Holding On To You

Sadie stood on the red carpet of the Country Music Awards. Flashbulbs blinding her as she smiled and posed, not sure of which way to look.
She wore a black dress that stopped slightly about over knees, fringe dangled down tickling her bare skin and a simple black pair of shiny pumps finished the look. It was simple yet perfect for the occasion. Sadie was never one to like wearing evening gowns unless she absolutely had to, so this fit her tastes just fine.

On the opposite end of the carpet the guys were doing the same, looking out of place in their clothing selection that consisted of mostly black. Matt wore a black leather jacket with a white shirt underneath, his signature aviators adorning his face. He took his lead as front man and spoke to the press that stood on the other side of the metal gate wanting to get a word from any celebrity they could. He approached a younger brunette woman who shoved a microphone in his face.

“And here we have M Shadows, the lead singer from Avenged Sevenfold!”
She was enthusiastic when she spoke, almost bouncing.

“SO I hear ya’ll are performing with Cowboy Troy tonight?”

“Yeah we are, and this is the first time at the Country Music Awards, we’re a little out of our genre, but hopefully we get invited back again it seems like a really nice crowd of people.”

“Well I hope you get invited back too! Since your Girlfriend Sadie Lynn is blowing up the country music world right now. How come you’re not with her on the carpet?”

He laughed at the question

“Well she actually doesn’t know I’m here, or that we’re performing so I’m going to try to surprise her if she doesn't already know.”

“Well that’s sweet, we saw her about a half hour ago so you’re in the clear for now.”
She laughed

On the other end of the carpet Sadie stood again for more photos and through the lights she caught a glimpse of a familiar face, one that made her stomach turn into ice and her breath catch in her chest. But with another flash she was gone, she scanned the crowd again before shaking off what she saw, maybe she was losing it, was she seeing things now?
Feeling uneasy Sadie took a few more pictures before making her way inside the building and made a beeline for the open bar.

“Midori sour please”

The bartender nodded and happily made her drink.

“Sadie! How are you?”
Rolling her eyes as she recognized the voice, she turned to face the person speaking to her.

“Hi Blake.”

Yes Blake Shelton, her Ex-boyfriend.

“I haven’t seen you in forever and that’s all I get? “Hi Blake.”

He mocked her, making his accent match hers.

“Yeah, that’s it. Bye Blake.”

His hand shot out and wrapped around her upper arm, she stiffened at the gesture.

“You know it’s rude to walk away from me when I’m talking to you.”
He said in a low, threatening tone.
There he was, the real Blake, the narcissistic sociopath that she grew to know and, unfortunately, loved at one point in time.

“I suggest you remove your hand before I do it for you.”
The baritone voice caught Blake off guard, Trace Adkins stood behind him. Sadie had toured with Trace a good bit, and he had become a confidant and father figure in her life since hers wasn’t around. When her relationship with Blake started get rough, she never told him, but he knew.
Blake’s hand fell away.
Satisfied Trace wrapped his arm around Sadie’s shoulders, seeing as he stood a good foot and a half taller than herself, and led her off towards the auditorium.

“You good Punkin’?”

“Better now”

“That man is lucky I haven’t fed him to the pigs.”

“Calm down Papa Bear, let’s go find our seats.”

A few minutes later Sadie sat down, in the second row on the end, making it an easy exit when it was her time to go backstage.
There were five empty seats next to hers, she figured it was for Little Big Town or possibly Old Dominion.
She stirred the drink in her hand she had not had the chance to take a sip of, she took a big drink trying to calm her nerves. The show hadn’t even started and it was already weird as hell.
She watched as the room filled up, she would normally mingle, but right now she just wanted to sit. Was Sandra here, or was she seeing shit?

The lights dimmed, Carrie Underwood and Brad Paisley walked out onto the stage doing their opening skits. The crowd laughed along with their attempts to be funny.
A few awards were given out before Luke Bryan took the stage, his performance, as always was amazing.
Coming back from commercial break Brad and Carrie once again took the stage.

“Ladies and Gentlemen it is now time for the award for female vocalist of the year.”
Brad started
“And personally I believe all these ladies are deserving of the award, but in the words of Braveheart “THERE CAN BE ONLY ONE!”

The announcer’s voice came over the speakers, he read through the names.

“Kelsea Ballerini….Maren Morris….Sadie Lynn….and Kacey Musgraves.”

The crowd cheered for each name, before Carrie took the mic. Sadie’s heart was pounding in her chest, just remembering she never even thought of an acceptance speech if she was to win.

“And the winner is……”

She opened the envelope, those few moments seemed like a lifetime.

“SADIE LYNN!!”

The auditorium erupted into cheers. Sadie’s mouth dropped open before covering her face, tears threatening to spill.
Trace appeared beside her wrapping his arms around her in a bear hug. She took a moment to compose herself before making her way to the stage.
In the midst of all of this she notice the stage crew seemed almost frantic, looking for something. Climbing the stairs she walked to Brad and Carrie. Brad seemed apologetic as he spoke/

“Well Sadie….this is the moment we would usually hand you the award but….it seems to be missing?”

She laughed, she didn’t care about the material trophy, she just gave him and Carrie a hug before taking a step to the mic.
Laughing to herself again, because all of this seemed so surreal she pretended to hold the award, the crowd laughed with her.

“Well...to be honest I didn’t prepare an acceptance speech but I would just like to thank my manager Doug, my band, just everyone who has ever had a part in-”
“FOUND IT!”

A voice came from the side of the stage, holding the award Matt stepped out to Sadie.
Tears threatened to fall again, her feet seemed to move on their own as she ran across the stage and into his arms.
Their lips met in a sweet kiss, before he pulled away.

“I think this is yours.”
He handed the glass trophy to her and led her back to the mic. The crowd was going crazy.

“Oh my god I can’t even remember what I was saying”
She wiped away a stray tear
“Oh...just to everyone who has ever had a part in my career, my shows, my life and especially my fans. THank You!”

She went to step away before Matt stopped her, speaking in the mic.

“And I just have something to say about Sadie Lynn, she is the most beautiful, genuine, talented woman I have ever had the pleasure to know and love. And Sadie?”
He seemed to move in slow motion as she got down on one knee and pulled a box from his leather jacket.
Looking up at her his dimples appeared, and also what appeared to be tears in his eyes.

“Will you marry me?”

The tears no longer were being held at bay, she let them flow.
Unable to speak she nodded “Yes”
Falling into his arms as the audience once again went full ape shit.

Finally able to make their way backstage she saw the guys waiting in the wings, all with mischievous looking grins on their faces.

“Why do I have a feeling ya’ll actually stole the award?”

Notes

Thank you for reading!