Thank you all so much for the favorites, follows, and reviews on the first chapter! The response I received was great and I'm glad you all like where I'm going with this. There aren't many Javery stories on here so I really want to make this story worth reading.
Here's the next chapter, Juliette and Cadence finally get to meet, yay! You also get to see some familiar faces in this chapter as well.
Enjoy!
*I DO NOT OWN NASHVILLE OR ANY OF ITS CHARACTERS*
"I want you to keep in touch with me, just an occasional text or two. Calling would even be better."
"Got it."
"No drinking, no boys…"
Cadence rolled her eyes, "Yes I know. I really don't think any of that could happen tough since I'm going to be with Peyton's family most of the time."
"Yeah don't worry Mr. Barkley, my family and I will take good care of her," said Peyton who was standing in the doorway, waiting for Cadence and Avery to say their goodbyes. She arrived at the house early that morning so that Cadence could make her nine o'clock flight to Nashville.
"I know you will Peyton," said Avery.
"We better get going, our flight leaves in a couple of hours," said Cadence, trying to get out the door.
"Are you sure you don't want to take your new Gibson?" Avery asked Cadence, pointing to the black guitar case in her right hand.
"You just gave it to me last week, I would hate for it to get lost somewhere from here to Florida," Cadence explained. "So I'm just bringing my Martin, see if I can get some songwriting in while I'm down there."
"Good idea," said Avery, pulling his daughter in for a hug. "I love you."
Cadence smiled, her face pressing onto his cotton shirt and hugging him back tightly, "I love you too Dad. Don't worry about me too much."
"I'll try," Avery chuckled as he pulled away from his daughter and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. "Have a great time, and send me and Molly pictures.
"I will," said Cadence as she walked towards the front door where Peyton was standing.
"See ya," said Peyton, giving Avery a wave goodbye.
"Bye Peyton," he said as the brunette closed the door.
"Holy shit I can't believe you're doing this," Peyton said quietly once the door was closed.
"Shh!" said Cadence. "Act normal, he's going to watch us drive away."
Peyton helped Cadence with her things before getting into the car. Both girls got into Peyton's car and turned back to see Avery watching them, making sure everything was okay. They gave him one last wave goodbye before Peyton pulled away.
"I feel like shit Cadence," said Peyton as they made their way to the airport. "I'm not going to be able to enjoy my vacation because of you!"
"What did I say to you last week? I'll worry about me."
"If your dad finds out that I helped you get to Nashville without him knowing, there goes my job. I need the money to pay for my car insurance every month. You know what that means? No car insurance, no car, which also means no more rides from me anymore."
"Everything is going to be fine," Cadence assured her.
"What if it isn't?"
"What?"
"Well I mean, what if she didn't change Cadence? What if she didn't get better and her priority is still her career? Maybe she hasn't tried to see you fo…"
"Hey!" Cadence barked. "You don't even know her okay."
Peyton laughed, "And neither do you!"
Cadence then fell silent at her best friend's accusations against her mother. "I'm not trying to be mean to you Cade, and I'm not stopping you from seeing her. I'm just being realistic and preparing you for what could happen. I just don't want to see you get hurt."
"I won't, okay? She's my mom…she…she wouldn't hurt me like that."
"Alright," Peyton sighed. "Have you planned out what you're going to say to her once you see her?"
"Um..not really. I'm literally just taking this one step at a time. I mean, how do you approach your mom that you haven't seen in sixteen years?"
"I don't know kid, maybe just wing it?"
"Great advice P," Cadence laughed.
"Well you have to tell her about me. Oh! And that she was my first concert when I was eight, okay?"
"Okay I will," Cadence chuckled.
It wasn't long before the girls arrived at the airport and Peyton pulled up to drop Cadence off. The blonde got her belongings out of the car and said goodbye to her best friend.
"If you need anyone to talk to, I'm only a text or phone call or skype chat away," said Peyton as she got out of the drivers side.
"I highly doubt that you will have any time to skype me, when you're down in paradise," said Cadence.
"Oh come on, anything for you," said Peyton, giving her best friend a hug. "Be careful okay?"
Peyton felt Cadence nod against her as the two continued their embrace. "Thanks Peyton, for everything."
"Of course," said the brunette. "Well I'll let you go live the life of country music royalty now."
Cadence laughed as she waved goodbye to her best friend, "Bye."
"Bye," said Peyton as she watched her friend enter the airport until she couldn't see her anymore.
XXXXXXXXXXXXX
Around nine thirty that same morning, Cadence arrived at the front of Juliette's estate. It sat up on a hill, hidden by some trees, but the large white home stood out in the morning daylight.
"Well Miss, this is it," said the taxi driver.
"Great, thank you so much," said Cadence as she handed money to the driver.
"Are you sure this is the place you need to be? You're pretty young to be traveling in this area by yourself."
"Dude, just mind your business okay?"
The driver took the remark and continued assisting Cadence, "Do you need help with your things?"
"Nope, I got it," said Cadence, slinging her backpack over her shoulders. The teen got out of the car and opened the trunk to grab her guitar and suitcase. "Thank you."
"Yep," said the driver before he drove away.
Cadence took a deep breath and observed the closed gate in front of her. "Great, now what? Is there a button to talk to someone like they show in the movies?"
As Cadence was trying to figure out how to get in, she noticed some movement at the top of the hill in the driveway. She looked up to see a man with a disheveled appearance, looking rather pissed off. Cadence watched as the man got into his car and started his engine. Her eyes widened, realizing that the gate would open for him to leave.
Cadence stood closely and anxiously waited for the man to pull out of the driveway and exit the gate. She was careful to not be seen by the man, but wanted to get a good look at him. When he unknowingly passed by Cadence and turned down the street in the opposite direction, she noticed how mad and upset he was. Cadence was so caught up with her own thoughts that she didn't notice the gate starting to close again.
"No, no, no, no!" she said as she quickly got through the gate, nervous that she wasn't going to make it.
"That's a good sign I guess," she said to herself as she hiked up the pathway that led up to her mother's home.
"How did you get in here?" asked a man with a deep voice.
Cadence turned to see a big, muscular man approach her, blocking the girl's way from getting to the house. "Excuse me?"
"You're trespassing on private property," he said, taking Cadence by the arm and escorting her off the property. He was Juliette's new bodyguard.
"No you don't understand!" Cadence pleaded. "And let go of me, I have rights!"
"Not when you're on my client's property," he said. "You fans get crazier and crazier…"
"I am not a fan!" Cadence stated, trying to get the bodyguard to listen to her. "I'm Juliette's daughter!"
"And I'm the President's brother," the man joked as he overpowered Cadence's small frame.
"Look mister bodyguard, make all of the jokes you want but I am not going anywhere!" Cadence exclaimed. "I flew all the way here from Ohio and I am seeing my mom!"
"Like hell you are," said the bodyguard, continuing to stand in front of her, preventing Cadence from moving any further.
"What the hell is going on out there?" Juliette asked as she poured herself a cup of coffee. "Is someone trying to get into my house?"
"I'll go check it out. Lance probably has it under control," Glenn assured her. Emily was just as curious, standing up to follow Glenn and see what was going on outside.
"We have to get going, tour rehearsal starts in an hour and a half," Juliette stated.
"Hey," said Glenn as he approached the scene that was occurring in the driveway. "What the heck is going on?"
"This fan here is claiming to be Juliette's daughter and won't leave until she sees her," said Lance. Glenn got closer to the two, finally being able to see the teen better.
"My name is Cadence," she said. "I'm not a crazy fan!"
"Cadence?"
Cadence looked at Glenn, relieved that someone was finally hearing her out. "See?" she said looking up and over at Lance. "He knows who I am."
"Oh my god," said Glenn, his tone softening as he realized the young blonde that was standing in front of him. "I can't believe it."
"Me either actually," Cadence admitted, giving him a smile of assurance.
"Um…uh," Glenn stumbled, looking back between the house where Juliette was and Cadence who was clearly waiting to be invited inside. "You're Glenn right?" Cadence asked.
"Yeah I am," he said with a smile, happy that Avery had clearly told her about him. "Come inside." Cadence smiled as she grabbed her things and was sure to give Lance a side look that said 'told ya so'.
Emily was waiting in the doorway, curious as to why Glenn was bringing a stranger into Juliette's home. "Emily, this is Cadence," Glenn whispered, having a hand placed on Cadence's shoulder.
The older brunette took a moment to observe the sixteen year old. "Oh my god," she said as she covered her mouth with her hand.
"Everyone is having the same reaction," Cadence said sarcastically, as she, Glenn, and Lance stepped inside of the house. "I hope it's a good thing…"
"No it's great," said Emily tearfully, immediately giving Cadence a hug. "We haven't seen you since you were a baby."
"Can someone please explain to me what is going on?" Juliette demanded as she entered the foyer where everyone was standing. Emily and Cadence let each other go and turned their attention to Juliette.
"Juliette…this is Cadence," said Glenn.
Juliette looked at the girl, not giving it any thought. "Is this some joke you are all trying to play on me?"
"No this isn't a joke," said Cadence, walking closer to her mother. "My name is Cadence Barkley. I was born on April eighth, twenty fifteen and my dad is Avery Barkley. He was your guitar player, songwriting partner, husband…."
"Wha…what are you doing here? Where's Avery?"
"He doesn't know I'm here," Cadence admitted.
Juliette's eyes went wide, "He doesn't know you're here!"
"He wouldn't let me see you!" Cadence said back.
"So you ran away?" Emily asked.
Cadence turned back around to face Glenn, Emily, and Lance, "Kinda…."
Everyone in the room sighed and moaned at Cadence's way to get here, worried about the repercussions that would occur if Avery found out where Cadence really was.
"You guys it's okay," said Cadence. "He doesn't know I'm here! He thinks I'm spending spring break in the Florida Keys with my friend Peyton so it's fine. As long as I head back home to Ohio in a week."
"Ohio?" Glenn asked. "That's where you have been all these years?"
"Yeah, um. That's where we went to," Cadence answered, feeling the awkward position she was in. She turned back in Juliette's direction where she could read the expression on her face, amazed, shocked, confused and at a loss for words. The welcome she was expecting from Juliette wasn't anything like she imagined. Maybe she was still sick. Maybe Peyton and her dad were right.
"If you don't want me here then I get it. Having your daughter show up at your front door unexpectedly isn't what you asked for and I know you're busy. You have a tour coming up and it's fine…I'll just head back home," said Cadence, struggling to hold back her tears as she started to grab her things again to leave. All of the money she saved up for a moment she always dreamed of, gone to waste."It was nice meeting you even if it was for a few minutes."
Glenn and Emily gave Juliette a look, warning her to not let Cadence leave.
"Cadence wait," Juliette immediately said, grabbing her upper arm attempting to stop her. The teen stopped, caught off guard by the sudden touch. "You can stay here."
"Are you sure?"
"Please, I want you to," Juliette assured her, letting go.
"Okay," Cadence agreed. She was desperately wanting for Juliette to just pull her close and hold her in her arms and to tell her how much she loves her. But she knew Juliette wasn't ready yet. It was going to take some time and she only had a week to do so.
"Well that's great!" said Emily. "I can help you get settled in and…"
"We have a tour rehearsal to get to," Juliette reminded her.
"That's okay," said Cadence. "I could just come with you. I would love to see what goes on behind a huge tour anyways. If that's okay with you of course."
"That is perfectly fine," said Juliette. "We just have to get going right now."
XXXXXXXXXXX
After arriving at the location where Juliette's tour rehearsal space was, Cadence followed behind Juliette and her team and was listening in on their conversation. "Since Cadence is going to be around for the next week, we have to be cautious of how the public finds out about her being with you," Glenn explained as they walked.
After Avery left with Cadence, there was severe damage control as the public started to realize that there was no mention of Avery or Cadence in the years following Juliette's career. No candids, lack of mentions on social media and in interviews, as if Avery and Cadence didn't exist. Juliette had stated that she and Avery had gotten a divorce and he was awarded custody of Cadence. There was no mention of Juliette's PTSD. It was all played off as a case of miscommunication and disagreement between the husband and wife as time went on.
"Alright, sounds good," said Juliette as they approached the dressing room. She looked at Cadence who was standing between Glenn and Emily.
"I'm sorry about all of this Cadence," said Glenn. "But you have nothing to worry about while you're here."
The blonde looked up at him and smiled, "Thanks."
"Do you want to come in and wait?" Juliette offered as Glenn and Emily filed in.
"Um, I think I'll just explore the place a bit and look around," said Cadence. "Thanks though."
"Of course," said Juliette as she closed the dressing room door.
She turned towards Emily and Glenn, "It isn't just me is it? I'm not dreaming this? That my sixteen year old daughter showed up at my front door this morning and now she's staying here with me for the week."
"Nope, you're not dreaming," said Emily.
"Juliette this is amazing, Cadence is here with you. You have an opportunity to connect with your daughter," said Glenn.
Juliette sat down on one of the couches and rubbed her face with her hands. "Avery doesn't even know she's here. If he finds out that she has been around me…"
"But you've been doing great for thirteen years," said Emily. "It's about time he knows that."
"No, I have given up on him. We haven't spoken in years."
"But that doesn't mean you have to give up on Cadence," said Glenn. "She has come here to get to know you. You need to spend time with her."
"I know but I have the tour coming up and promoting the new single…"
"You need to make time for her Juliette, this is your second chance," said Emily. "Make it right with her."
"She has his eyes," Juliette stated, spilling out her thoughts to Glenn and Emily. "It's hard to look at her without seeing him in her."
Cadence had been wandering around the building and had finally come across the space where the stage was set up. "Wow," she said under her breath as she stepped up and onto the stage. Lighting and screen tests were going on as the crew set up the stage so Juliette could rehearse.
The sixteen year old walked on the stage and immediately went over to the instruments. "You can't be up here," said someone. "Unless you're one of the band members, crew, or Juliette herself and I'm pretty sure you're neither of those."
Cadence turned and looked at the person behind her. It was a guy who appeared to be around her age, tall with sandy blonde hair and had one of the crew shirts on. "Well you look a little young to be a part of the crew," said Cadence.
"My dad got me the job. I really don't do that much around here, I just help where I'm needed when different tours come in here to rehearse. You know, tune guitars and whatnot," he said. "And I'm not that young, I'm eighteen."
"Got it," said Cadence.
"What is your name?" he asked her, holding out his hand for her to shake.
"Cadence," she responded as she shook his hand.
"That's different," he admitted. "But very pretty. I'm Drew."
"Thanks," she giggled. "Drew is pretty average though."
Drew laughed, "Well I'm sorry to tell you this Cadence…but you have to get off the stage."
"What if I told you that I am more than allowed to be on here just as much as you are?"
"Okay," he said crossing his arms. "Give me one good reason."
"I'm Juliette's daughter so…I win."
Drew was shocked at the reason Cadence gave him. "Really, well I didn't know Juliette Barnes had a daughter."
"She does and I am her," said Cadence, pointing to herself.
"Interesting," he said. "So were you going to play something?"
"I was thinking about it, why? Too cliche?"
"Cliche?"
Cadence laughed as she picked up one of the acoustic guitars that was held on its stand. She put the strap over her shoulder and let the guitar rest so that she could tune it. "You know, daughter of two musicians who also aspires to be a musician…"
"And you're name literally means the flow of sounds and words so yeah…a little bit of a cliche," said Drew. "But hey, it's probably just meant to be right?"
"Probably," said Cadence as she finished tuning the guitar.
"Can you do that for the rest of them?"
"Very funny, but you're the one that is a part of the crew remember?"
"Alright, but since you already have the guitar tuned and on you. You should sing something."
"Any requests?" Cadence asked.
"How about one of your mom's twenty, number one singles."
"I can do that," Cadence complied, immediately thinking of one of her favorite Juliette Barnes songs. She placed her fingers on the correct frets and started to strum the guitar.
I've got flowers but there ain't no grave
You're still walkin' 'round but nothing's changed
I've stopped breathin' but I'm still feelin' the pain
Cadence looked at Drew off to the side as she sang front and center on stage, not noticing the rest of crew and some of Juliette's band turn their attention to the sixteen year old off stage.
Everywhere I go, I hear your name
Want to get out, want to get off of this street, out of this place
You're still breathin' but you're not feelin' the pain
Put out the fire, can't kill the flame
I - I - I - I know I'm free but still
My hands are tied
Behind my back beside the Mississippi flood
This love won't give up
No, it don't run dry
Why-y-y
It's gone, it's gone, but it ain't dead and gone
It's gone, it's gone, but it ain't dead and gone
"What is everyone doing just standing off the side of the stage?" Juliette asked aloud. Emily and Glenn followed behind her, no one responding to her question as their full attention was on Cadence.
I'm not twisted, bitter, I'm not mad
I just wish you would get off my mouth
I've been hidin' but you keep findin' my tracks
Why do you keep on comin' back?
I - I - I - I know I'm free but still
My hands are tied
Behind my back beside the Mississippi flood
This love won't give up
No, it don't run dry
Why-y-y
It's gone, it's gone, but it ain't dead and gone
It's gone, it's gone, but it ain't dead and gone
Drew looked over off stage and noticed how many people had accumulated to listen to Cadence sing, including Juliette. Emily and Glenn smiled at one another as they went between watching Cadence and Juliette's reaction to her daughter covering her own song.
Juliette was impressed with how she handled the guitar solo acoustically, leading up the bridge and final chorus of the song. Much like Avery, she did it with ease. She was not surprised at how talented her daughter was vocally and instrumentally, in fact, it even made her proud to see her up there. If it was anyone else interrupting her rehearsal time, she would have gone up there and dragged them off the stage herself.
I - I - I - I know I'm free but still
My hands are tied
Behind my back beside the Mississippi flood
This love won't give up
No, it don't run dry
Why-y-y
It's gone, it's gone, but it ain't dead and gone
It's gone, it's gone, but it ain't dead and gone
It's gone, it's gone, but it ain't dead and gone
It's gone, it's gone, but it ain't dead and gone
Cadence finished and immediately removed the guitar and turned to Drew, "There, are you happy?"
"I am, and so are they," he said, pointing over in the direction where everyone had been watching Cadence. The blonde followed the direction to where Drew was pointing and saw everyone as they started to clap and cheer for her. She smiled and took the applause as she set the guitar back down in its stand.
Juliette went up on the stage as Cadence walked in her direction to step off. She stopped once Juliette was in front of her. "I'm sorry for delaying your rehearsal, I was just caught up in it and…"
"No," Juliette interrupted her. "It was great."
Cadence shouldn't help but beam at the comment made by her mother, "Thank you."
"I would even go as far as to say better than myself on the record."
"Now I know you're lying," Cadence giggled, trying to control herself from blushing.
"I'm not." said Juliette. "I just might have to consider that acoustic version for my set."
"Yeah, you should totally do it," said Cadence getting excited. "I mean the way you perform it is already amazing but this would be too."
"I will definitely consider it," Juliette smiled at her. "Now I better start with the rehearsal."
"Yeah of course," said Cadence as she walked past her and stepped off the stage, Drew following behind.
"And you," Juliette said sternly, stopping Drew in his tracks. "I saw you looking at her the way you did."
The band started to make their way up on the stage. "What way Ms. Barnes?"
"You know what I'm talking about," she said. "Watch yourself kid and just do your job."
Drew quickly nodded and stepped off the stage. One of the crew members handed Juliette her microphone, "Alright everyone let's get started."
XXXXXXXXXXXXX
That night, Juliette had sent Emily and Glenn home, assuring both of them that she was fine with Cadence and didn't need their help. She followed to where Cadence's voice was coming from in the house and found her in the room where she kept her awards.
"Yeah I'm having a great time," Cadence said into her phone. "It's amazing down here, so warm." Juliette stepped into the room quietly, making sure not to disturb the teen.
"That's great to hear, well I miss you already," said Avery on the other end.
Cadence looked up and saw Juliette standing by the door, a sense of nervousness took over her. "I miss you too Dad. Listen I have to go, Peyton wants to go walk on the beach. I'll text you tomorrow okay?"
"Sounds good Cade, have fun. I love you."
Cadence smiled, feeling horribly about the moment she was currently in. "I will. Love you too Dad, bye."
"Bye."
The father and daughter both hung up and Cadence focused her attention on Juliette, "Hey."
"Was that your dad you were talking to on the phone?" Juliette asked, playing dumb.
"Um, yeah. He wanted to know how the flight was and how everything was going in Florida."
Juliette nodded, not wanting to ask any further questions about Avery at the moment. "So I can see you found this room," she said, changing the subject.
"Yeah," Cadence smiled, sliding her phone into her jean pocket. "It's amazing."
The room was filled with several awards and accolades ranging from CMAs, ACMs, CMTs, BMAs, Grammys, and framed records of songs that have gone platinum, double, and triple platinum. To say that Juliette had gotten back on track with her career in the past sixteen years was a complete understatement.
Cadence observed the room in awe. It was also hard not to be intimidated by her mother's success. "Well it was a lot of hard work and dedication, it helps when you love what you do too," said Juliette. "Maybe this will be you one day."
"Hopefully, I would love to have all of this one day too, but college is first," said Cadence who watched as Juliette raise a brow. "Dad insists. Not that he is stopping me from what I love to do. He just wants me to go to college first."
"I can't exactly disagree with him on that," said Juliette. "I would've went to college but when you're born and raised in dirt, college isn't exactly an option."
"Is that why you turned to singing so young, because that's what you were good at?" Cadence asked, thinking back to what she had already known about Juliette and her backstory.
Juliette slowly nodded, she didn't exactly want to talk about her past with her daughter. She couldn't help but feel ashamed of where she came from. "I wanted better for myself. If I had a shot at becoming a singer and making a lot of money so I could get out of Alabama, I was going to do it."
Cadence listened and nodded as she walked around the room, taking small steps. It was quiet for a moment between the mother and daughter before Cadence remembered something she wanted to ask her.
"Who was that guy this morning?"
Juliette was confused as to what guy Cadence was referring to. "The guy that left your house before I came here. He was really pissed off from what I could see," the younger blonde clarified.
"Oh him, that was Sam. I had broken up with him this morning," Juliette said with no emotion expressed.
"How long did you guys date? I mean, he clearly doesn't sound important from how you're talking about him."
"Yeah it was just for a couple of months, nothing special."
Cadence was surprised, she figured he was someone her mom had slept with. By his facial expression, the relationship meant a lot more to him than it did to Juliette. "It's getting late and I'm kind of tired," said Cadence, changing the subject.
"Yeah of course," said Juliette. "You remember how to get to the guest room?"
"I do," said Cadence as she walked past her mother to leave the room. "And Juliette?"
The older blonde turned around to face Cadence, "Yeah?"
"Thanks for letting me stay here and for everything today, it was cool getting to see what you do."
"Yeah of course," Juliette said with a smile. "And you're always welcome here Cadence."
The teen nodded quickly and smiled back, "Goodnight."
"Night," said Juliette as she let out a loud breath once Cadence had left. She looked around the room again and saw it differently compared to other times before. It was a room filled with everything she had chosen over a family.
Second chapter down, haha! I hope you all liked it!
Writing for Juliette is so nerve wracking because she has such a special personality and you never know what she is thinking or how she would react to certain things, so hopefully I'm doing her justice.
Next Chapter: Cadence and Juliette continue to figure each other out and learn more about one another. Juliette also introduces Cadence to Rayna, Deacon, and see what Maddie and Daphne are up to. You'll have to read the next chapter and see what goes down!
