Graceless (Grace Notes #2)

“I’d like to be a country singer,” she said confidently, and Savannah’s heart sank. She felt Brynn shift beside her.

“Is that why you’re here? You think I can fast track you to fame?”

“Sure.” Cassidy shrugged. “I’m talented, but I’m also your sister. That should be worth something.” For once, said her face.

“Cassidy.” Savannah took a breath, steadying herself. “You can’t just decide to be a country singer-”

“Why not? You did.”

“Yes,” she agreed. “And I worked at it, learned everything I could, tried and failed and tried some more. And then I got lucky…exceptionally lucky.”

“Lucky for me, I don’t have to go down that road. Savannah Grace’s sister. That’ll open every door I need.” Her nonchalant demeanor made Savannah’s hands itch.

“Why do you want this?” she asked helplessly.

“Why do you think?” Her sister’s eyes flashed angrily. “Look around.” She gestured at the house and the surrounding estate. “I want what you’ve got. Fame, money, more fame, more money.” She threw up her hands. “Then I won’t be reliant on you.”

Savannah’s shaky hold on her own equilibrium finally cracked.

“That’s not what being an artist is about! You make music because you love music, because you have to, because your soul dies if you don’t! It’s not some easy track to get rich!”

“You don’t even know if I love music!” cried Cassidy. “You don’t know anything about me!”

“You literally just told me you just want fame and money.” She gritted her teeth. “For god’s sake, Cassidy. Go to college! It’s not too late. I will pay to send you wherever you want, to study whatever you want. You can do anything you like after that.”

“Of course you’d jump at the opportunity to send me away.” Cassidy glared. “I don’t want to go to college; I want to be a country singer. Stop being so damn selfish and help me.”

“Do you know how ridiculous you sound?” Savannah despaired. “I’m not going to try to push you into the limelight so you can be some kind of nepo-baby. That’s not how it should work.”

“It is how it works!”

“Well it’s not how I work!” Her voice had gotten loud. Cassidy stood up, her body rigid with anger, her eyes hot with tears.

“Honestly Savannah – fuck y-”

“Hold up, Jamie-Lynn Spears,” Brynn interrupted. “Keep your shit together. You want this so bad, you can come to the studio with me next week. Learn how it’s done.”

Both Savannah and Cassidy froze. Savannah looked at her wife in absolute disbelief. Cassidy looked straight up mystified. Savannah wasn’t sure if Cassidy had even remembered that Brynn was an artist in her own right.

“Okay,” she said stiffly. “I will.” She paused, as if not sure where to turn next. “Thank you,” she added as an afterthought and stalked off into the house without a backward glance for her sister.

“What in the world are you thinking?” Savannah demanded, staring at her wife. Brynn shrugged and picked up her toast.

“Pfft,” she said again. “It’ll be fun. And perhaps little sis will learn a thing or two about the glamorous life of a country artist.”

Savannah contemplated that for a moment. She picked up a sweating glass of iced water and pressed it to her brow.

“Did you literally refer to me as Britney just now?”

“Oh, you wish I did.”

Chapter Four

Lane kept their sunglasses on until the last possible minute, already hating the loss of privacy as soon as they came off their face. Walking the long corridor to class, they were aware of the expectation to meet other people’s eyes, to smile or nod their recognition to other students and honestly, most days, they’d rather chew glass.

The university was mostly closed down over the summer, but Lane’s schedule had always been wildly out of sync. Lane knew full well the only reason the university allowed the extremely unorthodox – and sometimes straight up shambolic – approach to gaining a bachelor’s degree was due to Savannah’s direct influence.

Honestly, the approach had worked for Lane far better than the traditional path ever had. Their freshman year living on campus had been overwhelming in a myriad of ways, not least of which was being the only student they knew who was both previously homeless and non-binary. There was no sorority or fraternity for a student quite like them. Their roommate mostly ignored them, though they overheard her describing them to a friend as ‘super weird and super quiet,’ which, in all honesty, summed up eighteen-year-old Lane pretty well.