Home Again (13 page)

“I love you, East.”

“I love you, too, babe.”

For once, I wasn’t awakened by my mother’s incessant knocking on my door, but by the ringing of my phone… knocking me out of a perfect memory. I looked at my phone and saw that the call was from Devin. Not more than a second after, he sent me a text.

Devin:
Call me today. We need to talk about a radio interview.

I groaned. My days here were short, and oddly, I wouldn’t only miss Easton... I would miss my parents—even the way my mom hounded me about breakfast—and I’d miss Becks, and her mom, and Easton’s mom. I’d miss having fun at the lake and going to movies at the park.

I was going to miss being home.

For eighteen years, I dreamed about getting out of here, and now? Now, I didn’t want to go.
Only twelve days
. I threw my hair up in a messy ponytail and walked downstairs.

“Hey, Mom,” I said, grabbing an apple from the fruit dish. “Dad.”

They both turned to me, expressions serious, and I knew I just walked in on them fighting. I glanced around the kitchen, taking notice that my mom hadn’t made breakfast this morning. I checked the clock on the wall. Ten thirty.
She even let me sleep in.
“What’s going on?” I asked.

Mom gave Dad a hard look. He grumbled under his breath, and then turned to me. “Sit down, honey.”

I didn’t like the sound of this. I looked around for John, who appeared to be nowhere. “Why?”

“We have something to tell you, sweetie.” Mom looked down at the floor.

Though I really did not want to, I sat down, staring up at them expectantly. “Okay.”

Dad rubbed his neck, nervously. “Sometimes, when people grow up, they grow apart. They end up liking different things, or wanting different things, honey.”

I wasn’t hearing this. This couldn’t be what I thought it was. It couldn’t.

“Your mom and I are getting a divorce.”

“You’re fucking kidding, right?”

“Aisley Marie, watch your mouth,” Mom scolded me automatically.

I ignored her. “You guys seemed normal the whole time I’ve been home. Is this some kind of joke?”

“No, honey,” Mom said softly. “We didn’t know if we should tell you, since we know you’ve been going through a lot.”

“Why? Don’t you love each other?”

“It’s not that simple,” Dad stated.

“I’m moving out when you go back on your tour, sweetie. I’m getting an apartment in town,” Mom said.

“But you don’t even have a job!” This was unbelievable. Tears welled up behind my eyes. “You’ve been married for twenty five years!” People who were married for twenty-five years didn’t get divorced—did they?

“I got a job a couple weeks ago. I’m working at the library.”

“The library?” I gave her a pointed look. “You guys aren’t even going to try and work things out?”

Dad pinched the bridge of his nose. “Sweetie, we’ve tried. We’ve been to counseling. This wasn’t something that happened overnight—it was a long time coming.”

“I can’t believe this!” I crossed my arms over my chest. I looked over at my mother. She was trying really hard not to cry. “So what? You just grew apart? I don’t buy that for a second!”

“Aisley—honey—please understand—”

“No.” I cut her off. “I can’t understand how there’s no way you can work this out.”

“I met someone else,” Dad mumbled, looking at the floor, no doubt in shame.

I looked at my mother, who was trying to mask her heartbreak. Un-fucking-believable. “Mom?”

She nodded.

I shook my head. “I’m out of here.”

“Aisley, wait—”

I didn’t stick around to hear anything more. I hurried through the living room and out the door. Instinctively, I started walking in the direction of Easton’s house. I could hear footsteps behind me, but I didn’t have to turn around to know whom they belonged to. “Sometimes a little alone time is nice.”

“Yeah, well, you don’t get that luxury, kid.” John picked up his stride to catch up.

I scowled at him.

At least East only lived a few blocks away.

I knocked on his door ferociously. I was so angry with my parents, well, my dad mostly. How could he cheat on my mom? Didn’t he love her at all?

The door swung open wide. “Aisley—what’s wrong?”

I sunk down on his porch steps without a word, and he joined me. “My parents are getting a divorce.”

“I’m sorry,” he said throwing an arm around my shoulder.

“My dad cheated! Can you believe this, East? He wants to be with someone else!”

He just shook his head, knowing I had more to say.

“I used to think he was this great man, and now? What am I supposed to think?” I buried my face in my hands.

“You’re supposed to think he’s human,” East said quietly. “People fuck up. We all make mistakes.”

“I know you’re right, but I won’t forgive him for this.”

“Come on, haven’t you done something you regret?”

“That’s the thing, though—he doesn’t! If he did they would be working it out!” I looked up at him. “Twenty five years they were together. That should mean
something.
”

“Yeah, it should.” He nodded. “I’m not saying it shouldn’t. I’m just saying you only have one father. Don’t let this ruin your relationship with him.”

I felt bad for Easton. He would do anything for even just one more argument with his dad, and I couldn’t even look at mine.

My mother came walking up the driveway. “Hello Easton, can I talk to my daughter for a second?”

He nodded and kissed the side of my head. “I’ll be inside, okay?”

“Okay.”

When the door slammed behind him, Mom sat down next to me. “I know your upset, honey.”

“How could he do this to you?”

She shrugged, and started to shed a few tears.

“This was why you were upset the other day, wasn’t it?”

She nodded. “It happened about six months ago. Someone he met at work. I should have known. He was staying late, working Saturdays. I was just so caught up in being the perfect housewife that I didn’t notice how distant he was becoming.”

I wiped away a tear that escaped. “I’m so sorry, Mom.”

“Me, too. I loved your father, so much. My entire adult life was spent trying to keep him happy. Well, that, and raise you.”

“How did you find out?” I asked.

“He got a text one day, and I happened to read it. When I asked him about it, he told me everything. We went to counseling, but only because I begged him. His heart was already somewhere else.”

“I’m just so mad at him.”

“Me, too,” she admitted. “But, I’ve had time to come to terms with it. When I did that, I felt a lot better. Some days are still hard though, honey.”

“Let me help you, Mom. I can give you some money, or buy you a house. Just tell me what you need.”

“Sweetie, the only thing I need—is for my daughter to be happy—and healthy.”

“But how are you going to afford everything on your own?”

“I’ll manage.” She gave me a stern look. “I’m supposed to take care of you, not the other way around.”

I wanted to argue, but once my mother’s mind was made up, there was no talking her out of it.

“I’m so proud of you, Aisley, you know that?” She wrapped her arms around me and hugged me close. “You chased your dreams, fearlessly. I wish I were more like you, honey.”

I started to cry.

“Do you remember when you asked me why I didn’t want a career when you were younger?”

I sniffed. “Yeah.”

“When I told you I was happy with being a housewife and mother, I meant it. But, now, my one big regret is not being anything else. It’s the worst feeling in the world when you depend on someone else so much that you don’t know what to do when they leave.”

“Mom, I’m so sorry.”

“It’s not your fault. Just don’t take what you have for granted. It’s a good thing to know you don’t need to rely on someone else.” She kissed the side of my head. “And I know you’re mad at your dad, but he loves you so much. I hope you can forgive him.”

After she walked away, all I could think about was how I never wanted to end up like that. And for a split second, I almost wanted to throw my entire career away just to be with a boy. Just to be with East. But I couldn’t do that. I had to keep following my dream. I had to leave East behind again, no matter how much it would hurt.

If it hurt like hell last time, it would damn near kill me this time.

***

I hadn’t seen Dad since I yelled at him. When I got home the night before he was in bed, and when I got up this morning he had already left. That was probably for the best. I wasn’t ready to forgive him yet.

My phone started to ring. When I called Devin back yesterday, he told me a radio show in Seattle would be calling for an interview. This must be it. I answered, and I was then placed on hold, waiting for the DJ’s to be ready for me. Phone interviews always weirded me out. I preferred talking to someone in person, rather than through a telephone. Finally, I heard one of the hosts come on the line.

“With us now is superstar Aisley Carter. She’ll be playing live at the Tacoma Dome one week from today, so stay tuned and we’ll let you know how to win tickets. Aisley, how are you doing?”

“I’m great, how about you?”

“We’re doing great. We hear you’ve been on vacation for the last few months, how’s that been?”

I cringed.
Vacation.
“Yes, I’ve actually been visiting my parents for the last couple months.”

“You’re from here, am I right?”

“Yes.” I leaned back against the couch cushion. “Born and raised.”

“Have you got to do anything touristy since you’ve been home?”

“Um, no. You know, I’ve lived here my whole life and have only been to the Space Needle once, so that’s about as touristy as I get.” I laughed.

He laughed. “Fair enough. We have some YouTube footage from a show you put on a few weeks ago. That clip went viral almost instantly. Was that planned?”

“That was pretty insane.” I laughed. “Definitely not planned. We were actually celebrating my friend’s birthday, and it just kind of happened.”

“So you do birthday parties now?” he joked.

“Ha, apparently.”

“Have you found that you’ve been recognized more?”

I shrugged. “People mostly leave me alone. I’ve had the odd fan come up and chat with me, or old friends from school. Nothing too wild.”

“Sounds like the perfect escape from the Hollywood life.”

“It’s definitely different,” I agreed.

“So you had a lot of media attention before your time off. There was a lot of talk of drug abuse, partying too much, and eating disorders. Is there any truth to any of it? Or was it simply exhaustion that caused all those cancelled tour dates?”

I grimaced. Devin told me they weren’t allowed to ask about that. So much for that. “You know, I think when something like this happens, people like to assume the worst. When you’re on the road for months at a time with no break, it gets rough.” I tried to work my way around the question. “People don’t realize that there is more work involved than just the performance. It’s really tiring.”

“So then it was just exhaustion?”

“I’m not addicted to drugs, if that’s what everyone is thinking,” I joked. “And I’ve never been much of a partier.”
But, please don’t ask me about the eating disorder again.

“That’s good to know. Many young girls look up to you. There are so many young celebrities nowadays being sucked into a vicious cycle. What are your thoughts on that?”

“I don’t really know. I mean, for me, those things aren’t worth losing what I’ve worked hard for. I love preforming, and I love what I do. I think it’s sad to see some of these kids, who used to love it, too, and then throw it away. I think Ed Sheeran said it best when he said something about not being able to last if you’re smokin’ on a crack pipe.” I laughed.

“Quoting Ed Sheeran? Big fan?”

“He’s great. Never met the guy, but I dig his stuff.”

“Any hope for a duet?”

“I would be so honored,” I joked. “But, really, you never know what the future holds, that’s for sure.”

“So you’re back on tour in a week. Excited, nervous?”

“Both. It’s going to be great being back in Seattle. This is the place where my music started taking off, so every time I get to play here I’m grateful.”

“Well, thanks for joining us today, Aisley. Can’t wait to see you live next Friday.”

“Thanks.” I hung up, hoping Devin wouldn’t call and bitch me out about the interview. He would though, that I could count on.

“Wanna get some lunch?” John asked, from his seat on the recliner.

I nodded. “Um, yeah. I guess,”

“Don’t sound too excited,” he said sarcastically. John got up and stretched his arms.

I followed suit. “Who gets excited about lunch?”

He shrugged. “Me. I’m hungry. I don’t suppose we can have Applebee’s today?”

I narrowed my eyes at him. “You don’t want Applebee’s, John.”

He smirked. “You townsfolk and your aversion to Applebee’s. I just don’t get it.”

I gave him a pat on the back. “You wouldn’t understand, big guy.” As I started for the front door, it swung open and Dad walked in. He was the last person I wanted to see right now. Well, maybe not the
last
, but close. I still had no idea what to say to him.

If I said the first thing on my mind, it would have been,
‘I hate you.’
But no matter how angry I was, I couldn’t say
that
to him.

“Ais, you’re here.” The relief was evident in his tone. “I want to talk to you.”

“I’m just going to get some food, can we talk later?” I said shortly.

“Okay. I love you, Aisley.”

I huffed past him without looking him in the eye. John followed behind me. “Come on, let’s walk.”

The walking would help me think straight. It would help me clear my thoughts. I didn’t want to leave things with my Dad this badly. But, I also didn’t want to leave at all. Some things just are what they are. I took out my phone and sent Easton a text.