Chapter 14
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Allie
Me
Sounds perfect. Have a great class! Happy Thanksgiving, Allie. So beyond grateful for you… can’t even adequately put it into a text.
Allie
You don’t have to. You’re my family and I will always have your back, honey!
Me
Love you, Allie! See you later today xoxo
Allie gives my last message a heart reaction, and I smile at the thought of her going and doing something she loves.
It’s been six weeks since Rick attacked us, and it took a bit of time for the dust to settle.
After I had to cancel that concert, Wells, Max, and Jack—well, and everyone else—highly encouraged me to reschedule the following two weeks of shows.
It’s going to be a bit chaotic in the spring when we have to circle back to those dates, but they were right.
I had never cancelled a show, let alone for something that I personally needed—I wasn’t allowed to have needs, not ones that anyone acknowledged anyway.
I spent most of the last two weeks at Wells’s house in Nashville.
Jack and Wells came to some kind of understanding I wasn’t privy to, so that when Jack came over to clearly spend time with me, Wells was more than cool with it.
He even acted like it was totally normal for his best friend to come to his house to see his little sister.
Wells didn’t seem surprised when Jack started calling me Red as a nickname, but I was more than a little twitterpated by the development.
There’s probably a conversation for Wells and me to have in the future, but we haven’t had that one yet.
But we’ve had plenty of other ones.
“No, I promise, the doctors said it was totally precautionary just to make sure that everything with her head is okay after the mild concussion the collision with the wall caused.” Allie’s hushed voice pulls me from my restless sleep.
Between the nurses checking my vitals, and the adrenaline dump from everything, sleep wasn’t my friend last night anyway.
I blink a few times before the room comes into focus.
Allie, Jack, and Wells are standing on the opposite side of the room in a semi-circle, all three of them looking at me as I wake up.
“Tinsley.” My brother has said my name plenty of times in my life, but I’ve never heard him say it with such anguish and pain—much like the emotion across his face right now.
I can’t help the guilt I feel for everything he is experiencing right now.
He has twenty years of abuse to digest and come to terms with, but that’s not something I can—or want—to protect him from anymore.
I’m tired of hiding from the very few people I care about in life.
But stepping into the light of truth means sharing the pain that has been my constant companion since Rick Wilson became my agent before I was even eight years old. I’m sorry that he has to process the reality of what my life has been like, but I’m not sorry that I won’t be standing alone anymore.
“Hi, Wells. I’m okay; it’s okay,” I say automatically when I see the tears in his eyes.
I don’t know that I’ve ever seen my brother cry, and if I have, it’s been few and far between.
My brother rushes over to my bed and sits on the edge before wrapping me in a hug.
I wince as he tightens his hold, causing Jack to warn him about my ribs.
Wells immediately puts his hands in the air, making me laugh.
“I’m not going to rob you, Wells. It’s okay, just be gentle on my right side.” Wells looks at my side as though there will be a bleeding wound, but broken ribs aren’t typically visible from the outside, not in my experience anyway.
“I can’t even begin to express how sorry I am that I didn’t know, Tinsley.
I’m sorry you didn’t feel safe enough to come to me.
I am going to do everything in my power to make sure you never feel anything but safe and loved for the rest of your life.
I’m sorry I let you down, Tinsley. I am so fucking sorry.
” My brother lives big—and usually with a massive grin on his face.
Seeing him sitting here, with tears running down his cheeks that he isn’t even trying to hide or wipe away, breaks my heart in ways I didn’t know was possible.
I shake my head at him as I reach out and take his hand.
“We aren’t doing that, Wells. We aren’t taking blame that’s not ours to carry, okay?
What I care about is what we do from here, and where we go from here.
And I really, really hope wherever it is, there are better beds than this hospital bed. ”
“Now that is something I can absolutely take care of.” Wells smiles before his eyes darken. “But I swear to God, Tinsley, if you ever keep something like this from me ever again—”
“I won’t. No more secrets, Wells. I promise.
We have a lot to talk about, but I swear, I didn’t think I had a chance, and I thought I was protecting you and Mom.
But Pippa and Jack have already corrected some of the lies I accepted as truth, and I suspect there will be more to unpack in the coming days. ”
“Protect me? From who?” He tilts his head as his expression turns almost feral.
“Rick? I’d like to see him fucking try. Jack isn’t the only one that holds a black belt in Krav Maga.
And Mom? Well, that’s probably a conversation for another time.
” His somber face stops me from asking more questions.
“But moving forward, any communication that you don’t want to have with them, or anyone else, you don’t have to.
You’ll have an entire team that will handle anything you don’t want to, and if you don’t want to speak to Mom either, then I’ll handle her. I’ll take care of everything, Tinsley.”
And that’s exactly what Wells has done. Wells cleared his schedule of anything that he couldn’t do remotely from home, and we spent more consecutive time together at his house in Nashville than in the last two decades.
I could have been at my penthouse that’s less than a half mile from his place, but I felt more comfortable with him under the same roof.
It also allowed Wells and I to have an honest conversation about my longstanding feelings for Jack, which are much deeper than the childhood crush Wells had been aware of for years.
I wasn’t sure how my brother would handle the idea of Jack and I seeing each other, but Wells said that my happiness came first and insisted that no one would protect me better than his best friend.
He also insisted that we would need to have very clear boundaries of what Wells wanted to be aware of or witness to because he would always be my big brother first and foremost—which also meant he wouldn’t hesitate to punch Jack in the face if he ever hurt me.
Jack wasn’t at the house for that conversation, but I know Wells would have said the exact same thing directly to his face—and that’s yet another reason why my brother is the best.
Some of the other honest conversations were less fun, but long overdue, including our different experiences growing up in our childhood home.
I don’t have memories of our dad, despite Wells insisting Bridget was different before Dad died, I don’t have any memories to back that up.
I’m done keeping secrets from my brother and I know it’s no longer my job to protect him.
My efforts to do that actually caused him pain in the long run, which was the last thing I ever wanted to do.
There are more conversations we need to have in the future, but it’s a new era for us and there are going to be a lot of changes.
When I resumed my tour, I started with a new security team that is not only very thorough but very protective of me. For the first time, I have a say in my safety and who is allowed near me, and it’s incredible, if not overwhelming at times.
Allie has been with me every step of the way, along with my new shadow that is my own personal Thor—quite literally.
Sven Thorson is officially the head of my security—although no one calls him Sven—and he came highly recommended by Jack’s brother Liam, which for some reason made Wells extremely comfortable with the entire idea.
Thor is six-six and literally looks like a Viking, from his ice-blue eyes and massive muscles, to his blonde man bun.
I can’t be sure, but I think he and Allie may have started to develop something, which I love so much for them both—or at least what I know of Thor so far anyway.
He’s typically extremely intimidating with a growly expression, but I swear his eyes soften when he looks at Allie, and I’ve caught her blush more than once.
Thor accompanies me to any public performance and is on call if I want to do anything in addition to appearances, like if Allie and I want to go to lunch—without asking for permission—I just have to let him know so he can accompany us.
I roll over in bed and enjoy the quiet of the morning.
The show two nights ago was great, as was the last-minute add-on concert that sold out in thirty-six minutes.
I had always planned on adding the show all along, in part to give me an excuse to not have to be with my mother on Thanksgiving, but after everything that’s happened, being on the stage is meaningful and healing in a way that I can’t fully unpack yet.
When Wells offered to fly here so we could be together for Thanksgiving and then suggested we head to his place in London for Christmas, I couldn’t say yes fast enough.
It would be great to see Jack, but I get that he has his family commitments, and we’ve been talking in some capacity daily since everything happened.
As though he can tell I’m thinking of him…
Jack
Happy Thanksgiving, down under, Red.
Me
Thanks, Jack. Happy Thanksgiving a few hours early to you too!
Jack
Big plans today?
Me
Wells and I are going to order food in and kick off the holiday season with an epic movie marathon.
Jack
Sounds perfect.
Me
I agree. Wish you were here too though.
Jack
I know. But I heard your and Fiona’s NYE concert in Austin is a go… thought I might swing by if that’s ok with you?
Me
Are you serious?! I’d love to spend NYE with you!!!
Jack
Perfect. It’s a date.
Me
I’m thankful for you, Jack. I hope you know that.
Jack
It’s mutual… more than you know.
Me
Can we facetime later or in the morning there? I’d love to say hi and see you.
Jack
Absolutely. I’ll text you later.
Me
Looking forward to it.
Jack
Me too, baby.
I wish I could shout it from the rooftop how much I’m looking forward to it …
but unfortunately, I am still under that dumb contract Rick coerced me into signing.
Daphne and Pippa have been amazing, along with the entire team of lawyers that I now have on my side.
We have managed to untangle and remove his teeth from almost every pound of flesh he was controlling.
If the contract with Roman Cash had been signed by Rick, we could’ve contested it, but right now, things are tied up with our lawyers.
It also means Roman is even less pleasant to deal with, but our deal was a public sighting that averaged once every six weeks. So, when I was seen with him both at Music Fest and the following day when he insisted we meet for lunch, he gave me a twelve-week break without even knowing it.
Daphne thinks they can get Roman’s team to agree to shorten the contract, and I might be able to be out of it six months early, which means I would only have to attend the Grammys with him, then we would have our mutual breakup.
It’s not ideal, but February is a lot better than August. My team assures me they are trying their best and I believe them; they have already done so much.
Rick and Debbie Jo were both released the following day after their bond hearings. Debbie Jo was able to get her charges reduced and issued a fine, but Rick was not as lucky.
Pippa had requested a no-contact order and the judge agreed, along with a substantial financial bond—that Rick had to secure with his own money.
At his hearing eight days later, the judge extended it to a full restraining order that will last for twelve months, at which point we can revisit the issue.
The charges are currently just misdemeanors that he’s facing, but my legal team assures me they are looking at every possible angle.
I’m hoping by then he is rotting in jail, but I’ve learned to be cautious with my hopes when it comes to Rick.
Our mother has been livid—when she’s coherent enough to figure out how to call Wells or myself.
I no longer take her calls as she has made it abundantly clear whose side of this entire ordeal she is on—and it’s not mine.
It’s never been mine. She leaves drunk voicemails, belligerent text messages, and has threatened to show up wherever I am, but I’ve made it clear to my security team: they are not to allow her near me.
I don’t have my mother’s support, but I have my brother, Allie, and Jack, on top of my newfound freedom. I have so much to be grateful for this year, it’s easy to be thankful.
“Tinsley! ?Vamos!” Come on! “Get out here or I’m going to eat all the bacon!” Wells yells down the hall. I grin as I hop out of bed, and for the first time in my adult life, I’m actually looking forward to the holidays this year.
Especially New Year’s Eve.