The Darkest Days

22. End Days On The Road

Audrey smiled at the camera of her laptop and waved. "Study well, Kylie. Bye!" She blew a kiss and shut the screen down.

Vanessa was in the same room, packing her stuff into her suitcase.

"You know," Audrey started and Vanessa looked up, "while telling it all to mom, I realised one thing and it makes sense."

"What?" Vanessa resumed to roll her clothes into the suitcase.

"Monica. From the start, I thought, why is she helping us, what would she get-"

"Well, now you know. All that attempts to get us to say yes and how she was the only one who gave me encouraging words in my audition; it was all for the ten percent profit."

Audrey sighed. "But the blind faith all these people have in this Michael character. I mean, Monica seems pretty sure that this'll all sore high otherwise why'd she put so much effort into us?"

"I know."

"And this also clears another thing. That girl, Lily Riches, would have been a competition to her. Her new record label mate might have proved as a threat so she invested in us."

Vanessa shook her head in a daze. "Wow. And that way, every time we're talked about, she's mentioned as our mentor."

"Cunningly genius."

"Genius, nonetheless."

Audrey huffed.

"Audrey, I wanted to say something before I leave."

"Shoot."

"You.. I know this isn't where you thought your career would go.." Vanessa sat down. "You wanted to continue dancing and now you're being pulled into something that has always been my dream but you agreed to let go of yours if that meant success in mine. Deciding in just two days that you'll change your entire future just because I told you I really wanted this- I- I don't even know..!"

"V," Audrey spoke gently. "I thought a lot those two days. Don't think you're guilty of pushing me into this. I'm glad we're together in this, thousands don't even get to do it alone, let alone with their flesh and blood!"

"I just-"

"I know what you mean. True, I didn't plan this for myself but I did for you. And this is how you get it. Aren't I the reason you kept singing? Because I kept insisting you?"

Vanessa nodded.

"See? I'd like to keep the position. I'll still be the reason who keep singing. Professionally."

Vanessa smiled lovingly. "This will change our lives. Just how we always prayed for. We can help mom now. We don't have to worry about anything."

Audrey's eyes gleamed. "From the start of this tour, I felt excited. I was doing things I had never imagined. But little did I know, the most unimaginable thing was yet to happen."

Vanessa chuckled. "One that'll rock your world off the dancing track and into singing with me."

A knock on the door made Audrey stop and get up to open it. A guy in his early twenties wearing a white uniform with a hat smiled.

"Hello. My name is Peter and I'm the driver sent to escort Vanessa ma'am to the airport."

Vanessa raised by eyebrows. "I didn't call for a driver?"

Peter's brown eyes shifted inside the room. "Yes, ma'am. Mr Aiden Forrester has sent me, ma'am."

Creeps crawled up Vanessa's body with his obsequious tone and overuse of the word ma'am.