Chapter 9

Vy

SHE LOOKED AT HER PHONE for the hundredth time. She talked to all her friends and family every day, but Carter hadn't called even once since she left.

Their last conversation had been weird. She hadn't confronted him about the illness and he hadn't needled her about Andrew. They were going to start work on her new album when she got back. He accepted that she went to the University in October. She promised she would always put the music first.

Weird.

No arguments. No tricks from him. No name calling from her.

She reached for the phone and found his number. She stopped before calling. What could she tell him? That she missed him? She didn't. That she was hurt because he had lied to her?

She opened her social media and checked her tags as usual, and the location of her last RoH concert. She gaped when she saw the name Diane King.

"About to see the best Illyrian export. Vy Cesara rocks! #goddess"

The memory of storming past the girl after yelling at Carter made her heart shrink. Her second thought was that Andrew might be with her. He couldn't be. Alice said they were still in auditions the day before.

She tagged the girl. "My favorite fan gets to choose a song tonight."

She still did the request bit in the second part of the show, but she always finished with Dark Dream and Light Dream. It was going to be a bit awkward to sing them in front of Diane, and probably her mother, since she used Andrew to fuel the passion in both songs, but she was a professional.

"FYI America, the best Illyrian export are ricotta pancakes. I'm a close second. #pancakes"

The stage was brightly lit, so she didn't get to see the audience. She wondered briefly where Diane sat, but she put it out of her mind, and started her set. She had come a long way from her clumsy first time solo at Dusk, but the adrenaline level was still high.

"Ladies and gentlemen, you enjoyed Illyrian music, now it's the part of the show where we go international. I'll ask you for songs you'd like me to sing, and when I get at least five songs I can actually do, we'll take a break while we set up the negatives."

She jumped off the stage as she had practiced that afternoon, and started her usual routine of going to people with the microphone. When she had a dozen songs to choose from, she looked for Diane.

"Now as promised, to my favorite fan. Diane, where are you?"

She saw the girl's hand waving from across the room. She wiggled between tables, waiters and patrons until she got to her table. She saw a beautiful woman with bright red lips and a vague family resemblance next to Diane. All she got from the cursory look was the spark of grey eyes and a pair of luscious red lips.

Her own eyes nearly popped out of her head when she saw Andrew King's profile on the other side of the table. She collected herself and jerked her head to Diane.

The stars sparkling in her eyes and the sheer happiness on her face, dimmed the shock of seeing Andrew. He probably wasn't there anyway. She thought she saw him all the time.

"Anything you want, kid," she said. "Nothing from back home though," she added as the girl opened her mouth to speak.

The girl looked at the microphone Vy held toward her.

"I have a ton of songs, but tonight is too awesome so… 'Feeling good'."

Her eyebrows shot up, but she smiled. "Not what I expected from a rock chick like you. Are you sure? No one here said any Deep Purple, Metallica or Led Zeppelin."

Diane shook her head.

"The Ramones?" Vy tried. "The Stones? The Beatles? The Who? The Clash? The Cure?"

Diane was shaking her head and giggling at her apparent begging for old school British rock. Vy bowed her head in agreement, and stepped back toward the stage.

"All right everyone," she said into the microphone. "Give us about ten – fifteen minutes to get things set up, and I'll karaoke my way through the weird songs you guys picked."

She turned off the mic and rushed backstage to prepare. After this show, she had to call Carter and thank him. If it weren't for the insane amount of songs he made her practice, she wouldn't be able to do this part of her shows which she absolutely adored.

Whoever that guy was at their table, it probably wasn't Andrew. She brushed off the thought.

If she could hold on to that belief, she was going to survive the next hour without embarrassing herself on stage.