𝐜𝐫𝐲𝐢𝐧' 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐥𝐨𝐮𝐝 ─────⋆⋅★𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘸 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘺

𝟏𝟒. 𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐞 𝐟𝐮𝐧

Suki sat cross-legged on the plush rug in her living room, knees tucked up to her chest, the faint hum of LA traffic seeping through her open window. 

Her phone was propped against a stack of lyric journals—pages and pages of scribbled thoughts, half-written lines, and fragments of melodies. 

The last month had been nothing short of a blur, time bleeding together like ink in water. She'd locked herself away in her studio, barely leaving the house, a strange kind of hibernation before she could break through to something new.

Her PR team handled her socials now, sending out perfectly polished posts and updates while she stayed hidden in the background, creating in the quiet. 

This album, it wasn't like the others—it felt raw, something she had to drag out of herself, each word clawing its way to the surface. But it was all wrapped in the pretty package that was Suki Monroe. 

Gracie had been a constant presence during her self-imposed exile, bringing over takeout and bad rom-coms, reminding her to eat and sleep when she lost track of the hours. 

And then there was Madelyn, on the other end of a FaceTime screen, laughing and dancing around her trailer as Suki sent her demo after demo, getting her honest, sometimes brutal, but always loving feedback.

Suki smiled as she listened to Madelyn, the sound of her castmates fooling around in the background. She pictured Mads sitting in her chair, probably still in costume, her bright blonde hair pulled into some extravagant updo for the scene they were filming. Suki had been getting these calls every few days, and each one had pulled her a little further out of the fog she'd been in.

"So when can I finally add these to my playlist?" Mads asked, her voice buzzing with excitement.

Suki leaned back, pressing her shoulders into the soft couch behind her. "The album comes out tonight." She grinned, feeling the rush of saying it out loud, her heart pounding. Tonight.

Madelyn let out a dramatic gasp. "Oh my god, Suki! How could you keep this from me?" she laughed, but the excitement was genuine. "Wait, where are you performing? I will catch a flight to come see you live."

"You don't need to do that," Suki said quickly, shaking her head even though she knew there was no stopping her.

"Girl, get real. Of course I'm coming!" Mads shot back, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. Suki could almost see her rolling her eyes through the screen. 

"Night, guys!" Madelyn called out to her castmates, and Suki heard their faint replies before the line quieted, leaving just the two of them. 

And with that quiet came a pang in her chest—the ache of knowing Drew might be close by. The silence from him had been deafening, and yet here she was, still wondering if he was thinking of her at all.

"I mean, I'm performing in Colombia next week," Suki said hesitantly, almost bracing herself for the flood of emotions that mentioning Drew's name would bring.

"No way!" Madelyn practically squealed. "Oh my god, I'm going to cry. Please, come to set! Please! Fuck Drew, I'll find a way to make sure he's nowhere near here," she added, her voice turning pleading.

Suki hesitated, fingers tracing the edge of her phone case. For weeks, she'd been telling herself she was over it. Over him. 

They'd never had that call, because she got Gracie to delete his number from her phone. 

"I don't know if that's a good idea," she started, but then something shifted inside her. 

No, she thought. She'd spent too much time hiding, too much time letting Drew dictate her happiness—or lack of it. He had made his choices, and now, she would make hers.