Changing Tune

17. Not good at all

Chapter 17: Not good at all

Ellie's POV

*****

My heart started pounding out of my chest as I put on my black leather jacket, preparing myself for the interview with Mary Baum. No matter how many times I had told myself that I was over it, I was still traumatized from my interview with Jay Hart. From the many times I had seen her on television, Mary Baum seemed sweet, and yet so did Hart to people who did not know who he truly was. I was not ready to have another interviewer try and crush my dreams and I could feel a lump in my throat as I walked downstairs to wait for the guys and James to pick me up. 

A smile formed on my face as I saw my parents standing in the kitchen, and as I ran up to hug my mother, I could feel some of the tension dissipating. 

"Oh, El, what's this for?" My mom asked as she gently stroked my hair, making me clutch her tighter. 

My parents worked a lot, so much that I barely saw them at all. They often worked till late at night, and by the time they returned, I would have already been sleeping. When I was younger, they used to travel nearly every month for work, leaving my siblings and I with a babysitter every time. I was ecstatic when they finally decided to travel less, but even if I would take them working late over travelling any day, I still missed them like crazy. 

"I have another interview tonight," I told her as she cupped my cheeks and gave me a soft peck on the forehead. 

My mom and dad had been happy for me when I told them that I got in a band. Certainly, the fact that the rest of the band was made up by teenage boys did not enrapture my father, but they both agreed that for as long as the band did not mess with my good grades, I could play for as long as I wanted.

After the interview with Jay Hart, my parents too were worried about me, especially when they saw how upset I was about it. They remembered how much it broke my brother Noah, and they did not want the same to happen to me, especially since Noah was older than me when it happened to him, making them think that he would not be able to handle the situation as well as he had. 

When I had told them everything the boys had done for me to help me get back up on my feet, my parents instantly begged me to meet them. They wanted to thank them personally for everything they had done for me, and even if I was happy with the idea, I knew that with my parents' working hours, it would never be possible. 

"With who?" My dad asked as he walked up to us, putting his arm around my shoulder comfortably. 

"Mary Baum."

I jumped back as my mom let out a squeal, her eyes seemingly lighting up. My eyebrows scrunched in confusion as she excitedly clapped her hands together and looked up at my dad with a smile. 

"Mary Baum is an angel," my mother said. "There's no need to be scared Ellie, she loved your brothers, and I'm sure she will love you and the boys."

I smiled and nodded at her words, knowing that, after all, she was right. There was no reason for me to be afraid of all of my upcoming interviews because of one bad one, especially not when I knew that my boys had my back, just like how I had theirs. 

As I thanked my mom, I could hear a car horn blaring from outside, signalling that they had come to pick me up. Muttering a quick goodbye to my parents, I quickly ran to the car and got in the back next to Adam. 

"We just need to go pick up Blake and we are good to go," James said as he started driving in the direction of Blake's house. 

It wasn't long before I found myself sandwiched between Adam, and a very nervous and sweaty Blake. One look at Blake and you could instantly tell that he was more nervous than I was back at the house. His face was slightly whitened, and his eyes seemed to be staring off out into the distance in front of him, yet not looking at anything.