Hey everyone. I know it has been a really long time. Sorry for the long delay. I took a second job at the end of October and had problems concentrating on the story. I have had the chapter written for a while, but I finally sat down and typed it up. Hope you enjoy.
Chapter 52
The whole weekend was exactly what they needed. Without being constantly interrupted by the outside world, they were able to reach a new level in their relationship. Jude finally opened up more about her feelings. She told him things that at one time she never wanted him to know.
Tommy felt better just knowing what Jude was thinking. He now had more of an understanding of where she was coming from. There were times in his life where he used alcohol to forget his problems. It broke his heart to hear about all her anxiety and sadness. He wanted to make her happy, and he hoped she would finally let him.
On Sunday night they were wrapped up in each other never wanting to leave the solitude of the farm house. They had everything they needed right there- nice fire, plenty of food, and each other. They both knew that wasn't possible though. The week was going to be a very busy week.
"What do you have to be at G Major tomorrow?" Jude asked before kissing his chest. They were curled up in the living room floor.
"Tomorrow is show day, so I don't have to be there until after noon. This week is the final three. Do you think you'd like to go to the show?" He was still a little nervous asking her to be around anything to do with Instant Star.
"No, watching it at home curled up on the couch with you sounds better to me." She still wasn't sure how she was going to pull off the next week.
"I think that can be arranged. Darius did ask me to help with the finale, but I don't have to be at this week's show."
"I wish we didn't have to go back tomorrow." She propped her chin up so she could look at him.
"I know, but we are still here now." He threaded his fingers into her hair pulling her mouth to his.
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Monday morning came way too quick for both. Jude kept him in bed as long as she could. When they finally got up they had to rush to get on the road. Tommy only had twenty minutes to get to G Major. "So I will be home by seven. Do you want me to bring pizza home?" He asked when dropping her off at the house.
"Sounds good to me."
After Tommy was gone, Jude called the guys over to figure out a plan for that week. They needed to figure out how they were going to rehearse and stage their performance without Tommy finding out. With him helping with the show, it was going to make it even trickier.
"Well, you could pick a fight with him," Spied said before Kyle slapped his head.
"No, Tommy and I are done fighting for a while."
"You could say you are working at the store again. That gives you a perfect excuse to be out of the house," Wally offered.
"That's actually a great plan. I just hope he doesn't come to the store looking for me."
"He won't." Sadie walked through the door. "I told you, I would handle it. Starting Wednesday, he will be in a studio with the final two across town. One of his old producing friends agreed to help only if her got to work with Tommy. D convinced him pretty easily to help out."
"So he won't be at G Major or the arena at all?"
"Nope. I scheduled all your rehearsal time with Mason. That way it looks like he is rehearsing with SME and you are not involved. Also since he is going to be singing with you anyway."
"Sadie, you are amazing." Jude hugged her sister fiercely.
"I'm just doing my job. Now, Darius wanted to know if you wanted to do any of your old songs."
"I was thinking about 24 hours. I thought it would wrap everything up before the last ever Instant Star winner was announced."
"D is going to love that. Okay, I have to get back. I just wanted to go over all of this with you. Mason will be here in about an hour. He and Kwest are going over stuff with Tommy right now."
Jude was excited to go down to Tommy's studio and record the songs on a back up track. It had been too long since she'd recorded anything. Luckily, it was like riding a bicycle. She remembered everything. She worked the soundboard while the guys played. She enjoyed playing with the levels and really bringing the song to life.
"You look at home there." A voice behind her made her jump.
"Mase, you scared the shit out of me." She jumped up to give him a hug.
"Sorry. How are you?"
"I'm great. I really can't wait for this."
"It's good to see you excited about something. You know Darius is going to want you back."
"We'll see when it's time. Right now I want to focus on these songs and performances"
"Let's do it."
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After the guys left, Jude only had fifteen minutes to spare before Tommy got home. She just pretended that she'd been lounging around all day. It wasn't an easy task because she was still hyper from the recording session.
"You're chipper tonight?" Tommy commented while they ate and watched Instant Star.
"I talked to Wally today. I think I am going back to work tomorrow."
"Are you sure you are ready?"
"I need something to do. I can't stay home all day every day."
"As long as you don't over do it."
"I'll be home every night before you will."
"I should be home by seven every night. I will be with the final two across town."
Jude nodded and rested her head on his shoulder. It was going to be a long week. She still wasn't sure if she'd be able to pull off hiding everything from Tommy. She hoped everything worked out.
She hadn't really paid much attention to the contestants this year and was really amazed by the top 3. "So, who do you think will win?"
"I don't know. All three are pretty good. D, Kwest, and Mason all have different favorite."
"I like the girl. She has a really good voice. The fact that she plays too, gives her a really good chance."
"Yeah she is actually D's pick. He says she reminds him of you."
"Really?"
"I told him, if she wins, she'll have some big shoes to fill."
"I hope she wins." She thought it would be exciting to work with her.
"If she doesn't, I have a feeling D will sign her anyway."
"Why don't we go to the result show tomorrow night?"
"You really want to?"
"Yeah, I think it will be fun."
"Okay." Tommy shrugged. If Jude wanted to be around the Instant Star insanity, he wasn't going to stop her. He still hoped she'd want to record again one day. Maybe this was a step she needed to take to get her closer to getting back to her music.
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Result day was absolutely crazy. Jude and the guys had to rehearse in the back of the guitar shop because Tommy was at the arena all day. The back room wasn't the best rehearsal space, but it worked for just playing the music. They would have the rest of the week to stage it.
"So, do you think you'll record again?" Spied asked while they were taking a break.
"Not sure yet. I have warmed up to it a lot more since I found my voice again. I'll talk to Darius after the finale and see what ideas he has. Plus I need to see how I handle being on stage again."
"I'm sure he will have plenty of ideas. And you will be just fine." He gave her shoulder a squeeze. "Now let's get back to work."
"When did you become the slave driver?" Jude laughed.
"Since he became a dad." Wally offered.
Jude shrugged. "It makes sense."
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Tommy was anxious all day to get back to Jude. He worried she was going back to work too soon. He trusted that she wasn't going to fall apart again, but he didn't want to be under unnecessary stress. After their weekend away, he felt like he knew her even more. She was always amazing him.
When he got home, Jude wasn't there so he walked over to her house. He found a lady in a black skirt putting a sign in the front yard. He was about to ask her what she was doing before Jude walked out into the yard.
"Kathleen, thank you for getting right on this. I know I haven't lived in the house long."
"Not a problem, Miss Harrison. It was in your contract that you'd possibly only be here a short term."
"That's my sister always thinking ahead." Jude looked over and saw Tommy. "Oh Tommy, meet Kathleen. She is my real-estate agent. Kathleen, this is my boyfriend, Tommy. He only lives two houses down from here."
"Nice to meet you." She reached her hand out to shake his. "Miss Harrison, I will be in touch."
Tommy wasn't sure what to say once Kathleen was gone. He remembered her making the comment about selling her house, but never thought she'd do it this soon. "I didn't know you were calling a realtor."
"I decided today. Your house has a better layout, plus the basement studio. If we are going to spend every night together, there is no reason to have two houses."
"I kind of love you." He pulled her to him.
"You better because if this house sells as fast as she thinks it will, you'll be stuck with me," she said before his lips met hers in a quick kiss.
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The result show was absolutely crazy that night. Everyone was buzzing about who they thought was going home. Jude and Tommy just kind of hung off to the side of back stage. Just being there was making Jude more excited about the finale. She was able to envision how everything would play out on stage.
"How are you feeling?" Tommy asked when they got home.
"I'm a little tired. I probably should have sat down a little more." She sat down on the couch and took her walking boot off.
"Don't overdo it this week. Maybe you shouldn't work this week."
"Tommy, don't make a fuss over me. I will sit on a stool if that will make you happy."
"Very. Would you like a bath?"
"Only if you join me."
"It would be my pleasure," he said scooping her up and kissing her firmly.
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Jude was so excited to get to rehearsals on Wednesday. She had a lot of ideas on how they could do each song. She wanted everyone to be surprised when she took the stage. "So, no one even knows there will be a special guest?"
"Nope. Darius felt like that would still be too obvious," Sadie answered.
"Awesome. So here is what I was thinking." Jude told everyone how she wanted to go about everything.
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Tommy was amazed by the two finalists. Jessie was the girl that Jude had been really impressed with. She was twenty years old and been writing her own music since she was fifteen. Other than the guitar, she played the piano too. She was very open to other's suggestions. He couldn't help but chuckle because Jessie was a lot like Jude, but there were a lot of differences, too. He remembered how hard it was to convince Jude to change her song that first week. Jessie had no problems changing things. She was very humble and seemed happy to be there.
Then there was Ty. He was the underdog in the whole competition. He was a native of Vancouver and sang mostly country music. His style was a lot like Mason's, but he put a more classic twist to it like Johnny Cash. It was truly a challenge for Tommy because it was a genre of music he didn't really know a lot about.
Though he enjoyed his work, he missed Jude during the days. He hoped she wasn't working too hard at the store. Having her home when he got home when he got there every night was is favorite part of the day. She'd told him offers were already coming in on her house. That just made him want to make everything official between them. The engagement ring was about to burn a hole in his drawer. He wanted to make his proposal perfect. He needed something really special for her.
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Jude felt a little guilty keeping her finale performance from Tommy. Every night she'd want to tell him something about rehearsal that day, but would stop herself. She wanted him to be surprised, but also wanted to prove to herself that she could do things for herself and be with him too. Something she'd never thought about years before when she left for London.
Rehearsals were crazy and she was tired every night. She loved curling up on the couch with him. Offers were coming in on the house, so she knew when the finale was over, they'd be packing up her stuff. She couldn't wait to officially live with Tommy.
Okay all this was really just a filler. Next chapter is the finale. I'm thinking that after the finale there will be 1 or 2 chapters before the epilouge. I have it all completely planned out in my head. Hope to have the next chapter up in the next two weeks. Let me know what you think and I might get the next chapter written a bit faster.
Until next time... reveiw...review...review.
