Home Again

by Fisher, Lisa

  “You’re from here, am I right?”

  “Yes.” I leaned back against the couch cushion. “Born and raised.”

  “Have you got to do anything touristy since you’ve been home?”

  “Um, no. You know, I’ve lived here my whole life and have only been to the Space Needle once, so that’s about as touristy as I get.” I laughed.

  He laughed. “Fair enough. We have some YouTube footage from a show you put on a few weeks ago. That clip went viral almost instantly. Was that planned?”

  “That was pretty insane.” I laughed. “Definitely not planned. We were actually celebrating my friend’s birthday, and it just kind of happened.”

  “So you do birthday parties now?” he joked.

  “Ha, apparently.”

  “Have you found that you’ve been recognized more?”

  I shrugged. “People mostly leave me alone. I’ve had the odd fan come up and chat with me, or old friends from school. Nothing too wild.”

  “Sounds like the perfect escape from the Hollywood life.”

  “It’s definitely different,” I agreed.

  “So you had a lot of media attention before your time off. There was a lot of talk of drug abuse, partying too much, and eating disorders. Is there any truth to any of it? Or was it simply exhaustion that caused all those cancelled tour dates?”

  I grimaced. Devin told me they weren’t allowed to ask about that. So much for that. “You know, I think when something like this happens, people like to assume the worst. When you’re on the road for months at a time with no break, it gets rough.” I tried to work my way around the question. “People don’t realize that there is more work involved than just the performance. It’s really tiring.”

  “So then it was just exhaustion?”

  “I’m not addicted to drugs, if that’s what everyone is thinking,” I joked. “And I’ve never been much of a partier.” But, please don’t ask me about the eating disorder again.

  “That’s good to know. Many young girls look up to you. There are so many young celebrities nowadays being sucked into a vicious cycle. What are your thoughts on that?”

  “I don’t really know. I mean, for me, those things aren’t worth losing what I’ve worked hard for. I love preforming, and I love what I do. I think it’s sad to see some of these kids, who used to love it, too, and then throw it away. I think Ed Sheeran said it best when he said something about not being able to last if you’re smokin’ on a crack pipe.” I laughed.

  “Quoting Ed Sheeran? Big fan?”

  “He’s great. Never met the guy, but I dig his stuff.”

  “Any hope for a duet?”

  “I would be so honored,” I joked. “But, really, you never know what the future holds, that’s for sure.”

  “So you’re back on tour in a week. Excited, nervous?”

  “Both. It’s going to be great being back in Seattle. This is the place where my music started taking off, so every time I get to play here I’m grateful.”

  “Well, thanks for joining us today, Aisley. Can’t wait to see you live next Friday.”

  “Thanks.” I hung up, hoping Devin wouldn’t call and bitch me out about the interview. He would though, that I could count on.

  “Wanna get some lunch?” John asked, from his seat on the recliner.

  I nodded. “Um, yeah. I guess,”

  “Don’t sound too excited,” he said sarcastically. John got up and stretched his arms.

  I followed suit. “Who gets excited about lunch?”

  He shrugged. “Me. I’m hungry. I don’t suppose we can have Applebee’s today?”

  I narrowed my eyes at him. “You don’t want Applebee’s, John.”

  He smirked. “You townsfolk and your aversion to Applebee’s. I just don’t get it.”

  I gave him a pat on the back. “You wouldn’t understand, big guy.” As I started for the front door, it swung open and Dad walked in. He was the last person I wanted to see right now. Well, maybe not the last, but close. I still had no idea what to say to him.

  If I said the first thing on my mind, it would have been, ‘I hate you.’ But no matter how angry I was, I couldn’t say that to him.

  “Ais, you’re here.” The relief was evident in his tone. “I want to talk to you.”

  “I’m just going to get some food, can we talk later?” I said shortly.

  “Okay. I love you, Aisley.”

  I huffed past him without looking him in the eye. John followed behind me. “Come on, let’s walk.”

  The walking would help me think straight. It would help me clear my thoughts. I didn’t want to leave things with my Dad this badly. But, I also didn’t want to leave at all. Some things just are what they are. I took out my phone and sent Easton a text.

  Aisley: You working today?

  East: Nah, just meeting with my advisor at UW. Can I climb up your window later?

  Aisley: If you want my parents to kill you. Just use the front door. ;)

  East: I’ll be by at about seven, Carter.

  ***

  I looked at the clock on my bedroom wall. East would be here any minute.

  I was proud of myself. Not sure how long the feeling would last, but it was a damn good one. I hadn’t skipped a meal in weeks. And I hadn’t stepped on the scale.

  Because I’m healthy. It’s okay to be healthy.

  I looked down and poked my stomach, it didn’t have much fat on it, but the little bit that I pinched between my fingers still made me cringe. I hated that.

  My phone rang.

  “Hello?”

  “Aisley, you answered,” Devin said, shocked.

  “I aim to please you, Dev. What’s up?”

  “I heard your radio interview.”

  “Look—I know I shouldn’t have commented—”

  “It’s fine. You did fine. That’s not why I’m calling,” he interrupted.

  “It’s not?” Since when did Devin miss an opportunity to give me shit?

  “No. We need you back sooner than we expected.”

  Anything but that. “What does that mean?”

  “The day after tomorrow. I already booked you a flight. We have a music video to produce, and a couple more interviews lined up.”

  “What about therapy?”

  “I talked to your doctor already. She gave me some recommendations. We’ve hired a nutritionist as part of the staff, and you’ll call in once a week to your doctor, instead—unless you’d like me to find someone who’ll be willing to travel with us?”

  “No. That’s fine.” There was no use arguing. This was my job, my obligation, and more importantly, it was my passion. East or no East, I needed to be up on that stage again. Singing again. Just me and my guitar.

  “Your flight leaves early. I’ll text you the details, okay?”

  “Okay.”

  “Ais, you’re ready for this, right?” he asked, giving me one last chance to say no.

  “Of course. I’ve been doing good.” Lately. But back on tour, it would be so easy to slip up.

  A knock at my bedroom door caused me to jerk my head, and I smiled automatically when East walked in with a handful of DVD’s.

  “See you soon.”

  “Bye.” I tossed my phone on my bed a few feet away. “Hey, green eyes. How did it feel to walk through the front door?”

  He smirked. “Exhilarating.”

  I laughed. “So nobody threw stones at you?”

  “Ha ha, should I remind you that the window was your idea first?”

  I quirked an eyebrow. “Prove it.”

  He made himself comfortable next to me on the bed. “You can be a real brat, you know that, Carter?”

  “I know no such thing,” I joked.

  “I come bearing gifts.” He smiled and fanned out the DVD’s in front of us. “First we have a zombie flick slash love story—Warm Bodies. Next we have—a personal favorite of mine—The Lord of the Rings.” He flashed me a cheesy grin. “Should I go on?”

&nbs
p; “You’re such a nerd, East. No zombies and definitely, no geeky movies about hobbits and rings.”

  “One of these days, I’m going to make you sit through the whole series.”

  “You would find me dead halfway through. My obituary would read ‘Aisley Carter was literally bored to death’.”

  “That’s a terrible joke, Carter. And it’s not boring if you actually watch it.”

  “Hey—I’ve tried. I think I’ve seen the first thirty minutes at least twenty times.”

  He huffed. “That’s not the point! You have to watch the whole thing! Just once, for me.”

  “You are a true nerd, Easton Everson. Sometimes I wonder why I’m attracted to you.” I shook my head, and tried to stifle my laughter.

  He licked his lips, and then brought them to my ear. “Maybe it’s the mind blowing sex,” he whispered roughly.

  My breath caught in my throat. That could be one reason… East could whisper obscenities at me and make them sound good. I bit my lip and averted my gaze back to the movies. “Um, so what else do we have?”

  “Well, we also have some cheesy girl movie—Safe Haven, and a true classic—The Sixth Sense.”

  “Hey, The Sixth Sense was terrifying when we were little!”

  “I remember. I snuck it from my parents, and you were sooo scared. I think you actually cried.”

  I smacked him with a pillow. “Shut up! I was like eight when we watched it the first time, but it’s not that scary anymore!”

  “Whatever you say.” He put his hands up in surrender. “But we’re watching it!”

  “Fine by me,” I said bravely. Truthfully, the movie still scared the shit out of me. Ghosts have always freaked me out. Even Casper.

  East set the movie up, while I debated telling him about me leaving. No matter which way I tried to spin it in my head, the answer was always the same. I had to tell him, now.

  “Hey, East?”

  He sat down next to me and pressed play on the remote. “Hey, what?”

  “When you first came in, I was on the phone with Devin.”

  “That’s your manager, right?”

  I nodded. “Yeah. I have to leave the day after tomorrow.”

  He inched back. “You’re kidding?”

  “I wish I was.” I looked down at my hands.

  “And you have to go?”

  “Yes.” I looked up at him, trying to read his expression. He didn’t look too upset—but he didn’t look happy either. “I know we were supposed to have more time—”

  He cut me off. “It’s fine. You had to leave sometime, right? It’s not like this thing we’re doing is serious.”

  Ouch. That stung. Maybe it was never meant to last more than seven weeks, but it had always been serious to me. What we had when we were younger meant everything to me. “I know, but—“

  “Let’s just watch the movie, okay?”

  I sighed, but didn’t say anything more—and neither did he—for the rest of the night.

  Eventually, we both just fell asleep.

  ***

  The next morning, I woke up alone.

  Of course.

  Because Easton avoiding me before I left for long periods of time was a thing. I should have known we couldn’t do casual. And I should’ve known Easton wouldn’t want to keep in contact with me after I go. This was going to be exactly the same as last time.

  Except it would hurt one thousand times more.

  Sitting up, I glanced around the room, checking for a note. Nothing. I grabbed my phone off the nightstand, and had one text. My heart sped up, praying it was from him.

  Easton: Get your ass out of bed and meet me at the restaurant at 9 am!

  It was eight-sixteen now. He sent the text at six-thirty. How early did he leave? I got up and ready in record time and was thankful my dad had already left, so I didn’t have to talk to him yet. Mom was gone, too, but I wasn’t surprised by that. Now that I knew about them, what reason did she have to stick around and play house?

  Not having time for breakfast, I grabbed an apple from the fruit dish. Better than nothing. “Hey, John? You ready?” I yelled.

  He was in the living room, reading the paper. Without looking up, he just grunted.

  “I’m assuming that’s a yes.”

  Another grunt.

  “You’re a pain in the butt.”

  “At least I didn’t answer your question with a question.”

  “True.” I laughed. “I’m meeting East in fifteen minutes, so can you get a move on? Chop, chop.” I clapped my hands.

  “Sheesh, kid. You’re so demanding today.” He set the newspaper down and got up to follow me out the door.

  “You know if the paper is really that riveting, I won’t be heartbroken if you want to sit this one out.”

  “Such a comedian. I think you missed your calling.”

  I shook my head at him. “I don’t think you did.”

  John shrugged in response. “Gonna let me drive today?”

  “Afraid to walk the crime ridden streets here?” I joked.

  “Funny, kid.”

  The ride to the restaurant was quick, and I found my heart beating a thousand miles a minute, and all I could feel in the pit of my stomach was fluttering.

  I was surprised to see Easton sitting in a booth with Becks across from him. “Hey.”

  East turned around and grinned. “Hey, Carter.”

  I couldn’t help but smile back at him, even though I was rather pissed that he left without a word this morning.

  Becks got up and squeezed me tight. “East told me you’re leaving.”

  I nodded. “Yeah, duty calls.”

  “Well, we have today, right?” She beamed.

  I looked past her to Easton. “So, what are we doing?”

  He got up. “It’s a surprise. I’m driving.”

  “Shot gun!” Becks called, running past me out the door.

  “You know how I feel about surprises,” I said to East.

  “You love them.” He grabbed my hand and tugged me behind him. “Come on, Carter. We’re losing precious time!”

  I giggled. “Fine, let’s go.”

  We piled into Easton’s car and took off. “So you guys really aren’t going to tell me where we’re going?”

  “Not a chance.” Becks laughed. “We’re going to have so much fun!” She squealed.

  “You guys suck.”

  “East, where’s my Britney Spears CD?” Becks asked, rummaging through his glove box. “I know I left it in here.”

  He gave her a sheepish grin. “It’s gone. I told you, no Britney in my car.”

  “I thought that was a joke. Come on, Ais wants Britney, too, don’t ya?” She turned around and grinned.

  “Oh, yeah. Don’t mess with Britney, bitch,” I joked. “Or, Becks.”

  “That’s right, don’t mess with me, Easton, because payback is a bitch!”

  “Rebecca, please.” He shook his head, and then met my eyes in the rearview mirror. “Can you believe her?”

  “You did not just call me that!”

  I giggled. “I think he did.”

  “You’re so dead, Easton. Mark my words, butt-face.”

  “Butt-face? Really? That’s all you could come up with?”

  “It’s a classic insult.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “Did you tell Aisley about the karaoke incident, hmm?”

  “Becks!” Easton panicked.

  “Karaoke?” I was very curious about this.

  “It’s nothing.” East rolled his eyes. “Becks is just kidding.”

  “No, I’m not,” she shot.

  “I give up. You win. The CD is under your seat.”

  “Ha! Yes!” She smiled in victory and wasted no time finding the CD and putting it in.

  “Somebody better tell me about the karaoke.”

  Easton and Becks exchanged looks.

  He relented. “Fine, but only if you promise not to laugh.”

  “Hold on, I don’t think tel
ling her is enough.” Becks turned the music down and pulled out her phone.

  “Don’t tell me you still have that video,” he groaned.

  She shrugged and shoved her cell phone in my hands. “Oh. My. God.” I laughed so hard I couldn’t breathe. This was gold. A video of East singing to Every Time by Britney Spears. “You look like you’re about to cry.”

  “Shut up. I did it for Becks.” He tried to defend himself. “Also, I was really drunk.”

  “When was this?”

  Becks tapped her chin with her finger. “Hmm, I guess it was about five months ago, now. Right, East?”

  “Something like that. I’m not sure, but, Becks just got dumped so I was trying to cheer her up,” he explained.

  “Then why the hell are you crying?” I teased, replaying the clip over again. Becks and I both laughed, John snickered, and Easton groaned.

  “I was not crying! Next time you are on your own, Rebecca.”

  “Quit calling me that!” She punched him lightly in the arm.

  “Ouch. Hey, I’m driving! You’re going to kill us.”

  She rolled her eyes.

  Part of me hated that they had those two years together. They were still as close as ever, which I shouldn’t have been jealous about.

  Except I was.

  And it was a feeling I hated. I left them. What did I expect? That Easton and Becks would all of a sudden just not be friends anymore because I was gone? Yes. How selfish was that?

  “We’re here!”

  My head popped up, and a smile formed. “You know me too well.” Growing up, we had to go on a field trip every year to Woodland Park Zoo, and it was always one of my favorite things. I especially loved seeing the Giraffes. They were just so big. It seemed unreal.

  “No big deal. Everyone loves the zoo. Come on.” Easton threw his arm around me and the four of us spent the day exploring the zoo. I was only recognized three times, before I finally bought a hat from the gift shop, and some zoo themed sunglasses. Now, if anyone recognized me and took a picture, I’d be in the ’what the hell is she wearing’ section of those trashy magazines. Hopefully nobody would spot me.

  “Ooh, let’s go see the tigers!” I grinned like a kid. “They were always one of my favorites!”

  “Mine, too.” Easton agreed.

  “Did I say thank you, yet?” I looked up at him.

  “Anything for you.” He winked.

  Butterflies ensued. But, my heart dropped at the sinking realization, this was our last day together.