Anna was silent a second, then she said, “You don’t have to tell me that all the time, you know? I know you love me, Griff.”
“No, I do have to say it. I don’t want to be the douche who doesn’t let people in. I want those I care about to know I care about ’em. And you and the girls…well, nothing is more important to me than you three.”
A throaty laugh escaped her. “I like this new sensitive side to you, babe. It’s incredibly hot.”
I smiled in the darkness. “If you think that’s hot, just wait until this is over with. I’ll be so sensitive, you won’t know what to do with me.”
“I’m sure I’ll think of something…Good night, babe. Good luck tomorrow.”
“Thanks. Night.”
We hung up and I stared at my ceiling for thirty minutes before I finally passed out.
The next morning, I woke up with a very familiar pain in my stomach. It sort of felt like I’d eaten a pile of rocks last night, and they had all merged together into a super-rock that my body was never going to be able to pass without fatally injuring me. I knew the sensation would go away as soon as the results were read though. I was either moving on or not. Simple as that.
As I walked around backstage with Gibson on my shoulders—because even a rule about sequestering couldn’t keep my daughter from the stage—I muttered complaints about how the producers should give the contestants a heads-up on the results. “I mean, the polls closed at midnight, so they’ve known the results for hours. How hard is it to slip notes under our doors, letting us know if we should pack or not?”
“Well, I think it’s supposed to be a surprise…otherwise the people who didn’t pass would just leave. Kind of anticlimactic for filming.”
I looked over at Liam with knitted brows. “I know I asked a question, but I didn’t really want an answer. Especially a logical one.”
He looked at me blankly for a minute, then nodded. “Yeah, you’re right. We’re all in the same hotel. It would take them five seconds.”
A huge grin erupted on my face. “Exactly!”
I heard the kitschy theme music beginning, and saw Sam coming around the corner to collect my daughter. He always watched over her for me when it was my turn to perform. “Time’s up, baby girl,” I told her.
She whined as I removed her from my shoulders. “I want to go with you!”
I’d heard this before, but the producers had made it quite clear that she couldn’t go onstage with me, not even for introductions. They said it would give me an unfair advantage. I had to agree with their assessment. Anyone who laid eyes on my angel’s blond curls and sky-blue eyes would vote for me in a heartbeat. The backstage footage of the two of us together was probably the real reason why I’d even made it this far. God, I hoped I passed.
Liam squatted to her level when she began to pout. “Gibby, you’ve got to stay here and look after Crock for me, remember?” He handed her the stuffed crocodile he’d bought early on as a bribe. Gibson snatched it away from him and hugged it tight. Liam held his arms open. “I need my good luck squeeze.” She obliged him, and he laughed as he held her.
Seeing how close they were made me smile, but it faded the minute I heard our cue. “Time to go, bro.”
Liam’s grin faded as he looked up at me. “Right…”
When it was time for the results to be read, Liam and I were in the same group. I hated it when that happened. It made it even more nerve-wracking. The host doubled up the anxiety by reading our names together. I squeezed Liam’s hand as I scanned the crowd for Anna. I found her and Onnika right as the host delivered our fates. “You will both be moving on! Congratulations!”
It took me a minute to register what he’d said. Anna understood first. She started jumping and hollering for me. She was so loud, she startled Onnika, who started to cry. That’s when it sunk in for me…final four. I’d done it. I was moving on.
The next week’s results were just as gut-churning. I swear, by the end of this, I was going to have an ulcer. They had the final four stand onstage together as they announced the final two. I hated that we were all together for this—it meant I had to see the losers’ reactions, and if I lost, I’d have the winners consoling me while they were bouncing up and down with excitement. I’d rather be told the news separately so I could take a minute before facing the world. All my dreams were on the line here.
The four of us clenched our hands together as the host walked down the line, saying our names and giving us each meaningful glances. My heart started pounding in my chest. Just read the fucking card already.
“Are you guys ready to learn who the final two contestants will be?” The four of us looked at each other, nodded, and squeezed hands tighter. This was going to suck.
“All right,” the host said. Our pairing for the final show is…” I closed my eyes and prepared for the worst. “Liam and Griffin!”
My eyes shot open as surprise flooded my body. No fucking way! Liam and I were going to the finale? I’d hoped that would happen, but there were times when my doubt had been so strong that hope had seemed a million miles away.
For the final voting show, we got to play with the D-Bags. Liam went first, while I watched from backstage. The first thing that struck me while I watched him was how natural Liam looked up there with the guys. Matt and Liam joked around while they got ready, Evan gave him a friendly pat on the back, and Kellan helped him breathe. They all looked like they’d been performing together for years. And then, when the camera turned on and they started playing, the sound struck me. They were good together. Seamless. Flawless. The song they’d chosen had a pretty complicated bass line, but Liam was killing it. He sang all his backup vocals on time, and from what I could hear, on pitch. It was a little painful to see how perfectly somebody else could fit in with the D-Bags, and it reminded me of something I should have remembered when I’d ditched them—I needed them more than they needed me. I’d been given a gift when I’d been invited along, and I hadn’t appreciated it. I did now.