chapter twenty-seven | life advice

THE LIVING ROOM was quiet except for the sound of one of her favorite shows playing on the TV and the sound of her coffee machine humming. Since her tour was almost completely planned, it had been pretty quiet in her life. She had slowly let people back into her life too since the beginning of fixing everything that had been broken. It was a liberating moment for her, and she enjoyed it while she could.

As the show Parks and Recreation played quietly in the background, she had been texting back and forth with Adam, getting live updates on the ticket sales and how well it was doing. He said they would have to add more dates with how fast tickets were selling out. That was some of the best news she had heard in the last couple of weeks. She had also heard a lot about Gracie since her departure from the tour, she was thriving just as much as she has.

Since her departure, her career has skyrocketed a lot. She couldn't be more prouder of her. She wanted to reach out and tell her that more than anything, but she couldn't do that yet. At least, not until she had gotten rid of Tessa forever. That was her main goal for now. She had to get rid of her before the tour could start, she wanted to leave her in the past much like last season's boots. Adam had been helping her come up with a way to do exactly that without causing a huge problem in the media. However, that seems nearly impossible, no matter what they planned, it would always end with yet another scandal.

The one thing she was trying to avoid.

A sigh had escaped her lips as she received yet another text. She expected yet another text from Adam, but she was faced with a text from her sister instead.

lilz: let me in, it's chilly

She stood up from her couch after pausing her show, making her way toward the door with a confused look on her face. What was her little sister doing at her door? She rarely visited unless she needed something or something was wrong.

Once she reached the front door, she opened the door to find her sister standing there with her hands shoved in her pockets and a smile on her face. "What are you doing here?" She asked her with a worried tone on her face, stepping out of the way to let her in. She watched as her sister entered the house, sliding off her jacket and taking her shoes off. By the way she moved around the living room to sit on the couch, it was clear that she was there on a mission. She just had to figure out what that was. "You never just visit me on a whim." She pointed out, shutting the door behind her.

Lila rolled her eyes at the question, acting as if she was offended by her statement. "Can't a little sister just visit her older sister because she missed her?" She questioned as if it was the obvious reason she had shown up to begin with.

As much as Mila wanted to believe it, she just knew that wasn't the case.

"Sure they can, but you aren't that type of sister."

Lila shot her a glare, putting up her best act at being offended, but Mila could see right past it. She knew her sister better than anyone. Better than she knew herself. "You know, you're a horrible actor." She added with a smirk, folding her arms as she leaned against the wall. "Now, spill. What do you want? Or better yet, what's wrong?" She asked her again.

Lila sighed dramatically, leaning against the couch cushion. "Alright, fine. You caught me, I need your help." She admitted with a tone of defeat from being caught.

"With what exactly? The last time you needed my help, I had to help you get a rat out of your kitchen." She shivered at the recall of the memory. She's always hated rats, they freaked her out. It was that fact that convinced her that Lila called her for help with that problem.

Lila let out a sigh, not sure how to say whatever she wanted to say. "I still owe you for that," She let out a chuckle, but once it faded after a few seconds, Mila knew just how serious this was.

She had never seen her sister like this before.

She watched as she let out another sigh, the type of sigh you make when something has been bothering you for a while. "Alright, now you're scaring me, what's going on?" Mila asked her worriedly, moving to sit next to her.

"I just need some advice, nothing serious."

"You want advice? From me?"

"Yes, you idiot! You've been through so much shit this year that I thought you'd have better insight than Mom, or Mateo." She admitted, taking a breath to calm herself down. She hesitated to speak, clearly nervous to tell her the problem. Lila had always been that way, she tended to handle things independently unless she physically couldn't anymore. "I...uh...got this job in Chicago, it's a great job, but I don't know if I should take it."

That was the last thing she was expecting. If she were being honest, she wouldn't have been sure how to help her. Her job required her to travel, but she never moved away. "Wow, that's far." She finally spoke after a few beats. She was ecstatic for her sister, but she couldn't imagine being so far away from her.

That made her think back to Gracie. Since they had gotten so close, she couldn't imagine being away from her either. Now, this was the farthest apart they had been, and she hated it.

It took everything in her not to call her right now and fix everything between them, but she couldn't. At least, not yet. "How come you don't sound too happy about it?" She questioned.

"I guess, I'm just afraid of leaving you, Mateo, and Mom."

Now it made sense; she knew she would get homesick. She nodded understandingly, taking a second to think of what to say and how to help her. "It's going to be scary regardless; it's a big decision. Is this something you want to do?" She asked, standing up to make her way toward the kitchen. She grabbed a coffee cup from the cabinet and poured the hot liquid in, feeling the warmth against her palm. "Plus, we're always a phone call away. I'll be touring there too, so I'll be around if you need anything."

"What if it doesn't work out?"

"Then you'll be okay. Life doesn't always work out the way we want, but we never know how things will go if you don't try." She replied, turning to look at her sister now. She took a sip of her drink before continuing. "And honestly, you are stronger than you think you are. If it doesn't work out, then that's okay."

Lila softly smiled as she let her sister's words sink in, standing up to join her in the kitchen. She poured herself a cup, taking a sip moments later. "You should take your own advice you know, with Gracie. And get rid of Tessa, I beg."

Mila chuckled at her comment, shaking her head as she leaned against the counter. "That's easier said than done, but I'm working on it." She replied, taking another sip of the hot liquid. "I'm figuring out the best way to do it. I haven't even talked to Gracie because of this shit, I refuse to until she's finally out of my life forever."

"You'll get there soon."

With that, the two sisters drank their coffees in silence, exchanging a few words now and then. She let the conversation sink in though, she knew that Lila was right. She would end this thing with Tessa tomorrow.

Mila stood outside the door of the house, which she had hoped never to see again. When Tessa moved out of the country a few years ago, she kept her old house, but she was living here again. The memories from this house came rushing back, all the arguments, all the slammed doors, and countless nights on the porch steps questioning what she was doing wrong. After all this time, she knew that she wasn't doing anything wrong at all.

She let out a breath that she didn't know she was holding, now knocking on the door. In that short amount of time, she had considered turning back and doing this over text, but she knew she couldn't do that. It had to happen this way.

Before she could debate once again, the door swung open to reveal Tessa with a smirk on her face. "Wasn't expecting to see you here. Finally, realize that you can't live without me?" She asked her curiously, leaning against the doorframe. She looked at her like she had some sort of plan like she was expecting this. There was no doubt in Mila's mind that Tessa probably did have some type of plan.

"The opposite." She argued, clearing her throat. "I want to make one thing very clear with you. We are not together and we never will be after the first time, you're going to tell your media pals that we are done and I never want to be associated with you again." Her voice came out firm, the look on her face showing that she meant it.

Tessa let out a chuckle of mock amusement as if she was enjoying this. Knowing how she can be, she probably was, she most likely saw it as another one of her games. "I don't know what you're talking about, Mila." She tried acting dumb, but Mila could see right through it. She wasn't going to let her gaslight her anymore.

"No. You don't get to call me that anymore. It's Camila to you, now."

"You've gotten bold, this act looks good on you-"

Mila was quick to cut her off, her voice louder this time. "I'm serious, Tessa, I never want to see or hear from you ever again. Do I make myself clear?" She firmly asked, shooting her a glare. For once she saw as Tessa cut the act. She got through to her. "I'm done with you and your bullshit, I have been for years. You've ruined my life too many times and I'm sick of letting you win."

"Letting me win? This isn't some type of game, you know."

"It is to you, I know you, Tessa. It's always some type of game with you." She argued, her tone getting a little louder and angrier. She thought something like this would happen, but she wasn't going to let it be the thing that stopped her from getting what she wanted. "So, you will tell your media pals to stop spreading the lies you've made about me, you're going to stay far away from me and Gracie, and if I ever see you trying to associate with me or Gracie ever again, it will not go well for you. I can promise you that."

At that moment, she saw Tessa drop her act. She watched as her whole plan crumbled in front of her, it was clear that she hadn't prepared for something like this. She knew that Mila was being serious and she wasn't messing around. This was real.

Mila wasn't the same girl she knew all those years ago, she had changed.

"Alright, you got it. I'll leave you alone." She gave in, holding her hands up in defense. "You've made your point loud and clear."

"Good." With that, Mila turned around making her way back toward her car. She glanced over at the house one last time, seeing that Tessa was now gone, and the door closed. She let out a sigh of relief, glad that it was going to be over.

She never had to see Tessa again. That was the best news she had all week.

Now, she just had to fix everything with Gracie. She just wasn't ready for that yet. That would be on pause for a while.

Back home, Mila lay on her bed in her room. She stared at Gracie's contact information, debating whether to call her. She wanted to tell her that Tessa wouldn't be a problem for them anymore, that everything would be okay.

They would be okay, or at least, she hoped they would be.

Her music played to fill the silence that would normally be filled by the soft sounds of Gracie's singing as she played her a new song. She shut her eyes, trying to let the music drown out her thoughts, but no matter how hard she tried, nothing could erase the ache that came from Gracie's absence. Even with all the one-night stands from before, she always thought about Gracie.

It was always Gracie.

Everything she did while they were together was for Gracie.

Her eyes opened once again as she picked up her phone, Gracie's contact on display. She stared at the contract picture, a small smile tugging at the corners of her lips.

It was a candid shot of Gracie. She sat cross-legged on the tour bus, one hand covering her mouth as she laughed at something Mila had said, her dimples on display. At the time, she took it without thinking, but then it turned into her favorite picture of her. She remembered taking it like it was yesterday.

The longer she looked at it, her eyes began to well up, a single tear streaming down her face which she was quick to wipe away. Just as she was going to hit the call button, Gracie's contact was now displayed as a call coming through. She accepted the call, putting the phone to her ear, immediately hearing her voice after what felt like an eternity.

"Hey," She spoke, her tone soft and unsure. Her voice sounded like she thought calling was a bad idea, but to Mila, it was the best decision she could have made.

With a sad smile, she replied with a simple "Hey."

"Woah, you sound like you've been crying, are you okay?" She asked curiously, a worried tone showing through.

Mila let out a shaky breath, trying to keep her composure. "Uh, yeah, I'm fine," She reassured, wiping the tears from her eyes. She had wanted this since she had disappeared for a while, to hear Gracie's voice. The fact that she called was a sure sign that she still cared, but the one worry she had was that she wasn't sure if Gracie had moved on and found someone else by now. She wanted to fix things with Gracie and get her back, but she wasn't sure if that's what she wanted. "I have some good news for you."

"Oh yeah? What's that?"

"You don't have to worry about Tessa anymore, I talked to her today. She's going to leave us alone, forever."

At the sound of Gracie's sigh of relief, a small smile tugged at the corners of her lips. She was happy to know that one problem was solved, and so was Gracie. "That's probably the best thing I've heard all month." She admitted, letting out a soft chuckle, Mila laughed along with her. As their laughter died down, there were a few beats of silence between them.

It was a comfortable silence like everything was going to be okay after all.

After a few more seconds of silence, Gracie had spoken up, breaking the silence. "I'm proud of you, you know." She softly spoke, her smile audible. Mila could only imagine it, but she loved seeing her smile. She couldn't wait to see it again when she was ready. "You took a big step today, and I couldn't be more proud. Anyway, I just wanted to hear your voice and make sure you were okay since I haven't heard from you since you left the tour."

The second she mentioned her departure from the tour, she felt her heart break a little. She remembered the night before all too well. The sound of Jordan's voice and the serious look on her face. It still haunted her dreams.

She still remembers the NDA, the one thing that stopped her from talking about anything that happened that night. With every fiber of her being, she wanted to tell Gracie exactly what happened, but she couldn't. She couldn't even tell Audrey when she tried to ask her about it, she had to play it off like she wanted to leave.

That killed her.

"Look Gracie, it's getting late and I have to go. I have some interviews and stuff to do tomorrow." She spoke up, trying to change the subject from one of the most painful nights of her life. She hoped to move on and forget that night ever happened. "I'll talk to you later."

"Oh...yeah, of course. Goodnight, Mila."

"Night, Gracie." With that, she ended the call and placed her phone on the bedside table. A sigh escaped her lips as she ran a hand through her hair.

She would have to work on herself and fix herself before she could start over with Gracie. That much was evident. It would be better for both of them, she knew that. All she could do was hope that Gracie would understand.

That started right now.

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AUTHORS NOTE !

guys, act three is almost

over. this story has one

act left before it's over 🥲.

i'm not ready for this to

end. i love mila and gracie

too much for this to end.

i hope you all enjoyed and

i hope there's no mistakes!