Significance (4th in the Encore!!! tour)

Chapter Twenty Two

Amy Glenn's POV

We had a guest on the tour in the next city, one of the McDonough cousins. Caila was only sixteen, but she had the voice of an angel, and the talent of an artist. Before the concert, Poe's Raven, the boys, and I were hanging out in the dressing room, so she asked us if she could do an interview for her radio station.

"I apologize, your what?" Brighton asked disbelievingly, brushing back his hair with his hand. I was a little taken aback as well, she was just a kid!

"Radio station, you know, people tune in... listen to music an' the host does a talk show piece an' they have bands talk about their music?"

She had sass, I will give her that...

"We would love to," I answered before Brighton could start going back and forth with the girl. He really enjoyed a good debate, but we did not really have the time or the patience for it right now. "Fire away."

She pulled out a recording device and pressed play, ready to begin. "Alright, hello, everyone, this is Country Girl's Advice, an' I am backstage with Poe's Raven an' Significance, the two McDonough Studios bands that are on tour currently. Raven, I am goin' to start with you. What was your biggest inspiration for the songs on this album, "Aftershock"?"

"I would have to say that this album is a bit different than our last because it is less about us and more about storytelling," Raven informed her as a hair stylist pulled her dark brown locks back from her face. "This album is so much more mature and dark than our first album, so I would say the biggest inspiration would have to be our imaginations." I noticed that she didn't mention the songs about being a mom. I would question her about it later, but she kept the girls pretty well out of the spotlight.

"Awesome! Alright, now... Brighton. Who would you consider to be the leader of Significance? Or is there one?" Caila continued, leaning a little closer.

"Amy is the leader, hands down," Brighton told her, honesty lacing his British accent. My head shot up.

"Me? I thought it would be you, or Meth..." I trailed off as both boys glanced at me.

"Meth is the leader of the family, but you are the leader of the band. Do you notice how you are our focus piece, always the one at the point of the triangle? You make the right decisions at the right times, and neither of us are capable of doing so as well as you," Brighton shared. Meth reached for my hand and held it tight, bringing it up to his lips and kissing it.

"That is so cute!" Caila exclaimed, tucking her dark, almost black, ringlets back behind her ear. "Amy, do you find it hard to balance bein' a mom an' constantly bein' on the road?"

"Sometimes, I feel like it should be harder," I admitted, "but it seems almost second nature. The only time Adele and I are really apart is when we are onstage. Even now, she is on a play date, living her own adorable, little life. There are so many kids on tour with us that she has tons of friends and her schedule is pretty regulated, like it would be if she was growing up a different way." Raven nodded in silent agreement.

"Alright, now Melody..." Caila moved from member to member, asking more questions about our music and who we were than superficial questions like what we were wearing or our love lives. She certainly knew how to work a room. It was more of a conversation than an interview, really. She asked our opinions, prodded teasingly for previews (which, of course, we did not give her), and gave her own comments and interjections, as well as making jokes and kidding around with us.

By the time we went on stage and did our set, all I could find myself doing was waiting to hear what Caila's voice sounded like. I was definitely not disappointed.

"A message in a bottle / washed up on foreign shores. / You didn't think it would ever surface, / but here it is at my front door. / It's from back when we were stupid, / from back when we were young; / you wrote your feelings down on paper. / You said you thought I was the One..." She had the audience entranced, even though they had been unsure of her in the beginning. Poe's Raven filled in the pre-chorus and chorus, adding instrumental and vocal harmonies. "Life hasn't been gentle, / and neither were the waves. / I guess it's really true when they say, / 'wisdom comes with age...'"

The chorus was catchy for a ballad, which was surprising and very welcomed. It was bouncy and youthful, which fit her perfectly. "Cause we've been together for / seven years, / through laughter, through anger, / through silent tears, / and though the waves / battered the bottle... / we didn't let it break." The song was all about not letting love fall apart over time and it was gorgeous. Lyrically, it was inspired, and I really wanted to write a song with her.

Maybe on our next album...

After the concert had ended, Caila was escorted out along with the rest of us. Cameras flashed, we signed autographs... nothing was out of the ordinary. Until Caila tripped and Brighton caught her hand.

Suddenly, the security guards were holding everyone back as they tried to press in on us, asking questions like, "How long have you two been dating?" "Why are you hiding your relationship?" "Isn't she a little young for you, Brighton?" "Are you cheating on Amy because she was cheating on you?" Everything blew up in our faces, almost literally. The security team quickly loaded us onto our bus and Caila was ushered away with her cousin, Autumn, as in Autumn Derrickson, the pianist of Poe's Raven. Terra was in the mix somewhere, making snap decisions and trying to assuage the situation.

Meth went around the interior of the bus, checking that all the curtains were closed and all of the windows were locked. Brighton and I could only sit on the couch in shock. Where had the fans gone, the ones who followed our tour for the music? The ones who believed that we would not lie to them about superficial things like relationships?

"They are still on that love triangle thing," I said finally, breaking the ice and crossing my arms as Stan got the bus moving. We were following the plan to pick up the kids at Caila's place, but we were going to have to maneuver vehicles much better than originally planned. Charlotte and the children had been assisting at Caila's ranch, which was actually the only way they were able to get her onto the stage.

"You would think that they would just let it go, already," Meth huffed, sitting down and pulling me into his lap and playing with my hair. I grabbed his hand and held it. Confrontation had never been one of my strong suits.

"They pounced on her," Brighton finally said after a momentary lapse in conversation. He had been taken aback by the reporters' audacity, as had we all. "The only thing that I did was correct her footing."

"We know, sweetheart, we all saw it," I consoled, pulling Ivy the sugar bear out of her cage and allowing her to jump to his shoulder. Her big, curious eyes would cheer him up; they always did. My best friend was hurting, beating himself up for what had happened. There was nothing he could do. None of us had expected the media to turn so violently.

Terra made an executive decision and went to drop off Caila personally, picking up the children and returning them to their respective parents. She did not want anyone from my band to be seen on her property in case another sleazy reporter was skulking around.

I went through my evening routine with Adele, but it was not the same. Brighton was not laughing and wandering around us, keeping my daughter awake like he would any other night. He was curled up on the couch with a blanket draped over him, a sugar bear on his shoulder, and a small dog cuddled into his side. Those accusations hit deep with him, I just could not tell how deep.