Chapter 2
two
ESTRELLA
T he lyrics from Shinedown’s Daylight came out of my mouth, mumbled and low, as my fingers played with the photoshop and lighting settings from Neon Cherry’s collection. The speaker to my right nearly vibrated with how loud it was. Often, this was the perfect balance for my overstimulated brain while working on a task, but I growled as the neon hues in this particular image refused to balance themselves just right all the same.
The pros of choosing to do professional concert photography were endless. Not only did I get to follow my passion of photography and capturing moments of pure joy, but I also got to travel and befriend some of the best in the industry that had consumed me since I was a teenager.
The cons of choosing to do professional concert photography, however, were navigating the endless varieties of smoke, neon hues, shadows, and shots to capture the perfect moment, rather than a perfect moment.
It was creativity and science all at once.
And the science was not easy to do when you were hungover and sore as all hell.
My phone buzzed against the soft material of my own hotel room bed, indicating an incoming phone call. I found myself smiling as Mamá’s name popped up on my screen. Deciding to take a break from the image at hand—featuring a duet song of Colby and Sydnee mid-breakdown—I reached over to simultaneously power off the speaker and answer the phone call.
“Hi, Mamá !”
Her voice came through my phone's speaker as I collapsed against the mattress. “ Mi hija ! How are you, baby girl? I can’t talk long, but I missed you. I wanted to check on you.”
I smiled. “I’m good. You know the drill—work, work, and more work.”
“I do. Where are you at now? I call almost weekly and I feel like you’re always somewhere different. What…what do they say? You travel as much as a circus? I think that’s what they say.”
“Maybe. But at least you get to tell everyone that you have a really cool, freelance, alternative daughter. Emo kids are the best kinds of kids, ya know.”
“Oh yay. Everything I could have wanted.”
“Hey! I thought you were proud of me.”
She gasped mockingly now, and I giggled at the ridiculousness of it. “I am! I could not be more proud of you and the name you have made for yourself, mi amor . Your papá would be so unbelievably proud of you if he knew this is what you had made of yourself after these hard years.”
Tears stung my eyes with no warning.
My papá .
Fuck, I missed him.
His death anniversary was only a couple short days away, and it explained why I had been working in overdrive lately. I needed the distraction. Because while mourning was never linear, the remembrance that one of your favorite people had left was also crushing.
People always left one way or another, though. I had learned that lesson before him. But it didn’t take away any of the ache.
I sniffed and wiped at my eyes as I responded. “Thanks, Mamá . I needed to hear that. I’m in Ohio, by the way. I’m sure I’ll be heading out in the next day or two. My next assignment is in Texas, and my flight is tomorrow afternoon.”
“Ohio?”
“Yeah? Ya know, Midwest land? Where they have a McDonald’s and…wheat fields. And that’s pretty much it.”
“Huh.”
I blinked, heavily confused. “What? What’s going on?”
“I don’t want you to freak out, Estrella.”
“Cool, cool, cool. Don’t start a sentence like that then. What’s wrong?”
“He sent another ticket of some kind to the house. I figured it was trash again, so I didn’t tell you. This one was an airplane ticket and a concert ticket of some kind, though. And…it was in Ohio.”
Immediately, my face flamed and my hackles raised. My voice was cold and distant when I spoke next. It was always anytime he was brought up with no warning. “When?”
“A month ago.”
“A month?! Mamá ! You should have told me. He still hasn’t even sent back the last round of divorce papers back, and it’s been two months.”
“About that…”
My teeth ground down in anger. “What?”
“There was also a piece of paper mixed in with the tickets. It just said ‘No.’”
That time, I really did growl, and I was sure my mother had pulled the phone away from her ear at the sound. I was likely minutes away from blowing a gasket—a trait fallen directly from my papá —and I’m sure she would be hanging up any second due to it.
The anger was unbelievably valid though, and I refused for anyone else to tell me differently.
Zack couldn’t sign the divorce papers that he should have signed eight years ago when he ruined everything and shattered every last innocent piece of my heart—but he could send countless tickets and flights to my mother’s address for nearly two years now.
Yet, I never found an email, text message, or anything else from him.
A ghost, if not for the random tickets and gifts.
What a fucking joke.
At that exact moment, my laptop pinged with two notifications. I groaned as I sat up to reach for it. My eyes scanned the emails briefly, though my breath stilled as I held the phone to my ear.
No.
No, no, no, no.
“I have to go, Mamá .”
“What? What are you goi—” I clicked the red button and tossed my phone half haphazardly. I would end up paying for that later, I knew, but my eyes couldn’t help but scan the emails again and again.
To: Estrella Flores
From: Rockin’ Wild Talent Agency
Hi, Estrella!
We hope this email finds you well. While we sincerely apologize for this short notice account, one of our photographers assigned to Twisted Tours—anonymous due to privacy stipulations—has been fired from our agency, and we need you to step in their place. Since you are already in the state from our assignment with Neon Cherry, along with your gracious skill level, we thought it would be best to select you for the project. While I do recall you requesting to be taken off this tour months ago, we are slim on last-minute options. That said, with your freelance and open availability contract in mind, we will be redirecting your flight from your current location to one closer to the venue. I am also attaching a set list of the musicians/bands you will be following directly. As a heads up, this list is smaller than general for a weekend-long music festival, due to the high-prolific names, so you will have more free-time than usual. As always, all accommodations are paid for in full. We look forward to hearing from you soon!
Dread filled every part of me as I read the set list next, attached in the form of a PDF with my name, headshot, and information that would be given to every band’s media manager, who were all CC’d in the email, as well. My heart beat so fast that I felt the pulse in my ears.
From Stars To Evolution
Neon Cherry
Obsidian Static
Fuck.
There weren’t enough curse words in the English or Spanish dialect right then.
I clicked on the second email, and my dread only settled in on itself.
To: Estrella Flores
From: MIDWESTERN AIRLINES
Your flight has been altered and rerouted to the following locations.
Cleveland, Ohio—Harlem, Ohio
Departing Date: Sunday, March 30th, 2025
Flight Time: 2:15 p.m.
Arrival Time: 3:00 p.m.
This flight is a one-way destination.
Baggage, rental car, and hotel accommodations can be found here .
Enjoy your trip!
I stared at my laptop for what felt like hours as I tried to process the information in front of me. My eyes bounced back and forth between the two threads enough times that I was sure I was going to go cross-eyed after so long. Finally, and in an extremely reckless, dumb decision, I moved forward to grab my phone again and texted the only individual I knew was within drinking distance of me.
Me
Hey. Are you still in town? Do you want to get another round of drinks?
Derek
Is this your way of asking for round five?
Me
This is my way of telling you that I’m about to see my husband for the first time in eight years, and I need tequila. ASAP.
Derek
Once again, you truly know how to ruin a mood.
Give me thirty. I need to find another babysitter for Maribel.
You have some explaining to do, missy. Text me the address of your hotel.