the morning, grace was making blueberry pancakes for her and her mother; the smell filled up the house causing claire to come downstairs and find her daughter in the kitchen. claire furrowed her eyebrows before saying: "you cook?"

"ah!"

some pancake batter mixed with blueberries hit the ceiling of the kitchen, both claire and grace looked upwards to watch the batter drip down. claire told grace to clean it up before grace fought back saying that it was her mother's fault.

"my fault?"

"you scared me!" fought back grace

"still have to clean it" answered claire

grace rolled her eyes before handing over the spatula to her mom and rushing to grab a chair and rag. when she returned, grace climbed onto the seat to climb onto the kitchen island and wipe the pancake batter off to then quickly get down.

once everything was cooked and clean, grace and claire sat in the dining room, eating their breakfast before claire shared that she was going to head out to work soon before asking what grace's plan for today.

"avoid cordell walker"

"speaking of, apparently he came back in the morning, we're going over again, tonight"

"why must you hate me?" ask grace

"because i love you" claire answered, kissing her daughter's cheeks before thanking her for breakfast.

grace shared she had a song she was writing up at the moment, she just needed to clean it up and finish up before sending it over. claire smiled, before saying she's surprised her daughter already wrote a song. grace answered that being back at home is already a huge inspiration.

"also, are you sure work is good right now with everything?" asked grace

"gracie" claire started

"my bad, sorry"

claire just rolled her eyes lightly before asking grace if she called her dad to let him know that she's here. grace gave claire a frowned look on her face before saying that there was no need for her to talk with her dad.

"he's your dad, grace"

"so what? he probably wouldn't even notice! he has a whole other family" grace answered

claire nodded before kissing the top of grace's head before wishing her goodbye.

"remember! dinner at walkers!"

grace groans escapes her lips once more.

later that day, grace is sitting outside on the patio, strumming her guitar and cleaning up the songs to see if it'll reach a final draft. but however, grace wasn't sure if it was completely right or even done. however she was so lost in the song and writing when she didn't realize liam walker was approaching her.

"sounds so good" answered liam

"thanks, it's just a draft" answered grace

"really? it sounds amazing for it not to be a final draft" liam responded, taking a sit

grace set her guitar down before asking liam what she do for him.

"you smell by the way" grace answered

"sorry, i was just finishing up a jog before i head home" liam responded

grace nodded her head before asking liam if he's seen cordell yet. liam shrugged his shoulders, answering that he has yet to see cordell, and the kids are off to school soon so they still won't have seen him.

"maybe he never came back" answered grace

"grace..." liam says

"i'm sorry, i didn't mean to sound like that, i hope he comes back"

liam nodded before asking grace what she was really doing here, back in texas. the singer says she was here to grow inspiration from home and be able to write her next album but also she wanted a break.

"what about you?" grace asked

"when cordell left home to go undercover, i came back to help my family. stella needed me and i couldn't just leave them" answered liam

"and your fiance was okay with this?" asked grace

"i think he was okay because i was okay? and he knows how much this family means to me" answered liam

grace nodded her head before asking how they were both doing. liam shrugged his shoulders saying that everything has been going fine between them or at least that's what he thinks. grace smiles at liam.

"can you believe we both lived in new york at the same time, and never went out"

"you were always busy" answered liam

"but that didn't mean we couldn't click, i could've introduced you to harry styles"

liam lets out a small laugh before grace confesses she doesn't actually talk to harry styles but apparently he's a huge fan of her music.

"i have to admit, i went to one of your madison square garden shows" answered liam

"really!? why didn't you come see me backstage!"

"i don't know, i felt like you wouldn't want to see me" answered liam

"don't say that, of course i would've loved to see you liam! you're like my little brother"

grace felt bad and liam can tell from the look on her face.

"i'm sorry too, i should've done something" answered liam

grace pulls liam into a hug before letting go quickly, remembering that he was sweaty before saying an ew.

"sorry, i should probably get back and shower" answered liam

"please do, i have now have to shower" grace responded

liam waved bye, saying that he'll see grace later tonight. a groan escaped her lips once again before she retreated into the house.

✿

the dinner that night came around, grace and claire knocked on the walker revealing august opening the door.

"i'm still getting use to you being around" august asked

"me too, little dude" answered grace

claire greeted abeline and bonham who were setting up the table in the dining room. grace smiled at them as abeline rushed over again and hugged her tightly as if she hasn't seen her in a long time. like yesterday.

"i'm just a o happy you're back!" answered abeline

"thank you, i am too, i'm just wondering if he'll actually show up to this dinner" answered grace

"well he showed up for breakfast, so i'm hoping yes" answered bonham

grace smiled as she greeted liam, who was entering the dining room before noticing the piano sitting lonely in the hallway. grace stares at it before striding over, as the other discusses with one another. grace lightly touches the piano before hearing august ask: "you play right?"

"huh? oh...yeah" answered grace

"do you still play?"

grace hesitated before claire noticed and said: "oh! gracie, you should play a song!"

"yes! gracie! play us a song til cordell gets here" abeline shared

"oh, i don't know" answered grace

"please, gracie" abeline and claire begged

"yeah, gracie" liam taunted

grace glares at him before taking off her sling bag before sitting down at the piano. the others gathered around, grace turn to look at them feeling shy. which is insane considering that she has plays for stadiums with much bigger crowds. grace clears her throat before looking down at the piano keys.

"okay, well this is a song, i've been saving for my next album" answered grace before starting the song

✿

cordell arrived at his home for dinner. as he enters the house, he hears music filling the air, the sound of piano notes being played and a voice that he hasn't heard unless he turned on the radio but instead he would turn it off right away. the ranger continues entering his home before seeing in the hallway the piano being used by none other than grace wilkins

"i got turned like a heavy roller, wind rough sea i could tell by the waves you couldn't see me, people may try and they'll try to i'm gonna do 'til i die to and give it hell and i don't need anyone's hеlp"

cordell felt like he was looking at a ghost, haunting this house with their music.

"i can do this with nobody else. i can ruin this night by myself. i can peel off thеse soldiers alone. i can write down my miserable poem. i can drink to my own bloody health. i can ruin this night by myself" grace sung out, she played the closing notes before singing the last line.

"i can ruin this night by myself"

once grace finished the song, applause burst from his family and grace's mom, claire. grace gives them a smile before turning to look over down the hall to find cordell standing there. grace felt her smile drop; she wasn't sure what to feel.

"hey, cordell" grace answers with a dry tone

"cordell? ah! good to see you! we've waited for you since last night" answered claire, rushing over to him

"how are you more happy to see him and not your own daughter" joked grace

claire waved it off before saying that they should get dinner started. everyone headed into the dining room, leaving cordell and grace staggering behind.

"so you're back" cordell says

"no, i'm a figment of your imagination" answered grace

"what are you doing here? why are you back here?" asked cordell

"gee, cordell, already with the questions?"

grace left cordell there standing, causing him to be quick on his feet, rushing after grace before asking what she was doing here.

"i'm sticking around for a while cordell, so get use to it" grace snapped

"wow what happened? being a rockstar was just a hobby?"

grace turned around so quickly, her hair brushed cordell across the face. the two glare at each other, so intense it can cut the room with a knife. grace clutched her hands before raising it up to yell at cordell even more.

"you know what, cordell!"

"hey! why don't we sit" answered abeline

"i'll eat" cordell answered, not taking his eyes off from grace

"me too" grace snapped

they all got seated ready to eat, cordell answered that he was hoping to see stella after not seeing her in the morning. bonham shared that she was ready to greet her last night when he was supposed to show up.

"she's out with a friend, isabelle" answered abeline

"aw, i was missing my little fan" joked grace

"you met stella?" asked cordell

"when emily set those baby pictures, sure" answered grace "did a better job than you"

cordell just smiles in annoyance while grace smirks while taking a sip of her wine.

"i got stella and augie at sacred heart, you remember your time there, don't you, grace?" asked abeline

"loath it to be honest" answered grace

cordell expressed his dislike against his kids attending his alumna matter. while they discuss, claire leaned towards grace and whispered into her ear: "try to be nicer to cordell"

"he should try to get the stick out from his ass" snapped grace

"grace..." hissed claire

"what?" grace answered back

suddenly a phone rang causing everyone to draw attention to whoever's it was. it appeared to be cordell's; he answered the call as soon as he could, answering what seemed to be a straightforward call before hanging up saying he was going to pick up stella.

"from where?" asked abeline

"from the police station, mh hm, what do you think of your #1 fan now?" asked cordell

grace glared at him as he got up to leave.

"he leaves once more, it's what he does best" answered grace

"no, it's what you do best"

grace makes a disgusted look on her face before grabbing her wine to toss at cordell before her mom stopped her from throwing it at him.

"alright, that's enough wine for you" answered claire, grabbing grace's wine glass and taking it away from her.

once again dinner was a bust before the wilkins left once again.

"here take a plate" abeline said handing both wilkins a plate

"thank you, and sorry for grace, feels like they're kids again" claire says

"he started it!" grace answered

"remember one of you is a world famous superstar, queen of pop and the other is an average texas boy"

grace glares before wishing goodbye to the walkers.

✿

the night was still rather young, grace left her mom home and headed off to get some fresh air before thinking about the encounter with cordell. it's like it can never be fine with him, he was always picking a fight with her, she didn't know what she did. they were never close, she just didn't get it, she just didn't. grace lets out a sigh.

so grace headed off to where she was first discovered, the place that kick-started her career—the side step. the singer takes a deep breath before driving off to the location still wondering if this was the best choice right now.

when grace got to the side step, she realized the tons of cars in the parking lot, and the music that was blasting from inside of the bar. grace takes a deep breath before grabbing a cigarette from the box, she lights up the cigarette before taking one breath and then lets it fall to the ground so she can stomp out it.

grace brushes her hair out to the front, checks her outfit and heads on into the side step. however the minute she steps in, grace never feels smaller than ever. she scans the room, looking for comfort.

"holy shit, is that grace wilkins?" geri said, looking over at the entrance to see the famous singer standing there like a lost kid.

"it is, she's staying home for a while" answered liam before standing up and yelling out her name

grace stood there till she heard someone call her name, looking over to see liam calling her over; the singer walked over, smiling at liam before noticing cordell. a groan escaped her lips before asking if he was stalking her.

"shouldn't i be asking you that?" snapped cordell

"eat shit" grace answered

grace looks at the bartender to see that she looked extremely familiar before saying: "geri? geri broussard?"

"uh, yeah, can't believe you remember me" answered geri

"of course, you were friends with this idiot" responded grace

geri just smiles before asking grace if she can get her anything. the singer shakes her head saying that she'll just have water.

"was the wine enough?" cordell asked

"no, but fist against your face will be" snapped grace

"alright, come here" liam pulled grace over by his side

"please tell me you're gonna say you called your boyfriend so i can meet him" answered grace

"maybe, i gave him a call see if he can come" answered liam

grace smiled before sipping on her water, just as she did, liam said he was going to call brent again before leaving the side step. grace shouted to not leave her alone but he was out of earshot, leaving her to be with geri and cordell.

"soooo, how are doing tonight?" grace asked

"why are you back?" geri asked

"uh...thought i be back home and just be inspired by home to write new music" answered grace

"sounds sentimental" answered geri, but she had a tone of sarcasm

cordell let out a small laugh, causing grace to feel embarrassed. when they were younger, their conversations always felt like geri didn't like grace, always making her feel small or embarrassed. grace tried to look over the indication and tones, and believed maybe she was overthinking all of this, so grace just smiled before a song came on, causing cordell to get on his feet and drag geri out on the floor with him.

grace turns to watch them, she couldn't help but get flashbacks to cordell and emily's wedding and then another flashback to a high school party involving becca ferguson and cordell. grace looks around, seeing she was left alone before getting up and heading out of the side step.

she felt stupid, so stupid. why did she think things would be different when she got back? things were going to be the same, as always.

"grace, grace!" it was liam, calling out her name

"what? what?" snapped grace, turning to look at him

"where you going? come back in"

"no, it was a mistake for being here, i'm sorry" answered grace

"grace, come on" liam said

"no, i'm sorry, i'll just go, i'll go" grace got into her car and drove off

grace turned on the radio to listen to some songs to drown out her thoughts and that's when she heard it: "once again, grace wilkins, here's type of guy"

the song started up before grace heard her own voice playing: "you're the type of guy who has a Virgin Mary leanin' on his bed and you're the type of guy who has a hundred double-meanings in his head"

the singer leaned her head against the headrest when the red light came on. she lets out a sigh of annoyance before it turns green and she just continues on the quiet night.

✿

the following day, grace sat on the floor of her bed, looking at news articles about her and her break. some people were upset with her, others said she was possibly having a mental break and others just hoped she was doing well.

that's when suddenly her phone rings, grace looks to see it was her mom.

"hey, momma, what's up?"

"have you seen stella walker?"

"cordell's kid? uh...no, why?"

"she's missing, no one can seem to find her"

"shit, uh...i can drive around, see if i can find anything"

"that be great, thank you so much, call me if anything"

grace grabbed her stuff and rushed out to head out to find stella.

the singer may not know anything about the walkers, or stella (except her being a fan) but she knew a lot about being a teenage girl. grace felt like she'd been driving for hours before she decided to make her way up a hill to see a gazebo and found stella right there sitting. it's exactly where grace would escape to when it came to her parents.

grace turned off her car and got down.

"stella walker" grace rang out

stella got startled before standing up quickly, she relaxed when she realized it was grace, and smiled a bit before asking what she was doing here. grace answered that her family was worried for her.

"and i'm sure your dad is too" answered grace

"sure he is" responded stella

it was quiet for a moment before grace said: "i see a lot of myself in you, stella"

"really?" asked stella

"yeah, my mom being someone i admire and looked up to, my dad nowhere to be found. it sucks a lot, and i'm not gonna sugar coat it at all" answered grace

stella stays quiet, looking at her boots

"and god did i do everything to make my dad notice me, and it didn't matter what he bought me or gifted me, i just wanted him to be actually there for me! i just wanted him to be my dad for once, and i didn't care if my parents were semi-okay, it was better than being the reason they got divorced" grace answered

stella looks at her before grace added that now her dad was married with a whole new family and he wanted nothing to do with her or her mother whatsoever.

"i get you're upset with your dad, i would be too, hell, i don't like the guy"

stella lets out a chuckle

"but talk to him, make him listen to you! but also hear him out"

stella nodded her head before grace got up and started to head out to her car, stella was following behind before the singer turned to look at her and said for her to stay.

"what?"

"have your dad come find you"

"he won't" stella answered

"believe me, he will" grace chuckled, before waving goodbye to stella, getting back into her car

grace wasn't lying when she said she saw a lot of herself within stella, in fact it's like they're twins. she remembers being that young and just wanting her dad to pay even the slightest attention to her.

grace remembered inviting her parents to her first ever tour and her dad didn't even bother to show up. because he was busy with his replacement family, because he didn't need them anymore, he had his new wife and new kids. there was no room for grace or claire in his life anymore.

✿

when grace got home, she just headed up to her room and letting her tears flow out, she just kept sobbing and sobbing before she hears her mom's voice: "gracie?"

"momma, i'm so sorry"

grace still holds that guilt inside her for being the reason, her parents parted and sure, maybe they would've parted regardless of grace's actions but that didn't happen instead, grace felt responsible for all of it.

claire held grace in her arms as she cried and cried till she was tired or worn out from tears.

some first day back in austin.