She switched her guitar for a headset microphone and quickly but carefully clipped it against her ear. It amazed her that something so tiny could produce such a loud sound. She gave the signal to her band to start the next song and got into position. The dance was sweet but turned flirty at the end. She was ramping the fans up for the devil part of her concert. Tonight, she wasn’t going to pull Annie onstage. She wasn’t feeling it. She focused on her footwork. The words flowed effortlessly from her lips. Her music was in her soul. That wasn’t the hard part. Keeping up with her dancers on very little sleep or food was hard.

Lizzy was waiting when Bristol came offstage. “Listen to how much they love you,” she yelled. She handed Bristol a cold water and a towel.

Bristol nodded. She was saving her voice for the encore. She had two songs left, and her throat was feeling scratchy.

Lizzy always knew the signs. “I’ll have a hot tea waiting for you in your dressing room. Save some of that for tomorrow.”

Bristol saluted her and jaunted up the steps back onstage. Her band members were close on her heels. They finished the set quickly, and Bristol wished everyone a safe night. She marched back to her suite and peeled off her drenched clothes. A shower would have to wait. Tonight, she was going to her house. It was an hour drive, but she needed to feel something comforting. She wanted to wake up in her own bed and know that at any moment her mother would pop in. Her family would be at the concert tomorrow night. Her brother was getting home from his internship tonight. She slipped into workout pants and a T-shirt. Security was there to get her to the limo, where two security cars would escort her away from the venue.

“Bristol! Bristol, wait!”

She heard Sterling’s voice but pretended not to. Her detail put space between them and got her safely into the limo. She didn’t see Annie, but everything was a blur. Fans who managed to slip through unsecured areas were pressed flat against the limo banging on the windows. Bristol shrank back in her seat.

“We’ll be out of here in a minute, Ms. Baines,” Willie, a regular driver for Bristol when she was home, said. Normally they waited until most of the crowd had left, but tonight Bristol just wanted to get home. She relaxed when the arena was a disappearing dot behind her.

“Let me know if you need anything.”