I have read so many excellent stories based on the post-finale that I couldn't resist writing one of my own...after all we still have a little over a month to go! I have no idea where I'm going with this but ideas are welcomed. Hope you enjoy!
It was the morning after Rayna called off the wedding to Luke Wheeler. She walked through the front door of her house relieved to shut the door on all the press waiting at the end of the driveway. It was a constant reminder of the damage she had caused and she wondered how they would spin this story. She had figured they had camped out there all night wanting a photo or a statement, anything to spread some gossip in their magazines.
They had stood there at the gate, chanting her name and throwing themselves in front of her vehicle with their recording devices and their camera crews but she looked straight ahead, her sunglasses covering her face and drove by all the chaos, running straight for the door and quickly locking it once she got inside.
"Mom! You're home!" Daphne exclaimed, greeting her mother at the front door along with Maddie. Judging by the looks on their faces she could tell they were scared. She wasn't sure which was worse for her children to fear, the press and their rumors or the uncertainty of everything but either way her heart broke knowing she had put them in this mess in the first place.
It wasn't long until Tandy stepped into the room, her hand firmly planted on her hip and her mouth in a straight line. Rayna swallowed hard, she could tell her sister was disappointed but she looked down at her girls and hugged them tight.
"I'm so glad you're here!" Maddie said leaning her head against her mother's shoulder. Rayna reached her hand up and gently stroked Maddie's hair. "Me too honey." Tandy took a few steps closer to them all. Rayna managed her best smile. "Hey, thank you for staying with them." Tandy nodded. "Are you okay?"
"Actually-" She paused sounding a little more cheerful than she should have after a break up. "I think I will be." Tandy raised her eyebrows but before she could question Rayna any further, Daphne jumped in. "I thought you loved Luke." Rayna shrugged lightly. "I did. Luke is a really great guy but we just didn't have the same perspectives on life like I thought we did." Maddie rolled her eyes. "You mean like boarding school?" Rayna nodded. "Yeah, there's no way I'd send y'all away! I'd miss you too much!"
She gave the girls another squeeze and Daphne was back to energetic herself. "Does this mean we can stay with you today?" Daphne asked excitedly. "Of course! I'd really love that. Just the four of us!" Rayna said looking up at Tandy to invite her to stay.
"Teddy is on his way over to get the girls." Tandy informed her.
Rayna frowned. "What?"
"Do we have to?" Daphne moaned. "Can't we just stay here? Mom said it was okay." Maddie added.
"Girls, there are reporters out front and they're not going away anytime soon. You two should be someplace safe and away from all that. I think your mom would agree." The girls looked up at Rayna and she sighed. "She's right." Both the girls groaned. "But I promise we'll all be together soon because I'm going to put an end to all of this." The girls nodded as they stomped up to their rooms to pack.
Rayna turned to face Tandy, shrugging her jacket off and walking further into the kitchen. "Look, I know you don't understand-" Tandy shook her head. "No, I don't understand! We planned everything! You said you were happy and now there's an angry mob at the end of your driveway that won't leave until you make a statement!" Rayna leaned up against the island in the kitchen and rubbed her head. "I know, everything is a mess right now. There's still so much to figure out but I couldn't do it!"
Tandy watched her sister for a moment. She let out a heavy sigh and then circled around the counter and grabbed her into a hug. "I'm sorry I pressured you."
Rayna shrugged. "I thought that's what I wanted."
Tandy pulled back to look at her sister. "I know you just want peace and quiet right now but Bucky is on his way over. We have to tell the press something!" Rayna nodded as she prepared to face the mob.
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After making her speech, Rayna slowly walked away from the vultures that spread across the gate at the end of the driveway with her shoulder hunched over and Tandy and Bucky at her side guiding her towards the house. She felt so violated, so betrayed at the things they were yelling, things that transpired between her and Luke that only Luke would've known to tell them.
Once inside, Bucky kept himself busy making calls on his phone trying to fix everything. Rayna anxiously twirled like a child on the bar stool in the kitchen. "How bad is it Buck?" Rayna asked. Bucky shrugged. "Well I cancelled the flight to Australia for you and the girls. I'm still working on refunding the fans for the cancelled tour." Rayna nodded her head. "What about the press? Will I ever be able to leave the house again?"
"Possibly sooner than we thought." Rayna sat up straight, eager to hear Bucky's logic. He pulled out his ipad scrolling through the topics on the news page. "Turns out Juliette had a private ceremony of her own that just got leaked to the press." He said pulling up photos of Juliette and Avery escaping a court house dressed in wedding attire. "You might be old news by tomorrow."
Rayna's eyes grew wide, staring at the ipad. "Juliette got married?" Bucky nodded putting the ipad down. "Guess we can thank her for buying us a little more time to sort everything out." Rayna nodded. Bucky grabbed his coat and put it on. "I'm going to head out. If I hear anything I'll call." Rayna offered him a small smile. "Thanks Buck."
Rayna twirled herself around on the kitchen stool to see Tandy standing in the kitchen with a bottle of wine in her hand. She watched as her sister opened the bottle, pouring it into two glasses and handed her one. "You sure you're okay?" Tandy asked circling around the counter and making her way to the sofa.
Rayna followed her into the livingroom, sitting on the opposite end of the couch. "I'm fine. Do you think the girls are okay?"
"They will be. I mean it was scary. One minute the press was anxiously waiting for the bride and the next they were in an uproar about the wedding being called off. I guess Luke's manager tipped them off. They said you left Luke's ranch hours before. I tried to call your cell and no answer."
Rayna nodded. "I know. I guess I just needed some time you know? I drove around for hours. It felt so good, so liberating."
Tandy smiled. "Maybe that's what you needed but I'm glad you're back. We were all so worried about you. We had no idea what happened to you or where you were. Where did you go?" Tandy asked casually sipping her wine.
Rayna gripped her glasses a little tighter, staring into it. She caught herself recalling the details of the past 24 hours in her head and just how much her life had changed. Everything was different now. She felt her sister's hand shake her knee and she looked up. "I went to Deacon's."
Of course the next chapter I'm thinking about posting will be based on what happened at Deacon's the night before. ;) To be continued..