Burning Sea Green

8

Jerry was surprised, to say the least. It was unexpected and even if the five of us made sexual remarks about James and Ally, we weren't anticipating it to come so soon. Then I thought that she was already at the right age to have her own family, but we didn't know if she was ready for it—if they were ready for it.

Ally decided to talk privately with her father and we let her, the girl promising us to meet us tomorrow and we went back to our hotel.

We were still in Saitama, a few days before we had to fly to Singapore and go back to performing. Lauren and I couldn't stop talking about it and even the other girls were worried about Ally, the five of us making a group chat to discuss a few things. Today, we're going to have a meeting with Jerry and although we already knew the reason he called us for, we still went to his hotel room by seven in the evening after taking our respective dinners.

I was holding Lauren's hand the entire time. I didn't remember Camila knocking on Jerry's door, I didn't remember Ally looking at us like she would break anytime soon, and I didn't remember managing to sit down beside Lauren. I was still in shock.

"So, I guess you all know why you're in here," Jerry said, his voice low and cold.

I kept my gaze on Lauren's finger dancing on my palm to comfort me, effectively working as a distraction.

Jerry sighed. "I just want you to know that whatever I'm going to tell you is a decision personally made for all of us. Actually, I don't mind Ally being pregnant because she is a grown up woman and I believe that she can make her own choices—she knows the things that are good and bad for her." He turned to Ally and reached for her hand, smiling warmly at her. "I'm happy that I'll be a grandfather soon but . . . "

My stomach dropped when he stopped, and I felt like I already knew what he was going to say. Is it going to be the downfall of us?

"Not all things affect positively on everything around it," Jerry continued, my heart shattering when my suspicions were confirmed. "Ally needs time to herself and we have to make sure that the baby is out of danger. Touring, constantly traveling around the world, attending huge events, having concerts, meeting fans, and performing—it wouldn't sit well with a pregnant woman."

"Jerry, this doesn't—" Camila tried to interrupt, but her mouth was shut tight when our manager spoke again.

"The No Filter Tour is going to be the last tour you'll have with Ally."

My lips quivered, gripping on Lauren's hand like my life depended on it as I heard Normani cry. My girlfriend buried her face in my neck and soon I felt warm tears hitting my collarbone. I clenched my jaw as I kept myself from crying, knowing that at least one of us has to stay strong. We've spent so many years together and I know that even if we wouldn't have Ally anymore in the band, we would still be friends as we go on with life. However, something's telling me that this isn't just going to be Ally saying goodbye to us, but the Midnight Iridescence doing the same thing to the music industry.

"What will happen then?" I asked shakily after a long moment of silence.