Chapter 17
Jude retired to Taylor's bed some time after 10pm that evening. The pair had spent the entire afternoon watching chick flicks and eating endless calories of Hagen Daz. Taylor on the other hand was still pacing in the living room. She had a lot going on in her mind, the main thing being Jake's unexpected return to her life. The more she thought about him, the more questions she began to ask herself. The number one question that lingered was, 'What sort of business could Jake have with Darius?' As far as she knew, both men had only met each other once, and that was when she and Jake had announced their engagement. Taylor was quickly pulled from her thoughts by a knock at the door. She quietly made her way to the door so she wouldn't wake Jude. Taylor couldn't help but wonder though who was knocking at her door at her door this late at night.
"Hey, Taylor!" "Jake! What are you doing here its 10 o'clock? How did you even find me?" A surprised Taylor responded to her unexpected visitor.
"Nice to see you, too. Can I come in or what?" Jake replied with the same smug smile on his face he had earlier at G-major.
"No. Not until you tell me why you're here and how you found me?" A stern, but forceful Taylor retorted.
Jake let out a defeated sigh as he looked Taylor straight in the eye before continuing.
"Darius gave me the address. I'm here to have that conversation you promised to have with me earlier. Remember? Now can I come in?
"Fine, but I already told you there is no 'us'," Taylor stepped back from the door so that Jake could enter.
Jake walked past Taylor and headed towards the living room. Taylor pulled herself together a little before following. When she finally reached the living room she found Jake sitting on the couch staring at her. He was giving her 'the look'. It was the same look he gave her when he first told her that he loved her. The same look he had when he proposed. This was the look that would make Taylor go weak at the knees every time. She quickly pulled herself from her thoughts. She had to be strong because things were different now. She didn't love Jake anymore and she sure as hell didn't want him back in her life.
"So you wanted to talk, so let's talk. What are you doing here and what sort of business do you have with Darius?" Taylor was being blunt as possible. She knew that if Jake was there too long he would want to try and start to explain what happened back in New York.
"Wow, your very forward these days, aren't you. Well this may surprise you, but I'm here for you and my business with Darius is you." A calm and relaxed Jake stated before he plastered the same smug smile on his face from before.
"What do mean your business with Darius is me?" Taylor interrupted feeling confused and curious.
Before another word was spoken Jake reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a demo CD with "Life Line" scribbled across it.
"This is a CD that I had Darius listen to so he would let me use the studio to record a full demo of a singer that my father would like to sign."
Taylor walked over to Jake and took the CD from his hands. There was something about the name on it that was familiar; she just couldn't quite remember what it was.
"What does any of this have to do with me?" a puzzled Taylor questioned.
Jakes stood up and walked over to Taylor placing his hand lightly on her shoulders and he forced their eyes to meet.
"Because the singer my father is interested in, is YOU. That's your demo, well sort of. It's the last verse and chorus of the last song you ever sang to me. I didn't mean to record it, but I couldn't resist your voice, it was amazing, and I just fell in love with you even more that night. I was going to talk to you about it before I showed it to my father, but you left."
Jake took another look at Taylor he noticed that she was speechless. He couldn't tell from her body language if she was mad or just in shock at what he just revealed to her.
As she finally grasped what Jake had just told her she began to let the anger take over, not to mention the betrayal.
"You need to leave now!" Taylor firmly and coldly ordered.
Jake let out another deep sigh of frustration. He removed his hands from her shoulder and slowly walked away. Taylor didn't move, she stood planted in her spot staring at the wall. She heard Jake's footsteps as he began to make his way to the entry way of the room. He suddenly stopped to speak.
"I've booked studio time to record the demo the day after tomorrow. I'll be there... and I hope you'll be there, too."
With that, he continued to make his way out. Taylor stayed frozen in her position until she heard the door click. She let out a breath that she didn't even realize that she was holding.
Without really thinking and still grasping the CD in her hand Taylor grabbed her keys and left her suite.
It was 12:30 in the morning and Tommy began to lock up G-Major. It was the earliest that he had finished in weeks. He had been trying to call Jude all afternoon to try and talk to her, but his calls went straight to voicemail each time. He finally gave up calling her around about 8 o'clock deciding it was best to give her a little time to cool off.
He was actually relived that she didn't picked up because he was still unsure on how he was going to fix the problem at hand. He hand been trying to find Taylor all afternoon to get some advice, but she, too was MIA. Sadie had told him that she left earlier that morning pretty upset after talking to some old friend of hers in the lobby. This worried him a little and made him wonder if this old friend was some one from New York. As he thought about his problems with Jude and Taylor's strange behaviour while making his way out of the building, he noticed a light coming from studio A and a faint sound of a piano playing.
Tommy decided to investigate Studio A to see who was making the music. To his surprised, he found Taylor sitting at the piano. He silently entered the studio being careful to not disturb her and to continue going unnoticed.
Taylor sat at the piano feeling torn. Soon everyone would know that she was singing again and they would all be pressuring her to take Jake's offer. But that wasn't the scariest part. She was actually considering his offer. As much as she hated Jake for what he did to her, she loved her music. No matter what happened in her life good or bad Taylor always kept her music within her, she just never let anyone hear it.
She had always dreamed about becoming a famous singer since she was a little girl. But after her mother died she had hid that music away, promising herself that she would never sing again. Now Jake suddenly comes along and brings the music inside her back out again, something she thought would never happen again. At first, it scared her that someone could have such a powerful effect on her, but she was beginning to like it. She was singing again, and now she was being offered an opportunity of a life time, something she dreamt about all her life, but the question that crossed mind now was 'Do I really want this?'
Focusing her attention on the ivory keys beneath her fingertips, she took a deep breath before beginning to play again. She began to let herself get caught up in the music.
Tommy stood firm in his spot not wanting to get her attention yet. As he watched her play he could see what was going to happen or at least he was hoping that it would happen...she was going to sing. Then as if Taylor had read his mind, her soft voice began to fill the studio.
'Behind These Hazel Eyes'
Seems like just yesterday
You were a part of me
I used to stand so tall
I used to be so strong
Your arms around me tight
Everything, it felt so right
Unbreakable, like nothin' could go wrong
Now I can't breathe
No, I can't sleep
I'm barely hanging on
Here I am, once again
I'm torn into pieces
Can't deny it, can't pretend
Just thought you were the one
Broken up, deep inside
But you won't get to see the tears I cry
Behind these hazel eyes
I told you everything
Opened up and let you in
You made me feel alright
For once in my life
Now all that's left of me
Is what I pretend to be
So together, but so broken up inside
'Cause I can't breathe
No, I can't sleep
I'm barely hangin' on
Tommy continued watch Taylor as she shut her eyes and continued to sing.
Here I am, once again
I'm torn into pieces
Can't deny it, can't pretend
Just thought you were the one
Broken up, deep inside
But you won't get to see the tears I cry
Behind these hazel eyes
Swallow me then spit me out
For hating you, I blame myself
Seeing you it kills me now
No, I don't cry on the outside
Anymore...
Here I am, once again
I'm torn into pieces
Can't deny it, can't pretend
Just thought you were the one
Broken up, deep inside
But you won't get to see the tears I cry
Behind these hazel eyes
Here I am, once again
I'm torn into pieces
Can't deny it, can't pretend
Just thought you were the one
Broken up, deep inside
But you won't get to see the tears I cry
Behind these hazel eyes
As the song slowly came to an end, Taylor let the few tears she was holding back finally escape. As she opened her eyes she was surprised to see her stunned brother standing at the door.
Unsure of what to say, she said the first thing that came to her mind.
"Hey," she spoke in a bare whisper. She kept avoiding eye contact with him as she was a little embarrassed that her brother probably caught sight of the mascara trail down her cheeks.
"Hey," Tommy neutrally spoke as he walked over to her and took a seat next to her on the piano bench.
"Your voice sounded amazing," Tommy honestly complimented. In fact he thought she's never sounded better until that moment even thought it had been years since he has heard her voice.
"Thanks, but I can't lie. That wasn't the first time I've sang since mom died. It was just the first time I've sang since seeing you again," she honestly told her brother.
"Fair enough. So, the song, does it have anything to do with the 'old friend' who came and visited you today?"
Taylor paused a little before answering. She was a little surprised and wondered how Tommy knew about her encounter with Jake.
"A little..." she started off and Tommy looked at her with a raised brow. "...okay, a lot," she said finally giving in. "Who is he?" Tommy asked in his protective big brother mode.
"His name is Jake. We used to work together at Epic. He's also my ex-fiancée." Taylor observed as Tommy's eyes doubled in size as he took in her secret that she just revealed to him. She quickly decided to continue before he started bombarding her with the twenty questions.
"The day I took Darius' offer to produce here was the same day I caught Jake cheating on me with his assistant. At first, when I decided to take his offer to come here, it was because it was a way out, but then it became more about seeing you again and rebuilding our relationship." She closed her eyes after giving her brief explanation hoping he would understand.
Before responding to Taylor's statement, Tommy put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her closer to him. It was his way of saying that things were going to be okay, and that he understood.
"Why is Jake here now, then? " Tommy asked.
"He has convinced Darius to let him use Studio A tomorrow so he can record a proper demo of me singing to show his father. They want to offer me a contract," Taylor explained still unsure of what to do.
"Wow, Taylor! That's great! I mean Epic is one of the best recording companies in the world." Tommy knew this was a great opportunity for his sister. He knew her passion and love for music was as strong as his, and he also knew that this would be a dream come true for her.
"So you think I should take it?" She asked hoping to get his opinion on the matter to make her decision a bit easier.
"Well, it's really up to you, but yeah, I think you should," he replied. "I know this is something that you've always wanted to do."
"I knew you were going to say that. Look, I'm going to have to think about it, but I'll do the demo, but under one condition," Taylor reasoned. "Anything."
"I want you and Jude to produce it. I don't think I can handle being alone in a room with Jake for a few hours, let alone even a few seconds," she proposed.
"Taylor, are you sure that's what you want? I mean Jude and I aren't exactly on the best terms at the moment. Wouldn't you rather have me rough the guy up a little bit instead?" Tommy chuckled at the thought of kicking the guy's ass that hurt his baby sister.
"Ahh, no! This isn't high school, but thanks anyway. Surely things aren't that bad between you and Jude. Are they?" Taylor knew about the argument from Jude, but they hadn't had the chance to talk about it yet.
"Taylor, I think she might break up with me," he told her feeling scared even just thinking about it.
"Well, surely there has to be a way. I mean c'mon Tommy, she only wants one night a week with you, and that's not much in my opinion. You're very fortunate that she's very understanding about your position. If were some other girl I think they would be asking a lot way more from you than what Jude wants. There has to be someway you can manage the one day she's asking for."
Tommy couldn't help but soak in his sister's reasoning for his girlfriend. He knew she was right. Jude wasn't asking for much. In fact she never asked much from him ever. The only thing she ever wanted from him was to never hurt her and to love her unconditionally. "Yea, the only way I could manage it is if there were two of me. This all used to be so much easier when we worked together side-by-side, but now it's all changed. You're Jude's producer now and Darius keeps on piling the work on me."
"Hey, look we are going to fix this. I promise, you and Jude are not going to break up." "I hope so Taylor. I honestly don't know what I'm gonna do if I lose her." She could see the pain in his brother's eyes. It was the kind of pain that she only saw once before, and that was when their mother had died. She knew that Jude was it for him. She had never seen him this happy before even when they were kids, and even though it had been seven years since they'd seen each other. This has been the happiest that she has ever seen him. Taylor reassured him. "I will think of something. There's always a solution to every problem, we just have to find it. Now stop worrying and go home, get some sleep. You look terrible."
Tommy smiled at his sister's positive outlook on his dilemma. "Yea, alright. Are you comi
"No. I'm going to stay here a bit longer. I want to get started on my song for tomorrow."
"Okay. Good night, and if you any help, you know where I'll be." Taylor smiled. "I know." The pair hugged and Tommy headed out the studio door, but before he completely left he turned to his sister, "Hey Taylor." "Yea Tom." "Thanks." With that Tommy finally left the building.
As she watched Tommy leave, she took a deep breath thinking she has definitely got her work cut out for her. First Speid who just happens to be married, repairing her relationship with Tommy, repairing Tommy's relationship, Jake suddenly showing up, and now a chance for her dream to finally come true. Geez, what more can a girl ask for.
Hey guys I hope you enjoy this chapter as it could be the last one for while as i have just moved and unable to get access to a computer with word doc. hopefully it wont be too long but im not sure. Once again thanks to my wonderful beta suzanne.
DISCLAIMER: i dont not own instant star or behind these hazel eyes