi y’all. How’s everyone doing? My name’s Olivia. And I’m going to sing some songs for you tonight,” I said into the mic.
It was a phrase I’d said countless times before, but it had never felt so wrong.
Even with the monitors in my ears, I could barely hear the first chords of the music filling the air—the crowd was screaming so freaking loud. I almost missed my cue as I had to force myself to sing. The lyrics felt foreign on my tongue, and I stumbled through them, the weight of my past destroying the fact that these lyrics had been dragged from my bitterest depths.
That these words were me.
I wanted to look for Walker in the crowd. I wanted to see what he thought of this version of the girl he said he was falling for. If he understood the pain that bled from my lyrics like a blade tearing through my skin.
But the stage lights were blinding, the deafening roar of the crowd ringing in my ears as I sang. And I didn’t have it in me to do anything but sing.
Survive.
Each song feeling like a weight around my neck, dragging me down into a sea of discontent.
Things only improved when I strummed the first chords of my acoustic set, a sense of calm washing over me, the familiar strings of my guitar soothing my frayed nerves without the clang of the other instruments barging in on my peace.
I closed my eyes, letting the music wash over me like a gentle wave, the soft strains of my guitar filling the air with a bittersweet melody. And as I opened my mouth to sing, the words spilled out like a long-forgotten prayer, each note tinged with longing and regret.
"In the stillness of the night, I search for you in dreams,
But you're just out of reach, like a whispered memory,
I wonder if you feel it too, this ache that won't subside,
Or if I'm just a fool, lost in the high tide."
My voice wavered slightly as I glanced out and somehow caught Walker's gaze in the crowd, a few rows back, his eyes burning with an intensity that left me breathless.
I stumbled over a word as we stared at each other, my heart pounding in my chest as I began to sing the song…to him.
