Chapter 100: Chapter 100

Chapter 100 He's not there

She only knew that I had no family left - I hadn't told her everything.

"Thank you, I'll be careful not to do that." I tell her.

"'Adda girl. Now, I've got to go get ready for later tonight, and I'm sure you do, too. Break a leg out there, you'll do great." She says, giving me a thumb's up and smiling.

"Thank you, Sally. You too."

With that, we part ways. I'm the opening act for tonight, so I immediately head to the backstage. I part the red curtain and peek out from behind it, the seats are filling up and I scour the room for Colton.

He's not there.

I sigh.

He should be here by now, but maybe he's just running late.

I smooth the wrinkles from blouse, taking calming breaths as I do so. A heavy feeling settles in my chest but I just brush it off because it's probably nervousness, right?

I hear Dagger announcing my name, introducing me once more. "We have some special guests tonight and I truly hope you're impressed with the local's favorite." He says.

That piques my interest. I wonder what he could mean? I guess the pressure is on.

"Without further ado, please welcome Lily to the stage!" He exclaims. I smile as I pull back the curtain and step forth. I smile and wave, looking around at the audience but in reality, I'm still searching for Colton.

My search comes up empty and I bite my lip to hide my disappointment and worry.

He promised he would be here. He promised me.

Maybe he's just really late. I thought, trying to convince myself. I didn't want to think about all the what if's because the possibilities were too many.

I take a deep breath, pulling myself together. I can't afford to lose myself in front of the audience again, it is my time to shine and chase my own passion.

I sit on a stool, guitar resting on my leg as I prepare to strum it. I decided that I would sing a song that I wrote myself, it would fit the situation more and help soothe the ache in my heart.

Lost in a world full of bitterness and pain.

It seems like the storms always bring rain.

The thunder screams louder than my own plea for help.

I am all alone, alone by myself.

Surrounded by empty words and broken promises.

That drowns me like a sea of broken glass.

I don't know how long I sing for. It felt like hours but it was merely minutes. The world seemed to stop turning and it felt like I was the only being in the universe, off in my own world as I sing about struggles most people will never know.

When I do finally stop singing, though, I have tears brimming in my own eyes but I am quick to wipe them away. The audience applauds loudly and I look up, hoping to see Colton. Maybe he was late and had managed to slip in, but again, he wasn't there.

I clench my fists in frustration but I get up from the stool and smile and wave at the crowd. Then, I disappear behind backstage where Dagger is there, waiting with a smile on his face as well as three other men.

They too, are smiling and they look confident in the way that they're dressed and present themselves. Two of the men are middle aged while the other one carries a younger look about him, perhaps in his late twenties.

The older men are dressed in nice slacks and they wear ties while the younger man just wears a polo shirt and some slacks. He wears large, black sunglasses and I look around at them all with confusion.

"Hi?" I say shyly as I look at Dagger for reassurance.

They all chuckle and the oldest man holds out his hand to shake. "I'm Rusty O'brian. These are my colleagues Daniel and Rodger." They, too, shake my hand and I try my best to be friendly without my confusion showing through.

The youngest of the bunch speaks up and slaps Dagger on the back. "My brother and I are co-owners of The Three Brother's Record Label." He says, grinning from ear to ear.

"I-you....what?" I ask, dumbfounded as I look back and forth between Dagger and the man who claims he's his brother. They're brothers? And not only that, they.....they own a record label company?

"I'm sorry I kept that hidden from you, Lily, I just didn't want you to know because I feared that you would use me to try to get what you want. If you knew, I feared you would have treated me differently and I didn't want that." Dagger explains.

"W-what else have you kept hidden from me?" I ask him, feeling slightly betrayed - yet at the same time, I understand his actions.

"Nothing at all, I promise." He says sincerely.

I believe him.

His brother Daniel clears his throat and looks at Dagger as if he's asking for permission to continue. Dagger gives a silent nod. "Well, my brother called me up and said he had someone special singing at his club and that I had to come see. I brought along these two," He says, pointing at the other two men, "So I could have more opinions than just mine on your voice. Let me tell you, we all shared the same opinion on your voice."

I feel my legs shaky and my palms were starting to become clammy.

"We all agreed that your voice has something special about it, that last song you sung really pulled at our hearts. It sounds like you not only sing with your voice but with your soul and heart, and that's what is really important. We can convey our emotions in words but it's harder to do so in song without it sounding fake or forced. Yours came naturally and you executed each note exceptionally."

"I, wow....I don't know what to s-say." I mutter,

He chuckles. "That's perfectly understandable, because we would like to make you an offer that will change your life."