I don’t look at him while I fight to control my emotions. He’s the last person I want to see me cry.
“Whatever Jessica said was a lie,” he says softly but firmly.
I bite my tongue as a surge of emotions rush up and threaten to break free.
He lets out a long breath, and his fingers dance beside my knee before closing them into fists. “I can guess what she said. She’s been spouting off about you getting through to this round instead of Whitney. Don’t listen to her. There will always be people who want to tear you down.”
I allow my hair to fall over my face as my head sinks lower.
He clears his throat and turns his chair so he’s facing me. His hands rest over my knees, warm and steady. “You’re the best out of all of us. I can’t believe you never…”
I sob. “I’m…are people saying I’m a joke?”
“No.” He lowers his head to try to make eye contact. “If she said that, it’s because you’re her biggest threat.”
I lift my head to see his eyes. “Why are you being nice to me?”
He leans back, his brows twitching. “I’m never mean to you.”
“No…but…” I lower my head again.
He pushes my hair back from my face. “Look at me.”
I glance up. His eyes reflect sorrow. He pities me. I drop my gaze to my hands, feeling more pathetic than ever.
“Hailey, next round we’re supposed to perform with another act. We want that to be you if we get through. All of us. From Lydia all the way up to me.” He brushes a tear from my cheek. “And I promise I won’t let Jessica come near you again.”
“You can’t promise that.” My voice quivers.
“I can.” He lifts my chin, making me look him in the eyes. “I can.”
I can’t look away. My heart flutters at the ferocity in his brown eyes.
“Hailey?” The sound of Isaiah’s voice causes me to flinch. “Really, Lucas?” Isaiah rushes into the room and stands behind me, leaning over. “You’re making her cry now?”
“No,” I say quickly, standing. I don’t want them to fight over something neither of them did. This was all on me for being such an idiot and letting Jessica get in my head.
Clarissa enters. “Hailey.” She glances between her brothers, then says in a commanding tone pointing to the corridor, “Out.”
Lucas launches to his feet, immediately obeying as much as I don’t want him to go. Something strange had passed between us. Like I saw a side of him I didn’t know was there. The side Clarissa kept telling me about.
Isaiah wraps his arm around my shoulders. “I wanna make sure she’s okay first.”
“I’m fine,” I say softly, hanging my head. For the first time, I wish Lucas stood by my side instead.
Clarissa points at Isaiah. “It’s your fault she’s crying. Jessica’s jealous and being cruel to her. Your games are going too far.”
Isaiah rubs my shoulder. “I’ll talk to Jess.”
“Yeah, you do that.” Clarissa glares at him as he leaves.
I rub my shoulders, trying to decipher my hurt and confusion. Jessica, Isaiah, Lucas. I had no idea what to think about any of them, or how to feel about their actions and what each said. All the conflicting messages make my head spin.
With her brothers gone, Clarissa turns her focus to me. She squeezes my arms and asks gently, “What do you need? Do you want to call your mom? Tom, maybe? Want a giant ice cream?”
I chuckle, relieved she’s unchanged from the girl I know. “Ice cream sounds good.”
“Got it.” She darts out of the room.
I sit back on the chair and fish my phone out of my bag for some kind of distraction. Tom sent me a text.
Tom: Amazing! Again! xxx
Chapter Eleven
The Murphys are called first during the eliminations. I watch as one by one performers make their way to stage right for the next round. Then, with only two places left, my name is called.
That night, I celebrate with the Murphys. We play card games in Kessa’s room until Lydia passes out, despite our noise.
When I wake in the morning, after only three hours of sleep, I feel like I’ve been hit by a truck. My head pounds, and my eyes feel dry and puffy. My body protests with aches and pains as I climb out of bed and into the shower.
I hurry to the rehearsal venue. Jeff isn’t there when I arrive, so I hurry to drink my coffee and hide the bags under my eyes with my makeup.
“Hailey.” I swing around as Jeff enters with a woman. “I want you to meet my wife, Emily.”
She strides toward me, offering her hand. A slender woman in her late thirties, probably only a few years older than my mom, she wears her dark hair long and loose, and her hazel eyes sparkle. “It’s nice to meet you, Hailey.”
“You too.” I glance at Jeff, wondering if a meet and greet with his wife is normal for his contestants.
“My son Collin, came too. He’ll be a moment.” Jeff walks toward the piano. “You don’t mind practicing with them here, do you? If you’re uncomfortable, they can go. Collin starts school at nine anyway.”
“It’s okay.” I’m not going to be rude and send them away, even if their presence is unusual.
“All right. Let’s get started.”
I pull up a chair beside him and we discuss what we should do for my next performance. I explain that I agreed to perform with the Murphys and he nods his approval.
“If you could get Lucas to do lead, I’d love that.” Jeff brushes his fingers over the keyboard. “But he’s not the limelight sort. Pity, he’s probably the most talented out of all of them.”
“I can’t say I’ve heard him sing on his own,” I say.
“He’s good,” Jeff responds, glancing over at Emily. I follow his gaze and she smiles.
“Did they tell you what they want to perform?” Jeff asks, turning his attention back to me.
I nod. “It’s musical night and they want to do a number from Hairspray.”
“I can work with that.”
We focus on technique and presentation, and I agree to return during the Murphys’ slot.
A thirteen-year-old boy walks to the room. He stares at me warily as Jeff waves him over. “This is Hailey Becker. Hailey, Collin watches and votes for you every week. He’s a fan.”
Having fans still feels weird, but I don’t want to disappoint the boy. “Hey, Collin.”
He has Jeff’s blue eyes, but his light brown hair I can’t place. Throwback, maybe? Here’s me going all biological and analyzing his genetics.
“Hey.” Collin hangs back, his gaze flitting all around me, but never meeting mine directly. “It was cool when you sang my dad’s song.”
Jeff nudges him with his elbow. “Well?”
“Well…” Collin digs into his backpack. “Sign my notebook?”
I can’t help grinning. My first autograph! “Okay.”
I sign, and Emily rests her hand on Collin’s shoulder. “Have you finished looking around?”
Collin nods as he takes his notepad from me with a sparkle in his eyes.
“We should get you to school.”
“Kay.” He smiles up at me. “I hope I can see you again sometime. One of my friends has a huge crush on you, and says if your boyfriend is real, then he wants to—”
“Thank you, Collin,” Jeff says loudly. “And her boyfriend is real.”
Emily squeezes Collin’s shoulder. “Come on. We need to pick up your brothers on the way.”
“Bye, Hailey.” He gives me a shy wave.
“Bye,” I respond.
Emily leans over and kisses my cheek. “Good luck. Jeff has never believed in a contestant so much, so you must have a great deal of potential.”
I touch over my heart. “Thank you.”
Jeff stands to kiss her. “Be safe. I love you.”
When they’ve gone, I say, “You have a nice family.”
“Thanks. I’m pretty fond of them.” He grins like a school boy. “Right, let’
s get on with this.”
***
After practice with the Murphys, Clarissa and I sit in our room doing schoolwork when she says, “This week’s performances will be fun.”
I nod, not really listening as I mull over the question about theoretic DNA manipulation.
“Vanessa wanted to perform with you too, but we beat her out.”
“Mmm.”
“You’re not even listening to me.”
“Mmm.”
Clarissa giggles.
She jumps up and rushes to the door before my brain registers that someone knocked. She opens it, and Lucas stands there. “Can I come in?”
She glances over at me. I sigh. “I’m struggling to do this work anyway. Maybe a break will help.”
Lucas walks straight to me. He folds his arms, staring down at me. Leaning back, I rub my hands on my thighs, avoiding meeting his gaze. This is awkward. “Um…”
“We need to practice.”
“Ah…”
“Get up and come with me.”
I don’t hesitate to obey. My legs stand me up on their own accord, and I follow him out. He leads me into the hotel’s abandoned conference room. The maroon carpet draws out the darkness of the dimly lit space as we stride to the center of the room. There, he turns to me, relaxing his shoulders. “Okay, don’t take this the wrong way, but your presentation is still a bit stiff.”
I raise an eyebrow. “Ah…how exactly can I take that the wrong way? There’s only one way to understand that.”
He grabs my hand, pulling me into my first position for our performance with him standing behind me. “You’re tense. Relax.”
I scowl, trying to pull back. “You surprised me.”
“Let it go. Breathe.” He holds my hand tight as he inhales deeply.
I let out a long breath, closing my eyes. He lifts my hand, and finding no resistance, he lets out a low breath. “There you go. Stay relaxed.”
His free hand rests on my waist as his body presses against my back. Gasping, I tense. He holds onto my waist and wrist. “Relax, I said.”
“I don’t think—”
“I’m going to guide you through the dance moves.”
“Oh.” I completely misread that one. Then again, why on earth would I have read him being so close any other way in the first place? Lucas has made it perfectly clear he has absolutely no interest in me romantically.
“I’m going to do Isaiah’s part,” he says softly. “Make sure you sing while we do this. I’m going to stop you when I see something wrong.”
I nod.
He starts singing, and I can’t move. Jeff wasn’t kidding when he said Lucas has the talent. His voice mesmerizes me. His baritone is so rich and so pure. How does the rest of his family let him get away with not taking solos?
Lucas nudges me, staring at me while I hesitate, standing like a moron doing nothing. I shake it off, forcing myself into action.
We run through the song, stopping and working on places he thinks need polishing. He’s never touched me so much, and it sends me into a strange buzz. He has so much talent, but he keeps it quiet, using it to let his family shine. Why have I never noticed?
We finish the song with him pulling me into his arms. I’d done the move with Isaiah earlier, but as my eyes meet Lucas’s, my heart skips a beat. Our last note rings around us as I stare into his eyes, breathless.
His arms tighten around my waist. “You ended well.”
“Thank you,” I say airily.
He lets go, stepping back. “You do an amazing job at capturing the emotion of the song in your voice, but your face and movements don’t seem to connect quite as much. You should focus on that. Practice in front of a mirror.”
“Okay.”
He turns away. “I think if you get that down, you’ll be the best act this round.”
“We will be,” I correct, my heart now racing.
“Yes, we all will.”
I take a deep breath to compose myself as he keeps his back to me. “Did you want to run through it again? I felt like during the bridge I—”
“No, I think you’re fine for now.” He turns to me, shoving his hands in his pockets. “Just practice what I said, and we’ll work out anything else later this week if you’re still having issues.”
“Okay.”
He steps toward me and offers his elbow. “How’s…ah…how are your classes going?”
My eyes narrow as I rest my hand on his elbow. “Are you being social with me?”
“I’ve always been social with you.” He leads me toward the doorway to the lobby, pushing the door open for us.
“No, not really.” I blink, my eyes needing to adjust at the sunlight flooding through the windows.
“Mmm. I guess I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable since the rest of my family seems to do that just fine.”
I crack a grin. “They’re not that bad.”
“If you say so.”
Looking at him from the corner of my eye, I catch him smiling. I nudge him as we walk along the corridor toward the elevator. “I do. I really like Clarissa.”
He glances at me. “So do I. But you have to admit, she does make things awkward at times.”
My grin turns into a smirk. “Okay, yes.”
He chuckles.
Feeling like he’d let down a wall between us, I lean against his shoulder. “You’re nice when you don’t have a rod shoved up your ass.”
“Excuse me?” His eyebrows shoot up as he looks down at me.
“You heard me.”
“I’m always nice.”
I tilt my head with a raised eyebrow.
“Hmm.” He looks ahead. “If that’s the case…”
With a sharp jab, he pushes me into a pylon. He laughs.
“Jerk.” I scowl at him, rubbing my arm.
He shrugs. “I’m not a nice person.”
I shove his shoulder and grab his arm again. We continue to the elevators, when something flashes. By the glass doors from the drop-off bay, a photographer darts behind the corner to avoid me seeing him.
I push away from Lucas. “Crap.”
“What?”
I dig into my pocket. “Photographer. I need to call Tom.”
He cranes his neck. “Really?”
“Yeah.”
He steps back from me. “I’m sorry.” He hurries to the elevator, leaving me fumbling to call Tom and explain the photo before it goes viral.
***
The night before the performances, I dream about Lucas…erotically. It makes walking out on the stage with him awkward as the passionate images of him replay in my head. With rumors about us in a relationship flying after a picture of us arm in arm circulated, the dream makes sense. But walking behind him and eyeing his shoulders makes me blush.
Performing beside Isaiah feels exciting. He has such an intense energy, and the females in the crowd scream at every sexy thing he does. Then, as the song comes to an end, he leans in and smacks a kiss against my lips. I gasp and pull back, which makes the crowd go wild. It fits with the act, but also with the personas the show has developed for us. The flirtatious charmer and the innocent girl next door. Too cute. Too sweet. I would gag if I was watching.
The judges sing our praises before we head off.
In the rehearsal rooms, Vanessa joins us, while I can’t help noticing Jessica hovering nearby. I nudge Isaiah. “I think someone wants to talk to you.”
Isaiah leans against my shoulder. “We’ve already talked.”
I frown, feeling bad for Jessica despite her bullying. She’s obviously into Isaiah, but now he’s blowing her off. I meet Clarissa’s gaze and motion with my eyes for her to look over. Clarissa glances across and sighs. She shuffles toward Jessica, but Jessica scoots away.
The next night, the Murphys and I are called for the next round together. But Vanessa won’t be continuing on. Although I haven’t spent a ton of time with her, I do feel saddened. Clarissa and I hug her before she leaves.
“No way,” Clarissa responds. “I think Jessica will go home in the next round. She’s not reaching the standard everyone else is achieving.”
Vanessa raises her eyebrows at me. I avoid eye contact. They couldn’t rig these rounds when the votes decide. Being eliminated must have really hurt her.
After Vanessa leaves the venue, Clarissa and I head to our dressing room to pack. I finish before Clarissa and wait in the corridor. Leaning against the wall, I shut my eyes, relaxing for a few moments. I can’t believe how far I’ve come. Top seven! I never thought that could be possible.
“Hey, Hailey.”
I open my eyes and smile at Isaiah. “Hey.”
“Tired?”
“Yeah.”
He runs his fingers through my hair. “We’ll head out soon. I’m just going to find Jeff. I need to talk to him real quick.”
“Okay.” I yawn.
He disappears around the corner.
I shut my eyes, resting my head back against the wall again. Someone approaches and rests their hand beside my head, leaning over me.
“Isai—”
“Hailey.”
My eyes shoot open. Steven stands with his face barely inches from mine. His other arm presses against the wall, pinning me in. I claw at the wall. “What are you doing?”
“You’re smoking hot.” He leans in closer, while I can only push back harder into the wall. “And a terrible tease.”
“I haven’t done anything—”
“Are you sleeping with both the Murphy boys? Or…” He smirks. “Clarissa too?”
I slap his chest. “Get away from me.”
“Now, now, sweetheart.” He brushes his knuckles across my cheek. “I’m not asking for much. You could go a long way. Do you want to win?”
I look into his eyes, too frightened to answer.
“I can make sure you win. You have the talent. You just need…the hookups.”
“No.”
“No? It’s not hard. Actually, it is.” He shifts on the spot, reinforcing his implications.
“Get away from me,” I say in a low growl.
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