Today is the final day of the battles for The Voice. It means that I will be choosing my top four. I'm nervous for the decision because every single person in my team deserves a spot in the live shows. Unfortunately I only have room for four though.
I sit in the hair and makeup chair with my robe on, waiting for the team to begin making me look beautiful. I sip on my coffee which I am definitely in need of. My phone beeps and I see that it is a text from my Mum. She is telling me that she is alright and has made no progress overnight. I'll take that as a positive because no progress is still better than her health declining. It looks like she will be in hospital for one more week, then she will be released and allowed to rest at home.
Harry and I got caught up with meeting with London's teacher and principal yesterday, then after that we got into contact with some private schools in London. Her current school is able to transfer all of her progress so far and since she is doing well in school, this will help her get accepted into one of the best private schools in the area.
Since we were so caught up in school-related things, I didn't get a chance to visit my Mum. I still haven't informed my family of my decision. I am dreading it. How am I going to tell them that I am moving across the world again? It was hard enough the first time. I know I was only 17 years old and I have matured a lot since then. But it certainly doesn't make things any easier.
After having my hair and makeup done, Charlotte who is the loveliest stylist I have ever met, helps me into my outfit. Today I am wearing a long red dress with a deep v-cut in the chest area. My hair is lightly curled with a lot of product in it, giving me the wet-look as though I have just stepped out of the ocean. I really like todays look and the colour red always makes me feel extra confident. It is a sexy colour and looks amazing on everyone.
"Your shoes." Charlotte hands me two gold sparkly heels.
I stare down at them for a moment before looking up to meet Charlotte's gaze. "Can't I just wear flats since you won't even see them beneath the dress?"
"When you do the first walk down the stairs and pull up the dress, you'll see the shoes then. These are from the sponsors new collection so they'll see you wearing them and be very pleased."
I nod my head, understanding that this was part of my contract. Sometimes I will wear a clothing item or an accessory that is part of a brand deal. Usually brands need to have my managements approval, but it was clearly written in my contract that the shows sponsors are completely different and do not need to be granted permission from my managers.
Last episode I wore a Chanel lipstick which earned the show a few thousand dollars in promo. The words 'Chanel' weren't written on my lips, but in the credits at the end of the show, my makeup products were listed. I don't know of anyone who actually reads those credits at the end, but people still will pay thousands just for a couple of promotional words.
One of the crew members comes into my dressing room and informs me that the show will begin in 30 minutes. I take this time to go and visit my team in the greenroom. I bet they are all a bundle of nerves right now.
"Hailey!" Aaliyah is the first to notice my presence and she stands up to give me a hug. "You look gorgeous."
"Thank you beautiful girl, so do you. Look, we are matching." I say, referring to her red co-ord.
"Thomas, how are you feeling?" I hug Thomas who was sitting beside Aaliyah. His face is pale and I can see beads of sweat on his forehead. "You did amazing in rehearsals. Do it exactly how we practiced and you will blow the roof off the arena."
"My throat is scratchy and I am worried that I won't be able to hit those high notes."
I pull him aside and give him reassurance. We have all been there with throat issues and our voices being exhausted from overuse. This often is accompanied by vocal rest, honey tea and lots of steam inhaling.
Following this, I chat with the rest of my team until it is time for me to make my way to the stage doors where us coaches will make our entrance.
*
We are halfway through the show and it is time for me to make my second big decision. In the first round, the battle was between Aaliyah and Ella. Aaliyah was my first team member through to the live shows. Now Thomas is battling against Anthony and I am worried that nerves will get to the better of Thomas. He is vocally stronger, but Anthony has more confidence and consistency. Whoever performs better today will earn the second spot in team Hailey for the live shows.
Ironically for this sound, I chose the song Dusk Till Dawn which Zayn composed. I had a FaceTime with Zayn yesterday during rehearsals where he listened to both of the boys sing and he gave them some feedback. I think the boys were more starstruck that they were speaking to Zayn instead of taking in his advice, but it was really beneficial and I appreciated Zayn's support.
Zayn also recently moved back to London. He was living in New York for a while to be closer to his daughter, but like Harry, he missed his family. Those two are in a pretty similar situation. They both knocked up women who are from other countries and moved with them. Only for break ups to happen and unfortunate child custody issues. Zayn flies back and forth to New York a lot to see Khai. It's only 7 hours. Meanwhile Sydney is a 26 hours away from London.
Before the performance begins, Charlotte approaches me with my phone.
"Hey girl, I'm sorry to do this but your phone has kept ringing non-stop."
I instantly grab my phone, thinking the worst that something has happened to my Mum. When I look down at the missed calls however, they are from Harry, not Mum. I call him back and hold my phone to my ear, watching as the stage director informs us that the show will commence in 2 minutes.
"Hailey, I've been trying to call you."
"I'm filming the show right now so my phone has been backstage but one of the girls brought it to me. Is everything okay?"
I can hear Sydney crying in the background which automatically makes me think the worst.
"No, it's not okay. Sydney has a temperature. It's at 38°."
"Harry, that's not good. She was fine before going to sleep last night."
"She woke up quite upset and not herself this morning so I gave her extra cuddles. She was feeling warm. I popped a cold compress over her forehead and on her chest on the way to school drop off and she fell asleep in the car. She woke up on the way home and she felt even warmer. So I took her temperature and it was at 37.8°. I put her in the bath and it stayed the same, but now it has gone up to 38°."
"45 seconds." The stage director shouts. "Hailey, phone away."
"Can you take her to the hospital? I will be one more hour here and then I will come straight there. I will keep my phone on me. Please keep me updated."
"Yeah, I will."
After speaking to Harry, I place my phone beneath my dress on my seat and take a couple of deep breaths to calm myself down as I am now worried about Sydney. I wish I could leave immediately to go be by her side, but I am glad that Harry is with her.
"I'll take your phone." Charlotte says to me.
"I need to keep it on me."
"Hailey, phone away." The stage director shouts quite rudely.
"I need to keep it on me, my daughter is being taken to hospital."
"Leave it with the girl and she will bring it to you after each break." He says and I am not happy with his tone and the way he referred to Charlotte as the girl.
Thomas and Anthony do extremely well in their battle and Thomas absolutely nailed the high note despite doubting himself earlier. I was trying to enjoy the performance and remain focused on work but all I could think about was Sydney.
Thomas is the second person through to the live shows.
*
Harry kept me updated via text and he is sitting in the hospital bed with Sydney now as she receives medication. Her temperature is slowly coming down but they want to keep her in for a couple more hours for observation. She will be more than likely released by the late afternoon since she was diagnosed with a viral infection. With some antibiotics, she should be back to normal in no time which is a relief. I still won't relax until I see her though.
I feel slack that I wasn't giving the show my full focus today. Most of the crew were understanding that my daughter was ill, but I still don't feel happy with myself. My final four are Aaliyah, Thomas, Zeke and Lara. I'm pretty confident that I have the future Voice winner in my team.
When I arrive at the hospital, I go straight to level 3 and room number 305. I see my Dad in the room chatting to Harry as he must have already been here visiting Mum.
I quickly rush over to Sydney who is cuddling into her father, sleeping. I gently caress her cheek which thankfully doesn't feel overheated.
"My baby." I lean down and give her a kiss. "How's she doing?"
"Good, her temperature is 36.9 now. The nurse just came in and said that they are going to release her within the hour."
I sigh in relief. "Thank goodness she will be okay."
"I've already got her script in the bag. We can stop by the chemist on the way home. Sorry for disturbing you at work today."
"Don't apologise, I'm glad you called. I'm sorry that I wasn't by my phone. Thank you for taking care of her."
He sends me a small smile. "Just doing my job."
"That's what parents do." My Dad says to Harry and I. "Kids get high temperatures all the time. She'll be alright. Just keep a close eye on her which I'm sure you both already do. And check her temperature over the next couple of days."
"The doctor also said to stop the antibiotics if she throws up or gets diarrhoea."
I nod my head understandingly. "Right, good to know."
"I'll leave you two be and I'll go give your Mum an update."
When Dad leaves the room, Harry holds his arm out to me. "Give me a hug."
I walk over to the other side of the bed and he gently moves Sydney over so that I can fit beside him. I rest my head on his chest and he places his arm around me comfortingly. I stare down at Sydney and hold onto her hand. She gives it a gentle squeeze in her sleep.
"I take it you haven't told your parents yet about moving because your Dad didn't mention anything to me."
"I haven't told them. I was hoping to today, but I might leave it until tomorrow. My head is all over the place today and my main concern is making sure she is okay. Maybe we can invite the family over for dinner tomorrow and I'll tell them then."
"It's my last night tonight."
"Oh shit, it is too. I forgot."
Harry lets out a small sigh. "Yeah, honestly so did I. I want to cancel my flight though because it doesn't feel right leaving when Sydney isn't well. You have live shows starting in 3 days and it just isn't the right timing."
"No, it's okay. You go and I will be alright. Hopefully Sydney will be better by then and I can have my sister and Aaron help me withe the girls while I'm working."
"I feel like I should be here for London's last day of school on Friday too."
"She really wants to go to school for one more week, right up until the day before we leave. But her school suggested otherwise."
Harry nods his head. "Yeah, so they can fill her position with another enrolment."
"How do you think my family will take the news? Mum kind of brought up the idea in conversation last week so out of everyone I think she will be the most understanding. She is the one that I am most upset about leaving."
Harry begins drawing small circles on my arm with his fingers. "Are you sure this is what you want?"
"What I want is what is best for our girls. Please don't make me think about this anymore because I fear that I will change my mind. They need to be close to both of their parents Harry."
"I really do appreciate you doing this for me. I did mean it when I said I will support you no matter what."
"Thanks."
He lowers his head and presses a kiss to my forehead. "You're a good person Hailey. I always knew that, but I wish I made more of an effort to show you how much you really meant to me. I got so caught up in myself and my own feelings that I neglected my love for you."
"We both should have tried harder. It's a two-way street."
"Yeah, but now my biggest fear is that I've lost you forever."
"We will always be part of each others lives Harry. That's why we are trying our best to remain civil and on good terms."
"I know, but it makes me sick just thinking of the thought of you potentially being someone else's."
"Dating someone is the last thing on my mind right now."
He doesn't say anything else, we both just lie there watching our daughter as she sleeps off this horrible viral infection that took a turn for the worse this morning.