Graceful Deception

Chapter 6

yup, what can I say, I had this written so here it is :)

Chapter 6

It took me two days to make the arrangements. In those two days I did everything perfectly. I wore just the right amount of make-up in the mornings, smiled at all the right times and pretended to be perfectly content with my entire life.

What a load of shit.

Inside, my panic was becoming a constant thing. I had to force myself to eat because my stomach was in constant turmoil. I wanted to run so badly but each time my feet would shift, I would remind myself that I needed this.

So, two days after my father told me about his plan to remove me from the tour, I had everything ready. Blake took a break in his set. He’d usually talk to the audience, charm the women until they swooned, make them cheer and laugh and sometimes he’d move towards the audience and touch their hands as he spoke.

Only this time, as soon as he finished his last song, I stepped onto the stage, a microphone attached to my head and a guitar in my hand.

Turns out, the sound guy was a huge Yankees fan and with some help from Syd, I managed to finagle him a pair of prime tickets.

So, there I was, striding onto the stage, clapping with the rest of the fans and grinning at my father as his eyes shuttered and he struggled to restrain himself from possibly strangling me.

Feel the love.

“Blake Travis, everyone,” I said, facing the crowd and clapping awkwardly, the guitar banging against my belly as it hung against me.

The crowd cheered even louder, obviously thinking this was part of the show.

Blake wasn’t cheering.

“What are you doing?” He whispered in my ear, wrapping his arm around my shoulders and grinning his huge plastic smile.

“Stating my case,” I replied covering the microphone and giving him one, firm look that probably had a hint of sheer panic in it.

His smile became more strained as I ducked out from under his arm and guided him towards a stool that had been placed close to the front of the stage.

“I bet most of you don’t know this,” I said, my eyes still on my father as I stepped back from him, watching as he reluctantly stayed seated. I looked out into the audience and gave them a wide grin, softening my eyes and concentrating on keeping the panic down. “My dad is a huge Cyndi Lauper fan.” I winked over at Blake. “Sorry I revealed your secret.” The crowd laughed and I chuckled lightly, playing the part. “Anyway, he didn’t know I was going to sing this tonight but I wanted to do something special for him.” My eyes went unfocused for a second and suddenly, there was no audience. It was just me, standing there with a guitar in my hands and memories of a better time in my head. “He used to sing me this one when I was a kid and I loved it so much. I really did.” I sliced a look over at my dad, my smile gone, my feet rooted in place even though every little piece of me wanted to bolt. “This one’s for you, Dad.”

I plucked out the first few bars of True Colors by Cyndi Lauper, my heart immediately picking up its pace at the familiar sound of the song.

Just before I started singing, I closed my eyes, letting everything fade but the lyrics.

“You with the sad eyes...” I sang.

I really sang.

From my heart.