Chorus (One)

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The mist of the early morning covered the skyscrapers topping charcoal clouds in the sky as the cacophony of traffic flooded in my ears. 

"Kade?  We're here."

I didn't hesitate before grabbing Jackie's hand in mine.  

I was going to need all the help I could get for this one. 

"It'll be alright.  I'll be in the waiting room if you need me."

One look into her clouded eyes and I realized just how emotional she was, too. 

She'd been in my life long enough to feel like Bree was a daughter of her own.  

It might've been completely backwards, but she was the first one I called after getting the news, not my parents.  I had always just assumed they'd have gotten their own call as well, but that wasn't the case. 

They'd had no idea.  

When the news broke, they were more angry they weren't notified rather than the fact their only daughter had just tried to off herself. 

With my mother's cushy lifestyle with my half brother and her new husband, I didn't even think she'd have the capacity for empathy anymore; not after how we'd all found out the truth about Rich.  

That was another sibling for another day, though. 

I took in a deep breath before leaving the comfortable confines of the car and trekked up the steps to the five star treatment center. 

The receptionist did a double take as I took in the clinical yet somehow cozy feel to the place and soaked up the ornate decorations with plants lining almost every shelf while the hospital doors swung open against white walls with buzzers going off every few minutes. 

"Kade Hendrix, here to see Brianna Foster."

"Yes, we were told you were coming today.  Someone is coming up right now to escort you to see Miss Foster.  Would you like anything while you wait?  Water, coffee?  We have wafers too if—"

"No thank you, I'm fine."

Her eyes darted all over my body almost like she couldn't believe I was standing in front of her. 

"I'm sorry, but would you mind—"

"Mr. Hendrix, I'm Doctor Cameron, your sister's main physician here.  Please follow me."

He turned after shaking my hand and I followed the doctor in his mid-forties, his salt and pepper hair perfectly styled as I took a few steps away from the receptionist before flashing her a polite smile and walked straight into the belly of the beast: my sister's mental hospital. 

It had been hard gaining visitation considering the fact that it was a Sunday, but they were under constant care and supervision, so it wasn't like they weren't staffed. 

I followed the doctor through a metal detector after emptying my pockets and then we passed through another security checkpoint before we finally reached an indoor oasis.

Plans and trees grew in the middle of a babbling brook that flowed throughout the entire center, their leaves reaching up towards an entirely glass ceiling that let the natural light in almost making it feel like a greenhouse instead of a mental hospital. 

I could still smell the distinct scent of alcohol based hand sanitizer, though. 

Instead of plain scrubs, the nurses trotting around in face masks wore multicolored print uniforms. 

The doctor in front of me was the only one who wouldn't look out of place in an actual hospital setting. 

"This is our outdoor sanctuary where our guests can come to get a taste of the rainforest in our own secluded bubble."

I didn't know what to say.  I knew I was paying for the best of the best, but I had no idea it was this...extravagant.

"We firmly believe in bringing the outside in, and that fresh air and sunlight can do wonders for any mental illness, but as with any disease, you of course need multiple factors in order to fully heal."

"Right..."

"Your sister's rooms are this way."

Rooms?  Was this some kind of palace?

It didn't take long before the landscape morphed from rainforest to modern elegant decor.  Windows fifteen feet up off the ground were slanted open as the sounds of New York traffic filtered in, though the facility was pumping sounds of bird calls from a noise machine somewhere out of sight. 

"These are our residential rooms."

I tried to keep pace with his steps as I realized something that I should've noticed earlier. 

"Where are the patients?"

"Our guests are all around you, walking in normal, everyday clothes."

"What?"

I thought they'd just been visitors.  No one in this facility seemed sick at all. 

"We don't want to alienate our guests into feeling like they're any less than we are.  Of course, our more...difficult guests are kept in a separate wing with stricter security measures for them, but for our more docile guests, we don't have to monitor them so vigorously and restrict their clothing in fear of what they might be able to do with a shoelace."

I hadn't even thought about a shoe lace being dangerous to someone that wanted to hurt themselves.  

Had Bree been wearing lace-up shoes when they put her in here?

"Here we are."

He stepped in front of a door that was reminiscent of an apartment. 

Dr. Cameron knocked three times before my little sister's voice announced that she was coming to answer. 

The moment the door swung open and I took in the vibrant and happy smile on her face, I almost collapsed to my knees in relief. 

"I think someone is here to see you, Miss Foster."

"Kade!"

My smile was effortless as she launched herself at me and I could finally release the breath I'd been holding inside for the few days that she'd been in this place. 

I inhaled about a pound of her long dark hair, but I didn't care a single bit in that moment. 

My little sister was safe, happy. 

I'd actually done something right in sending her here. 

"You're really okay?"

"I'm amazing, Kade.  This place...it's exactly what I needed."

"I'll escort you both back to our outdoor sanctuary where you can visit."

"Thanks, Doctor C."

The doctor gave Bree a polite smile and walked us back in the direction I'd come, and I couldn't stop staring at her face. 

The bruises that were there the last time I'd seen her as she was checking in here were almost nearly faded; a yellowy purple splotch that would be gone in a few more days. 

The proof of the split lip was almost invisible, and the burn from around her throat...

She was wearing a turtleneck so I couldn't see how well that wound had fared. 

"Here we are.  Please make use of our hammocks and daybeds.  I'll be back in an hour to take you to your individual session, Miss Foster."

"Thank you," she said sweetly to the doctor and I only hoped she wasn't getting a crush on the old man.  I'd yank her out of here so fast—

"And can you tell your wife I feel like I can make it to group today, too?"

The doctor's eyes widened in surprise before nodding once and then striding away quickly, moving toward a man who'd started jumping in the air catching invisible butterflies.

Okay, so maybe they weren't all completely fine, but the atmosphere was definitely working for my sister. 

"Oh my god, they don't let me have my phone and I have no idea what's going on outside.  Tell me everything."

"Everything?  What do you want to know?"

"Like...what's he saying?"

My blood boiled in my veins as I realized who she was talking about, chewing on the blunt end of her fingernail that had already been chewed down to the quick. 

I grabbed her hand from her mouth and led her over to one of the couches situated by one of the palm trees that swayed in a breeze let in by an open window somewhere high above our heads.

"He hasn't said a thing.  He knows what would happen if he did."

"What, you'd beat him up?"

"Well..."

She let out a gasp of surprise before hitting me in the chest. 

"No, you didn't.  Wait—please, tell me you did."

"It's a long story."

"Well, then lucky for you, I'm here for the next hour."

Shit.  I was going to have to tell her about Ivy, wasn't I?

"I guess I should tell you about how I almost got sued."

And then the rest of the story fell from me as Bree listened intently, her face falling when she realized just why I couldn't write any new material to save my life. 

"So, this Ivy girl, is she like...super pretty or something?"

"What?  Why would you ask me that?"

"Because you literally just got starry-eyed talking about her music."

"I mean, she's not ugly.  Like...yeah, she's attractive.  I don't think she'd ever be interested in me, though, and I'm definitely not interested in her that way after the way she's been treating me."

"What do you mean?  How has she been treating you?  Like the asshole that stole her song and tried to get away with passing off her hard work as your own?"

I rolled my eyes at Bree's attempt to get me to see Ivy's side of things, but I had already done that a million times. 

"I know, I know.  I'm the idiot.  I'm the asshole.  Look, I don't want to talk about her.  I want to know how you're doing in here.  I know it looks good on the outside, but I want to know the bad stuff too."

"It's...I don't want you to worry and tell you everything is fine, but the first few days, I couldn't stop thinking about how close I'd come to dying.  Sometimes I was mad at myself for not finishing the job, and other times I was terrified at how close it had come to the end.  I don't want to die, Kade.  I know that, now.  In the moment though, after everything he did to me..."

A single tear dripped down her cheek and I didn't hesitate before pulling her into my arms, taking comfort in the fact that she was safe, she was here.  She might've been broken, but she was putting herself together, piece by piece. 

"They put me on some mood stabilizer and I can think clearly again.  I can remember how I felt the first day I was here and it is so different from how I feel now.  I feel free, happy, like I can do anything.  And talking through my emotions with the therapists and other girls and guys who've been in my situation before...it's helping me see that I'm not alone."

"You were never alone, Bree.  I promise, I was always there for you, even when you were pulling away."

"I know.  I was so infatuated with Graham and he made me push away anyone who would be a healthy relationship so I'd only have him.  I know that now.  I can see it for what it was, and I want to press charges.  I have the proof of what he did to me.  I think I'm finally ready.  Once I get out of here, though.  I don't want to deal with all of that just yet."

"Whenever you're ready.  I'll always be here."

"I know."

We spent the rest of our time talking about nonsense—and then when it was time for us to go our separate ways, I promised I'd come and visit her in two days. 

"Make sure you bring Ivy on one of your visits.  I wanna meet the girl who's got my big bro all tied up in knots."

She winked before tossing her dark hair over her shoulder and practically skipping off to her individual therapy session. 

My head was still spinning by the time I got back to the car and told Jackie how everything had went.

"You haven't scheduled a meeting with Ivy yet, have you?  I sent the paperwork over to her email today and she hasn't gotten back with me yet.  I don't want you writing with her yet until she—oh.  Nevermind.  She just emailed me back."

"What did she say?"

The car took off and I was grateful for the fact that the hospital was gated so that any nosy  photographers couldn't get their noses into even more of my business.

"Her lawyers must be fast.  Her signature is on each of the documents, including the NDA.  Looks like we're in business.  She can't sue you or expose you to the media for what happened.  Otherwise she's in breach of contract and will lose not only the money she was going to receive for royalties, but she'd also have to pay a cool million for it."

"What kind of lawyers would be available on a Sunday?"

"The lawyers for a soon-to-be senator."

"What?"

"Her father is James Bennett.  He's running for the senate opposing the previous incumbent.  He's probably going to win, too.  People in New York are ready for a change."

I cursed myself for not having a chance to look her up the night before like I'd wanted to.  That song she'd sent me had thrown me for a loop and I'd spent the rest of my night working out the melody and finishing the bridge.

That would make two full songs already, and if we kept it up, at this rate we'd have the album done in less than a month, and then I'd never have to see her or listen to her insults ever again. 

I ignored the pinch in my chest at that thought. 

"Go ahead and text her and see if she's available to meet up at the studio with you tonight."

"Okay."

I begrudgingly pulled my phone out to text her, the bitterness from the conversation we'd had the night before still bleeding into my attitude.

Me:  Are you available tonight?

Ivy:  After four o'clock.  Where should I meet you?

Me:  I'll send you the location.  See you at five then?

Ivy:  Sounds good.


"There, it's done."

"Why do you look like someone just killed your pet or something?  This is a good thing, remember?"

"Yeah, if she was literally any other person on the planet, maybe."

"Didn't you say she had already sent you lyrics for another song?  Come on, pull your head out of your ass, be a team player, and let's get this album done and then you never have to deal with her again.  I get it, the girl's got an attitude, but don't you think she's kind of allowed one after what happened?"

"I'd say she's getting a damn good deal out of this than what she normally would've gotten if things had gone the traditional way and I'd actually been able to contact her before the concert to get her permission to use the demo."

Jackie sighed while typing away on her iPad, clearly done with this conversation. 

She was right; I just had to suck it up and deal with this difficult woman for a few sessions and then it would be done. 

"You have meetings pretty much all week, so you're going to have to stick to recording and writing to your nights.  Is that going to work for you?  Just make sure they're not too late; you have a ton of five a.m. wake up calls this week, too."

"Yeah, that's fine.  I figure we only have to do two hours a session, keep it nice and short."

"Great.  I booked you for an appearance on the Late Late Show and that new one with Kelly Clarkson."

"Cool."

I dissolved into the world on my phone before stumbling across a new article about my fight with Graham. 

"I thought Hollin was able to get all the people who'd recorded this to delete their footage?"

Jackie's eyebrows dipped in disapproval before telling me what had been happening in the court of public opinion so far. 

"I'm sorry Kade, but why do you think I've booked you on two tv shows?  You've got some damage control to start working on.  It might even help starting up a new romance to get them talking about something else.  Are you seeing anyone right now?"

"No.  Hell no."

"Good.  I scheduled a date with Stella Stein for Friday night.  Be at Odeon at seven, and let your stylist dress you this time, please."

"Are you fucking serious Jackie?  I can't—"

"You can and you will.  Make sure you sign some autographs, too.  You're going to want that new stupid Instagram gossip account to make sure they mention you, and then maybe the E news girl will do a bit about you on her Snapchat story.  At least they'll stop showing you throwing a punch and pushing Ivy to the ground."

"They have video of that?"

"They have video of everything, Kade.  Everyone has a camera on their phone.  You never have any privacy.  Any time you think you do, think again, because you're wrong."

I leaned back in the comfortable leather seat and closed my eyes, pressing my forehead into the cold glass of the window as I tried and failed to not wallow in some form of self pity for a little while. 

I was not only going on a date with a girl I'd never met on Friday, but I had to spend the rest of my evenings with a girl that hated my guts. 

I was in for a week that was going to kick my ass. 



***


A/N:

What did you think of this chapter?

What do you think will happen next?

What do you want to happen next?

Fav moment so far?

What is everyone's Zodiac sign?  I'm getting into astrology--I'm a scorpio!

Until next time my lovely readers, 
Kristen :)


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