by K E Osborn
Geez seems everyone knew, but me!
“He wrote a song about me,” I say softly and I can’t stop the smile from crossing my lips.
“Oh really? I hope it’s good,” Mum teases and I laugh at her.
“It’s amazing, Mum. I never knew anyone could feel like that about me. I just… it feels right, you know?”
She stops and spins me facing her. “Well Annie, as long as it keeps feeling right then I’m all for it. But if, at any time, it starts to feel wrong, I want you to come and talk to me.”
I nod. “I promise,” I say meaning it wholeheartedly. I know I can talk to Mum. She’s always there when I need her, and I’m sure in the coming months life with Aston will see me confiding in her more often. “What about Dad though? He won’t even let Aston touch me, he practically death stares him when Aston even smiles at me,” I say and Mum grins and tries to hold back a laugh.
“Hmm, yes, he certainly does have his panties in a twist. To him sweetheart you’re still that tiny little five-year-old girl, his little girl, he doesn’t see the woman you’ve become. All he sees is pigtails and braces. So he needs some time to get used to the idea that his little girl is becoming a woman, and that she can look after herself.”
“But if you can see it, why can’t he?”
“Because he wants you to stay innocent and just be his little girl forever. God forbid his mood when you move out one day, he’ll be even worse when you get married. He has a terrible time letting go of the past and he doesn’t want anything to happen that might upset you, and boys definitely fall into that category.”
“What? Why?” I ask and she squeezes my shoulder.
“Because sweetheart, even though everything is new and exciting and wonderful right now, there will come a time when you and Aston don’t see eye to eye and that hurts. But you guys know each other so well that I’m sure you can work through anything life throws at you. You just have to remember that with fame comes the girls, and even though I know he doesn’t have eyes for anyone but you, the fans won’t care about that and they will throw themselves at him. You just have to be strong enough not let it get to you. I don’t want to have to come and spring you from an Australian, American, Japanese, or any country for that matter prison, because you have punched some fan in the face,” she jokes and I laugh.
“Sure Mum, thanks for being on my side.”
She furrows her brows. “Annie I’m always on your side, so is your father sweetheart, trust me on that. He just has a tough time dealing with his emotions, and seeing you growing up is scary for him. Hell, it’s scary for me too, but I can deal a bit better than him.”
“Tell me about it.”
“Well, I better get you back inside before he comes out here ready to yell at both of us.”
“Is he going to yell at me?” I ask because I hate when Dad yells, it’s intense.
“No, no, sweetheart, I was just teasing. Don’t worry I will have a word to him about Aston. He might still be a little strict with you, but I’ll think of something to make him loosen the reigns a little. But only if you promise me something.”
“Sure.”
“Please promise that you will talk to me before you think about having sex with Aston—”
“Mum—”
“No, I am serious, Annie. You need to make the right choices, and I need to know you’re protected,” she says and I nod. “Promise me.”
I smile and take a deep breath. “I promise Mum, but like I said that won’t be for a long time.”
She raises her eyebrows. “Well Annie, your version and my version of a long time are probably two different things. A month isn’t a long time, you know,” Mum says and I roll my eyes.
“Ha, ha! No, I’m thinking more like a year,” I reply and she slumps her shoulders like she’s relieved.
“Well, that’s sensible. I just want what’s best for you Annie, you know that right?”
“I know Mum, thanks for everything.”
“Okay, let’s go back so you can practice a bit before lunch time,” she says and I open my eyes wide.
“Practice sex before lunch time?” I ask confused and she laughs.
“Oh dear God no, practice music Annie. You know, like rehearsing,” she laughs and I relax instantly.
“Geez, we were talking about sex and then you go and change the subject like that. What was I supposed to think?”
She laughs leaning in and kissing my head as we start our walk back to the manor. On the way back we chat about last night’s concert and the buzz I felt while on stage. It was like nothing I’ve ever felt before and I can’t wait to feel it again. We get to the sliding door of the kitchen and we walk inside laughing about Ella’s nervous habit when Dad walks in and has a grumpy look written all over his face.
“Where have you been, Annie? We’re all waiting for you,” he says and I look up at Mum and she smiles.
“She was with me, babe. We were just having some girl time,” Mum says and I lean in and hug her.
“Okay, well break time was over fifteen minutes ago. C’mon lets get cracking,” Dad states and Mum lets me go and I walk toward the hallway. Dad goes to follow, but Mum stops him.
“Babe, can I have a quick word?” she asks and I look back at her and she winks at me. I smile and walk out of the kitchen, but I really want to know what she’s going to say, so I lean up against the wall and listen in.
“What is it, Lia? I need to get the kids ready for their next gig,” he says like he’s in a rush.
“Colt, just relax. They’re doing great. I know you’re their acting manager and I know you want the best for them, but they’re doing an outstanding job and pushing them harder won’t make it easier for them. You’ll just make them more stressed,” Mum says and I hear Dad breathe out.
“Yeah, I know. I just want so much for them, you know? I don’t want anything spoiling their chances at being big, they deserve it.”
“Well, that’s something I wanted to talk to you about,” Mum says and I tense up.
“Oh, what’s going on?”
“Aston and Annie are dating—”
“What?” he says loudly interrupting her mid-sentence.
“Colt, calm down, take a breath—”
“Calm down? He’s going to defile my daughter. Where is the little shit? I’m gonna kill him,” Dad says and I tense up even further while standing up waiting to see him flying into the hallway after Aston.
“Babe… stop—”
“What? Why?” he asks and I can hear his rapid breathing.
“Because I just had a chat with Annie and they’ve only just started their relationship—”
“Well, I should finish it before it begins. I told the little fucker, not to touch her—”
“Colt… stop! Would you just listen to yourself?”
“What?” he says. Then I hear the sound of chairs moving around the dining table.
“Sit down,” Mum says with that tone and I hear Dad huff.
“I don’t want to sit down—”
“Sit down!” Mum says even more forcefully and I smile knowing she’s taking charge, which is something Dad hates. I hear the chair scrape along the floor, so I’m pretty sure he’s just sat down.
“How is this a good thing?”
“Because babe, Annie is talking to me about it. And as long as she keeps talking to me I will know where they’re at in their relationship—”
“A relationship? It’s a fucking crush, that’s all this is,” Dad says and I furrow my brows wondering if maybe that’s all this is to Aston.
“Colt, it’s not a crush. You know as well as I do how long they’ve been drawn to each other. We knew when they were five that they would end up together. You knew this was coming, Colt.”
“Well, I don’t like it.”
“You don’t have to like it, babe, but you do have to let them figure it out on their own. They’re not kids anymore—”
“Bullshit, he’s just a young lad looking to hav
e his way with her because she’s young and naïve and will believe that anyone could love —”
“Don’t be ridiculous, Colt. You’ve known Aston his whole life! Annie and Aston have been best friends for their entire lives. Do you honestly think Aston would throw all that away, plus the band, just to get his end in? I don’t think so. Now stop being pigheaded and let them experience their first real relationship. Let them be together, because you and I both know that trying to keep them apart will make them want to sneak out and see each other behind our backs. And then Annie won’t tell me what’s going on and we’ll have no idea what’s happening. Trust me on this babe. It’s better to be around them when they’re together and to know what’s happening than for them to seek comfort in each other elsewhere,” Mum says and I smile. She’s even convincing me and I don’t need convincing.
He exhales and there’s a short silence. “What do you mean seek comfort elsewhere?”
“Well, if you push them apart they’ll be more determined to be together. Then they’ll end up having sex early and she’ll get knocked up.”
I wince and shake my head. That won’t happen!
“Fuck off, there’s no way they’re ever having sex. I’ll make her wear a chastity belt—”
“They don’t exist anymore, Colt, for a very good reason. Even if they did you would not use one on our daughter,” she says sounding forceful.
“But she’s my baby, Lia. She can’t grow up and have sex, that’s just wrong,” he says.
“No babe, it’s not wrong, and it will happen one day. Wouldn’t you rather it be with Aston, a man she knows and trusts, than with some stranger or worse a groupie?” Mum says and I smirk.
Yeah, argue that one Dad!
“You really think I’ll push them closer together if I force them apart?” Dad asks and I nod my head.
“Yes exactly, you need to let them be together Colt if you want your daughter to respect you. Then you need to respect her and her wishes, and right now all she wants is her band and her boyfriend.”
“Urgh, don’t say that,” he says and Mum chuckles.
“What? Boyfriend?” Mum teases and he groans.
“She’s too young to have a boyfriend, Lia.”
“She’s seventeen, Colt. How old were you when you experienced your first girlfriend?”
“Shut up,” Dad teases and Mum chuckles.
“Yeah, that’s right, you were fifteen. Two years younger than Annie, and I know that because I know you Colt. I know how hard this is for you. I know she’s your baby, but babies grow up and you have to grow with them or they end up resenting you. Just look at me and my dad, it took a long time before I realised I had to be my own self and not rely on Daddy, and you helped me to see that. So help Annie see that she can grow up and still be your daughter. That you’ll love her no matter her choices, whether they be good or bad, whether they involve boyfriends or bands. You just need to be her father, Colt, not a dominating tyrant,” she says and I smile because Mum always says the right things.
“Fuck,” Dad says sounding defeated, and I suppress my laugh.
“I know it’s hard, but it’s for the best. And for God’s sake don’t glare at Aston every time he touches her—”
“He better not fucking touch her in front of me—”
“Colt!”
“Right, be respectful, sorry. This will take some getting used to Lia, and I can’t guarantee that it’ll work.”
“It will work because if you want your daughter in your life you have to treat her properly and with respect, and not make her live a sheltered life that she will resent you for. So let Aston hold her hand and let him hug her. Those things are harmless babe and we will know when they’re getting more serious and we can revisit and revise then. But for now, they’re just getting to know each other in a relationship sense. You need to let them do that, or you’ll have me, Annie, and Anna on your back, probably Johnny too,” Mum says and I smirk.
“Yeah, well Anna and Johnny should’ve had a girl then they could’ve been best friends, and this whole boyfriend-girlfriend thing would never have happened.”
Mum laughs and I roll my eyes. “Stop being over the top dramatic about this, and realise that Aston is the best possible person for Annie. The quicker you remember how much you love him, the quicker you will be fine with this like I am.”
“I will never be fine with anyone handling my daughter—”
“Colt—”
“Okay, okay, I will cooperate… for now. But if I see anything that I think is further than where they should be, I will say someth—”
“No, you won’t.”
“Lia!”
“Colt!”
“Damn it, woman. Sometimes you make it hard to love you, you know that?”
“No, I don’t,” Mum teases and Dad chuckles.
“No… you don’t. I hate it when you’re right.”
“You fucking love me, just admit it,” Mum says and I hear Dad moan.
I shudder and start to walk off happy with Mum’s talk to Dad.
“You know I love it when you swear,” I hear Dad say and then the chairs squeal on the floor and I hear Mum laughing like Dad’s attacking her.
I make a run for the music room because I definitely don’t want to hear them making up!
When I reach the music room, I spot Aston. He’s holding my music book and going through our song with Caleb, who’s listening intently but smiling.
Looks like he likes it.
Yes!
I can’t wait to hear us play it.
I walk in and Aston looks up at me and smiles. “There she is the girl who wrote the best song ever,” he says and I smirk.
“Well, it’s really the lyrics that make a song great, you know?” I reply and he rolls his eyes.
“I think this song is going to be great and I can’t wait to learn it. Hopefully we can perfect it in time for tomorrow night’s gig so we can include it in the music lineup,” Caleb says and I smile.
Getting Caleb’s approval on a song means everything to me. It’s just like Dad giving a song his stamp of approval. I walk over to Aston and he smiles wrapping his arm around my waist and Caleb grins at us both.
“So, is this thing happening with you two now?” he asks and I smile while Aston nods.
“Yep, we’re together, aren’t we?” he asks double checking.
“We sure are.”
Dad walks in and Aston drops his arm from around me and backs away as Dad looks over at us. He frowns and furrows his brows, but doesn’t say anything. I decide to test how well Mum’s talk went and so I turn to face Aston and lean in kissing him gently on the lips. I hear gasps all around us, but I wrap my arm around his waist and cuddle into him taking my lips from his and turning back to look at Dad daring him to say something.
Everyone watches as his nostrils flare, but he doesn’t say anything. I notice Aston is tense in my grip and isn’t holding me back, but I know that’s because he’s scared to death of Dad.
“Okay right, well, if we’re all here then let’s get started,” Dad says and I smile brightly. He looks at me and nods with a slight smile. That’s enough for me.
Aston relaxes slightly and wraps his arms around me.
“Okay, not what I was expecting from you Colt, but anyway, here’s a new song Annie and Aston were working on outside. Personally I think it rocks. Can you tell me what you think?” Caleb hands Dad the notebook and Dad looks over at us and then back to the notebook.
“You did this?” he asks us both.
We nod. “You two make a good team,” Dad says and I giggle as Aston chuckles like he’s still in shock.
Things with Aston and the band are amazing. Dad has loosened the reins on us and we’re now able to cuddle and kiss whenever we want, but we’re respectful and try not to do it too often in front of him. The rest of the band were so excited for us. They knew, just like everyone else that we would get together… eventually.
Aston is never allowe
d in my room alone with me and I guess I understand because things are a little more serious between us now. I really feel strongly about him and I know he feels it too because we have been writing some really amazing songs together and I know they’re about me.
It’s been nearly a year since we first got together and since then the band has gotten crazy big. We recorded an album while Caleb was recovering from a car accident because he couldn’t perform on stage for a while. So Dad said we should put our energy into recording while he recovered, and Dad’s record label signed us within hours of hearing it. Our album ‘The Next Generation’ went on sale and was platinum within a few days of release. We’ve been doing so many live shows that Susan has to come with us to make sure our education in on track. It’s so hard to study and work with the band at the same time, but it’s what we need to do, so we all do it. Ella is so much more confident now, or at least she puts out that vibe, but she still nervous eats. She’s lucky she has a fast metabolism because she never puts on an ounce of weight.
Dad’s band Slayed is going on tour soon and we’re the backing band. So we get to go on our first tour. It’s with our parents, which is great because they can teach us everything we need to know. Everyone is excited and it’s just turned May so the weather is still bearable in the UK. Last month I turned eighteen, and in four months it will be Aston’s nineteenth.
We have been trying really hard to take things slow and it’s been torturously slow. We hardly have any time to ourselves other than when everyone comes over and we escape down to the willow tree for some much-needed alone time. For our one year anniversary, he took me to the tree seeing as it’s our spot and he brought me a home-made a picnic dinner. I think Mum helped him with it, but it was nice and we had a lot of fun that night. Candles and the romantic atmosphere sitting by the lake in the moonlight.
We might be young still, but we know that all we want is each other and that nothing could tear us apart. Not even the stupid minions that throw themselves at him when we play a gig. I know when he talks to them that the only person he’s thinking about is me. I know because when he’s talking to them he keeps looking up to see where I am. My bad moods have improved and Dad and I are getting along better than ever. Everything is running smoothly and I honestly don’t know what I did to deserve all this joy in my life.