The Darkest Days

108. Graduation

Audrey and Vanessa settled in their car silently.

"Let's go." Jeff said to the driver.

The car moved along the streets of Barcelona, with their hotel as the destination.

"Vanessa." Audrey moved closer to her. "Look at those banners."

Vanessa looked up to where Audrey was pointing.

The sun blinded her for a second. Her eyes narrowed as she adjusted to the bright light to find a huge poster of them on top a building.

"Now look below, at the walls."

The walls had their smaller posters posted along.

"At that station."

The bus stop had electrical boards advertising their concert that was the next day.

"We are not giving it all away." Audrey said. "These people have been waiting for us since months. You only thought of them after yesterday, when Madrid was over and not before it. But for them, they have been counting days."

Vanessa gulped and followed through all the posters she could see for the rest of the ride.

"Gather at the lobby after washing up. We have stage rehearsals." Jeff told them as they checked in.

"Someone said it right." Audrey said when they were alone in the elevator. "Don't date your boss."

"It's the people with power who should know that before popping the question because we can't refuse." Vanessa said.

"You said yes to him because you liked him."

"I did. But what if I didn't? Do you think I could've said no?"

"Duh?"

"You haven't been paying attention." Vanessa shook her head, almost disappointedly, as she walked out of the elevator.

****

An hour later, they were waiting for their car to arrive.

Audrey received a call from Kylie, who told her how her acting classes were coming along back in New York.

Vanessa looked around, catching the eyes of a few hotel staff who were trying to catch glances at them without being noticed.

She decided to write down what she felt. It'll not only be therapeutic, but might help with a song later.

She started typing on her phone:

The realization came falling down on me recently. I can never go back to my old life. Even all of this is temporary. People will watch me fall someday and it'll be public humiliation because they'll gossip about it. It's inevitable, our downfall.

Specially since now I don't know what Cedric will do.

I miss my simpler days. My only worry used to be Luke dropping out last minute. Those kinda stresses have become second nature now.

I miss Luke, not as a boyfriend but just as a person in my life who wasn't planning against me all the time. Even when he had started to, it was still tolerable. He's not much capable like Cedric.

I don't have Liam either. He used to listen to all my concerns. Why did he and Audrey have to break up? Don't they know family gets attached to your boyfriend? I should've had a say in their breakup or something.

Truth is, outside of this new world, I have nothing. And no one. That's why the transition to America was easy and no-brainer.