Unstoppable (Fierce)

by Voight, Ginger

  My posture stiffened. I was still mad. I didn’t want to soften toward him. I didn’t want to forgive him yet. I wanted to be mad… at Jace… at Shelby… at fate for knocking me out of the game before I could even really get started.

  “I gotta go,” I said as I reached for the laptop to close out of the program.

  “Jordi, don’t.”

  “Goodnight, Jace. See you in Dallas.” I shut off the program without letting him say another word.

  It was my way of punishing him for not telling me about Shelby’s kiss. I could fuel some anger from that for days. What else was he hiding? What other information had he withheld?

  He was quick to text me. “I was only trying to protect you.”

  “Stop being my savior and start being my partner,” I couldn’t help but respond back.

  “I will when you will,” he stated simply.

  Neither one of us texted anything more after that.

  CHAPTER SIX

  Dallas, Texas

  February 7, 2012

  Eddie tugged me along in the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, pulling me toward the entrance where we were to be picked up by private car and taken to our hotel suite. He had been plastered to my side since he got back to Los Angeles, after he had decided that we needed to prove to the press how happily married we were. In other words, he learned too late that PING can turn on anyone. Now that they had the super romance between Jace and Shelby to build upon, Eddie and I were old news. The only way we could sell a magazine was if there was ongoing drama, which was precisely what some of their “reporters” were out to prove.

  This was nothing new… what had changed was how they were depicting Eddie in this new scenario. This time they weren’t as sympathetic to Eddie’s philandering ways – especially in light of my health issues.

  HONEYMOON OVER FOR REALITY DIVA? These were the headlines that screamed at me every time I switched on my computer. Reports were quick to point out I was recuperating at Graham’s mansion as opposed to with my loving husband, who had mysteriously high-tailed it out of town. This further set their tongues wagging.

  Pictures of him partying in Los Angeles began to resurface, and tabloids were having a Fierce heyday with all the gossip surrounding both Jace and me.

  The only thing better would be a sex tape, which would make victims of Shelby and Eddie, and laughing stocks of me and Jace.

  It was for that reason alone I didn’t put up a fight when Eddie announced he was coming with me to Dallas. I let him sit with his arm around me, or possessively shield me from the PING throng ever present at LAX. He even bought me a new diamond ring to wear alongside what he still suspected was a cheap, throwaway wedding band.

  He instructed me to shield my face with that hand, so everyone could see the rock of love he had placed on my finger.

  With Eddie it was all about perception over reality.

  I went along for the ride. I was still stinging over Jace’s little confession, so it wasn’t like I was expecting a romantic reunion with him in Dallas.

  Well, that wasn’t entirely true. I expected a romantic reunion that he would essentially beg for the moment he saw me. He’d forget all about Shelby and whisk me away to his room, where we would rediscover all the things we had grown to love about each other.

  It could just be simple again. It would be Jace and me, with no added complications or excessive drama. Just his arms wrapped around me, his breath against my hair, his hands on my body…and those amazing eyes that nearly convinced me I was beautiful.

  I needed him now more than ever.

  Unfortunately he had been MIA quite a bit in the last few days. He had flown home early to Dallas, to get some private time with his family before the craziness of the tour commenced. He was a hot commodity, wanted for every local TV and radio show. They were even going to award him the key to the city. Between all that and the time difference, our communication had become sporadic in recent days.

  And it nearly dried up altogether when he asked me to fly out early to meet his folks, and I told him that I couldn’t – that Eddie would be tagging along for our Texas performances. It was his turn to be hurt, and I couldn’t even really blame him.

  It was all such a gigantic clusterfuck. I had hoped time would untangle all the knots surrounding our lives, but it served only to tighten them. I had no idea what to do except put one foot in front of the other. With the lingering back spasms, that was challenge enough.

  Surprisingly, Eddie was attentive and supportive as he helped me through my first flight post-therapy. I barely had to voice a desire and he’d race to make sure I was comfortable and satisfied. Anyone looking on would have voted him husband of the year. He carried bags, he retrieved drinks, food or magazines. Though we flew first class and had superb service from Los Angeles to Dallas, he was determined to do as much as he could to show to the world he was no deadbeat husband.

  Frankly, it grew tiresome. By the time we made it to the hotel suite, I was exhausted. Wordlessly he turned down the blanket and helped me into bed, bringing a glass of water to the nightstand so I could take my pills.

  I only took them when I knew I was going to rest. Those three pills would have kept me comatose if I took them as directed. Instead, I saved them mostly for sleep, which helped me get the proper rest needed for healing. Of course, this meant that I suffered a little more when I was active. Stretching helped, but I still got fatigued much quicker than before my back went out.

  I was a nineteen-year-old girl and my back had already gone out. These were old people problems. I knew if I could get the weight off, I could feel better faster. And despite what Maggie said, I knew I had to handle it more aggressively than I had been. Every single bite I took made me feel like a ticking time bomb ready to go off again with one wrong move. We still had so many shows left to do, and I was determined by the time we reached my hometown visit in a few months, I would be unstoppable. I would perform every song, dance every step and introduce Jace like I was supposed to as the rightful runner up.

  But I could think about that later. I gulped down my handful of pills, leaned back against the big, fluffy pillows and closed my eyes.

  “I’m ordering from room service,” Eddie announced from the doorway of the bedroom. “Did you want anything special?”

  Cheesecake. With chocolate sauce. And whipped cream. With a side of steak. And French fries with a gallon of Ranch dressing to wash it all down. “No, I’m fine.”

  I was asleep before the tray arrived.

  Around nine o’clock, when I got up to stumble my way along an unfamiliar path toward a strange bathroom, I spied the cart sitting near the doorway. It had red roses in a big vase, along with what looked like champagne chilling in an ice bucket. There was a full meal waiting for me as well as – surprise, surprise – a piece of cheesecake big enough for two. The chef had even placed it on strawberry sauce in the shape of a heart on the plate.

  I peered beyond the tray into the sitting room of our suite. Eddie was watching TV in the dark, a throw blanket covering him and a couple of spare pillows from the bed propping him up. “What’s with all the food?”

  He didn’t even look my direction. “It’s the romantic getaway package.”

  Ah, I thought with a sigh. Just another act in the play. I turned back toward the bathroom.

  “You need any help?”

  “I’ve got it,” I called back to him as I shut and locked the door behind me. When I got back to bed, I checked my messages. There was a text from Maggie, to see how well I tolerated the flight. I texted back there had been a little turbulence, so it jarred me quite a bit, but rest and medication had helped.

  As had the portable massage unit she had sent along with me. It was tiny enough to fit in my purse, and I could actually wear it while out and about. I thought about putting it during the flight, especially after the turbulence. But I would have had to lift up my shirt to affix the pads to my back, and I didn’t want to draw that much attention to my
size by baring any unnecessary skin.

  I even made sure Eddie wasn’t looking before I attached it while in bed.

  She texted back that she had ordered me a massage during our stay, and reminded me to do my stretching exercises. “Don’t push yourself,” she advised, and I could almost see the stern look on her face.

  “Yes, Mom,” I wrote back with a grin.

  I scrolled through my other messages, but Jace had sent me nothing new. Since these were his old stomping grounds, I knew that his schedule was probably chock-full of family and friends that he hadn’t been able to see much since he got cast for Fierce. His family lived just outside of the Metroplex, so he would likely not even make it to Dallas proper until rehearsals on Wednesday afternoon.

  Shelby, likewise, had been fairly quiet. I hadn’t talked to her yet about the kiss, but I was eager to probe and get her side of the story. As far as I knew, she was happily in love and believed that her dreams were all coming true. This did not sound like a person who had been rejected when she made a bold advance toward something more.

  I decided to text her. “Are you in town?”

  She didn’t answer right away, which concerned me. That girl had her phone permanently affixed to her hands. She was a lightning-fast texter who never let a message go unanswered for more than a minute.

  What was she doing? And who was she doing it with?

  Finally, nearly ten minutes later, she finally responded. “Not exactly.”

  “What does that mean?”

  This time her response was much quicker. “I’m in Weatherford.”

  I gulped what felt like a boulder down my throat. Weatherford was where Jace grew up, and where his mother still lived. “Oh?” was all I could say.

  “Jace’s mother insisted I stay with them instead of a lonely hotel. We’ll talk later. It’s family game night!”

  I could hear her cheerful voice in her words. It made me want to punch her right in her smiley face emoticon.

  I went back to Jace’s last message. It was the one that asked me to come early to meet his mother. If I hadn’t, would I be the one enjoying family game night in Weatherford?

  Instead I was in an opulent hotel suite with an asshole just one room away.

  With a sigh I got up and went over to the tray full of food. It was cold but I didn’t care. I rolled it back to the bed quietly.

  By morning there was nothing but crumbs on the plates.

  Eddie shadowed me even to rehearsal. He sat in the front row as I performed, which made me even more self-conscious. I hadn’t been on a stage since I collapsed in Los Angeles, so I was tentative in all movements. The first two songs were fine; it was Jace’s intro and the encore that threatened to do me in. Our stage director, Terrell Simmons, called me on my half-hearted attempts immediately. “Where’s my Jordi? Did you leave her at home?”

  “I left her in the hospital,” I quipped back, sweat pouring from my face with the effort of simply walking and standing onstage. I was supposed to walk down a flight of stairs for Jace’s intro, but there were no railings to support me as I descended. Normally this didn’t bother me, but with my newfound limitations thanks to my back and my hip, I didn’t trust myself.

  After the pain I had been in, I was honestly afraid to move. Maggie’s physical therapy had been extensive, but it hadn’t been the hard labor of performing onstage.

  “I’m not going to be able to do those stairs,” I told him. “Can’t we choreograph something else?”

  His perfectly sculpted eyebrow arched. “And have it performance perfect in two days? You got a wand in your pocket?”

  I sighed as I glanced back at the stairs.

  “Listen,” Terrell said as he placed a hand on my shoulder. “Shelby has done the number a couple of times. Let’s let her do it for the next two shows, and we’ll work on something new for Nashville. I was bored with that number anyway.”

  His flawless smile didn’t comfort me much. The thought of watching Shelby do my song for Jace – in his hometown no less – punched through my gut like a jagged rock.

  Had I really been looking forward to Dallas?

  “Fine,” I muttered.

  “We’ll rearrange the lineup so that you go before Shelby. And you can do this,” he said as he handed me some sheet music. It was the song I gave to Shelby during Fierce, the one that made her a forerunner. A beautiful girl, singing about being an outsider, in a cast full of those who would never fit in? It was poetic in its irony.

  Now I was the creep. It was the gift of irony that kept on giving.

  “This is one of her signature songs,” I argued. “She won’t give this up.”

  “She has to, if she wants your song.”

  And both Terrell and I knew that she did.

  Shelby arrived with Jace and his mother by noon. I gulped back another boulder when I realized Shelby had one arm hooked with her – they were already fast friends.

  It could have been you, I couldn’t help but think to myself.

  Shut up, I forcefully thought back.

  “Jordi!” Shelby shrieked as she broke away and ran up on stage. She gave me a big bear hug. “I’ve missed you so much! It just wasn’t the same without you.”

  I hugged her back but said nothing.

  “Come on, there’s someone I want you to meet.”

  I allowed her to drag me off stage, leaning on her for support as we climbed down the steep steps. She brought me right to Jace’s mother, an elegant Greek goddess with the same dark hair and green eyes as her son. “This is Evangeline, Jace’s mother.”

  Evangeline Riga extended a hand politely, so I took it. “It’s so nice to meet you, Mrs. Riga,” I said.

  “And you too, Jordi,” she replied. “I was so sorry to hear about your back. Are you OK now?”

  I sent a sideways glance to Jace. “Yes. For the most part.”

  “You’re here,” Jace said as he reached for a hug. “Unstoppable as always.”

  I muttered, “Thanks,” as I pulled away. Jace glanced off behind me and I turned to see Eddie approach. He placed an arm possessively around my shoulders. “This is my husband,” I managed to say. “Eddie Nix.”

  It was an interesting quirk of fate. All my teen years I had doodled Mrs. Eddie Nix on every scratch piece of paper I could find. Now the title felt like a prison sentence.

  “It’s nice to meet you, Eddie,” Evangeline said. To me she added, “It must be so nice to have your husband travel with you, especially since you are recovering from a recent health issue.”

  “Eddie is the perfect husband,” Shelby gushed. “I got to stay with them in Los Angeles. He waited on her hand and foot.”

  Jace’s eyes locked with mine, which Eddie must have noticed because he clutched me even closer. “What can I say?” Eddie quipped cheerfully. “When you have a wife as amazing as mine, you do what you can to hold onto her. Right, Chief?” he added pointedly.

  “Absolutely,” Jace answered coolly. He turned back to his mother. “Let me show you around,” he offered with a smile.

  The happy trio said their goodbyes as they turned toward the stage. I swung on Eddie. “Why do you have to be such an asshole?” I grit out in an angry whisper.

  He clutched me to him and said, just low enough for me to hear, “Why do you have to be such a disrespectful whore?”

  I swung my hand but he caught it effortlessly before it made contact with his cheek. Instead of being mad, an evil little smile crossed his face. “Now, now. We’re happy newlyweds, remember?” With that, he pulled me close and planted an angry kiss on my mouth.

  He was laughing as I jerked away. I glanced towards the stage, where Jace was staring directly at us, having caught the whole thing.

  I stomped away toward the snack table. I grabbed the first bag I came across and found a nice, quiet corner to lick my wounds.

  The longer I sat, the more I realized that my little encounter with Eddie had aggravated the strain in my back. Immediately I wanted to take some
pills, but they were at the hotel. Since I always passed out the minute I took them, it seemed pointless to carry them around.

  Terrell called me to the stage. He told me that he had cleared the song change with Shelby, so I needed to rehearse before I could leave for the day. I grabbed the sheet music and painfully walked to center stage. I did it a cappella, channeling all the discomfort in my body – and my soul – into the words. They were lonely words, frustrated words… words that conveyed an exquisite longing I thought I had finally satisfied when I found Jace.

  I had only been kidding myself. I still feel like a weirdo, completely out of place.

  There were tears in my eyes as I finished. I was shocked to discover that Terrell was crying, too. He gave me two thumbs up with a big smile.

  I slowly made my way down the stairs so that I could get Eddie and we could go back to the hotel where my merciful pills waited. Shelby met me at the bottom step. “That was great,” she said, as though it pained her to admit it.

  She almost looked betrayed.

  “Thanks,” I said softly, feeling guilty though I didn’t know why. I mean, it was my song first, right? “I’m going to head back to the hotel. I’m kaput.”

  “Of course,” she said as she forced a smile. “I should get back to Evangeline,” she added. The unintentional barb hit its mark. I nodded and brushed past her. Eddie caught up with me, offering his arm for support.

  I took it.

  Halfway back to the hotel, Jace sent me a message. “We need to talk.”

  I didn’t answer. Of course we did, but what was there left to say? I was still stuck in this marriage, and he was being thrust toward Shelby at every turn. Now, with Eddie in town, we couldn’t even be alone since he was staying with his mother.

  All we could do was wait. Our happily ever after was stuck on pause for the foreseeable future, and no amount of talking could change it.

  That night followed the same pattern as the one before it. I got to the room, I took the pills and passed out, Eddie ordered food and I awoke some time later to eat it all by myself. He mercifully stayed on the couch, either watching TV or unconscious himself.