A Country Music Love Story (Chris Young)

Chapter 10

March 2013

A few months have passed and Chris is doing much better since the death of his best friend. It was a bumpy road, but a lot of therapy and alone time at home together really helped him get into the groove of a new normal. We're both home for the weekend, which is rare, so Chris asked me to go to the recording studio with him so I could hear his newest single.

I showered and put on a pair of dark denim boot cut jeans, a white flowy T-Shirt, my brown square toe boots, and I grabbed my Grand Ole Opry hoodie in case it got cold. Chris had on his usual jeans and T-Shirt and boots.

We climbed into his old Ford Ranger and headed to the studio.

Once we were there, we went straight to the recording booth and he smiled and shook hands with the producer as we walked inside. I said my hello's and sat down on the couch (This studio is set up like the one Juliette Barnes is in on Nashville). Chris sat next to the producer and they pulled up the song and hit play. 

As it played, I smiled at Chris and my foot involuntarily began to tap. After it was over, he looked at me nervously. "So?", he asked. "I love it!", I said. 

A few months later in July, my flight landed at the Nashville airport and I headed straight to my dad's house. Chris and I were apart again for our birthdays, so we decided to have one big cookout with our families. When I pulled in, I saw Chris' truck and a few cars I didn't recognize and headed inside. 

When I got inside, I smiled as I saw my dad, Trisha, Chris, his mom and dad, and his brother and sister. 

After a few hours of sitting outside, I threw my hair up into a ponytail and sat on the edge of the pool with my feet in the water next to Chris. I was wearing a pair of Daisy Duke cut off's and a black tank top with my white string bikini on underneath. Chris had on a pair of swim trunks and a T-Shirt and we both had on sunglasses.

Chris grabbed his phone off of the towel behind us and snapped a quick selfie of the two of us and posted it with the caption: 'What better way to celebrate your birthdays than a day by the pool?'.

After we all went inside and changed into formal clothes and we had our hair and makeup fixed, we all headed out to the fancy restaurant. "Okay, maybe THIS is when he proposes", I thought as we went down the highway. I love him. I really do. But I want a marriage and a baby or two.. And it's starting to look like I'm not gonna get that from Chris.

Once we were at the restaurant, we all sat at a long table. Chris on my left side and my dad on my right. All through dinner we laughed and joked with Chris' parents and siblings and nothing ever happened. I gave him a new Rolex watch and he gave me a necklace with a diamond 'C' as the charm.

When we got home, we celebrated the only way we knew how.

In August, Chris went out on a fishing trip with my dad and got a cut on his leg and we all thought it was fine. 

On the 14th, I was at home for a writing session at the label and I got a phone call from his band leader saying he was in extreme pain and heading to the hospital. 

When I got to Nebraska, I went straight for the hospital and they led me to a room where he was asleep in a hospital bed. I went straight to his bedside and took his right hand in mine and the doctor came in. "Hello, I'm assuming you're the girlfriend?", she says. "Yes", I said. "It's very nice to meet you", she said and I smiled at her. "It looks as though Chris has gone into septic shock. We need to do surgery immediately", she said. 

Before I knew it, he was being wheeled out and down the hall. I called my dad and told him what was going on and asked him to call Chris' parents.

A few hours later, I was pacing in the waiting room when a doctor came up to me. "Ms.Brooks?", he asked. I looked up and walked over to him. "Yes? Is Chris OK?" "He's doing fine. He's on his way back to his room as we speak if you'd like to come with me". I smiled and we headed to his room where he was laying in bed with the back of the bed up so he was in a sitting position. He smiled at me and I smiled back and walked over to him. "You had me scared to death", I said as I sat on the bed. He grabbed my hand and looked at me and I giggled through my tears when I realized how high on pain pills he was.

After he was finally released the next day, we headed home to Nashville and he was on strict bed rest to let his leg heal.

After his leg was finally healed, he got to go back out on tour.