Lost Love

8: Uncle Cordon

Adele's POV:

So we called James, and he agreed to do the interview, but just because Lia is practically like his own child. Lia and I were driving to his house to do some prepping for the interview, so that she knows what to expect. As we pulled into his driveway, the gates closed behind us. As I got out of the car, I heard a weird clicking noise. I snapped my head towards the sound and tried to locate the object, but I ultimately failed.

"Did you hear that?" I asked Lia in a whisper.

"Hear what?" she asked, her eyebrows scrunched up.

"I heard a weird clicking noise," I responded while roaming my eyes around the driveway, still trying to locate the object.

"It was probably the gate closing, Mum. Stop being so paranoid," she said, rolling her eyes.

"Alright then."

As we approached James's doorstep, Lia swung the door open and yelled, "Uncle Cordon!" in a singing tone. I just smiled, knowing what James's next words are going to be.

"Lia!" James said, coming around the bend of the corridor. "I see that you let yourself in," he said to her in a polite, yet sarcastic tone.

"I sure did," she said, kissing his cheek as a greeting. "I've actually got a present for you," he said as he held something behind his back with a mischievous smirk.

"You shouldn't have," she said with excitement evident in her voice. He revealed his hidden hand from behind his back, only to show her a dummy that was between his thumb and middle finger. Lia's excited face quickly dropped into an expressionless one, and I burst out into laughter at her reaction.

"There you go, you big baby," James said as he shoved the dummy into Lia's mouth. "Adele, darling, you alright?" James asked as he approached me with open arms and greeted me with a kiss on the cheek.

"I'm doing better now that I'm here, trying to sort out this sh*t."

"Yeah, I could imagine the rollercoaster ride that you two have been on since yesterday," he said sympathetically.

"You've got that right," Lia said while pulling the dummy out of her mouth.

"Well, I think we should first go have some tea before we dig into this mess, don't you think?" James suggested.

"Sounds perfect to me," I replied politely.

***

Lia's POV:

"Okay, so basically you're going to be the only guest on the show, and we're going to be playing 'Spill Your Guts.' Your mother suggested that we bring up the topic of you 'working' with or for 'Adele,' but you decide to rather eat a dish than answer the question. So that the media is aware that you know about the situation, but you would rather choose to keep quiet," James explained.

"Do you really think it's a good idea for me to address it so soon?" I asked, turning my attention to Mum.

"Well, I personally wouldn't have even addressed it at all, but that's because I don't need to. I've already built myself a respectable name, but you're an aspiring artist, still trying to gain some fame and success. So if I were in your position, I would've addressed it," Mum explained.

"I guess, but it sucks that I need to address it," I groaned.

"I know it does, but don't worry, we'll do it as smoothly as possible," James added.

"Alright, I trust you guys."

***

"Yes, Kerry, we went through all the questions, and they're all perfect. They won't expose anything about me being Adele's daughter; I can assure you that," I said to my manager over the phone.

Suddenly I heard a gentle knock on the door. I quickly covered my phone's microphone with my hand and yelled, "Come in!"

"Okay, well, I'll see you at the interview," I said to Kerry, not even concentrating on who was coming into my room.

"Goodnight to you too."

I felt the bed dip beside me as I hung up the phone.

"Why so tense?" I heard a deep voice ask. Of course, it was Dad; he always checks on me every night.

"Me? I'm not tense," I said, trying my best to sound confident in my answer.

"Bubs, you're playing with your fingers, and you're constantly biting your bottom lip. You're tense," he said as he scooched closer to me. I caved in and moved closer to him, resting my head on his chest. He quickly wrapped his arms around my body, holding me protectively.

"I'm just scared," I sighed, taking in the moment of security.

"Of what?" He asked as he rested his chin on the top of my head.

"That the interview is going to be a failure and that I'm going to embarrass myself even more."

"That won't happen Li. James will be with you, and he will ensure that you won't make any mistakes, and even if you do, he will correct them very quickly. You're like family to him; he'll do anything to protect you," Dad said as his grip on me tightened.

"I know, I'm still just nervous. It's my first-ever interview. It's supposed to be exciting, but it's more nerve-wracking than anything," I said while rolling my eyes.

"Well, I'm sure your mother was also very tense for her first interview," Dad assured me.

"Yeah, I guess," I said with a sigh, pushing my head more into Dad's chest.

We both just laid there for a while in silence, our breathing becoming slower by the second.

"How are you though?" Dad randomly asked. I briefly looked up to make eye contact with him and then settled my head on his chest again.

"I'm doing better," I said with a smile.

"You sure? I know the anniversary is almost coming up," he said while rubbing my back gently. "It's been 4 years, Dad; I'm fine," I said with a sigh.

"We can go and visit her grave if you want," he gently lifted my chin to look up at him. "No, there's no need for that, plus I don't think Mum will feel comfortable with that idea anyway."

"What do you mean? Of course, she'll be fine with it," Dad said with his eyebrows scrunched up in confusion.

"I don't know; it just doesn't feel right to go and visit her anymore. Maybe in the past, it was okay, but now it just feels wrong. I feel like I should just move on and forget about the past."

I know that's not the way I should be dealing with my late mother's death, but it's the only way I can move on from my trauma that I experienced 4 years ago.

"Bubs, I don't think-"

"Dad, just please drop it; I don't want to go," I said cutting him off, but it came out more harshly than I thought it would, and

I could tell he was hurt by it. "I'm sorry. I know you just want what's best for me, but please just drop it," I said looking up into his eyes.

"Okay," he said with a soft smile and gently kissing my forehead.

We both lay on my bed, looking out of my window at the stunning view of Los Angeles at night. Dad turned my lamp off that was on my bedside table, and we just lay there admiring the glistening lights of LA.

After a while, my breathing slowed down, and I could feel my eyelids getting heavier. The last thing I remembered was Dad kissing my forehead and saying goodnight to me.