Leroy's P.O.V:
"This is a bad idea." I repeat for the hundredth time. Rose rolls her eyes as she shakes her head. "Marshall got married 13 days ago, Rose. She's still upset over it. She can't perform infront of thousands of people!" I hiss. I turn away from her and face the stage when Tessa appears up from the lift. The crowd and celebrities cheer and scream for her as she slowly makes her way towards the mic.
"Well it's a little too late now to back out." Rose hisses back as she claps. I clear my throat and start to clap when the camera stops on me and goes down the row of producers and other celebs.
"She can't do this." I hiss.
"She had three days to reharse! Besides, all she has to do is stand in one place and sing. Can't be that hard!" Rose snaps.
"You try performing infront thousands of people....Let's see if it's easy." I mumble and notice her rolls her eyes.
"She's doing fine. They're loving it." Rose replys. Tessa has chosen to perform some of her biggest hits and the crowd is loving it.
Tessa refused to perform just a couple of days after Marshall's wedding but we had no choice but to push her onto that stage. You can tell that she's heart broken about Marshall's choice. You can hear it in her voice and see it in her eyes. I squeeze my eyes shut when I hear her voice break a little.
Don't cry, Tessa....Come on, don't cry...
"I guess her crying matches the song." Rose says, making me clench my jaw as I turn to face her. "You know....Makes the song more....Emotional and realistic." She adds, clearly amused by the whole situation. "This song was about her ex, right? What was his name?" She asks.
"Marcus." I state as I try to push my anger down.
"Yes. Marcus." She nods. "It's about how he left for another woman when she was madly in love with him." She says to herself. "Just like Marshall. This is perfect for the media." She add's in excitement.
Tessa clears her throat and goes back to singing the song, only to stop just before the chorus. The celebrities and fans in the stadium cheer her on as she steps away from the mic. Her face scrunches up in pain slightly before one of the dancer wraps her arm around her and talks to her.
"I'm so-" Tessa stops to clear her throat before she speaks again as the music plays in the background. "I'm sorry. Can we starts from the top again." She says, making the crowd cheer and scream out for her. She forces a smile on her face as she shakes her head and wipe's her wet cheeks. "I love you guys." She says before she starts to sing the song again.
The rest of the song goes down smoothly. In the end, Tessa walks away quickly, making me stand up. I push past Rose and quickly make my way back stage as everyone cheers and screams out for her. Security let me through just as Tessa walks down the hallway.
"You did great!" I say as she cries and walks past security.
"You think that was great?" She sobs.
"Tessa, calm down." I say as I reach out for her but she pushes my hand away.
"I told you not to do this to me!" She shouts, making me look around at the hallway that's full of people. "I told you not to make me perform infront of thousands whe.....When i'm like this!" She yells. I let out a sigh and drop my head. "You embarrassed me infront of thousands. I can't wait to get rid of you! Your career will be over once i'm done with you." She hisses and storms past me.
Tessa's P.O.V:
"Miss Black." I keep quiet and keep my eyes shut. "We're here." My guard adds, making me sigh. I sit up and pick up my bag before the driver opens the door for me. I step onto the side walk and walk past my guard. To my suprise, there's not a rush here. No one is taking my pictures.
"Tessa Black!" I roll my eyes when I see a man rush towards me before a flash goes off.
I spoke to soon.
I walk into the hotel and ignore the staff as my guards lead me to the elevator. My guards smile at me kindly as they gesture for me to go into the empty elevator when it arrives. I stay quiet and keeps my hands wrapped around my blanket as I wait for the elevator to go up.
"I don't want anyone disturbing me." I state and watch the guard nod. "Don't let anyone up. Espically not my manager. If I need anything, i'll come out to talk to." I add after a long pause.
"Yes, Miss Black." My guard nods. I stay quiet and lean against the golden walls of the elevator. We finally make it up to the floor i'm staying at before my guard leads me to my suite. "Have a good night." My guard says as he unclocks the door and places my bags into the hotel suite.
"Than you." I let out a sigh as I take off my coat. My guard nods at me before he closes the door behind me. I walk towards the couch and drop down on it as I take off my shades and throw them down on the floor. "Fuck." I breath out softly as I bury my face into my hands.
I made a fool out of myself. I let my emotions get the best of me on live stage and ended up having a break down. I actually ended up crying infront of millions of people watching me at the awards ceremony and at home too. I will be on every news outlet by tomorrow....Again.
"Oh for the love of god..." I whisper when I hear my phone ring. I reach into my pocket and freeze for a moment as I stare at Nathans number.
It's been five days since I last saw him. Five days since he said that Marshall would show up. I agreed and gave him a chance. I gave Marshall a chance to fix things with the twins, with his kids and he didn't show up. He didn't phone. He didn't try to make up for missing his chance with the kids. Nathan didn't phone for the past five days either until now.
"Tessa." Nathan says in suprise when I answer the call. I stay quiet as I push my anger down.
"I don't want to hear from you again, Nathan." I say.
"What?" He says in disbelief. "The hell did I do?" He says in anger.
"I gave your brother a chance, Nathan." I state. "I gave your brother a chance and went behind my kids back so Marshall can talk to them. You said he would show up!" I say in anger. "I gave you a chance. Before sunset. You said before sunset!" I raise my voice slightly.
"He said he would show up!" Nathan shouts back.
"Well he didn't!" I state. "I gave him a chance, Nate. I gave him a fucking chance and he screwed up by not showing up." I add.
"He was fucked up that day." Nathan defends his big brother quickly, making me shake my head.
"Well i'm fucked up everyday too but I be there for my children!" I shout. I hear Nathan let out a sigh. "He missed his chance. I don't want him anywhere near us." I add.
"Tessa, come on! You don-" I hang up the phone before he can finish.
***
"Have fun and look after your siblings." I say into the phone as I lay down.
"You sure you're okay? I mean, when you were performing-" Ryder start but I cut in.
"I was just....Tired, my love. I'm fine now. I'll talk to your tomorrow." I say and hear him sigh heavily.
"Alright. Night." He mumbles.
"Have fun in California. Goodnight." I say into the phone. I look up at the door way when I hear a light knocking. I told the guard not to disturb me. "I love you." I add.
"Love you too." Ryder replies. "-Oh and mom." He says quickly before I can hang up the phone.
"Yes?" I say as I walk out of my room and into the main living room.
"When are you coming to California?" He asks.
"I don't know yet, hun." I say as I unlock the door. "I'm staying at a hotel right now since I have a meeting on the other side of Detroit first thing this morning." I explain. "After this meeting maybe. It's in going to be at 9am so I might catch a flight an-" I pull open the door and freeze in my spot. Marshall's eyes scan mine as I stand there with my mouth hanging open slightly.
"Mom? You there?" Ryder asks.
"I'll....I have to go sweetheart." I whisper but he doesn't hear me.
"Mom?" He calls again. I tighten my grip around the door handle as I step to the side. "I think she's gone." Ryder says before he hangs up the phone. Marshall walks past me before I close the door behind him and place my forhead against it.
Wait? Why did I let him in?
"What are you doing here?" I turn around to face him as I press my back against the wall. Marshall keeps his gaze locked onto the floor as he digs his hand's deep into his pocket. "I won't ask again, Marshall." I say.
"I made a promise to Nate that I would go see my family." He says and finally looks up at him. He's changed since the last time I saw him. His hair is back to his natural colour and he has dark circles under his eyes. He looks skinner too. I drop my gaze down to the silver ring on his finger which makes my heart ache slightly.
"I'm not you're family anymore." I swallow the lump in my throat. "You know the kids are in California so why are you here?" I ask. I walk away from him when he doesn't answer. I try to keep my emotions in control as I walk away. "It's three in the morning. I'm tired so you need to go." I add.
"Baby-" I quickly turn around to face him when he clutches onto my hand.
"Don't you dare. Don't you fucking dare do this to me!" I raise my voice. "Get out!" I take a step back from him.
"I came because of the media.....I know how you get when you're all over the news-" Marshall starts but I cut him off.
"I'm all over the news because you got married again!" I shout as my eyes flush with tears. "Damn it, Marshall." I cover my face from him and inhale sharply. "You got married....Again." I throw my hands up.
"You said you didn't want me. Y-you moved out!" He trips over his words as he shouts back.
"Well clearly i'm not! Clearly i'm not over you!" I shout back. I watch Marshall as he swallows hard and drops his gaze down to the floor. "I made a fool out of myself on live stage. I cried infront of Thousands....Thousands of people." I say quietly as I shake my head.
"If I knew you were hurting then I would have never walked away." I hear him say. I let out a small sad laugh as I straighten up and walk away.
"You know where the door is." I say as I nod towards the door lightly.
"Tess." Marshall calls after me as I walk away towards the bedroom. "Tessa!" He calls me by my full name. I clear my throat as I blink away tears and pick up my night clothes.
"I have to be up early tomorrow. Get out." I whisper as he walks towards me.
"The day you left-" Marshall starts but I cut him off.
"Don't make me call the cops, Marshall." I shake my head.
"You're not gonna call the cops on me, Tess." Marshall says. I reach out for the hotel phone and dial 911 but before I can get through, Marshall takes the phone from my hand and smashes it against the floor.
"Why can't you just get the fuck away from me!" I shout.
"Because I know that's not what you really want me to do!" Marshall shouts back.
"It's exactly what I want you to do!" I snap.
"Man, why the fuck do you have to push me away?" Marshall asks. "Why are you doing this?" He asks. I squeeze my eyes shut when he places his hand on my cheek. I feel his forehead against press against mine, making me shake my head.
"You're married." I whisper. "You're married that's why." I move away but Marshall pushes me back towards him.
"I don't want to be married to Kim. I don't want to be married to anyone but you, baby." He whispers. I shake my head, making him grab a hold of my face between his hands. "I love you." Marshall says softly.
"No. No you don't." I shake my head. "You have to leave Marshall." I add.
"Hear me out first." He says. "Then i'll be gone. I'll leave before sunrise." He says. I hear him sigh softly when a sob escapes my lips. Marshall wraps one arm my waist before he pulls my body agaisnt his. "I'll be gone before sunrise. Just....Hear me out." He adds.
"No." I shake my head. I keep my eyes shut as he presses his cheek agaisnt the side of my face. "No, i'm not doing this with you Marshall. I'm not doing this." I shake my head.
"I was fucked up when I asked Kim to marry me." He says. "I was taking different pills and wasn't thinking straight-" I push him away before he can finish. I press the back of my hand agaisnt my lips to stop me from sobbing out loud. "Tessa." Marshall breaths out softly. I hear his phone buzz loudly, letting him know he has a text message.
Must be Kimberly.
"We can't be together, you know we can't!" I say frustration. "They'll...." I slowly trail off as I wipe away my tears.
"I don't care what they do to us. All I care about is us being together. Tess, I will give away everything I have. I will sign anything they want me to do as long as I can be with you and with our kids." He adds as his phone buzzes three times again in his pocket.
"I don't care about what you would do for us to be together again, Marshall!" I yell. "We. Can't. Be. Together." I say slowly.
"We can try-" He says but I cut him off.
"Try what?" I shout. "Because last time we tried being together, Karla was murdered. Chris was murdered and Jacob was almost killed too!" I yell.
"That wasn't because of us!" Marshall shouts back.
"Yes it was!" I scream. "You would know how I feel if you lost someone you loved too-" I start and get cut off.
"I lost you. I lost the twins-" He says, making me talk over him.
"Maybe if your best friend died, then you would have understood but no. No, they killed my bestfriends instead of yours. They chose to hurt me instead of you. They decided to take everything away from me instead of you. To teach us a lesson for something that we both did, they decided to ruin me instead of you, Marshall." I shout. "As evil and crazy as I sound, sometimes I wish they would have fucked up everything for you instead of me. I wish they...I wish they took your bestfriend away instead of mine!" I scream into his face. "My life is ruined. I have nothing. I have nothing left." I shake my head. Marshall stays frozen to his spot as he watches me scream at him. I turn away from him and place my forhead against the wall. I squeeze my eyes shut when I hear his phone ring.
I inhale in sharply as I wipe my wet cheeks. Marshall stays quiet as he listens to the person on the phone speak. I turn around to face him when I finally manage to pull myself together.
"I need you to go. Leave before I call security-" My brows slowly knit together in confusion when my eyes land on him. His mouth slowly hangs open and his face gets paler by the second.
"What?" I breath out lightly. His face goes more pale as a single tear runs down his cheeks. "What is it?" I ask louder. "Marshall. Marshall!" I walk towards him quickly, he's going to pass out. I take the phone from his hand but he clutches onto it tightly. "Sam! Sam!" I walk away from Marshall and out of the room as I shout for my guard. I stop walking when the door opens.
"Hey. I didn't think you'd be awake at this time so I took the key from the guard." My brother Alexander says. Why is he here in Detroit? "What's wrong?" He asks.
"M-Marshall-" I stutter and get cut off.
"That bastard is here? Where the fuck is he!" He says in anger. I turn away from Alexander when I hear something smash. A few seconds later, Marshall rushes out of the room. Alex opens his mouth but closes it again when he see's the state Marshall's in.
I stay stunned when Marshall walks past me and pulls open the front door. He doesn't bother looking back at me or saying anything, instead he disappears out of the suite. Alex mumbles a few words in Spanish before he turns to face me.
"What the fuck was he doing here?" Alexander asks as he takes his jacket off.
"Somethings wrong, Alexander." I say quietly.