Hiding Place || Tori Kelly

2 Timothy 2:14

tuesday
8 AM

Tori sluggishly sat up in the queen-sized bed and grabbed her ringing phone to hit her alarm. Life didn't feel real. The light blue morning sky leaked into her room, but all she saw was her reflection in the mirror parallel to the bed. Messy hair, ripped t-shirt hanging off of her shoulder, covers sprawled about. That was her life. Messy. But the life inside of her. That was surreal. She couldn't see the bump or feel the baby move. She didn't even really feel different. Therefore, being pregnant hadn't really caught on yet. And it didn't help that she was a pretty slow processor as it was.

As Tori slipped out of bed, her vision went a little blurry and she became light headed. Quickly, she leaned back against the bed and took a breather. "Woah," Tori whispered as her eyes refocused. Her head was still a tad airy, but she was well enough to walk to the bathroom to get ready for the day.

8:21 AM

Music blared as Tori stood in the mirror staring at her sweatshirt and black leggings. While she decided what to do with her hair, Alexa FaceTimed her like she did almost every day. "How are you feeling today? Any sign of Aunt Flo?" Alexa asked. Tori glanced down to see Lex doing her eyeliner and shook her head.

"Nope," she simply replied. She didn't want to say anything to anyone else about the baby until she got it confirmed by a doctor and everything. "But, it's still early," she lied. Alexa nodded and dropped her makeup in its bag.

"True," she agreed. "Hey, how did your meeting with Kirk go?" Alexa asked. "Any new music on the horizon?" The mother of two pried. Tori shrugged and pushed her hair into a top knot.

"You know I can't say," she forcibly smiled. Alexa nodded and picked up her phone, taking them to the office. Tori caught a glimpse of the baby items in her "sisters" room and felt the pit of her stomach sink. She started to get panicky and stepped out of frame to catch her breath. With her hands on hips, Tori took deep breaths.

"You're fine, Tori. Breath before you pass out," she hyperventilated.

"Tori? You there?" Alexa asked, not seeing the singer. Tori gripper onto the sink and dropped her head to keep from vomiting on the spot.

"Yeah," she squealed. "I'm gonna call you back, André is calling," she excused, not technically lying since he was calling. She just didn't mention that she wasn't going to answer.

"Okay. Give me a call later," Alexa offered right before Tori hung up and sat on the edge of the tub.

"God, what is happening?" She asked, genuinely starting to feel her anxiety worsen. For a split second, Tori though of canceling that day's session, and something told her to go back to bed. Sadly, she didn't listen. First mistake.

9 AM

Tori sat in the booth staring at the words Kirk had before her and it just didn't feel right. "Tori, we wanna run it back and pick it up from the second verse," Scooter said, preparing his client to restart. Tori glanced at the music as she absentmindedly played with her fingers.

"Tori? Everything okay?" Kirk asked, getting a bit protective of the girl who he'd grown to love like a daughter. It was unusual for her to need more than three takes with a song, but here they were; an hour in, on the second verse. The twenty-seven-year-old took a deep breath and did her best to get through the song, but her runs were off and the melody didn't flow with the words. Truly, Tori's heart wasn't in it and it was clear.

"Can we take a break," she asked. Scooter slapped the free space on the mixer board and sat back, scaring Tori a bit. Kirk could see that she was a bit shaken by Scooter's actions and shot him a dirty look.