Music of the Heart (16 page)

              Ashleigh isn’t in there yet when we walk in but there is a spread of food set up and her family is actually already there.  She was kind enough to get tickets for my parents as well as Merritt’s parents and they arrive shortly after us.  Everyone is talking and eating, when I hear Greer, Ashleigh’s niece, scream out her name.

              “Aunt Ashweigh!  Youwa look so pretty!  I can’t wait to heaw youwa sing tonight.”

              “Wow!  You have a lot of energy tonight Greer.  You must have had a late nap.”

              “I did!   Guess who else is hewe?  Cwoss is hewe too!  He’s with Uncle Dixon.”

Chapter Nineteen

ASHLEIGH

              Well, that got my attention.  I know I should have expected Cross to be here but I wasn’t sure if he was traveling again and no one has mentioned him to me.  I glance up where Greer is pointing and lock eyes with him.  Gosh, why does he give me such butterflies.  I just wish I didn’t feel as strongly as I do for him.  It would make things a lot easier.

              He gives me a small smile and a wave.  I just stare at him and then turn my attention to fixing something to eat.  Thankfully, Allie walks over to talk to me which is a good distraction. 

              “Hey, I hate to bother you with everyone here but you have the meet and greet with the VIP ticket holders.  Grab something to eat and then we’ll go next door.”

              Ugh, I completely forgot I had the meet and greet.  Normally, I enjoy them but my mind is somewhere else right now.  I fix my plate and turn to walk out just as Merritt walks up.

              “Hey, where are you going?”

              “I forgot I have a meet and greet next door in the blue room.  You’re welcome to stop in if you want.  Any of y’all are welcome.”

              “Okay.  I’ll come over after I finish eating and before we go grab our seats.  Have fun!”

              Time flies by and before I know it, I get the five-minute warning to go on stage.  I do one last make-up and hair check and I’m ready to go.  I’m always nervous as I take that walk to the stage and since my throat has been hurting more, I’m a little on edge tonight.

              The show is going great when I hear Allie speak into my ear piece letting me know it’s 11:45 so it’s almost time to ring in the New Year.  I sing one more song before we begin the countdown to midnight.

              “Okay, everyone.  It’s almost midnight which means you need to find that special someone to share your New Year’s kiss with.  We’re going to turn the screens on to the ball drop and ring in the new year together!”

              I glance down to see all my friends and family and notice Cross is not with them.  He probably found someone to share his midnight kiss with.   Not that I really care at all.

              “Okay y’all, here we go!  10… 9… 8… 7… 6… 5… 4… 3… 2… 1… Happy New Year!!”

              I get ready to sing Auld Lang Syne when I feel someone grab my arm and pull me off to the side of the stage.  Before I know what’s happening, someone begins to kiss me.  Finally, the kiss ends and when I glance up, it’s Cross.  There’s nothing I can say right now so I immediately begin singing Auld Lang Syne so the crowd doesn’t begin to wonder where I went.

              “Okay y’all, I have one more song I want to sing tonight and then everyone can go finish having fun celebrating the new year.  It’s called Brand New Year and I hope you enjoy it!”

              I sing the song and when I’m finished, I all but run to the green room.  Allie comes in behind me along with Grant, my tour manager.  Grant comes over with a big smile on his face.

              “Ashleigh, you did an amazing job tonight.   Great concert as always.”

              He goes to give me a hug just as all my friends walk in.  I look up and of course, the first face I see is Cross.  He looks pissed off and heads straight for the beers that Ally had set out. 

Poor Merritt and Dixon.  They can always sense when something is up with Cross and me. As Dixon walks over to grab a beer with Cross, Merritt heads towards me.

“Hey... what’s going on?  Cross looked pissed when he walked in and I noticed he was looking at you.”

“Merritt, I don’t want to talk about Cross.  I’m so confused by him and I don’t have the energy to deal with that tonight.  If you want to know what the hell is wrong with him, go ask him yourself.”

I walk as fast as I can to my dressing room.  I’ve got to get out of here.  Merritt is fast on my heels too.  She slams the door shut behind her.

“Ashleigh, what the hell is wrong?  I’m starting to worry about you.  I mean, your throat is still a problem but besides that, you seem stressed all the time.  It’s me.  You know you can talk to me.”

Before I get the chance to respond, the door to my dressing room flies open and Cross comes storming in.  Merritt’s eyes get huge and I see Dixon & Reed right behind him. 

“What in the hell is going on?  You couldn’t knock?”

“Ashleigh, we need to talk.  Now.”

Before I know it, Mason, Jake, Ava, Ellis and Laken have all joined Dixon and Reed to see what is going on. 

“Cross, I don’t have anything to say to you right now.  I really just want to go home and go to bed.  It’s been a long day and I’m tired and worn out.”

“Ashleigh, please.  Just talk to me.  You can’t tell me the kiss we just shared meant nothing to you.  Yes, I’ve been a dick the past few weeks but I’ve been busy with work.”

“Are you fucking kidding me Cross?  No one is so busy that they can’t send a text.  No one is so busy they can’t call to say a quick hey.  And that kiss – well, you caught me off guard.  Why did you even come tonight?  I imagine you had to carve a few hours from your oh so busy work schedule to come to the concert.  Sorry for the inconvenience.”

It’s then that I notice everyone is still in the room or standing by the door.  I feel like I’m on display right now and I hate it.  I grab my purse and my phone and start walking to the door.

“Merritt will you ask Allie to get all my stuff for me.  I’ve got to get out of here.”

“Sure sweetie.  We’ll take care of everything for you.  Just go ahead and get home.  Do you need me to come with you?”

“No.  I’m good.  I just need to go take a long bath and get some sleep.”

“And rest your throat.  No singing for the next few days.”

Well, thanks Merritt.  She had to go and mention my throat.  The look on Cross’s face is beyond pissed.  I quickly turn and head out the door.

“Ashleigh…”

“No!  No, Cross.  You don’t get to say anything about me or my throat or my voice.  You don’t have the right.”

With that, I run out of the room and head to the back exit to have someone drive me home.  Everyone is busy loading up all the equipment from the show and I remember Allie drove me here.  I don’t want to go back in so I start walking around to find Mark or Kelly to find a ride when my phone chimes.

Cross: Look to your left.

              I have no idea why he’s sending me this but I do as it says and look to my left.  There stands Thomas ready to drive me home.  I head towards the black SUV where he waits to let me in the car.

              “Hey Thomas.  Are you sure you don’t mind driving me home?  I hate to ask you to do this.”

              “Ashleigh, it would be my pleasure.  Just sit back and get some rest.  I’ll have you home soon.”

              It feels like the longest drive in the world and all I want to do is take a long bath and go to bed.  I am already dreading tomorrow because I know I’m going to have to see him again.  New Year’s lunch is a tradition in my family and this year, we are having it with my Atlanta family as well.  I wish I hadn’t offered to host it but I did and my parents and sister will be at my house in less than seven hours to help prepare everything. 

              After Thomas drops me off and makes sure I get in the house safely, I take a hot shower and go straight to bed.  Thankfully, sleeps find me very fast with no thoughts of Cross.

CROSS

              It’s too damn early for my doorbell to be ringing.  It feels like I just fell asleep.  But whoever is here is not giving up so I drag myself out of bed and head downstairs.  I throw open the door to my condo and there stands my older brother, Gaines.  I’m pretty sure he’s not here just to chit chat since we will be seeing each other at lunch already today.

              “Morning Gaines.  What’s up man?  You do know we’re both going to be at the same lunch in a few hours, right?”

              “Hey Cross.  I brought you some coffee.”

              “Um, thanks.  What’s going on?”

              “I just wanted to check in on you.  I know something is going on between you and Ashleigh.  You both tried your hardest to hide it from everyone last night until your little blow up before she left.  Are you going to talk to me about it?  Or do I have to ask her?  Because you know I will.”

              I sit for the next hour dishing out everything to Gaines.  I feel like a girl.  I pour out my feelings to him about how I feel about Ashleigh.

              “Dude, do you honestly think I didn’t already know how you feel about her?  I’m your brother.  It’s pretty damn obvious to me.  I can also tell what she thinks about you but I also sense there is something you’re hiding… from me and from her.”

              “Fuck.  Why would you think I’m hiding something?  Look, I need to go for a run before lunch.  Can we finish our talk later?”

              “Sure man.  But we will talk about this.  See you at lunch.”

              I change clothes and go for a run.  I’m out for almost an hour and by the time I get back to my condo, I barely have time to shower and change before I head to Ashleigh’s house.  The thought of not going at all has crossed my mind several times but I need to see her.  I need to talk to her.  I just need her.  Period.

              As I’m getting in my car, my phone rings and I notice it’s Jamie Matthews calling.  I answer it quickly because I’m sure it has something to do with Ashleigh.

              “Jamie.  What’s up man?”

              “Hey Cross.  Sorry to bother you on New Year’s but I was tying up a few loose ends and Ashleigh is one of them.  Can you come up here next week and meet with me?  We need to discuss her a little more.”

              “Um, yeah, I think that will work out.  I’m driving right now but when I get to a stop, I’ll double check my calendar and text you.”

              We finish talking and I end the call.  I guess he wanted to meet earlier.  I make a note to have Barbara cancel everything for January 26
th
and change my flight and hotel to next week. 

This fucking sucks.  She is really going to hate me when she finds out I’m behind what’s about to happen.  I’ve got to make nice with her today so we have some happy times together before the shit hits the fans.

              I pull into her driveway and see her parents car as well as Merritt and Dixons.  I also see all our parents cars too.  I tried to get there before everyone to talk to her but I ran late.

              I’m greeted at the door by my favorite little girl. 

              “Hey Cwoss!  I’m so excited to see youwa!  My mommy told me she thought youwa would be hewe.  Want to pway with me?”

              “Greer Anderson!  Leave Cross alone.  He just walked in the door and doesn’t want to play right now.”

              I just laugh at Ashleigh’s sister.  She’s pregnant and chasing this three-year-old around.  All of a sudden, I hear my mom calling my name.  I follow her voice to the kitchen where I find her with Ashleigh’s mom and Merritt’s mom.  They have taken over the kitchen and are cooking like crazy.