“It shows,” Bristol said. Lizzy pointed to her watch. “And I need to get ready for my set. Have a good time. Annie, thank you so much. You rocked tonight.” Annie’s face lit up with the pure joy of doing what she loved. Bristol remembered when she felt butterflies before each concert, when stepping onstage meant everything to her. It had been too long since she had such an uncomplicated feeling.

* * *

Holding the final note at the end of the show always gave Bristol a rush. Onstage, she loved the attention. It empowered her and filled her soul with love. People were happy and having the time of their lives. She just wished once she stepped offstage, she could turn off the fame and just be a regular person.

“Good night, Denver! You’re amazing!” She waved and skipped offstage, knowing that in about thirty seconds, she would be back to sing her latest smash hit “Forever.” She would end the encore with her very first number-one song from when she was sixteen. Over a decade later her fans still loved it.

Lizzy handed her a towel to dab the sweat off her face and wipe it off her neck. She downed an entire bottle of water and jogged back to the microphone. She was singing the song a cappella. Last week, when somebody in the band accidentally kicked a cable loose from the sound system, Bristol sang the song a cappella, and it was a smash. Reviews of that concert, as well as social media blasts, revived the song, and it found its way back to the top one hundred.

Never say never

I’ll love you always and forever.

It was a sad song that Bristol wrote after her first girlfriend dumped her, but it wasn’t about their brutal breakup. Sterling was the daughter of Top Shelf Records president, Tyson Mayfield, and made it a point to meet all up-and-coming talent. Bristol thought the nineteen-year-old was sophisticated and fun. When they kissed for the first time, Bristol was deliriously happy. Her life was snowballing into perfection. She was cutting tracks for a debut album that she was assured was going to take the world by storm. She had a girlfriend who was encouraging and beautiful and gave her inspiration. They dated for three months before Bristol found out Sterling was sleeping with the lead singer of The Red Zone. It wouldn’t have been so bad if she hadn’t found out by seeing it on Sterling’s Instagram. When Bristol confronted her, Sterling said she was a delusional kid. Their relationship had never meant anything to Sterling. Bristol was crushed.