Everything Started Here With You

Epilogue

"If you had a chance to go back in time, when would want to you go back to? Is there someone you'd want to go back for and meet? Even if you could not return?"

-- 18 Again

Tamera and I walked down the street hand in hand. Restaurants and bars were buzzing with noise and anticipation. I was more than excited for what was going to happen in a week. Who would have thought I'd take another hit at being a popstar? I'm only in my mid-twenties. No one is going to judge me with how young singers were today.

"Why do I have to walk you to work?" she asked.

"Abby's working and you said if I needed anything, you'd be there for me," I explained.

"Lexi's more than free. Why didn't you ask him?"

"Because, she already did me a huge favor and it'll be weird asking her again so soon."

"It's been three months. What could she possibly take another favor as?"

"I wouldn't know, but I'm sure she wouldn't want to come back here. Luca only has a couple of months before he's on parole."

"Can't we just have some women lie about what he's done?"

I ignored her and we arrived at the entertainment company in time. Tamera opened the door for me and smiled as I walked inside. People I thought I'd never see again, greeted me like I'd never left. Others took one look at Tamera and their whispers died down. Either she was giving them a look or she looked like someone who could take all of their jobs with one work.

"Who are we meeting anyway?" Tamera asked.

"My old agent and manager." I took her hand again. "I guess it'll be nice seeing them again."

"Aren't they the ones that kicked you to the curb the moment they found out Liam robbed you blind?"

"...Mhm."

"Believe me when I say you're being naïve."

"What? How?"

"Sha'Kera, they dropped you, because you were broke. Now they want you back when you're more successful with a husband who makes more than you."

Okay. Fine. That's true, but I'm not being naïve. I know what I'm doing. I know how to handle people who're only after money. It's not hard to pretend to be the teenager I was about six or seven years ago.

"We can't worry about that now," I said. "We're already there."

"That fast? We haven't even gone in the elevator."

"If I remember correctly, no one really likes the top floors. Emergency purposes."

"Oh. Smart."

I knocked on the door and waited. I'm sure they would be excited to see me. If push comes to shove, then I'm out of here. I'll let Tamera choose my entertainment company as promised. And she can even pick a new name if needed. Who wants to remind the world of what happened a long time ago? I'm here to have some fun and fun is what my fans are going to get.

"Sha'Kera!" Blaine exclaimed when she saw it was me at her door. "Gosh, it's been so long, hasn't it?

"Of course." I hugged her. "I thought I'd come a day early to check out some things. Just to scout out changes."

"You know what." Blaine sighed. "I'm actually glad you came by today. We have something to talk about."

"Like what?"

"I'd love it if you could step into my office. Your...friend can come in, too."

Tamera sucked her teeth and we followed Blaine into her office. It was smaller than I remembered. Maybe it was the endless number of trophies and plaques. Or it really had always been small and I never noticed. Either way, it was making me extremely claustrophobic.

"Make yourself comfortable or whatever," she muttered. "I know we're barely just beginning to...know each other again, but I need you to understand something. We can't send you back into the popstar world with Blue Ace as your name."

I looked behind me at Tamera. She shook her head. One sign that I was already about to be swayed. We just had a talk with Lexi over two weeks ago. I needed to be the leader in this situation. No one would tell me what to do.

"Why not? Everyone would love to know I came back under the same name. They'll want to see how much I've changed," I argued.

"It's not that, honey. It's just that...your name is associated with Liam. Do you really want them to remember you as that pop singer who got robbed by her boyfriend? I hope not."

"Fine. But, that will be the only thing you talk to me about. I'm not the same teenager from before." I took a deep breath. "I'd like to have a different manager. Ashlyn was great and all, but...you know how she was always on my heels about being perfect."

"Why not just pick another agent, too?"

"You and I got along better than I did with her, Blaine. I know you were the one to drop me first, but you weren't afraid to tell me why."

"And I trust that Sha'Kera knows what she's doing with trusting you," Tamera jumped in. "You mess up and you can say goodbye forever to getting her back with you."

"Fine. I'll consider a new manager. Is that all?" Blaine asked.

"Of course." Tamera tugged on my arm. Time to go. "We'll be waiting for the call."

"I hate her," Tamera exclaimed as we walked out the building.

"Why?" I asked. "She's not that bad."

"Not that bad? Keke, she's going to use you like she did all those years ago. I don't want to see that happen to you again."

"I'll be extra careful."

"Being careful doesn't help you all the time. I think you should...consider Plan B."

Plan B wasn't much different from coming back to my old company. The only difference was that I would be under different management and a different name. I had yet to come up with one. I didn't want it to sound too generic or flat.

But it's not like I'm really going to consider it. I want to see if I can spot a difference in the management here. If I can't, then I'll leave them behind. Hopefully the kids won't feel too stressed out about having their mother gone all the time. They're old enough to know that things can change in their lives.

"Think about how you're going to have to live here," she started. "If Luca finds out when he gets out of prison, he's going to come for you. And not just come for you. He's going to demand you tell him where Lexi or Sha'Kayla are. Do you want that to happen? After you just mended both friendships?"

"Do you always have to point out the negative side?" I whined.

"You never look at the negative side, so I have to do it for you."

"...Fine. I'll consider Plan B. If I do decide to...change management, I'll need a new name."

"Leave it all to me."

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Woooooooooow! This book is finally finished and I'm so happy about it. I'm considering posting it to another website, but we'll see. Gosh, I'm gonna miss writing new chapters. Hopefully I'll be able to edit it in a couple of days. Couldn't be too hard. Love you guys and I really hope you enjoyed reading this story. Love you all.😘😘💜

⚜Author-nim⚜