Page 47 of Everything In Between

FORTY

jersey

“Morning,” Hayes says, pulling me out of my zone.

I’ve been curled up on the couch for about an hour, sipping my coffee and getting lost in a book.

The quiet lake life has really been good for me, and I’ve loved getting to spend time here.

Periwinkle has snuggled in my lap and she turns her head at the sound of Hayes’s voice too.

He comes over and scratches at her ears before leaning down toward me. Tilting my chin up to accept his kiss, I greet him back. “Good morning. There’s more coffee in the pot if you want it.”

Hayes makes a satisfied sound and heads into the kitchen. While he does that, I go back to my book, and a few moments later, Hayes joins me on the couch, moving my feet so he can sit under them and places them in his lap. He takes a hesitant sip of his coffee, testing the temperature.

We sit together in a nice silence for a while. Last night, Hayes pressed kisses over every inch of my body repeatedly until I was an exhausted, satiated mess in the bed. We fell asleep curled around each other, like we have for the last ten days.

This is the first time in I don’t know how long that I’ve been able to sit and enjoy myself, not having to meet deadlines or be present for publicity. It’s been nice, and I’m dreading having to return to the grind.

It’s inevitable. I know it is, but it’s nice for a moment to pretend.

These have been some of the best days of my adult life. It’s been a delicious taste of what life could look like with Hayes long term. I’m convinced that everything is better when it’s just Hayes and me against the world.

“What are you thinking about?” he asks, twirling a strand of my hair around his finger. He studies my face, as if he’s trying to read my innermost thoughts.

“Wondering if I have it in me to ask for things to be different at the label.”

Hayes is unfazed. He nods sagely and continues twirling my hair. “No need for you to wonder. I know you do.”

Exhaling, I move from my position to his side, curling against him, wishing he could osmosis his strength and confidence into me.

Up on stage I might look like I have it all together, but in real life, I question myself at every turn when it comes to professional decisions.

I wonder what happened to that bold eighteen-year-old girl who fearlessly and unapologetically went for what she wanted. Is there any way I can get her back?

“Have you ever had to have those hard conversations with your management?” I ask him, curious to know if he’s ever been in my shoes.

“Sure,” he says, wrapping his arm around me and pulling me in closer to him. “Every time my contract goes back up for negotiation, it’s nothing but conversations and give and take.”

“You always seem to come out on top, somehow.”

“I have a great team who has my best interests at heart. And the Majestics franchise always have my back. They want me on their team, and I want to stay on their team.”

“Maybe that’s where we’re different,” I admit. “Cal wants me to stay with Silver Shadows forever, but on his terms. I sometimes wonder if they see me as their prized cash cow. But if it were up to me? If I had to say yes or no right now to stay with them? It’d be a no. A hundred percent.”

Hayes runs his hand up and down my arm. “I think you need to talk to your team, see if there’s any way they can support you.”

“I already have. My only option is to wait it out. After that deadline hits though, I’ll be walking. There’s no way they’re going to stop me.”

“I’d kill to be in the room when you stick it to them once and for all,” Hayes says with a chuckle.

“Cal has it coming to him, that’s for sure.

” My lips twitch as I think about how red his face will turn when he realizes he has no say in my career anymore.

Sure, Silver Shadows will likely always maintain ownership of my past music and much of what I’ve done in my career thus far.

However, Cal won’t have ownership of me anymore.

The music I’ve created there isn’t really me anyway, so losing them is a loss I can deal with for the price of my freedom.

After a quick grocery run, Hayes and I head back to the house.

Honestly, I’d be perfectly content never going back to normal.

This small town has wormed its way into my heart and I could easily see creating a place for myself in this community.

In the back of my mind, I know at some point I’ll have to go back to the normal hustle and bustle of my life, and that will be sooner rather than later.

I have more shows coming up in a few weeks, and with those come intensive rehearsals to make sure everything goes as smooth as possible.

We’re planning to leave in a few days and already, I’m missing this quiet fairytale life we’ve been living together.

I’m watching the road pass by, appreciating how the pines seem to tower over the road and stretch on for miles.

Hayes switches the station and then turns up the volume a smidge when the radio host states she has an exciting announcement.

I mildly tune in, still looking out the window at the beautiful Wisconsin scenery, getting lost in the thought of Mickey and Preston being the ring bearers at our wedding.

Or more specifically, getting lost in the thoughts of Hayes’s and my wedding.

“You all are in for a treat now. This is Meghan Connelly’s brand new single, fresh out of the recording studio. It’s called ‘A Piece of Me.’ Enjoy.”

I blink, staring at the radio, a little surprised at the coincidence that her new song is the same name of one I’ve written in the past. The song starts and as it progresses, my mouth goes dry as I listen to the words.

No. It can’t be.

It is my song.

But it’s not.

Those are my words, but it’s not the right melody, or the right beat, or the right anything.

But those are undeniably my words.

The exact same words I sang for Hayes on Christmas Day.

I turn to him, and he’s watching me with wide eyes and a slack jaw, picking up on what’s happening right now, too. Any fluffy, fairytale daydreams I was having quickly turn to ice, cutting through my heart and freezing me from head to toe.

“Hayes,” I whisper, unable to hide the betrayal seeping through me. “This is my song.”

His expression deepens into something less akin to surprise and more like hatred. “I thought those were your lyrics.”

I wrap my arms around my middle. He doesn’t get it. “Hayes,” I say again.

“What?”

“You are the only person I’ve played this song for.

Ever,” I add. I’m going to throw up. The implications of what I’m telling him are too much.

He couldn’t have. He wouldn’t have. There is no version of my life where I can imagine Hayes betraying me like this, but how else could my song have ended up on the radio?

He catches on quickly, and he shakes his head, holding his hands up as we’re stopped at a stop sign. “I would never, Jersey. You can’t possibly think I would have leaked it. It doesn’t even sound the same!”

“You said you wished you would have recorded it,” I whisper, helplessness oozing into accusation.

“Yeah, but I didn’t!” His voice breaks. “Jersey, I love you. I would never betray you. I swear, on everything, I had nothing to do with this.”

I bury my face in my hands, focusing on my breathing.

In through the nose, out through the mouth. Count down from fifty.

All around me, the world is crumbling. My words, my most prized possession, sung into existence in a way that destroys their depth, the very essence of their meaning. The most intimate parts of me being aired out to dry and then donned by someone else.

I never could have foreseen this happening without my explicit knowledge.

I feel violated and dirty.

Someone stole from me and blasted it across every airwave and every streaming service.

Dizziness consumes me and the whole world tilts in the wrong direction, past the point of no return.

“Stop the car,” I mutter before clapping a hand over my mouth.

He does without any hesitation, pulling over to the side of the road. We’re only minutes away from the house, but it’s too late.

I toss open the door and stumble out of my seat just in time for my lunch to come hurling forward.

On my hands and knees, I retch, the weight of the situation souring in my gut like spoiled milk. My stomach revolts at the idea that someone would do this to me. My head continues to spin, trying to make sense of such a betrayal.

Within seconds, Hayes is next to me, rubbing my back and pulling my loose hair away from my face.

Tears burn in my eyes and I can’t help the broken sob that escapes me. It hurts my chest and I feel like I’m about to collapse under the weight of what’s happening.

“Hayes,” I cry, squeezing my eyes shut and willing this pain to go away.

“I’m here, baby,” he whispers. He covers me, his larger frame surrounding mine as if he’s trying to protect me from anything hurling my way.

But it’s too late.

I’m wounded.

I’m broken.

Where do I go from here?