Getting ahold of Bristol was impossible, and her text messages were short but apologetic. When Annie took the stage that night, Bristol showed up, like clockwork, and sang as though nothing was different between them. She flirted a bit more with Bristol, and the crowd ate it up. Bristol waved and left the stage for Annie to finish. Thirty seconds later when Annie exited the stage, Bristol was nowhere to be seen. People stopped her to tell her it was a great performance, and by the time she got to the dressing rooms, security was standing guard outside Bristol’s. With determination, Annie walked up but was stopped short by Bruce.

“I’m sorry, Miss Foster, but I can’t allow you to interrupt right now. You’ll have to see her after the concert.”

“Really? Did she say that?”

“That came from her manager,” he said.

“Oh, okay. I understand. Can you tell her I stopped by?” Annie kept a smile on her face as though oblivious to the obvious shutdown.

“Sure thing, Miss Foster. I’ll pass along the information. Good singing up there.”

“Thanks, Bruce. See you later.”

Annie felt defeated. She knew Bristol was super busy, but she could’ve at least answered her texts with a little more than just sorry, can’t talk or I’ll see you onstage. For the first time this whole tour, Annie decided to skip Bristol’s concert. She wasn’t feeling it, and there was a pretty good chance that Bristol wouldn’t even miss her. She grabbed her purse, her pass to get back into the arena, and ordered a Lyft to take her to a popular restaurant.

“Hi. I’m Amber. Welcome to Detention. What can I get you to drink?” Judging by the incredibly large smile on the waitress’s face and how she couldn’t stop fidgeting, Annie figured she knew who Annie was.

“I’ll take an IPA and a cheeseburger, well done, with fries. Oh, and a side of mayonnaise.”

“Coming right up, Ms. Foster.”

Annie sat back in the booth and pulled up a game on her phone. She knew she was being childish by walking away tonight, but she needed to take a step back. Too many things were happening at once. Plus, she resented how Lizzy treated her. She didn’t know why her assistants put up with her crap. Annie wasn’t about to start in this business with people walking all over her and bossing her around. They might be the ones with the contacts, but she was the one with the talent. Even if she walked away now, she had a big following on her YouTube channel and could easily do that for a long time. The internet was able to put her in front of more people than a tour could.

“You’re Annie Foster, right? Can we get a photo with you?”