Depression's End, Young Love's Start

Chapter 4

"You wasted your talent as a singer. You should've been an actress." Brandon stared at my deathly pale face and felt not a single ounce of pity.

His tone only grew sharper, more mocking. "If you're gonna fake being sick, at least commit. Vitamins? Really? You think I'm that dumb?"

He flung the bottle aside.

It hit the table with a heavy thud.

That single sound landed in my chest like a punch to the gut.

"I... I was taking the real meds before. I just ran out..." I could barely catch my breath.

My words came out messy and scattered, like a kid fumbling for an excuse. "With the tour going on right now, I wanted to be at my best for the fans..."

I tugged at my hair without even realizing it.

When my depression was bad, I was on seven or eight different pills a day. They made me sleepy all the time, and I couldn't focus on anything.

I'd been in so much pain, so I'd swapped them out on impulse.

Brandon stared at me with cold eyes for a long beat. Then he grabbed his jacket and headed for the door without a word.

I grabbed his arm, my eyes pleading. "Brandon, don't go."

Brandon looked down at me.

Tears streaked my pale face. I looked fragile, desperate, and scared to push him away.

Brandon closed his eyes for a second. Then he pulled his arm free, opened the door, and walked out.

The door slammed shut behind him.

I crumpled to the floor, my whole body shaking so hard I couldn't stop it.

I don't know how much time passed. Then the doorbell rang.

A spark of hope flared in my eyes. I stumbled to the door as fast as I could.

When I pulled it open, it wasn't Brandon. It was his assistant, Harry.

Harry held out a small bag to me. "Abigail, Brandon sent these over. He said... stop being so childish about this."

After Harry left, I stared at the pills for a second. Then I twisted off the cap and stuffed pill after pill into my mouth.

I swallowed them down, tears burning the back of my throat.

*****

Show after show came and went.

The final stop was in Dellworth City.

Right before the show started, Fiona popped up out of nowhere and blocked my way.

She grabbed my hands and begged. "Abigail, you have to save me. Those loan sharks said they'll chop my hand off if I don't pay up. Help me this one time, I swear I'll never gamble again."

My chest tightened. I closed my eyes for a beat, then opened them and pulled my hands away.

I said, "The year I debuted, you owed eight million dollars. I worked day and night to pay it off for you. And the very next day, you ran off to Alden City. At the peak of my career, you vanished after owing tens of millions of dollars. Those thugs camped outside my company every day with signs and paint. I still paid every last cent for you."

"And what did you do? You went straight back to the casino, bragging about how your superstar daughter had endless money. Brands dropped me over the bad press. My label froze all my projects..." I swallowed back the lump in my throat. "Mom. I'm not giving you another dime."

The second I finished speaking, a sharp slap cracked across my cheek.

Fiona's pitiful act vanished in an instant. Her face twisted with rage.

She swung her purse at me and screamed every insult she could think of. "Think you're too big a star for your own mom now? If I hadn't raised you, you'd be waiting tables at some diner. You think you'd be this fancy, famous singer without me?"

I raised my arms to shield myself. The sharp metal hardware on her bag sliced my arm open.

But the physical pain was nothing next to the ache in my chest.

Security rushed over and pulled her away.

Fiona finally stopped fighting, seething. Before she left, she spat a curse at me. "You ungrateful waste. You'll get what's coming to you. I hope you die a horrible, broken death."

The cruelty of a mother cursing her own daughter sent a cold chill through everyone there.

Isaac looked worried. He opened his mouth to say something, then hesitated. "Abigail, the show's about to start..."

I clenched my fists and forced a smile. "I'm fine. Let's get hair and makeup started. I want this last show to be perfect."

The show went on as planned. The massive arena hummed with energy for over two hours.

During intermission, I looked out at the sea of fans, and a sudden thought popped into my head.

I picked up the mic. "Today is the final show of the Old Dreams tour. When Old Dreams ends, it means closing the book on the past. The good, the bad—all of it. It's a chance to start over. And on a day this important, I wanted to share it with the most important person in my life."

Everyone thought I was going to announce my relationship at the final show.

The crowd's deafening cheers swelled into a roar. Then they slowly fell quiet as the big screen showed me lifting my phone to dial.

The whole arena went silent. All anyone could hear was the ringing from my phone.

In front of thousands of people, it rang and rang.

Then it went to voicemail with no answer.

My eyes burned red.

I stood there clutching the mic, totally lost.

"Abigail, you've got us!" A fan's voice rang out suddenly.

"Abigail! Abigail! Abigail!"

The entire arena chanted my name in unison, loud and steady.

I smiled again. "I'm always telling you guys to stay strong on my radio show, but the truth is, I'm terrible at relationships, too. I wanted so badly to build a life with someone. But you can't force someone to love you back. So if that's how it is... the best we can do is love ourselves. This last song is for all of you."

I started to sing. "Fate drifts off, nowhere to be found. Even watching won't bring it back..."

My rough, hoarse voice filled the arena as the stage lift carried me higher and higher.

When the last note faded, I opened my eyes.

The arena was packed with thousands of people, but I felt completely alone.

It felt like a thick fog separated me from everything—a wall no one else could see.

I closed my eyes and took a step off the lift.

The cheers turned to screams in a split second.

In front of thousands of horrified eyes, I fell through the air.