The Long and Winding Road ((Closed))

[Mackenzie Holden]

“Ready?” Mack jumped ten feet high in her chair. She swiveled around, her hand pressed to her chest in an attempt to calm her heart that was racing. Tommy stood in the door frame of Studio 2 where Mack was lounging around, thinking about what was in store for the next 3 months. She let out a slow breath and stood from the leather chair, moving toward Tommy, “Yeah, I’m ready, let’s go.” She shoved past him, but not before giving him a quick look, and moved out into the lobby of G-Major. People were rushing everywhere, packing last minute stage things – amps, instruments, mikes, things like that. Mack had already placed all her stuff on the bus, her guitar and her suitcase and all her belongings were safely tucked in the room she got to keep to herself; she didn’t know why, because she never used it. Tommy had vouched to ride on the same bus as her and she was livid about it, but whatever, he could do as he pleased. She would just keep her distance and hang out with Kyle.

Speaking of.

“Ready, Rock star?”

“What is with everyone and calling me that?” Mack asked as she slipped her brown leather jacket on and scowled over at Kyle.

“You’ve earned the title. I guess. You’re no longer a wanna-be, you’re actually it. Once someone’s wrapped up their second album, I’m pretty sure that makes them… well… a rock star.” Kyle smirked at her, leading the way out of G-Major to the bus that was waiting out front.

“This is coming from the drummer of my band who doesn’t know the difference between a half note and a quarter note.”

“Hey now, that’s not fair. I can’t help that I’m good without having to learn music.” Kyle smiled cheekily at her and waited for her to board the bus before he followed. The bus was bigger than the last one, compliments of G-Major. Last time she had toured it had been disastrous and horrible. The bus was small, and Mack was always so tired. She was determined to make it better this time. Besides, there was one thing that Mack was feeling last time that she was most definitely not going to feel this time. And that was missing Jack. Jack was completely gone from her heart, now. She felt nothing toward him, not even dislike. He had wanted to disappear from her, that’s fine, but she wasn’t going to wait for him to reappear.

“Heads up!” Mack looked up just in time to get a nurf football to the nose. She groaned and picked up the orange spongy like toy, tossing it back to Matt who caught it with an apologetic smile, “I told you heads up.”

“Yeah, thanks, that did a load of good.”

“Oh, come on, Mack, where’s your tour spirit?” Mack raised her eyebrows and collapsed onto the couch to her right, putting her feet up on the suitcase in front of her.

“Right, three months of traveling with you losers and I’ll be just as insane as my sister.”

“Dixie’s not that crazy, Mackenzie.” Tommy had just boarded the bus, carrying his suitcase and guitar. Mack looked up at him, cocking her head to the side, a snide smile on her face.

“You would know, wouldn’t you, Quincy?” Mack scowled, kicking the suitcase out of her way and leaving the front of the bus. She pushed open the door to her room, and entered – wanting alone time. Matt looked at Kyle who looked at Tommy and asked; “What’s got her panties in a twist?” Tommy sighed, set down his things and followed Mack.

((So, I know Summer hasn't started on site yet. But I can pretend.))

[Mackenzie Holden]

Mack lay on the full sized bed, her legs dangling off the edge, her hair sprawled out around her and her arms over her eyes. She took several deep breaths, trying to calm herself down, when there was a knock on the door. She didn’t respond and after a third knock, the door opened and Tommy stepped inside – shutting the door behind him. “Go away. Didn’t you get my grand exit?”

“Mack, please?”

“You forgot the pretty part, Quincy.” Tommy groaned and shoved his hands in his pockets, looking down at his feet. There was a silence between them that made Tommy really uncomfortable, but he couldn’t do anything about it. Mack was sending hate vibes in his direction and as much as he wanted them to be able to at least work together, he didn’t like feeling like she hated him. Which she probably did. “Look, Tommy, you made it clear – there’s nothing between us. It’s purely professional, and that’s fine with me. Now, just… just go away.” She was quiet for a moment, listening intently for the opening and closing of the door. There was none. So, slowly, she moved her arms away from her eyes and looked to her right at Tommy who was leaning against the wall, his head bowed. “Didn’t you hear me? Go. Away.”

“Why?”

Mack scoffed, “WHY?! Wow, you aren’t bright at all, are you? God, sometimes you can be so 21.” Tommy winced, but Mack didn’t stop. She kept going, “You know, I thought I was really hurt by you, Tom. And when I got home that night, after you took me to that clearing in the woods? I cried myself to sleep over you. Over you and you know what I realized? I realized, you didn’t hurt me – but the idea that someone really cared and then appeared like they didn’t, hurt me. And I can deal with that. I can deal with being alone for the rest of my life. But what I can’t deal with is you. You’re a real piece of work, Tom Quincy, and as far as I’m concerned – we are nothing but producer and artist. Not even ones that get along. Hell, I don’t even know if I want you producing my next album, I might produce it on my own. So, here’s me telling you to get away from me. I don’t want to see you at all during the tour unless absolutely necessary.”

Tommy and Mack held each other’s gaze for a moment and then he nodded, “If that’s what you want, I’ll respect your wishes, but I’m telling you right now, Mack, producing your third album by yourself is going to be a trial. I suggest getting Kwest to help you with it, or something, if you don’t want me.” Mack stared at him and then turned away, turning onto her side so her back was facing him.

“I’ll take that into consideration, thank you.” The realization at how real about this Mack was hit Tommy full force as he stepped out of the room and made his way to the front of the bus, collapsing into a seat and burying his face in his hands. How she could go from this amazing girl to this… was… it was… indescribable. Tommy had always said there was a reason she was a Slytherin, but now… now he knew the reason. Back in the room, Mack had stood from the bed and grabbed her guitar – fiddling around with it. She wasn’t alone long, though, because Kyle knocked on the door and barged in, throwing another football at her. This time Mack was ready and ducked just in time, smiling at him.

“See? It works without the heads up.” Kyle smiled back at her, closing the door behind him, and jumping onto the bed beside her. She looked over at him and shrugged slightly, returning to her guitar. “Hey…” Mack looked over at him again, “you okay?”

“I’ll be fine. Do you want to help me with a song?” She strummed a few chords on her guitar and Kyle chuckled, “I mean, the lyrics, considering you don’t know music.” He pinched her arm before sitting up and grabbing her notepad.

[Mackenzie Holden]

“The night is ours!” Kyle howled as he raised his arms above his head with his drumsticks in hand like they always were. Mack raised her eyebrows, leaning a bit away from him as they walked down the street. They had just finished their set at the International Convention Theatre in Birmingham. It was relatively good, Mack was happy with it but she knew she could’ve done better. Obviously, though, Kyle thought he was the God of the drums. He was banging his head, rattling off his part, tapping Mack on the head a bit with his drumsticks. Mack could only shake her head and chuckle at his immaturity. It was Kyle; what could you do? “C’mon, Mack, breathe in, taste Birmingham!” Kyle breathed in deeply and ended up coughing. Mack laughed, “If that’s the result of ‘tasting Birmingham,’ I doubt I’ll be doing it anytime soon, Ky.” Kyle smirked at her and draped his arm around her shoulders, raising an arm and making his fingers flair as he rambled off, “Ladies and Gentlemen may I present to you the one, the only, Mackenzie Holden!” With that, he cupped his hand around his lips and made an ‘ahhhh’ noise as if to imitate a crowd cheering.

Mack rolled her eyes and pushed Kyle away from her, smiling because she was amused but cringing at his touch, “Kyle, you’re sommem else.” She ran her fingers through her hair tiredly and crossed her arms over her chest, looking down as they walked. Kyle was prattling on now, but Mack was hardly listening. She had been on tour a week or so, now, and aside from the routinely days – the one thing that inhabited Mack’s mind was Alex. How she could meet him once, just once, and be able to think about him non-stop after the meeting was mind blowing. She didn’t mind, though, and she never pushed away the thoughts of him. She knew that she might have only one chance more to see him over the summer, and when she thought about that she was glad she had given him that backstage pass. Sure, Dixie had been rather angry with her about it, but what could she do? She and Alex had made a connection, a completely unexpected connection sure, but a connection nonetheless and Mack wasn’t going to let that go to waste.

“Mack, you listenin’?” Mack looked up suddenly, Kyle jerking her out of the way of a car. “I’ll take that as a no. If you weren’t paying attention to a car coming down the street, I’m doubting you’d be listening to me go on, what’s on your mind?” He tapped her head with his drumstick again and Mack scowled, reaching up violently and tugging the blasted drumstick from his hand and pocketing it up her sleeve with her wand. She didn’t know why she carried it with her, she couldn’t use it because she was underage. It was kind of like a security thing, though. Kyle whined and tapped on his own head with his one remaining drum stick. He looked over at her, “Seriously, Mack, what’s up?” She glared at him. Couldn’t she be alone with her own thoughts? Obviously not. He was about to ask again when Mack smacked him in his chest to stop him. She looked at the club they were standing in front of and then turned slowly to look at Kyle with a smile crawling across her face. Kyle raised his eyebrows and then grinned, nodding his head enthusiastically, “Ah hell yeah!” Neither of them needed to say anything more, they pushed open the door to the club and stepped inside.

The music was… the only word that Mack could think to describe it was entrancing. It had such an infectious rhythm that instantly she started swaying to the beat. The club was a nice one; no smoke from cigarettes, no blatant evidence of drug use, it was like one of those clubs that were just started… the kind that would hit the hot list in a couple of weeks. Mack tugged on her pin striped vest as she made her way through the crowd, gripping Kyle’s wrist and hollering over the music, “Don’t take any drinks from anyone unless you physically see it poured from the bartender! Always cover your drink with your hand when you’re not drinking it! And number one rule, Kyle…” Mack turned around and stared up at him, “Don’t ask me to dance.” Kyle smirked and pressed his hands together and bowed as if he were a martial arts master, “Yes, oh Club Hopping Goddess.” Mack smiled and tilted her head, “Damn straight.” She patted his head twice before drifting into the crowd.

[Mackenzie Holden]

“Shhh….” Mack pressed her hand over Kyle’s mouth as they climbed onto the bus. Kyle bit her and Mack yelped, trying to be quiet. It wouldn’t matter anyway, because the lights flickered on in the bus to reveal Tommy sitting on one of the benches, looking at them. Mack stumbled back and shook her head. Yes, they were coming in late, but it wasn’t her fault. For once it wasn’t Mack’s fault. She looked to her left at Kyle who was so completely drunk it wasn’t even funny. Sure, it had been at first, but now? Now it was just pathetic. Tommy stood and started the lecture but Mack shook her head, “Don’t come at me like I’m the one in the wrong here. I didn’t drink, he did.” She pointed her thumb at Kyle who laughed and flicked Mack’s ear. A drunk Kyle was no fun. She passed the drunk drummer off to Tommy before shoving past him to get to her room where she collapsed on the bed. When she woke up they were traveling again. She groaned and rolled over, planning on falling back asleep; but she rolled the wrong way and ended up falling onto the floor of the moving bus. Mack rubbed her head, slowly opening her eyes and yawning, stretching her arms above her head. She sat up, looking around her room warily, trying to get her eyes adjusted to the lighting. She should have closed the blinds before going to sleep, but then again – she had been so tired.

“Up and at ‘em, Mack,” Kyle burst into the room, dressed and ready for the day. She looked at him like he was an alien.

“Weren’t you…? Didn’t you….? How in Hell…?” Mack squinted, trying to block the sunlight from behind Kyle who was jumping onto her bed.

“Tom’s amazing with hang overs…” Kyle jumped on the bed and then landed with his legs crossed, staring at Mack on the floor, “What are you doing down there?”

“Having a party, what does it look like I’m doing?”

“Sitting. But why would you be….? Oh forget it! C’mon, breakfast is on.” Then Kyle bounced out just like he had bounced in and Mack was alone once more. She groaned and lay back on the floor, covering her face with her hands. She sat there for a couple of minutes, rubbing her eyes and thinking. She knew she had had a good dream, but she couldn’t remember the dream. She did know that it had Alex in it, but that was it. That was all Mack knew about the dream and it was bothering her. She sat there, trying to remember the rest of it, but decided she should probably get up and go back out there to eat with everyone. Even though she really didn’t want to. Mack sighed and stood up, grabbing a pair of jeans and changing out of her pajamas into the jeans and a t-shirt. She yanked a brush through her hair as she opened the door and entered the main part of the bus where everyone was gathered. “Hey, Mack, sit next to me….” Kyle pulled her into the seat beside him and then Matt scrunched in the seat beside her. Mack shook her head and pushed Matt out of the way so she could get up and sit on the opposite side of the table.

“You still smell like alcohol,” Mack said simply in response to Kyle’s hurt look. He sniffed his shirt and then shrugged. Mack shuddered and rested her elbow on the tabletop, her head in her hand as Tommy slid a plate of waffles in front of her without a word. She looked up at him a moment, and then started to pick at the waffles. Tommy always made the best waffles, She nibbled at the waffles, not really that hungry and not really wanting to give Tommy the satisfaction of knowing that she liked the waffles. Mack listened to them talk about whatever it was 16 year old guys talked about, well, no… she didn’t listen to them talk. She was spacing again. Her mind returning to Alex. It had been so long since she’d seen him, she missed him. She missed him. It was great, but it was so not expected.

“Mack! MACK!”

“What?!” She glared at Matt who shrunk away.

“You… you gonna eat that?” Mack shoved her plate toward him and crossed her arms, resting her head on her arms. She just wanted to get back to that dream. That dream that had Alex in it. She just wanted to see him. Dreams were the only way she could do that.

[Mackenzie Holden]

Mack growled angrily as she tore out the page from her diary. It wasn’t working! She tossed it at the door and buried her head in her hands, resting her elbows on her guitar, “Meow… hiss hiss.” Mack tossed her diary at Kyle, “Ow… okay… not in the mood, very touchy. I get it. You’ve been very…” Kyle paused and picked up her diary, closing the door and leaning against it before mimicking Mack’s voice, “’Stay away from me and I won’t toss everything I own at you’ lately. And not just toward Little Tommy Q.” Mack sighed and grabbed her diary back from Kyle, frowning. She set it down in front of her, strumming on her guitar again. They had been traveling all week. They had passed through many cities, but none of them were on Mack’s tour guide. The next stop was… well Mack didn’t really bloody care where the next stop was. She just knew it was coming up soon. The only thing Mack was counting down to was her concerts in Scotland. That was it. That was the highlight of her tour. Kyle was thumbing through her diary, “You’re working on your third album already?” he asked in a tone of incredulity. Mack nodded, he had helped her start to write one song, but Mack had lost inspiration for it so she never finished it. She would, though. “Jeeze, Mack, don’t you ever take a break?” Mack shook her head, humming as she strummed her guitar, focusing on the song that was trying to make its way out of her head at that exact moment.

Kyle sat down next to her, listening to it and then he harmonized with her. Mack looked up and smiled at him, starting to sing; “I feel my heart doesn’t fit cos it beats too many times, and it skips, running races through my head and then…” Kyle looked down at the diary in his hands and then sang with her, “I feel my hands don’t work, touching your skin in the dark, I was put there to watch not meant to get caught up in… close to your skin.” Mack smiled, closing her eyes and continuing to play, “Up and down on this merry go ‘round, take me up, put me back in one piece, but let me feel…” The bus hit a pot hole and Mack bounced slightly, losing her grip on her guitar. She sighed and rubbed her eyes, looking over at Kyle. “Sounds good, right?” she asked as she took her diary from him again. Kyle nodded and leaned back on the bed, “Sounds great. Actually, I don’t think I’ve heard anything this good since White Lines. And we all know who that was about…” Mack glared at Kyle and set her guitar back in its case, closing the top and latching it shut. Kyle raised his eyebrows in amusement. She was a testy little girl, wasn’t she? “Alright, so we won’t talk about Jack…” Kyle looked at her as she kicked her guitar case away from her to the wall across from the bed, “But let’s talk about this new guy…”

“What new guy?” She knew who he was talking about, but she didn’t know how he knew there was a new guy. “This new guy you dream about whenever you fall asleep… you know, you talk in your sleep?” Kyle gave her a funny look and then smiled at her, “You fell asleep up front today, remember? Don’t worry, Matt, Chuck, and Tommy were getting something from the little store we stopped at. I was the only one on the bus. So, who’s this Alex?” Mack’s heart stopped beating at the sound of his name. It was like, if she spoke his name… it was fine, but anyone else spoke it and her world just crumbled. She ran her fingers through her hair, silent. Kyle nodded his head, smiling, “Ahh… it is a guy. A special kind of guy. Boyfriend, beau, love interest?” Mack snorted and shook her head, “No. None of those. He’s just… someone I met on the way back from school.” Kyle grunted and wiggled around on the bed, “Mack’s got a crush… Mack’s got a crush…” Mack glared and reached behind her for the pillow, whacking Kyle in the face. Kyle laughed and took the pillow to hit her back.

“What’s he like?” Kyle stuffed the pillow underneath his head and Mack looked at him a moment before looking away. Could she even describe Alex? There were adjectives, sure, but none of them could do him justice “C’mon Rock Star, you’re a writer… well, in a sense, but you still have ways of explaining this guy to me. As the best friend I get a say in whether or not he’s right for you.” Mack laughed, “Yeah, since when did you become my best friend? Well, I guess… I could try. I mean… I don’t know how to explain him. He’s just… there’s…” “Don’t strain yourself, Mack.” Kyle smiled at her and she blushed, looking down at her hands, fiddling with her silver star ring. “He must be great to have you this way, I haven’t seen you this happy in awhile… well,” Mack looked up, “when you aren’t growling or throwing things at innocent passers by.” She chuckled and ran her fingers through her hair, “Sorry. I just… things are really frustrating. I’m trying to be relaxed for this tour, but I can’t because my stomach’s all in knots and I just… I miss Alex, yes… I said I missed him; and I’m trying to work on my third album that I have to produce on my own and it’s… hard.” Kyle sat up and patted her head, “Don’t worry, Mack, you’ll get through it – you always do.”

He hugged her awkwardly before bouncing out of the room again. Mack watched him go. That was a typical Kyle. He couldn’t stay in one place for too long and he was never good with serious situations. He was a good friend, though, and Mack was glad to have him on tour with her. She sighed and reached for her guitar again, opening the case and pulling it back out, starting to finish that song. “It’s nice to know someone believes in me…” Mack chewed on her lip and started to play again.

[Mackenzie Holden]

“I won’t deny, I faked it. Don’t wanna lie, I’m jaded. I wanna scream, when inside I’m breaking down. I’ve left the stone I was under. I’m running home, you won’t find her. She walks alone, all through this broken town.” Mack held onto the microphone as she sang, the lights blinding her eyes but she didn’t really notice it. Her mind was elsewhere. The music was just flowing around her and she was on autopilot. Tommy would kill her. “Going the wrong way down a one way street, where the feeling is criminal. Nobody helps me out when I bleed. Just look…look…looking for someone like me, where the feeling is mutual. Can anybody see what I see? ‘Cos I don’t see me.”

Mack wandered through the empty streets alone. Her head down, her arms crossed, her feet carrying her one after another. She wasn’t really paying any attention to where she was going. She could really care less where she was going. Anywhere was better than the concert hall or the tour bus. She wanted to be alone and alone she would be. She didn’t know why she wanted to be alone, but she had the feeling that it had something to do with the fact that she was contemplating whether or not to continue with her career in music after the tour. Mack sighed and ran her fingers through her hair. She had thought about this all before. She had thought about leaving G-Major, about quitting music professionally, about all of it. But she had never thought about actually doing it. Now, here she was, contemplating just leaving it all behind after the tour was over. Mack was trying to figure out where everything went wrong. Where she lost the love and the passion for recording music, but she couldn’t think of anything. It had just kind of fallen apart all on its own. Mack was so sick of things falling apart on their own!

“I blow away the ashes. I clear his face, to look at it. He stole my name, while I waited lost and found. I found a place, where I’ll keep you. ‘Cos I won’t live through you or beneath you. I walk this way, where these winds won’t bring me down.” She opened her eyes, taking the microphone off the stand and walking to the edge of the stage. She knelt down, smiling at the fans before standing again, breaking into the chorus. It was still all autopilot. She had made a decision. She had made a decision early that morning, and it was coming close to the time where she would have to follow through with her decision. “Going the wrong way down a one way street, where the feeling is criminal. Nobody helps me out when I bleed. Just look….look…looking for someone like me, where the feeling is mutual. Can anybody see what I see? ‘Cos I don’t see me. Don’t… let me be. Save it all. Don’t waste it on me. ‘Cos if I take a chance. And if I let you in. Could be my reckoning.”

She liked these hours. The hours where everything was new. The day was new. The sun hadn’t risen. The birds hadn’t chirped. The people of the city hadn’t woken up and destroyed the serenity of it. Mack loved these hours. She crossed her arms as she neared the pier, leaning against the fence that bordered the dock from the ocean. The wind teased her hair in front of her, causing her to push it behind her ear. She watched the sun rise slowly on the horizon. The only thing that had inhabited her mind for the past two weeks was Alex. Alex and this new thought that she should leave G-Major. The former was something she loved dwelling on. She missed him, she did, and she couldn’t wait to see him in Scotland. The latter was far worse. It gave her a headache and only made her wish that she could go back to thinking about the former. Not that she didn’t normally want to think about Alex, but sometimes she wondered if she was thinking about him too much. Mack smiled at the thought of him. There was no such thing as thinking about Alex too much.

“Going the wrong way down a one way street, where the feeling is criminal. Nobody helps me out when I bleed. Just look…look…looking for someone like me, where the feeling is mutual. Can anybody see what I see? ‘Cos I don’t see me.” Mack bowed her head as she slid the microphone back onto the stand. Her stomach was in knots. The band finished up the music. She was getting clammy. It was like she was nervous before going on stage. But she had finished her show. There was no reason to be nervous. Except… there was. There was a reason to be nervous.

Mack looked at the risen sun for a moment and then sighed, pushing herself away from the gate and turning to head back to where the tour bus was parked. She had made a decision. She had made the decision and she would follow through with the decision. She had to follow through with the decision. She couldn’t go through with this. She just couldn’t. Mack ran her fingers through her hair and left the pier. She could do this… she could do this… she could do this…

She could do this. Mack signed off and hurried off the stage. She could do this. She could do this. Mack rushed past the people who were busy doing back stage stuff. She could do this. She could do this. Mack pushed open the door to the sitting room where Tommy and Nelson sat. She could do this. She could do this. “I quit.” She did it.

[Mackenzie Holden]

The silence was completely unbearable. It was pressing down on Mack. Suffocating her. “I quit.” She repeated. Nelson looked at Tommy, hoping perhaps that Tommy would enlighten him on the joke. But Tommy knew there was none. There was no joke. “Are… you… you can’t be serious, Mackenzie!” Nelson stood from the chair he was sitting in and crossed his arms in what he must’ve thought was an intimidating way. Mack rolled her eyes and was about to explain to the dumb monkey man that yes, she was dead serious. However, Tommy got to it first. “She’s serious, Nelson.” Nelson turned on Tommy now, “You knew about this, Tom? You knew I was going to lose one of my best artists?” Mack had to fight back an amused chuckle. Nelson’s voice got eerily high when he was mad. “I can’t believe this! You… you can’t leave G-Major!” He had turned back around to Mack now, a vein throbbing in his forehead. Mack scrunched her nose. “You have a contract, Mack.” Tommy spoke calmly, still sitting in his chair. “You can’t just quit, Nelson’s right about that.”

“Oh, right, my contract. The contract that I read over before I signed. The contract that my mother’s lawyer read over before I signed. The contract that clearly states I’m only bound to G-Major while it’s under Georgia’s authorization. You mean, that contract?” Mack crossed her arms and raised her eyebrows, cocking her head to the side, in a rather challenging way. Nelson stammered and then turned to Tommy who gave a resigned shrug. Mack smirked. She could do this. She had quit. Well, she was quitting. “I know it’s unfair of me to just… quit in the middle of my tour. So, here’s what I will do. Are you listening, Nelson?” Mack sank into the seat Nelson had been sitting in and looked at him as he followed her lead and slowly sank into the nearest empty chair. “I’ll… finish up the tour as long… as I don’t feel like I’m being pressured to stay on with G-Major. If one person, one person at all, pushes me into staying with G-Major, I will walk off in the middle of the tour.” Nelson was still trying to regain his composure. How in the world did this guy ever get control of G-Major? It was like he didn’t know the first thing about business. “You know, Nelson, I think the rest of my time at G-Major is going to work out very well.”

“Diva Goddess!” Kyle called out to her ten minutes later as she boarded the bus with her guitar in hand. Mack raised her eyebrows as he hopped over the table and threw an arm around her shoulders, “I heard you quit! I heard you were quite the little Diva about it, too. Our little Mackie-girl’s all grown up!” He squeezed her shoulders and planted an air kiss on the side of her head. Mack scowled and pushed him away, “Get off me, Kyle!” Kyle laughed as he fell onto the small make-shift couch to their right. She collapsed beside him and sighed, “Yeah, I believe I was rather diva-like, but I had no other way of doing it, y’know? And I was right. I’m only legally bound to G-Major through Georgia and since she doesn’t own G-Major anymore…” Mack clicked her tongue and shrugged with an innocent smile on her face. Kyle grinned and shrugged, too; “I don’t want you to go, you know. Do you think you could just st…” Mack shook her head, “That violates my agreement with Nelson. I’m leaving. But if you try and talk me into staying, I won’t even finish the tour. So, don’t try, okay?” Kyle nodded sadly as the rest of the band boarded the bus. Tommy sat down across from her, gave her a stare, and then leaned his head back and closed his eyes. She had disappointed him. She couldn’t care less.