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Chapter 5

Sante Fe

Ranya felt herself getting more and more irritated as Juliette continued to grind against Deacon on stage. Just get through Wrong Song and it'll be over. She could still hear Juliette's words from earlier today and it bothered her more than she was willing to admit.

She heard Liam say, "That's our cue." as she walked back out onto the bright lights for the encore.

Penthouse 4

Liam helped himself to the wet bar and propped his feet up on the coffee table. "Look whatever Little Miss Sparkly Pants said it couldn't have really bothered you that much."

Rayna stepped out of her heels and ran reclined on the couch. "Let's see, first she accused me of abandoning Deacon as soon as the going got tough. She reminded me that Deacon was only able to remain sober because he wasn't with me anymore and basically blamed me for becoming an alcoholic. She reviewed how few of Deacon's songs I have recorded. She reminded me of all the opportunities Deacon turned down over the years to be my lead guitarist." Liam whispered "ouch" as he downed another airplane bottle.

"On a happier note, Teddy thinks you and I sleeping together."

Liam laughed, "Well since we're already suspected of doing the crime, might as well do the time." Liam began unbuttoning his shirt until Rayna slapped his hand away.

"I'm serious. He saw the pictures of us in Vegas. He saw us on stage in Nashville."

Liam nodded, "Well he probably can't imagine any woman would be able to resist my charms. Not to mention, your high-kicks are like a Siren's song, a kind of mating call if you will. "

Rayna let out a soft laugh and admitted she was dreading the break next week. "I'll be glad to see the girls but I'm dreading the fights with Teddy."

Liam casually asked if she'd made a decision yet.

"Yeah…I think I have. I actually think I made it a long time ago, I just haven't been able to say it out loud yet."

Liam asked if she needed recommendations for lawyers.

"You don't know what I am going to do."

Liam shrugged as he popped open the bottle of wine and poured Rayna a glass. "Everybody knows what you're going to do."

Liam looked at her for a moment and asked if she wanted to skip barhopping and try to find some studio space.

Rayna shook her head no and apologized. "I just want to be alone tonight. I've got Clay's radio show in the morning and I think I just want to be alone right now." Liam nodded and kissed her cheek before heading out.

WCPA-Country Today

Rayna hugged the DJ, telling Clay he was looking good. He returned the compliment and asked how "ole' Lamar was doing now that he'd lost Coleman too?"

She shot a look at him, "You know Daddy, he likes no one more than he loves himself."

Clay asked Rayna if anything was off limits. "Just nothing about Teddy please."

The blonde man laughed a wide smile, "So are the rumors true about you and McGinnis? "

Rayna shot him a warning look but Clay just smiled as he sat in the DJ chair while the countdown began. "Well folks good morning, today I have the pleasure of hosting Country Superstar and the first girl I ever kissed, Miss Rayna James."

Soundcheck in Sante Fe

Deacon yelled he needed "five" as he jumped off the stage to greet Clay. The two quickly walked away from the stage and began catching up. Deacon rolled his eyes as Clay began to ask about "their collective ex."

"I'm here for Juliette Barnes."

Clay shook his head, "Deac, this is me. I've known Rayna since we were four. I was there for your first show…if you can call eight people watching a game, a show. I was on tour with you and Rayna for almost three years. I slept on the same bus as y'all and had adjoining rooms most nights. I know way more about you two then I need to. You my friend, here for Rayna Lynn Wyatt."

Deacon wouldn't meet his eye but instead just smiled. "She would kill you if she heard you call her that."

Clay turned serious, "Hey look man. Why don't you come over to my house after the show. It'll give us a chance to check up."

Deacon nodded sure and the guys shook hands.

Penthouse 2

Rayna pushed her way through the door when Juliette asked what she wanted.

"You know you have no idea what happened between Deacon and I. I know you think that since you've known Deacon for a hot minute that you know everything. You have no clue about my relationship with Deacon.

Juliette rolled her eyes and told Rayna to leave. But Rayna merely put her hand on her hip. "You really I think I left Deacon the second he became an alcoholic?"

Juliette seemed unnerved but shrugged, "The way I hear it you just left him after he checked himself into rehab."

Rayna nodded, "Did you know that was his fifth time in rehab? Did you know they had to pump his stomach twice the week he left his third stint? Did you hear about the time he drove his car into a ditch and we found him six hours later, passed out in his car. Did he you ever see the bills from my hotel rooms for the maids who cleaned up his vomit in the carpet, not to mention the bill from room service and the hotel bars. "

Juliette swallowed while Rayna continued, "We had two set orders depending on how sober Deacon was. The green set meant Deacon and I could perform together. The Red set meant I did all my solo stuff first while they tried to sober him up backstage."

Rayna' voice shook, "You may think since you've got a criminal record and have a marriage under your belt that you know everything, but you do not have a clue. You never begged some crack-whore in an ally to remember which way Deacon stumbled out of a bar. You've never bribed a cop with front row tickets to keep Deacon out of jail or screamed at him until you were hoarse because you couldn't tell if he was drunk or dead." Silence filled the air before Rayna softly whispered, "I did that every night. I did that every night for three and half years. The man I loved was just…gone and I kept waiting for him to come back."

Juliette bit her lip and tried to apologize but instead Rayna just sat down slowly on the couch. "I know you are his friend and I am really glad he has some support…but you have no idea the we went through."

Juliette wiped a tear away from her cheek, "Actually, it sounds pretty familiar."

The two stood awkwardly for a moment before Juliette asked if what she was doing for the next few hours.

"Well since telling you off took a little less time than I planned…nothing really."

"I was going to try and write for a while. I mean, if you want to stay."

PH 6

Rayna walked into the hotel, tired but an excited kind of tired. She really liked the direction she and Juliette's song was going. It was raw and nasty but it was a damn good song. They'd both joked that Edgehill would throw a fit before letting either one of them was allowed to release it.

She yawned but before she could start to undress she heard a knock at the door. She opened the door, surprised to see Teddy standing on the other side. He politely asked to come inside which she allowed. She listened to ramble on for a few minutes. He had a purpose as he kept talking about the state of their relationship, but didn't appear to be communicating it very well.

Rayna's heart dropped when he quietly told her, "I want our marriage to work. I want you, I love you. But I need to know where you stand on this. I need an answer now: do you want this work?"

Rayna felt her breath catch in her throat and couldn't speak for a moment. Finally she let out a sound somewhere between a cry and a whisper. She forced herself to calm down enough to let out a "No."

Teddy's own breath hitched as she clarified, "I don't….I don't want this anymore."

Rayna felt her begin to sob as Teddy walked out with another word and slammed the hotel door behind him.

The Hotel Lobby

Deacon walked into the lobby, feeling better about a lot of things. His night with Clay had given him clarity. After all, Clay had known both he and Ray for years and was one of maybe five people on the face of the planet that Ray let in.

He was so lost in thought that he didn't see Teddy until he practically ran into him. Teddy scuffed a "great" as Deacon muffled Teddy's name in a question.

Deacon didn't say anything as he walked past Teddy but that didn't stop the shorter man from yelling back at him. "You are going to ruin her just like last time. Only I won't be there to pick up what you broke."

Deacon hit the elevator button and quickly jumped in before hitting the PH button.