“Thank you to DJ Spinz Madness.” Bristol pointed to him at the back of the stage. He waved to the crowd. “And thank you, X-Treem.” They waved and trotted offstage. Bristol introduced everyone, until it was just Bristol and her onstage. Annie wanted to cry. Bristol already had tears in her eyes. She pulled Annie into a hug and squeezed her. For a tiny moment, it felt like they were the only ones up there. Bristol’s body felt familiar against hers, and Annie leaned into her warmth. Bristol pulled away first. “And Annie Foster. Thank you for finishing out the tour with us.” She held up Annie’s hand high above their heads as though she’d just won a sporting match. Annie waved. She was sad when she had to drop Bristol’s hand to leave the stage so Bristol could finish her encore.

“Good night, Los Angeles. I’m home now, and I hope to see you around.”

Bristol dropped the microphone onto the stage, something Annie had never seen her do, and softly jogged backstage. Annie got pushed back into the crowd as people swarmed Bristol, congratulating her on a great concert. Bruce and three of his henchmen whisked her away.

“Hey, the afterparty is at The Cliffs. Do you need a ride?” Willow asked.

Annie had no plans. She had luggage on the bus and nowhere to put it. She tamped down the panic. “Oh, no. I’ve got a few things to wrap up here. I’ll head there when I’m done. Thanks, though. I’ll see you there.” Annie grabbed her guitar and made her way back to her dressing room. For the first time in a long time, she felt lost. She closed the door, pulled up hotels around the airport on her phone, and booked two nights at the Hilton. Finding a Lyft with everyone leaving was going to be difficult. Better to let the traffic die down. She made her way to the tour buses and had security pull her two bags. She wasn’t the only one grabbing their things. She recognized one of Lizzy’s assistants, who smiled at her once and avoided eye contact after that. She ordered a Lyft and hung around the bus until her driver was close. She clumsily made her way over, rolling two suitcases in front of her and balancing her guitar on top of the bigger one.

“Is this everything?” he asked.