chapter twenty-two | truth

THE STARS TWINKLED in the sky, a faint light emitted from them. Mila's favorite thing was sitting under the stars and watching as they lit up the world during the night. It reminded her of when she was a child, she would lie on the grass with her childhood best friend, Cat, talking about whatever came to mind. They laughed and talked together, occasionally shedding a few tears. From that point forward, she always relied on the stars to bring her a sense of comfort when nothing or no one else could.

She sat on the grass, letting out a sigh. Since she had seen the most recent news article about herself and Tessa, she's depended on moments like this and constant hope to make it go away. She knew she should have given up on it a long time ago, but something told her to hold on to that hope, that everything would suddenly be okay. That was something she wanted to believe so badly, but the longer it went on, she believed it less and less.

As she was in the process of zoning out, her phone buzzed, pulling her back to reality. There were three people that this could be, but she knew it wouldn't be the one person she hoped it to be. She picked up her phone, the screen lit up to display the text that she had gotten.

Tessa.

She wasn't in the mood to argue, so she shut her phone back off and put it back down next to her, face down. The autumn breeze of the night sky hit her skin, sending a shiver down her spine. She looked around at the beautifully colored leaves that the world had to offer, seeing it as a sign that things could be good and beautiful once again as long as she gave it time. She hoped her problem with Gracie was no exception, but it seemed that it would be. The more she thought about it, she still wondered what got them to this point.

Had Tessa been working behind the scenes to ruin her life this whole time without her realizing? Serena could have been right, maybe it was all in her head after all. As much as she tried to convince none of this was real, she knew it was no use. Everything happened and she couldn't go back in time to stop it. This was her new reality and she hated it.

More importantly, she hated not being with Gracie. She lost the woman she loved more than anything and it was her fault, that was the worst part.

She wasn't sure if Gracie could ever forgive her for what she did, the way she compared her to Tessa when she knew that they were nothing alike. If she could, she would take everything she said back and do things differently. "How long have you been out here?" She looked over her shoulder to see Gracie walking in her direction, Mila's jacket in her hand.

"A while. What are you doing up?" She asked her curiously, her gaze following as Gracie got closer and closer to her.

"I should be asking you that question." She replied, her tone coming off jokingly but awkwardly at the same time. It was like she tried so hard to avoid talking to her, but she knew she couldn't any longer. No matter what it was, she couldn't seem to be away from Mila for long periods. She always found herself coming back to her.

She never understood why. Even before they were together, something had drawn her to Mila from the beginning. It wasn't any different now.

Once Gracie had approached her, she took a seat beside her and wrapped her jacket around her. Mila smiled at the instant warmth, making Gracie smile once she saw it. This reminded her of how things used to be, she missed it more than she thought.

The two sat in silence for a few moments, basking in each other's company, imagining that they were still together. This was a regular thing they did to finish a date. It didn't matter what they did previously, they just wanted to be together. That still applies right now, even if they didn't want to admit it.

"I saw that you and Tessa are back together."

The second Gracie said that Mila immediately spoke up to shut the narrative down. "It's not what you think it is, I promise." She quickly replied, only seeing Gracie shake her head in response.

"I don't know, Mila. To me, it looks like you're back together with the person you said caused so much pain for you. The same person that you compared me to." She quickly shot back. That felt like a knife to Mila's heart as she recalled that day. She hated herself for even making that comparison to begin with. "I've seen the photos, articles, comments. How could you even get back together with her?"

"I didn't get back together with her, Gracie, I promise. She's twisted the narrative into something that it isn't. I tried to stop her, I did, but she doesn't listen to me. She never has."

Gracie shook her head and let out a bitter laugh as she stood up. Mila's gaze followed, and she soon stood up herself. Her hope for everything to change and go back to normal had melted away. Now, Gracie may never forgive her after this, but she wouldn't necessarily blame her for that. This was her fault after all. "Want it or not, you let her back into your life. You gave her the chance to do this. Do you know what that feels like for me? To see her name tied to yours again, to see the world believing something I wish wasn't true?"

She let out an angry sigh, knowing that this was going to turn into an argument no matter what she said. "You think I wanted this? Do you think I don't hate myself for how this whole thing has gone down? I never should have let her get close enough to pull this, but I didn't know how to stop her."

Gracie's voice softened, though it carried an edge of exhaustion. "You didn't just let her get close, Mila. You let her get between us. You compared me to her; you made me feel like I was just another Tessa in your life." Mila let out a soft and destroyed sigh. She knew she would have felt like that. She tried so hard to avoid it, yet it happened anyway.

Mila's breath caught, tears burning at the corners of her eyes. "You're not her, Gracie, you never were. I was stupid and overthought everything. I'm so sorry for what I did to you." She apologetically spoke, going to reach for her hand, but Gracie quickly pulled it away.

That broke Mila's heart.

"Look, I don't want to fight about this anymore. I want to work past this, get back a little piece of something we lost." Gracie spoke up again, her voice softer now, almost pleading. She looked down at her hands, fidgeting with the sleeves of her sweatshirt. "I miss us, Mila. I miss talking to you, laughing with you, sharing everything... I don't even know where we stand anymore, and that kills me. One minute we're talking and then the next, we're awkward around each other and can't be around each other."

She took a deep breath before looking back up at Mila, her eyes glistening under the faint light of the stars, Mila loved the way her eyes sparkled. She could stare at them for hours. "I'm not saying we can fix everything overnight, but maybe we can start somewhere. Just.. tell me the truth about Tessa. About everything. I need to know if there's still a chance for us."

Mila softly nodded, sitting on the ground once again. She looked up at Gracie, an inviting look on her face. Once Gracie sat next to her, she started to tell her everything that happened from the minute they broke up.

She left no detail behind.

The two sat outside all night, talking through everything. Every wound, every misstep, every moment of silence between them was laid bare under the stars. Gracie spoke about how hurt and blindsided she felt, while Mila confessed her fears and regrets, the weight of guilt she had been carrying since everything fell apart.

They didn't hold back. There were tears, moments of anger, and even some laughter as they recalled happier moments. It was messy and raw, but it was real. Mila explained the situation with Tessa, how she had felt trapped and manipulated, and how she hated the way it had all played out in the media. Gracie admitted that she had been avoiding Mila, not because she wanted to, but because she didn't know how to face her without reopening the wounds.

"I never stopped caring about you, Gracie." Mila finally said, her voice trembling. "Even when I messed up, even when I thought I lost you for good. I never stopped."

"I never stopped caring either," Gracie replied, her gaze softening as tears reflected the faint glow of the sunrise. "That's the problem, Mila. I've been so angry, but I've missed you so much that it hurt me to even hear about you."

Mila hesitated for a moment, then reached out, her hand hovering between them before Gracie took it. Their fingers intertwined, a tentative but familiar connection that felt like coming home. "Do you think we can fix this?" Mila asked quietly, her voice filled with hope but tinged with uncertainty.

Gracie looked at her, a small, bittersweet smile playing on her lips. "I don't know, but I think we can try. Starting here, right now." She replied.

They stayed like that for a while, hands clasped, leaning on each other under the light of the sun waking the world up. The air between them felt fragile like it could break at any moment, but there was a sliver of something new—hope.

"What are you going to do about Tessa?" Gracie asked her curiously, glancing over at her. The look on her face was enough to prove that she hadn't figured that out yet.

Mila had been avoiding her for the time being. She wanted to be as far away from her as possible, but she wasn't sure that was an option. "Honestly, knowing how she can be, I don't think there's anything to do." Gracie's expression changed to a questioning one, not sure what she meant by that. "She has a reason for this, there's no telling what she'll do if I try to spoil it. I may have to ride this one out until she's bored."

"You can't just do that. She's ruined your life once, you're letting her do it again."

"I don't have a choice right now, Gracie. If I did, I would have done that by now."

Gracie nodded, standing up from the ground and dusting the dirt off her clothes. She looked down at Mila, her expression softening despite the frustration bubbling under the surface. "You always have a choice, Mila. It might not be easy, but you don't have to let her control the narrative."

Mila sighed, running a hand through her hair. "It's not that simple. Tessa knows how to spin things, how to make me look like the bad guy. If I push back, it's just going to get worse. She's been this way since we were together."

Gracie crossed her arms, her gaze steady. "Maybe, but you've got people who care about you, people who know the truth. You don't have to fight her alone." She then let out a breath, her voice softening. "I'm not saying that I can fix this for you, but I'm here, Mila. I'm always here."

"Thanks, that means a lot."

"Now, come on. It's freezing out here, and we both need coffee."

Mila chuckled as she stood up and shook off the lingering tension. The two walked back to the bus together, that familiar feeling returning once more. Things were changing the way that they had hoped and that was all they could ask for right now.

Jordan had thought back to seeing Mila and Gracie talking together as the sun rose. She had been talking with the tour crew and some of Gracie's team about the whole situation. From the looks of it, the majority of them had come to the same conclusion. Gracie just had no idea this was going on.

She had talked to people behind her back, finding the correct solution to fix the problem that Mila had let happen.

"So, I think that we've all seen how this Mila scandal had affected Gracie's public appearance," Jordan spoke up to the small group of people she had on a group FaceTime call. They nodded along, showing that they were listening carefully to everything she had to say. She adjusted her phone, making sure her voice carried clearly over the call. "It's not just Gracie's public appearance—this whole situation has drained her emotionally. Let's be real, that affects everything. Her performance, her interactions with fans, even her ability to focus on her music."

One of the crew members chimed in, their tone hesitant. "What exactly are we supposed to do about it? I mean, Mila's clearly part of the issue, but it's not like we can just cut her out of the equation." They pointed out.

"I know it seems harsh, but that's exactly how it has to happen. As long as Mila is wrapped up in this problem, and associating with Gracie, it will affect her too."

Another crew member spoke up. "I don't see how that will fix anything. All it would do is make Gracie upset." She pointed out, many other people agreeing with her.

Jordan let out an annoyed sigh, pinching the bridge of her nose. If it wouldn't get her in trouble, she would fire everyone and hire people who would agree with her. "She would be, but she would understand and move on eventually. We could call in Role Model to be the opener for the remainder of the tour.

"That could work." A member of the PR team agreed, and almost everyone else followed suit.

Jordan smiled at the fact that people were seeing where she was coming from. Things were going the way that she hoped. "Mila has been a problem to Gracie and this tour since Gracie had brought her up in the first place." She continued, earning sounds of agreement from the PR team. "I always knew this was more than just a business thing, she asked for Mila intending to get this girl to go out with her. This has to change immediately. Mila leaving would be the best option."

She earned hums of agreement once again, but one member of the team, a younger assistant with a hesitant expression spoke up. "Jordan, I understand where you're coming from, but... are we sure this is the right approach? Mila leaving would fix some PR issues, but wouldn't it also hurt Gracie on a personal level? She seems...invested in her."

Jordan's smile faltered slightly, though she maintained her composed demeanor. "Gracie's personal feelings are precisely why this needs to happen. She's too close to the situation to see it clearly. Mila has been a distraction—she's brought unnecessary drama into Gracie's life and career. If we let this continue, it could derail everything Gracie had worked for."

The assistant nodded reluctantly, still looking unsure, but didn't press further. Jordan took it as a sign to continue, but a senior member of the PR team chimed in, his tone pragmatic. "If we proceed with this, how do we ensure Gracie doesn't push back? She's going to notice if Mila suddenly disappears."

"I'll handle that part, I'll talk to her myself. I know how to handle it, it is my job after all." The group nodded in unison, seeming more convinced as the plan took shape. "So, are we in agreement here?" Jordan asked curiously, watching as everyone nodded once again.

With that, the call ended and Jordan smiled at the work that she had managed to get done with this. Now, the only thing she would have to do is get Role Model on the phone and talk to Mila after this set of shows.

She knew that Gracie would protest this, but it had to be done. She would understand eventually.

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AUTHORS NOTE !

i've struggled to get this

written out, but i finally

did it! i feel so bad for

mila, but this had to happen.

i hope you all enjoyed and

i hope there's no mistakes!