Playing the Game (19 page)

I expected it but my heart still dropped. I
kept my chin up and turned to Richard. A frown marred his weathered
face as he considered us carefully.

“
Marissa has a point –
several actually. But I believe in talent and the ability to adapt
and change. I think that is the purpose for this competition – to
see who has what it takes to bend with the industry. My vote is for
Aubrey.”

My jaw dropped as he gave me the tiniest
smile. He nodded briefly and arranged his face into his stern
demeanor.

The host returned to say goodbye to Gary. No
amount of audience voting would save him with only one judge
vote.

Samantha moved closer to me and took my
hand. I wanted to roll my eyes and snatch my hand back but I
didn’t. I played her little game, giving her a huge, fake
smile.

A stage hand rushed to the host and handed
him an envelope. He tore it open, read the words, and then
smiled.

“
The audience has decided
that our next
American Star
is…” of course he paused for dramatic effect. He
spun to us and pointed at Samantha. “Samantha Roper!”

She released my hand to press her own onto
her chest as she gasped. She turned to me, shock evident in her
eyes and I impulsively hugged her. She returned it, warmly, and
stumbled away to the host. I took a few careful steps backwards
until a stage hand directed me backstage.

I sank to a chair as relief washed over me,
mixed with a dab of disappointment.

Mom
, I thought with a huge helping of guilt. She'd be watching
at home, more than likely very upset. I wondered what I would say
to comfort her.

“
Miss Quinn?” a voice
called over my shoulder. Rising to my feet, I faced a fortyish man
with warm blue eyes and sandy brown hair graying at the temples.
“Could I have a word with you?”

“
Sure,” I said, still
slightly numb.

“
My name is Jonathan
Spitzer. I own Spitz Records here in Indianapolis. Perhaps you’ve
heard of us?”

Heard of him? Of course I had. His company
was small but he’d managed to produce a couple of successful acts
in the past few years.

“
Yes, I have. It’s nice to
meet you, sir.”

“
Please, call me Jon,” he
said as he handed me a card. “I’m very interested in you and to be
honest, relieved that you didn’t win. You’d have been offered
contracts with much bigger names.” He smiled. “Sorry, I’m getting
ahead of myself. I was wondering if you’d be interested in meeting
with me next week? I’d like to offer you a contract with my
company.”

Over his shoulder I spotted my family and
friends, various degrees of sorrow and pride on their faces. But I
found Jess’s eyes, knowing I’d need his strength the most.

My heart drummed a frantic beat in my chest.
“Um…thank you very much, but I’m not sure if I’m really
interested.”

Chapter Fifteen

A hush swept over the room as my family and
friends stared, slack-jawed, at me. The card Jon handed me trembled
in my fingers as I read it again and again, trying to form the
words in my heart.

“
I understand that you may
be a little disappointed by the outcome of the show,” Jon
continued. “But you don’t have to make a decision tonight. Just
call me Monday morning and we’ll set up a time so we can
talk.”

I nodded, not sure what to say. Besides, it
wouldn’t hurt to talk with the man. He smiled at my onlookers as he
exited. Gwen took that opportunity to throw her arms around me,
pulling me tight against her body.

“
I’m sorry you didn’t
win,” she said.

“
No, really, it’s okay,” I
told her with a tight smile. And it really was. “I’m fine with
it.”

“
I know you are,” Dad said
with a sorrowful grin. “But it’s disheartening all the same. You
worked so hard.”

“
Yes, I did,” I said as I
pushed away from my sister. “And I could still get a record
contract out of the deal. But to be honest, I don’t know if that’s
what I want.”

Jess folded his arms over his chest, his
lips curled in a knowing smirk. “Let’s get out of here, huh?”

I wanted to throw my arms around him but I
didn’t dare in front of everyone. I just nodded and shoved the
contents of my locker into a bag while the others discussed what we
should do.

“
If you don’t mind, I’m
not up for going out tonight,” I said. I looked at Jess. “Maybe you
could just take me home?”

He inclined his head.

Dad kissed my cheek. “See you at home,
then.” He tugged on Gwen’s elbow as she continued to gape at me.
“Let’s run through a drive-thru, huh? Let your sister deal with
this her own way.”

I watched the others leave, thanking them
for coming, and allowed Jess to take my hand. He led me to his
monstrous truck and opened the door for me. Once he climbed in the
other side, he shoved the key in the ignition but didn’t start
it.

“
What’s the
deal?”

I shrugged as I looked out the window. “I
don’t know if I’m ready to sign some kind of contract.”

“
This doesn’t have
anything to do with us, does it?” he asked warily.

“
No,” I snorted. “The
world doesn’t revolve around you, Jess Rivers.”

He laughed as he started the truck.
“Sometimes.”

“
Please,” I said, a hint
of a smile on my lips.

“
What’s the plan now?” he
asked as he urged his truck out of the parking lot and into the
light traffic.

“
I’m not totally sure. I
guess I’ll go home to make peace with my mother and go from there.”
I didn’t know if I was ready to share my plans with him yet. I
needed to make my mother understand first.

“
Good luck with that,” he
chortled.

“
Thanks.”

He reached over the armrest and found my
hand. “She’ll be fine with whatever you want to do, Aubrey. She has
to be. You’re her child and she loves you.”

“
I know,” I whispered in
the dark. I watched as the lamp posts zoomed past my window and
wondered what I would say to make her believe me. What could I say?
“She’s going to be disappointed.”

“
She’ll get over it,” Jess
said in a firm tone. “It’s your life, not hers.”

That’s the
problem
, I wanted to say. But I didn’t. I
kept my mouth closed and just tried to enjoy being with
him.

He parked in my drive and turned to me. “Are
you going to tell her about us?”

“
Yes,” I said, very sure
of my answer. I loved Jess and it was time she understood that. “I
will. Tonight.”

He pursed his lips. “It’s not going to be an
easy night for you or her. Call me if you need me. I’ll come get
you.”

My heart melted at his tenderness. It was a
side of him I hadn’t seen in years. “I will. Thanks.”

He kissed me softly before I jumped out of
his truck and bounded to the front door. My father sat in his
chair, catching up on the basketball playoff scores, fast food bag
at his feet. He flashed a grim smile.

“
You and Jess work things
out?”

“
Yes, Daddy,” I said as I
sat on the arm of the chair. “Where’s Mom?”

“
In her room.”

I nodded, kissed the top of his head, and
ran upstairs. My parents’ door was closed but I could see a light
under it. I knocked softly, hoping she wouldn’t ignore it. She
did.

“
Mom,” I called, knocking
again. “Please let me in. We need to talk.”

Nothing. With a groan, I banged my head
lightly on her door. I twisted the knob and was surprised to find
it unlocked. I walked in, slowly, giving her a chance to kick me
out if she wanted, and approached the bed. She was laying there,
eyes trained on the television perched atop a TV stand.

“
Can we talk?”

“
What’s there to say,
Aubrey?” she asked as her eyes left the screen to scrutinize me.
“You got what you wanted. All my hard work went straight down the
drain.”

“
No, it didn’t,” I
protested. “I was offered a contract tonight.”

Wrong words to say. My mother’s eyes
brightened as she sat up and reached for me. “Really? From
who?”

“
A local guy. Spitz
Records.”

“
Oh, Aubrey!” she
exclaimed as she leapt from the bed to take me in her arms. “This
is wonderful!”

“
I don’t know if I’m going
to take it, Mom,” I said.

She stopped cold as if her veins iced over
in an instant. “And why not? Is this because of that horrid Jess
Rivers?”

“
No,” I said, defensive.
“Not at all. Jess wants me to do what makes me happy.”

“
So you are seeing him,”
she said, her tone accusatory. “I don’t know why you want to
subject yourself to that kind of heartbreak again. He’s no good for
you. He upset you terribly in high school and he’ll do it
again.”

“
He will not,” I defended.
“Jess loves me and I love him.”

“
Sure, he’ll tell you
that,” she said. “He’ll say anything to get you in his
bed.”

I groaned. “Oh, Mother. Jess isn’t like
that.”

“
How do you
know?”

“
How do you?” I yelled.
“You know nothing about him. You’re prepared to say or believe
anything about him to keep me away from him. Well it’s not going to
work. I’m going to be with him, no matter if you approve or
not.”

Her eyes narrowed, her lips forming a hard
line. She clenched her hands into tight fists next to her side.
“You’ll throw everything I’ve ever done for you away for a man that
hurt you once? He’s more important than your own flesh and
blood?”

“
No,” I said, softening my
voice. “I’m not throwing anything away.”

“
You just said you’re not
going to take the recording contract.”

“
Not because of Jess,” I
said, anger and fear intermingling in my chest. “Because I don’t
know if that’s what I want right now.”

She drew in a haggard breath and stiffened
her spine. “And you’re sure you want Jess?”

“
Yes, I am,” I said with
no hint of a smile. Why couldn’t she see that I was in love? Wasn’t
she, as my mother, supposed to be happy for me? Weren’t we supposed
to sit on her bed and talk and laugh like a couple of teenagers?
Wasn’t she supposed to tease me and start making wedding plans?
Weren’t we supposed to giggle as I told her how he kissed me
goodbye?

“
You’d rather have him
than a career.” It wasn’t a question. With a huff, she turned away.
“Well, fine, go to your Jess Rivers. And when he tires of you don’t
come back here and beg me to help you become a star.”

“
Stop it, Mother,” I
ordered. “This isn’t about Jess. This is about your failures. This
is about how you want me to be what you never could be.”

I wanted to pull the words back as soon as
they left my mouth but it was much too late. She blanched and
trembled. I reached for her but she slapped my hand.

“
Fine, Aubrey Rose,” she
whispered. “Go now. Go be with Jess. Go live this life you’re so
anxious to live.”

“
What are you saying,
Mother?” I asked. I didn’t like the hard tone of my voice. It
startled me.

“
I’m saying go, be with
Jess. You’ve been whining about how you’re an adult now. Go live
your life. Get out.”

I staggered backwards toward the door. My
mother was kicking me out? I couldn’t live here anymore?

“
You want me to leave the
house? Move out?” I took a deep breath. “You want me to choose
between my family and my boyfriend?”

“
You’ve already chosen,”
she said in a quiet voice. She crawled back on her bed and turned
off the bedside lamp.

My back pressed against
the door as I struggled for breath. I couldn’t believe this was
happening. She would really throw me out of the house, my
home
, just because she
didn’t approve of Jess?

No
, my mind reassured me.
But that is
part of the reason. You know the rest
.

I sighed, leaving as quietly as I could. I
trudged down the hall to my own room and sat on the edge of my bed.
What was I supposed to do now? Did she expect me to pack and
leave?

A lump formed in my throat and I knew the
tears weren’t far behind. I just couldn’t be bothered with them at
the moment. I had other things to worry about. I eyed my closet
door and wondered if I should be packing. My mind was moving at
half speed and my heart was numb. What should I do?

Standing, I paced.

Okay, so maybe Mom was being a little harsh
at the moment. Surely she would change her mind in the morning.
Right?

I decided to ask my dad. Maybe he had some
secret insight into the workings of my mother’s head. I certainly
had no idea. Plus, my mind couldn’t quite grasp the situation.

“
Dad,” I said, nibbling on
my lip as I entered the living room. “Um…”

“
What’s the problem,
honey?” he asked, lifting his eyes from the TV.

I filled him in on the conversation I’d just
had with my mother. His face grew darker and darker with each word
I spoke. Finally, I plopped to the sofa and slumped my
shoulders.

“
So I don’t know what to
do.”