After the reveal of her father's passing, time just seemed to be at a stand-still. Cammie had spent what felt like hours, but really were weeks holed up in her London flat. She was less than two hours away from her childhood home and she couldn't muster up the courage to go any closer. The betrayal she had felt- not from her father, but to herself- was crushing her from deep within. How her father must have felt, being completely alone in his fight. Watching his baby girl, his little princess, turn into a heartless creature. She had sobbed off and on for the entire duration of her stay. Not a single person came to see how she was faring, or to give their sympathies. It spoke a lot about the person she had become over the last near decade.
Once she felt her body go numb and her eyes run dry, she had started to research what exactly it would take to separate herself from her label. Her contract still had four months of life to it- and in that time, Tarika was all theirs. The hair, the clothing, the money, the fame...Not a single bit of it belonged to her during that entire time. She couldn't change her hair color, couldn't drop her stage name. For the next four months, Cammie was trapped in being something she desperately wanted to break free from. That desperation made her long for the early months of her career. Long bus rides, lots of laughter, false freedom...
Her eyes traveled to the purple semi colon tattoo on her inner right wrist. Slender finger tips trailed along the ink and a warm smile flashed in her mind. Separating from him was one of the hardest things she ever had to do in her adult life. As she continued to ponder, her mind went to the others in the band. She deeply missed the friendship and banter with Mitchell. After learning that he had spear-headed the decision for making her their opener, she had always felt like she owed him her life. He was the person who helped to make her dream a reality and she would never be able to repay him for that. Yet, he too was torn away from her new life. She hadn't heard much about him since the day the band fell apart. Since Andy...
The thought made her jump from her king-sized canopy bed and over to her desk that held her laptop. She grabbed it and a thing of donuts before hurrying back to the protection of her mattress. The donuts were another part of her rebellion towards the label- sugar and carbs were officially back in her life. As she flipped open the screen of her computer, she quickly typed in Mitch's name. Her gray eyes poured over every article, every tweet, update, status...Until finally she hit pay dirt. Something about him journeying to the States to start a new label. Her hands quickly searched for her cell phone under the covers and she begun the round of phone calls in hopes of finding out more.
Two days to find him.
Eighteen hours to make all the arrangements- flight, apartment, car.
Near twelve hour plane ride from London to Philadelphia.
One day to fully move everything in and recover from jet lag.
Fifteen minutes. For fifteen long minutes, she had stood in front of the building. Clad in blue jeans, sandals, and a black sweatshirt with the hood covering her bright red hair. Dark sunglasses hiding her eyes. A black guitar case held close by white knuckles gripping the handle. Cammie tried to regulate the heavy thumping of her heart against her chest and the shaky breath escaping her throat. The change of scenery was nothing new for her- the pop star had houses and apartments everywhere. The label didn't give any second thought to another purchase as her music had crossed the pond more than five years ago.
By going inside, she would become a different person. She wouldn't be Tarika. She'd be Camilla Thatcher. The name almost seemed foreign to her after all this time. Who was Camilla Thatcher, exactly? Would she be able to survive in this new life? It was time to find out.
The young woman sucked in a deep breath and made her way inside before she could talk herself out of it. Her eyes took in all her surroundings and it brought a smile to her lips. Mitch had really outdone himself with the new layout. She could hear a guitar and a piano playing in the distance. Knowing Mitch wasn't a whiz at the keys, she hesitantly made her way towards the guitar. She kept her attention averted from the other people in the room. Cammie didn't want to chance being outed before she saw him.
She had finally arrived in front of the room. Her free hand slowly moved up to remove her sunglasses as the sight of him came into view. Cammie was about to speak before another voice broke through. A snide comment was at the tip of her tongue before she managed to bite it back. That wasn't who she was anymore. Clearing her throat, she looked from the woman, back over to Mitch. She clutched the handle of the guitar case even tighter before she finally spoke. "Hey, Mitchy."
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