Hey, this is my first Nashville fic, I'd really appreciate as much feedback as possible and I hope you enjoy it
…..
Juliette lifted her head only slightly to see a sharp ray of sunlight bursting through her living room window. She turned away from the light only to hear her cell phone vibrate from somewhere around the room. She groaned effortlessly as the buzzing continued, she ran her hand across the floor until she came across the phone.
"What?" she snapped, not really sure who was on the other end of the line.
"Sorry, is this a bad time?"
Juliette cringed as she sat up "Maddie, hey…." she said in a sweet tone as she sat up "I thought you were Glenn, what's up?"
"My mom and Luke are engaged!"
Juliette's eyes popped "Engaged? Since when?!"
"Last night, at the concert. I tried to find you there but you must've left. It's all over Twitter. Haven't you seen?"
Juliette stared out the window "I've been busy…." Her mind began to wander back to last night, completely forgetting Maddie was still on the phone.
"Juliette, what am I going to do. My mom should be with Deacon not Luke! What is she thinking!?"
Juliette could hear panic in the young girl's voice as she swallowed hard "Sometimes people just don't think Maddie…". Her heart ached as she spoke, the painful reminder of her reckless mistake was inescapable.
Juliette spoke with Maddie for a while, concerned at just how much she was hurting, when there was a knock at the door. She knew it wasn't Avery and therefor had no interest in talking to anyone else but the knocking persisted.
"No one's home." She shouted sarcastically, pulling the blanket around her.
"I ain't leavin' til you open up."
Juliette scoffed as the knocking continued and eventually she gave in. She pulled the door open to see Rayna standing in front of her with a sympathetic look on her face.
"Shouldn't you be with your fiancé?" Juliette said bitterly as Rayna examined her puffy eyes and pale face.
"Which one?" she asked as she pushed past Juliette and walked into the living room to see bundles of tear soaked tissues scattered across the couch. Juliette followed her, pulling the zip on her hoodie all the way up and digging her hands deep in the pockets.
"What do you mean by that?"
Rayna pushed away the tissues and took a seat, her sparkling ring becoming clear for the first time as Juliette stared at it.
"Last night, after the concert, Deacon called by and… proposed."
Juliette's jaw dropped "You are joking right."
"I wish…"
"Well what did you say?"
"I-… well what do you say to that?!"
Juliette shook her head "I don't know, I've never had two guys propose to me in one night. What are you gonna do?"
Rayna shook her head as she stared out the window "I do not know… but that is not why I'm here…" she turned her attention back to her broken, vulnerable artist "… I'm here for you, to say thank you for performing last night even though I know you were hurtin'…"
"Like I said last night, I got your back. Besides it was a nice distraction, for a little while. Avery called by last night."
"How'd it go?" Rayna asked in fear of the worst.
Juliette sighed, "I need help. I have issues deeper than Avery that I have to resolve if I ever want to prove myself to him again."
Rayna nodded, she had such respect for the young singer in that moment as it was clear her heart was breaking "Well I can't help you much with that but I can help you temporarily."
"How?"
"We had this promo tour thing set up for Scarlett, nothing major just a dozen cities, radio stations, websites, that sort of thing, a way to promote you and your music and it will take you out of Nashville for a few weeks. What d'ya say?"
"I say when do I leave?"
Rayna smiled "You will be expected in Houston 9am Monday."
"Sounds good except, what song am I going to promote? I don't have a new album."
"Have you got any songs that we can record? Anything?"
Juliette paused "Avery and I have been working on some stuff but-"
"But what?"
"I don't know if I can. It wouldn't feel right."
"Babe, both you and him are gonna be hurtin', for a long time and singin' a song that is about your relationship might help, might make you remember the good times instead of the bad."
Juliette took on Rayna's advice as she thought long and hard "There is this one song, I think would be great."
"You don't have to decide right now but when you do, give me a call and we'll get into the studio."
…..
Avery stared at the blank tv screen. His body was numb and his heart was aching. All he could think of was her. The smell of her hair, the taste of her lips, the sound of her laugh. Every time he closed his eyes he saw her and every time his phone rang he imagined her voice on the other end, instead it was Gunnar, for the 100th time checking to see if he was okay. He wasn't. He was far from it, but no amount of alcohol or pity from Gunnar or anyone else could help him forget the woman who changed his life. It was too soon to start conveying his feelings through music so instead he sat there, alone and hurting.
A faded knock at the door was enough to make him jump. He looked around the apartment before staggering over to the door. She stood there, with tears in her eyes and her hands locked together. He didn't know what to say, he thought last night was the last time he would ever speak to her but he was wrong. Despite her obvious pain she still looked beautiful and he found himself struggling to resist taking her into him and holding her.
"I'm not here to fight. I need to talk to you about something."
Avery gazed at her, she was keeping her distance clearly as her eyes looked everywhere but at him "What do you want to talk about?" he managed to scramble out.
Juliette sighed " I'm going out on a promo tour, it was Rayna's idea but I need a song to release as a single and I want to release 'Everything I'll Ever Need' but you wrote it with me and I need your permission to record it and you know, put it out there."
"You're leavin'?" He asked painfully.
"For a few weeks."
"And you're makin' an album?"
"Eventually, but I want that song on it and I want it to be the single, if you agree, that is."
"I think it's perfect, it's the right song." Avery said honestly, still taking in the news of her departure. Juliette nodded, not really sure what to say or do next.
"I'm recording it tomorrow, and I'm gonna ask Deacon to play guitar on it."
"I could-"
"No." Juliette said, interrupting him with a hint of anger in her voice.
"Juliette…"
"No Avery, I can't be in a studio with you, singing that song…" the tears began to stream down her face as Avery stepped out into the hall to be closer to her "…I can't be with you knowing that all we'll ever be is a singer and a musician, I can't. It would be too hard."
She quickly turned away from him but the force of his arm around her elbow halted her. He swung her around as he pressed his lips on her with such passion and dominance that she tilted.
Juliette wanted to pull away, she knew in her heart that this would only end up in heartbreak and would fix nothing between them but her body wouldn't let her. Instead she pulled his shirt from his body and shut the door behind them as he led her towards the bed. He searched frantically for the zip on her jeans as he lay her down on the bed, showering her neck in kisses. He knew this was wrong, he knew he should have stopped it by now but he just couldn't bring himself to do it. Holding her in his arms as they both passionately kissed each other was respite from the pain in his heart and if this was their goodbye then he was going to use it to show her just how much he loved her. He could feel her salty tears against his skin as he wiped them away.
"I love you…" he whispered as he pressed his body against hers "… I love you so much."
"I love you too." Juliette croaked as she looked deep into his eyes.
….
"You don't have to leave, you can stay until morning…" Avery said softly as he watched Juliette creep across the apartment and make her way to the door. She heard him follow after her but she knew she had to leave.
"It's almost morning, it's time to go."
"Juliette-"
"Avery I hate this, I hate that is where we say goodbye because I thought we were going to be the couple that made it but we didn't, and that is my fault and I will forever be a lesser person because of that."
Avery hung his head as a tear rolled down his cheek.
"I love you, but like you said, we are both going to have to get over it."
….