Never Signing Off

  Chapter 30 Alternate Realities In an alternate version of reality, I said yes to Hunter. We didn't leave the hotel the morning we were supposed to. Instead, we stayed. We took that stroll on the beach. I started a seashell collection. I smiled. I laughed. Probably for the first time in months. He held my hand and returned the laughter. We were happy. We went back to the hotel and packed up. But we never went home. Instead, we took the chance to start over. Get things right. We bought a house in Seattle, because he's always wanted to move there. Even though it always seems to rain. We got a beagle and named her Daisy. Mostly because they scatter the yard of our new home. But I call her Oopsie Daisy because she's a reminder of the mistake we almost made. Hunter has started writing music again and it's better than anything he's ever written. It turned out all he needed was a change of scenery too. Who would have guessed? He got himself a job working as a bu...

 

I hope you've been enjoying One Day At A Time. By October 7th, the whole series will be posted for reading. If you're behind, you can access the table of contents on the left.  I have so many ideas. I have 6 new folders on my desktop for new novel ideas. The fun part? Most of them will NOT be fictional. After I'm finished writing The Morgan Series, I'll be switching to non-fiction projects for the near future. I will also be posting my biography for everyone to read on this website. I will not be posting that book anywhere else. It's exclusive to my website, much like The Morgan Series is exclusive to Ao3. HOW CAN I MAKE MY WRITING MORE ACCESSIBLE TO YOU? (PERSONALLY)

  Chapter 29 Words I call Kathleen from the venue when we arrive. We make small talk about the weather here, the constant rain in December. She asks about my plans for Christmas. I tell her I'll be packing because we're moving to Illinois. Then I ask her if my stuff is still at Hunter's, if she got a chance to pack it up. She tells me that she did, but, it's at her place because she's no longer speaking to Hunter. She goes on to tell me that she caught him in bed with someone else. She admits she wasn't surprised, but had been hopeful that he had changed. We share a laugh over the phone about how some things never do. Then she goes on to tell me she's already met someone else. She thinks he might be the one, and she's going to meet his family for Christmas. She's a hopeless romantic, always was. She had no idea what she was getting into when she started dating Hunter. The lyrics to his music may sound deep, but it's too deep for any hum...

  Chapter 28 Home I didn't sleep last night at all. I couldn't. My brain has started to think about him excessively, now that the miles between us are getting smaller and smaller. The time frame is shrinking, counting down to that final performance. We're on the road, traveling from Nevada to California. Crystal is reading a poetry book she bought the other day. It's the works of Edgar Allan Poe and she's reading passages out loud to herself. She's laying in her bunk, and Frankie is asleep in ours. I've decided to sit by myself in the lounge, looking out the window. The poem Crystal is reading is called “Annabel Lee”. It's a tragic piece about love and loss. He's talking about losing someone he loved, who meant the world to him. I can relate. Of course, Hunter isn't dead. But, it certainly feels like he might be. The way everyone dances around his name, treats him like a stain. The only thing that leaves a lingering stain like that is d...

  Chapter 27 A Different Kind Of Running I've been on enough tours to know what they are all about. There are always fights, and hearts get broken. There's a bunch of drugs and alcohol and there's always a party to attend. The bus is restrictive and smells bad. The hotel rooms all feel clinical. I've been through all of that before. I've been the hand that keeps the show moving forward. But I've never been in the spotlight before this tour. I've never been a part of the magic. Now, we're out on that stage every night. Crystal is writing music with Frankie, harmonizing in dressing rooms and belting out duets on stage. They've started to talk about the next album and they're both asking my opinion when they do. I'm expected to make an appearance in the television interviews now. One photographer even asked me to join Frankie in a photo shoot. I said no, but Frankie insisted it was a good idea. I can never say no to that...

  Chapter 26 Bright Lights By now I should know that nothing they do is unplanned. Even when it seems like Frankie is making it up as he goes along, he had the ideas already. The reason Crystal dressed me up in New York was because she knew he wanted me on stage as well. Although, I wouldn't be dancing in the background, invisible to the audience. No. I was in the middle of that stage, illuminated by the bright lights and the size of his smile as I joined him. It's been 10 days since that concert, but he's had me on stage with him every night to sing a particular song. He might have never known I knew how to sing. I never told him I took vocal lessons when I was a kid. I never told him I wanted to be a singer when I was young. But, Crystal overheard me singing in the hotel room in Georgia. I thought she had left to go shopping, but, she had to come back to grab her purse. Then, she told Frankie, who said he could make me a star. I argued that I had moved past that...