With Love...

extra pinky promise

BELLE

"I'm not sure what you were thinking going out there," Haley says to me once we're alone and inside of the black SUV that drives us everywhere. Me, Bailey, haley, and Bep, my security guard, are all piled into the backseat.

"I was thinking of doing something that meant something to me," I tell her as a short response.

"I told you that-"

"Everything has to go through the label. Yeah, I get it. This is something my heart was telling me to do," I snap at her. "You tell me all the time to choose my heart over my head. Now that I did, you want to be a hypocrite and get mad at me?"

Bailey squeezes my hand next to me. I only ever got super mad at Haley once. I was sixteen and I walked out on stage wearing the wrong outfit. It was supposed to be my Grammy outfit, and I ruined the debut of a couture line. I had never been so embarrassed in my life. Haley was yelling at me about how stupid I was. Then I got mad. She had no right to yell at me when she wasn't there to tell me otherwise. She insisted that she didn't need to be a part of the getting ready process. Ever since then, she's never missed one.

She pinches the bridge of her nose and sighs. "I will fix this, Annabella."

She only uses my full name when she's frustrated with me. I shrug. "Okay."

The driver drops off Haley first. Then we go to my house when Bep and Bailey and I get out. Bep usually stays in my downstairs guest bathroom. He's a big and burly guy, so for being called Bep, it humors me quite a bit.

"Heading to bed, Ms. Graves?" he asks me. "Or is the new Grammy winner going to break her call for bedtime?"

I shake my head. "My bed is calling for me as we speak, Bep. As should yours. You've had a long day."

"My day ends when yours does my dear," he insists and I roll my eyes as I unlock the door.

"I'm proud of you," Bailey tells me and hugs me from the side.

"You've been telling me that for the past three hours, Bails," I chuckle and she grins from ear to ear.

"Because I am. I'm so proud of you. You have no idea. You deserve everything you've gotten up until this point to get you where you are," she assures me as she's holding my face and beaming at me.

I envelop her into a huge hug, squeezing her until it sounds like she can't breathe any longer. "thank you. For everything."

Bailey heads to bed a few moments after out hug and her telling me how proud she is. I half expect a call from my mom right about now, but I know she's probably asleep by now. So is my dad. It's hard living this far away from them because we can't match on time properly. I know I will talk to her tomorrow, but I still wish the most out of this.

My boots come off immediately and I shimmy off my jeans. My shower runs in my bathroom, steaming up the room and fogging the mirrors. I wrap a towel around my body before sliding inside and hopping into the shower. Scrubbing away all of the hairspray that rests in my hair, I was it thoroughly and condition it as well. My face comes next, smearing the make up all over before rinsing it clean.

Stepping out of the shower, I wrap my towel back around me while drying my hair with another. My pajamas are put on instantly before I grab my pen, journal and snuggle into bed, deep under my covers.

dearest reader,

i guess i should write about winning my Grammy. but if I'm being honest, the award hardly means anything to me. it's a huge hunk of metal that shows off I'm better than everyone else. which i guess should make me excited. people think I'm great enough to be the best. but it doesn't. i just want to make music because i have a passion for it. not to win a popularity contest.