"She'll be back. She has to. Do you have a phone? Can you call her?", Hannah asks, sitting down on the cold concrete parking lot.
"I tried that. I um- I called fourteen times...", I answer, choking up again.
"Oh, um...I-"
"I never thought this would happen. I - I thought they loved me. And don't try to tell me that they do, this isn't any type of love I've ever heard of.", I say, tears rolling down my cheeks. "Crap... You should get back inside...people are waiting...I'll stay here, see if she comes back..", I add.
"No! There's no way I'm leaving you here. Not like this.", she responds.
"Hannah, it's fine, please. I'll be okay. They need you...", I say, completely lying about the "it's fine" part. Sure, I want other fans to experience her, but, I need someone. I secretly hope she refuses.
"I mean...are you sure you'll be okay?", she asks reluctantly.
"Yea, yea of course.", I say, once again lying through my teeth.
She leans over, hugging me one last time, and plants a kiss on my forehead. "I'll be back for you. I promise. I'm not going to leave you for good unless I know you're safe.", she whispers, and heads back inside, wiping tears from her own face.
For three hours, I sit on the warm black concrete, watching cars go by and hoping with all of my heart that one of them is my mom. Finally, Hannah barges through the door and back outside, "Ains-", she yells, before noticing me sitting in a new spot.
"Still...?", she asks in a whisper, slowly walking towards me.
"Yep. Still.", I respond, a tear rolling down my cheek.
"Ainsley. We have to get going soon, but this is our last show so it's just home from here. Since your mom hasn't texted or called or showed up - would you like to come with me? Live with me, at least until your mom hopefully comes to her senses?", she asks.
"Wow. I - um. Hannah...no. I can't...You really don't hav-", I say, shocked.
"No, Ainsley, don't do that. If you don't want to come, don't, but trust me, I want you to come." she says, cutting me off.
"Well...I um...of course I want to...but are you sure?", I ask, concerned she may be acting impulsively, as we all know she tends to do sometimes.
"Of course I'm sure. We have 30 minutes. Text your mom and let her know that if she doesn't come within 30 minutes, you're coming with me. Call, too. Leave a voicemail if you have to.", she says.
Ainsley:
Mom, if you don't come by in thirty minutes, I'm leaving with Hannah. If you ever loved me, you'll come.
6:39 pm
Mom:
I did love you. That's changed. Go. I told you, you're not mine anymore.
6:43 pm
I slam my phone on the concrete, tears rolling down my cheeks. Is this actually happening? I thought she loved me. I knew she wouldn't accept it, but this? This was completely out of the question for me.
"Hey..What's going on?", Grace asks walking towards me.
"My mom..she left. She just. She just left.", I reply, tears soaking my cheeks.
"Okay I'm sorry but...", she says, sitting down next to me, "What the fucking hell, man!"
I laugh, wiping tears from my cheeks.
"No, seriously. What the fucking hell? How could someone do that? I don't get how anyone could do that to their child, especially someone as incredible as you...", she says, shaking her head.
"Time to go!", Mamrie says, bursting through the door, "Oh did I um..ruin a moment....?"
"No you're fine. C'mon, Ainsley, you're going with Hannah, right?", Grace asks.
"Yea, I'll go find her.", I say as I stand up. I walk through the door and into the huge auditorium, and see Hannah on the phone, facing the stage.
"Look. You can't do this to her. I'm happy to take her with me, she's an amazing girl, but you're her mother! You can't abandon her like this. Do you know what this is doing to her? You're destroyi-", she argues to m mother, probably. "No! I won-" "You can't!", she removes the phone from her face, putting it in her pocket.
"Oh, how much of that did you hear..?", she asks, turning around.
"Not much...How'd you get her number?", I respond, confused.
"Oh, you better believe, I have me some connections.", she replies, smirking. "Now come on, we're late.", she wraps her arm around my shoulder, leading me to her car.
