One Night

Chapter 18

Chapter 18
It was a fortnight after the demo recording, and no matter who Shiana rang, she found the doors closed to her. Piper had tried to keep her friend upbeat about the whole situation but struggled herself at the fight Colah had put before them. He had talked to so many people in the industry where he sullied both Shiana and Piper’s name.
After finishing a set at the cafe and hearing the cheers from her growing audience, Piper had her hope renewed once again. The band did have a good sound and good energy.  She refused to let finding a place for her music destroy the growing positivity of playing live.
“You guys always sound so good,” Shiana complimented them as she helped them pack up their gear.
“Thanks, Shiana,” Piper said as she stopped to hug her friend.
Once they had everything sorted, they sat at one of the cafe tables for a quick meal and a chat together. After a gig, they often discussed what worked or what they should try differently, which they all worked together on. Piper appreciated the ease that they had developed with each other even through the negativity.
After the meal, they sat and pondered what to do next. As the discussion began, a familiar woman opened the door and stepped through. The comradery they all shared knitted them closer together, as they all peered at Shiana’s mother carefully.
She rushed to their table with shaking hands and a pale face. Shiana said nothing until her mother approached their table.
“We need to have a word, girls,” Kay said with a nervous smile.
“What you say to us,” Shiana pointed between her and Piper, “you say to the rest of the band,” she then gestured to everybody else seated at the table.
“You may not believe this, but I like that you’ve found your own way and that you found your way together. It makes me feel so proud,” Kay gushed.
Piper stared at her suspiciously and crossed her arms. Kay was always the one who had put a positive spin on everything. She had made every decision appear to be the rosiest, no matter what Colah said.
“Sounds like your normal spiel. What do you want?” Piper asked.
Kay’s shoulders slumped and defeat surrounded her, as she continued to gaze between her daughter and Piper, “alright, here it is. I wanted to break this to you a bit more gently, but I can see that you won’t believe me. He’s going to tell the truth now that he’s realised you’re not coming back,” Kay admitted.
“How’s that going to help him?” Shiana asked.
“I don’t know. He’s making a desperate clutch at straws. He’s furious that you’ve been going around trying to get a deal for your new music,” Kay admitted.
“So, he intends to tell the world that we’re fakes, but that still won’t get him us, because then the world knows the truth,” Shiana shrugged as if none of this bothered her.
“Honey, he knows he can’t get you back, that’s why he’s changed tactics to destroy you. I don’t know when he’s going to make the press statement, but he’ll make himself look like the good guy. You can assure yourself of that,” Kay gave them the worst possible news.
“I should’ve expected something like that,” Shiana blew out a breath.
“He just wants to give us no chance of success,” Piper said gravely.
“Yes, if he can’t have you, then he doesn’t want anyone else to have you either,” Kay agreed.
“Why are you telling us all of this, Mum? You’ve always been his biggest supporter. Is this some sort of tactic to bring us back to him?” Shiana asked suspiciously.
“Honey, I left your father, but no matter what, he still keeps telling me of his plans,” Kay replied.
“You left him,” Shiana said in a bare whisper.
“I didn’t like how he kept treating you girls. You’re both grown now, and you should get to make your own way in the world,” Kay replied to the surprise of Shiana and Piper.
Shiana frowned, “then why were you always his back up?”
Kay sighed, “in the beginning, I thought he was doing the right thing. I didn’t agree with him trying to steal your music, but a lot of the other stuff didn’t bother me, so I stayed.
“This stuff he’s spouting recently... I just can’t support it anymore. It’s not the way he should treat his daughter or the girl I used to think of as my second daughter.”
Shiana and Piper exchanged glances. Kay sounded genuinely distraught. Was this a way to try to get them back? Neither of them knew, but it still left them with a decision to make.
“How much has he gambled away, Mum?” Shiana asked.
Kay fell silent, “I didn’t think you knew about that,” she finally whispered.
“Of course I did. Is that why he’s so desperate to get us back?” Shiana demanded.
“It’s one of the reasons I can’t stay with him anymore. I need to keep something before he destroys all that we’ve built,” Kay despaired.
Shiana has never seen her mother so distraught, which certainly gave merit to her story. She reached out and patted her mothers hand.
“You girls need to come up with some sort of strategy if you ever want to escape the way he will continue to try to get you back,” Kay warned.
“Yes, and I think we’ll include you as a part of it,” Shiana said, which certainly surprised her mother.
“What do you expect me to do?” Kay raised her hands in defeat.
“There isn’t a single record company who’ll listen to me. They hear my name, and I never get a reply. You were always the positive force, so if you can get a record company to listen, who have nothing to do with dad, then we’ll take the next step in telling the world the truth,” Shiana laid out her deal.
“I’m happy to do that, but your father may say something before I can make a deal,” Kay warned, “he’s incredibly unpredictable at the moment.”
“Does that mean you’ll try and help us?” Piper asked.
For the first time, Kay smiled, “I will, but you have to take the initiative and tell the world the truth about yourselves. It will look better if you tell the truth before your father releases his story,” Kay said as she reached over and patted her daughters hand.
The group watched as Kay left the cafe. Mauve’s face spoke of everything she wanted to say, while the others sat there in shock. Together, they all shared a meaningful look. It was only after she departed that the group began to talk.
Piper knew that she would have to face the world and tell them the truth. As much as she dreaded it, there was also a sense of true freedom that filled her. This would let her fans know the truth, and they deserved to hear that truth.
Everyone had started talking about the next step, but Piper remained silent. She knew exactly what her next step should be, and she would make it.
“I reckon she’s still working with him, and we shouldn’t listen to anything she offers,” Mauve, ever the sceptic, began to speak as Piper tuned back into the conversation.
“You might be right, but mum has never been against my dad. She’s never said anything like that about him before,” Shiana replied.
“We need to go to a local TV station. I’m going to tell our story to them. After that I’ll either have a career or not. The world needs the truth before your dad explodes that truth all out of whack,” Piper’s words shocked all of them.
“What about us?” Mauve asked.
“I honestly don’t know,” Piper admitted.
“Where does that leave the band?” Logan asked.
“I’m just going to tell the truth, and then we’ll keep trying to move forward with the band,” Piper told them.
“Are you sure that’s a good plan?” Evan asked cautiously.
“No, but doing nothing let’s Colah have the upper hand. If I do this proactively, then he can’t make up his own story about us. We’ll get to say what happened, and then I can tell the world about our band, not him,” Piper said with a confidence that she truly didn’t feel.
“What if your mum isn’t on our side?” Mauve asked.
“Then I still get to tell the world our truth and move forward. If we want everyone to know our side of the story  before Colah tells them a pack of lies, then we have to get in first,” Piper slapped one hand into the other.
Even though Mauve continued to frown, an agreement spread through the group. They started to discuss what best to do and how to go about it all. By the time the cafe prepared to close for the night, they had formulated a plan.
It was only when Piper stood outside of her Gram’s house that the reality of what she planned to do hit her. Shiana had rushed inside while Evan stood next to Piper.
“Are you okay?” Evan asked softly.
“I just realised exactly what I agreed to, and I’m not sure how I’m going to manage it,” Piper admitted.
“You’ll do it because it’s the best solution to the problem,” Evan answered with a confidence she struggled to feel.
“I know it is. Colah’s desperation will make him tell the world about us just for spite. We know he has the theory that if he can’t have us, then nobody can,” Piper released her worries.
Evan reached out and gathered her into his arms. It had been an eventful night, and even he wasn’t sure what to think of Kay’s unexpected visit. He did agree that they needed to act now.
“It will work out,” Evan promised.
She stared up at him with a worried frown, “that’s very easy to say but whether it does work out we’ll have to wait and see,” she said but she allowed herself to relish his hug.
There was nothing better than the reassurance of him holding her. It made her believe that every problem in her world would find a solution in the end.
“Come and spend the night with me,” he leaned down to whisper in her ear.
“I’d never live it down between Shiana and Gram,” Piper chuckled derisively.
“So? We’re grown adults, and we’re allowed to enjoy our relationship,” he encouraged as he ran his hands along her arms.
She smiled up at him and he leaned down to whisper a kiss over her lips, “I never did any of this as a teenager, so it feels like I’m still a teenager, I guess,” she blushed as she tried to explain herself.
He stroked a finger along her cheek, and his devilish smile had her wanting to melt into a puddle. With all the drama of the night, this was the best way to release all of that stress.
“So, now I’m seducing a shy, young thing,” Evan teased.
She swatted him with her hand, “such cheek.”
“C’mon, my pretty little princess,” Evan tugged on her hand and led her towards his house.
Piper let him persuade her even as thoughts tumbled over in her head, “I really don’t know how I’m going to do this,” Piper admitted once they were inside his front door.
“We are going to think about that later. Right now, there’s more important things to concern yourself with,” he waggled his eyebrows suggestively, and she laughed.
“I never knew you had such a one track mind,” she told him.
“This is all about me distracting you,” Evan said as he pulled her down on the couch with him.
She tumbled after him and let his kisses soothe her fractured thoughts and revelled in his delightful touches. Passion fired between them, creating heated moments together.
“I like your form of distraction,” she said with an alluring smile when his fingers slid beneath her shirt.
“I hoped you would,” he said as he pulled off her top.
“Don’t stop kissing me,” she begged, and he obliged.
Caught within their passionate embrace, let them both fly free. The growing emotions Piper had for Evan made her realise that she had started to fall in love with him.
As she looked up into those wondrous brown eyes of his, she had to ponder if maybe he felt the same about her. They filled her with a magical warmth that she couldn’t contain.
She had found love and a profound truth within herself. No matter what happened with her plans for her future career, she had found love.
One night filled with doubts became a realisation of a profound love.