On the heels of their breakup, her parents informed her they were divorcing. Her strong foundation crumbled, so she threw herself into writing songs. Emotions that were bottled up because of her parents’ nasty divorce poured out onto the page, and five songs made it onto her debut album, including “Forever.” People could relate to it with any kind of heartache.

“Thank you so much for coming tonight. Be safe out there!” She waved and jogged off the stage for the last time.

“Great concert, Bristol!” somebody yelled from behind the curtain.

She waved and pushed her way through the crew backstage. Her security team flanked her and got her safely to her dressing room. She kept her head down, and once she was behind closed doors, she exhaled deeply. If there was only a way to tune out everyone after each concert, she wouldn’t feel so overwhelmed.

She plopped onto the couch and picked at the fruit and vegetable tray on the coffee table. Lizzy would be in soon with a recap, but the first twenty minutes belonged to Bristol alone. It was one of her demands. She needed the quiet after the storm of a two-hour concert. Sneaking out early to get to the hotel was impossible, as thirty thousand people were trying to leave the venue at the same time. She had an hour before traffic thinned enough for them to break free.

Plus, so many people hung around back to get a glimpse of her getting onto the tour bus. She was always on alert when out in public, even if it was just for thirty seconds. Her Instagram feed was nothing but pictures of the concert. It made her smile. She scowled at the knock at the door but didn’t make a move to answer it.

“I know I’m early, but I talked to Annie.” Lizzy’s voice was full of excitement.

Bristol couldn’t help but smile. That meant Annie was on board with her idea of finishing out the tour. She grabbed a slice of apple and sat back on the couch. “Come in.”

“Great job tonight.” Lizzy beamed. That was one of the good things about your manager being your friend. They forgave easily.

“Thanks. It felt like a great show. Fast Cars and Annie did a wonderful job.”

Lizzy sat down and grabbed a few grapes off the tray. “No glitches, no issues. Only one person got arrested for disorderly conduct. Not bad considering you had a sold-out stadium.”

Bristol wasn’t in the mood for small talk. She wanted to hear about Annie. “How did you get Annie to commit so quickly?”

“Her sister answered for her after agreeing to watch her cat. Apparently, Annie’s a jingle writer and can work remotely.” Lizzy laughed. “I think she was in shock. She went from coffee-shop musician to opening for the largest pop superstar in a day. Sometimes it’s about who you know.”