Her call with Carina was set for nine that night. She spent the whole afternoon pretending she was calm and failing. She tried to eat. She could not finish half a sandwich. She tried to nap. Her brain would not let her. She tried to rehearse answers in her head and every answer sounded either too scared or too proud

At eight fifty six she sat alone on her bed with her knees pulled up and her phone in her hand. The room was quiet except for the soft street noise coming in through the window. Red tail lights slid across her ceiling every time a car passed. Her heart felt like it was in her throat. She wiped her palms on her jeans and told herself to breathe normal. It did not work

At nine on the dot her phone buzzed. Nashville, Tennessee. She swallowed and answered

Lila It’s Carina. Can you hear me

Yes. Hi. I can hear you

Good. I’m going to start by telling you what I am not. I am not a major label rep. I am not a fast money scout. I am not about viral for one summer then gone. I am small. I am annoying. I am protective. And I work long. If you want a quick fame machine I am not your girl. If you want a career I might be

Lila almost laughed out of pure relief. The voice on the other end sounded grounded, direct, sure. No fake sugar. No glass office energy. She sounded like somebody who had seen fire before and did not scare easy

That already sounds better than what I am used to Lila said

Carina hummed soft like she understood all of it without needing the story. I watched your pull from round two. Twice. I watched your little club video too. Somebody filmed you in terrible light with bad audio. That should have ruined it. It didn’t. Your tone still cut through. That does not happen a lot. When it does it means the voice is real

Thank you Lila said. Her throat felt hot. It was still strange to hear someone talk about her voice like it was worth serious time

Then Carina said the one sentence nobody in Los Angeles had said to her yet Tell me what you want. Do not tell me what they want from you. Tell me what you want

Lila sat there and for a second she had no words. She was so used to bending herself around what other people wanted that the question itself felt almost illegal

I want to sing on stage and not feel like I stole that spot she said slow I want people to hear me and say I felt that instead of just She’s pretty. I want to write songs that sound like life not like a product. I want to not be scared all the time that someone is going to tell me Sit down and shut up and smile for the camera. I want to not belong to anybody. I want to belong to me

There was a short silence on the line. Then Carina said Good. That’s clean. That’s honest. Keep that. Because everybody you meet from now on is going to try to sell you a version of that dream with a leash attached

Lila let out a shaky breath. Yeah. I am already seeing that part

Your agency is trying to sit on you right now right Carina said Just say yes or no. I do not need details.

Yes Lila said

And they’re using words like brand protection and image control and damage management

Yes

Then that means they’re already worried. Which means you’re more valuable than they told you you were. Which means you have leverage

Lila almost smiled. Eli had said something like that. Miles had said something like that. But hearing it from someone in the business who had never even met her solidified it. It turned the idea from comfort into fact

Carina kept talking calm and measured. I’ll be straight with you. I do not want to fight with a modeling agency across state lines. That’s messy. That’s lawyers and posturing and it drags everything down. But. If you come out of that contract clean. If you finish what you owe and you’re free. I will fly you out here. I will put you in a small room with a guitar player and a mic and I will let you show me who you really are. And if who you are is who I think you are. I will sign you

Lila blinked. The room felt warmer all of a sudden. You would sign me off of that

If the voice holds live and the head’s not messy yes Carina said This is Nashville not a talent show. We do not need costumes. We need people who can stand in a room with nothing and make you feel something. That’s money. That’s touring. That’s long term

Her heart pounded so hard it almost hurt. She pressed a hand to her chest like she could slow it by force. I want that she whispered

Then listen Carina said Her tone shifted from gentle to business. Here is what you do right now. You keep going on that show. Do not drop out. They are about to give you exposure that you cannot buy. Take it. Use it. But do not let them shape the story. You are not a model trying to sing. You are a singer who used to model because that was the only door open at the time. That’s the line. Repeat it

Lila said it out loud I am a singer who used to model because that was the only door open at the time

Again

I am a singer who used to model because that was the only door open at the time

Good Carina said. Say that to every camera that asks you. Say it so many times that if anyone edits you they have to cut around those words. Make it hard for them to paint you wrong

Yes Lila said. She felt something steady drop into place inside her. Like a stake driven into the ground. A border line. Hers

Next Carina said This part is key. Do not sign anything else. Do not sign a side deal. Do not sign a press release where they write quotes for you. Do not sign social media language. They will tell you it is standard. They will tell you it protects you. It does not. It protects them. You smile. You say I will have my rep review it. You do not explain who your rep is. If they push. You stall. You say I am on a call I have to go. You hang up. You call me. Clear

Lila almost laughed I do not even have a rep

You do now Carina said calm

Lila sat there frozen for a second. Her voice barely worked. So. You are saying. You are my
Her throat closed She tried again You are my

Temporary shield Carina said. I am your voice on paper until you have a real contract in hand. You do not have to fight alone in rooms where they are trained to talk you in circles. If they want to talk business you say Talk to my rep in Nashville. Use my name. Let them Google me. I am not famous but I am loud enough that they will pause

Lila swallowed. Her eyes stung. No one had ever offered to stand in front of her like that without asking for something first

Why are you helping me she whispered

Carina laughed soft. Because I remember being twenty one and walking into rooms full of men who smiled while they put chains on girls and called it support. Because I am tired of watching voices get turned into pretty shells. Because your tone went through a garbage phone mic and still gave me chills. Talent that true deserves a shot. That’s it. Do not romanticize it. I am not a fairy godmother. I am an investment person with a working ear. You are potential. I am betting cheap and early

Lila wiped her face with the back of her hand. Okay she said. That’s still more honest than anything I’ve gotten in Los Angeles so far

Carina hummed again. Last thing. When press hits you Which it will now You control your anchor. Anchor is the line you always return to. Your anchor is I am finally allowed to be myself. You say that with calm. Not anger. Calm makes you look in control. Anger makes them call you emotional. Calm scares them more. Got it

I am finally allowed to be myself Lila repeated

Good girl Carina said. Then her tone softened. You scared

Yes Lila said. Then she surprised herself. But I am also excited

Good Carina said Then you are exactly where you should be. Get some sleep. Drink water. Warm salt water gargle in the morning. You push from the center not the throat. You know what that means

No Lila said honest

You will she said and hung up

The call ended. The room felt different. The air felt different. She sat there for a long time just holding the phone like it was a warm thing alive in her hand

She was shaking. She realized that only when she tried to stand up and her legs wobbled. She went to the bathroom, turned on the light, and looked at herself in the mirror. No makeup. Hair half flattened on one side from leaning on the wall. Eyes still wide from adrenaline. She looked both tired and awake at the same time

You have a rep she told her reflection. Her voice sounded small at first. She cleared her throat and tried again louder You have a rep

Then a slow real smile pulled at her mouth. Not the runway smile. Not the fake smile from agency photos. A different smile. The kind that felt like it came from way down in her ribs

She pressed both hands to the counter and leaned in closer to the mirror. Listen to me she whispered. She was talking to herself but also to the scared part of her that still thought one wrong step would get her thrown out of every room in Los Angeles. Listen. You are allowed to exist the way you are. You are allowed to sound like you sound. You are allowed to want what you want. You are allowed to say I am mine

Her eyes burned again and she let them. No one was here to tell her not to cry. No one was here to hand her a tissue and say Fix your face baby the client is coming.

After a minute she splashed water on her cheeks and breathed slow until her heart calmed. Then she grabbed her notebook. She did not write lyrics this time. She wrote sentences she needed to say out loud in future rooms so she would not freeze up

My name is Lila
I am a singer who used to model because that was the only door open at the time
I am finally allowed to be myself
Please talk to my rep in Nashville

She copied those lines five times each until her hand hurt. She tore the page out and folded it and slid it into her bag like armor

Her phone buzzed again. A text from Eli. You alive

She sent back Barely

He replied Fast note. They’re airing early stage clips online next week to build hype. You’re in it. You got a talking head piece. Watch what you say. They’ll try to write your little intro for you. Do not let them call you The Model Who Can Sing. Make them call you Singer Lila Hart. Say it over and over. Trust me

Her heart jumped. Early stage clips meant the world was going to hear her voice before the show even hit the main rounds. It meant strangers would know her name. It meant her agency would know nothing could stop this now

She typed Thank you. Also I have a rep now

Eli sent back Damn. Fast mover. Good. You’re going to need that

Then he sent one more line. Congrats on not belonging to anybody but you

Her throat closed for a second. She stared at that line until the words felt carved into her. Not belonging to anybody but you

She lay down at last. The night outside her window felt softer. Not safe. Nothing about this was safe. But possible. And that alone felt huge

As she closed her eyes, calm finally started to push away the noise. She let herself imagine it without guilt this time. Not a dream. A future. A room in Nashville. A mic. A band that listened. A crowd that sang her words back to her with their hands up and their eyes closed. Her name on a lineup not as the pretty girl surprise slot but as the headliner. A tour bus with her name on the laminate. A stage where no one told her to keep her eyes empty

Her last thought before sleep found her was simple and solid like a note held clean in her chest

I belong to my sound now