Rose Garden

On an airplane six days later, Andrea rested her head against the back of the seat as Taylor rambled on about things to do once they returned to New York in a few days.

“Late Night Love Songs is doing really well. It’s closing in on number 1, already in the top 3,” she said, reading from a stack of papers in front of her. “And the Today show wants-,”

“I don’t care!” Andrea hissed under her breath, darting up in her seat. “I don’t care about what show wants me and my music, okay? I just want to sleep and eat and spend time with Ty-,” she cut herself off.

“Who?” Taylor smiled, egging her friend on. “Say it.”

“No, no, no,” the pale girl sighed. “I think I’m just…done.”

“What do you mean done?” Taylor’s eyebrows knitted together. “With promos? We can probably rearrange the schedule a little bit and give you a few more days in Toronto.”

“No, done with music,” Andrea said quietly.

“With music?” the best friend/manager’s eyes nearly bugged out of her head. “What the hell do you mean by that?”

“It used to be fun,” Andrea explained. “I used to enjoy performing and being with a crowd. Now, I dread it. I couldn’t care less about the money or the fame.”

Taylor stared at her best friend for a moment before shaking her head. “No,” she said. “I’m not letting you make a decision like that when you’re upset. Go to sleep and we’ll talk when we land in Toronto.”

“How am I upset?” she asked, taking out her ear buds. “I think I’m being perfectly rational.”

“No,” Taylor scowled. “You’re being pissy because Tyler’s confusing you and you’re upset because you’re tired. Go to sleep and then we’ll see how much more rational you are.”

The way Taylor turned her body away from Andrea showed her that the conversation was over for now and that it would be best to let it go. Maybe sleep was the best option.

*~*~*~*~*~*

Tyler was in much the same boat. Sitting on his back porch with Rosie and Marshall, he was on the phone.

“Yeah, man,” he said, speaking to Marchy. “I’ll be back in a few days. I’m going to lock up here and I think I’m going to make the drive so I can bring Rosie and Marshall with me.”

“Andrea stop turning you down yet?”

Tyler sighed. “No, but I think she’ll come around. She’s just…unsure of herself.”

“You keep telling yourself that, man,” Marchand laughed.

“Listen, she’s getting back soon and I want to catch her. I’ll talk to you soon,” they exchanged good byes and soon, Tyler was left to his thoughts.

Was it a hopeless cause, trying to win back Andrea?

Despite the love he knew he still felt, he couldn’t help the nagging voice in the back of his mind. Was she stringing him along? Was she?

“No,” Tyler spoke aloud. “She can’t be. We still love each other. Right?” he directed the question to the two dogs that lay at his feet. “Right!?”

The made noises in the backs of their throats and shifted away from him. Tyler couldn’t blame them, he was moody.

*~*~*~*~*~*

Arriving back in Toronto later on that day, Taylor and Andrea drove back to their neighborhood in silence. Stopping at Andrea’s house, the silence continued.

“Are you going to talk to me anytime soon?” Andrea sighed before getting out of the car. “Like, now?”

“What is there to say, Andy?” Taylor turned to her friend. “You told me you were done making music, done with the career we’ve put together for you. But you know what? You wouldn’t be the only one losing everything you’ve worked for. I put my future on the line by agreeing to go to Switzerland with you for school. I could have gone to Harvard, Andrea, Harvard! But instead, I stuck by my best friend to help her build up her dreams because I knew that in the end, she would take care of me. If you’re going to quit, then that puts me in danger too.”

Andrea looked away. She was ashamed to say that those thoughts hadn’t occurred to her. Was she really that selfish?

“I’m sorry,” her voice was small. “I-I didn’t think of that.”

“I know,” Taylor sighed. “You weren’t thinking, that’s the thing.” Releasing a long, deep breath, she continued. “Take some time to talk with Tyler. Put your thoughts in order. I’ll call Mandy,” she referred to Andrea’s agent. “And I’ll see what I can do about getting you more vacation time.”

Andrea smiled at her. How she had gotten so lucky to have Taylor as a best friend, she would never know.

“Thanks, Tay-Tay,” she said getting out. “Call you later.”

*~*~*~*~*~*

“How was L.A.?” Tyler asked at Andrea’s kitchen table.

With her parents not home from work, they had the home to themselves.

“Busy, hot, icky,” she shrugged. “What have you been up to while I was gone?”

“Worked out, did some radio interviews, not a lot,” he said. “You were always on my mind. And actually,” a grin spread across his face. “One of the interviewers asked me if I was single. I said not for long.”

Standing at the kitchen counter with her back to Tyler, looking out the window, Andrea set her glass down and slowly turned around.

“You what?” her voice was a little incredulous.

“I said that I wouldn’t be single for long,” Tyler’s answer didn’t change, much to Andrea’s dismay. “Does that upset you?”

“It’s…unnerving that you have so much self-confidence,” her smile made it seem like she was teasing him, but her voice said otherwise.

“You said I had a chance,” Tyler pointed out. “Did that go away while you were in L.A. or not?”

“I never said you didn’t still have a chance, Ty,” Andrea shook her head. “I just… never mind.”

“No,” Tyler stood up and crossed the room. Trapping her against the counter by placing his arms on either side of her torso on the counter, he leaned in close to her. “What’s wrong? Tell me what’s going through your mind, A. I used to be able to tell and now it’s like you’re someone else.”

That much was certainly true. When they had met in Biel, Andrea had been an almost bubbly, sassy, driven woman. Now, she seemed a little more subdued and she was no longer the open book to Tyler that she once was.

Sighing, Andrea rested her head on his shoulder, hiding her face. The intimate gesture surprised Tyler, but he nonetheless liked it.

“I don’t know if I want to make music anymore. Like, for a label,” her voice was muffled against his shoulder.

“What?” he leaned back so that he could see her face. “But that’s what you’ve always wanted.”

“It’s so crazy, Ty,” Andrea said. “It’s not what I thought it was going to be. Don’t get me wrong, I love it, really. But it’s so different than the image I had in my mind.”

“You don’t like having someone dictate your art,” Tyler nodded. He knew that music was Andrea’s art form of choice and that it was always the one thing that she could say was really, truly hers.

“Exactly!” her face lit up, glad that someone saw it her way. “But Taylor’s given up so much to help me and I can’t just throw everything away, you know?”

“Tay’s a smart girl,” Tyler reasoned. “She would be able to help herself and Del Zotto would be right alongside her. You need to figure out what it is that you want.”

“The public Andrea Darling would say that she wants to keep making music for her fans,” Andrea’s voice became small again.

“But what does the real Andrea Louise Darling want?” he cupped her face. “What does she want?”

“That Andrea…doesn’t quite know,” she sighed.

And that one statement made up Tyler’s mind completely for him. If Andrea was confused about her music, then there was a good chance she was confused about him. Was a breather exactly what they both needed?

“A,” his voice softened. “Hear me out, okay?” Hesitantly, she nodded. “Do you ever think that maybe…everyone needs a break? That sometimes, a little…intermission is the best thing?”

“I guess,” she shrugged before realization dawned on her face. “But two seconds ago you were trying to ask me out! You were saying how you weren’t going to be single for long!” Now she was just even more confused.

“You said you’d listen,” he chastised her. “I’m heading back to Boston in a few days and I know that you’re supposed to be going back New York soon. Maybe we can take some time to regroup? You need it, I know.”

Andrea had to admit, he had a point. She wasn’t just overwhelmed with her career, but with all the things that Tyler was doing to her. At one moment, she wanted to jump his bones. At another, she was ready to tear his head off for being so persistent. Or maybe she was just moody.

“When you have things figured out,” Tyler smiled. “We’ll finally have that dinner date.”