Irreconcilable Differences

+++++++



"Kelly?" Ashley asked, walking into the dressing room tentatively.



"Where is she?"



"I got her a cab. She's going stay at her apartment. You ok?"



"Let's just go," Kelly sighed, standing from where she sat on the sofa.



"What happened?" Ashley asked as they walked out of the building.



"Nothing."



"Was it something in the interview?"



"Ash, please," Kelly said, turning to her, her eyes begging her to stop.



"Alright," she replied, raising her hands in surrender. "But I'm gonna find out sooner or later."



"As will the entire country," Kelly grumbled as they got into the car and made their way back to Kelly's place.



+++++++



"I'm going lie down," Kelly said as she walked into the house.



"What's wrong?" Jason asked as Ashley joined him in the living room.



"I don't know," Ashley frowned.



"Where's Carrie?"



"At her apartment. I went go get something to drink, and when I came back Kelly was kicking her out of the dressing room. Something must have happened at the end of the interview."



"Damn reporters," Jason shook his head. "I swear, if it were up to me, she'd never have to talk to a single one of them."



"You can't protect her from everything," Ashley pointed out.



"I know, but I can sure as hell try."



+++++++++



"Kelly?" Jason knocked on her door. He had just watched the interview and was fuming, but his expression immediately softened as he addressed his sister.



"No," was the response he got from the other side of the door.



"Please?"



"Go away Jay."



"Just let me in. Come on. We don't have to talk or anything."



He didn't get a response, and he took that as a yes. He slowly opened the door to find Kelly at her desk, fiercely typing away on her lap top. Jason nodded, not saying anything as he closed the door behind him and quietly sat on her bed, waiting patiently for her to finish.



Finally the tapping of the keys ceased and he watched Kelly take a slow, deep breath before swiveling around in her chair to face him.



"Hey," he greeted softly.



She just nodded in response.



"So I saw the interview."



"Was it as enlightening for you as it was for me?" Kelly asked bristly.



"I'm sorry," he smiled sadly.



"You aren't the one that needs to apologize. You warned me about her."



"But I know her friendship meant a lot to you, so I know this sucks."



Kelly just nodded, unable to find her voice.



"Nobody likes getting lied to Kell, but it happens sometimes. Especially for someone in your position, you'll never fully know who's sincere and who isn't."



"It's not even that she lied," Kelly replied, her voice hoarse. "Cause I give her some credit, she never actually said that she didn't say those things."



"That's just as bad as lying in my opinion."



"I think it hurts more because of all the hell she put me through even after I told her I didn't do any of that. I was patient with her, because I know how hard it is to trust people in this business," Kelly explained, wiping away a tear. "But the whole time, she was the one saying those things. And I was nothing but nice to her. I mean, I let her into my home. I welcomed her into our family, trying to earn her trust, and the whole time she was playing me. I can't believe how stupid I am," her voice cracked as Jason pulled her off the chair and into his arms.



"You're not stupid," he assured her. "You're just a good person with a big heart. The only person that is really losing out here is Carrie. Because, trust me, everyone who has you in their life is a better person because of it."



He pulled her into a tighter hug as she sniffed loudly.



"Sh," he soothed, not sure if what he was doing and saying was helping or just making it worse. This whole emotions thing really wasn't really his niche. "Look, she was just one person. You have plenty of other amazing friends that would do anything for you, ok? She's not worth it."



"She wasn't just a friend," Kelly admitted shakily.



"I know. You trusted her. You looked to her for support. You thought she was somebody you could count on in that crazy ass industry of yours which is a rare find. But maybe you're better off. I mean, if she lied about this, who knows what else she could have lied about?"



Kelly fought back a sob as the image of Carrie leaning towards her for their first kiss flashed across their mind.



"Man, I suck at this," Jason sighed as he felt his sister start to shake in his arms with tears. "Maybe I should go get Ashley or someone else?"



But Kelly shook her head, tightening her grip around him. The protection that only her big brother could bring, surrounding her as she eventually cried herself to sleep.



+++++++++



Carrie paced her apartment nervously. She knew she had screwed up. She'd known that since the day that Kelly asked her out to lunch to finally settle things. What she didn't know was how to fix it. She couldn't remember screwing up this bad, ever. She was never one to hurt a person, but from the look in Kelly's eyes when she kicked her out of the dressing room that is exactly what she did.



Carrie couldn't even imagine what must have been going through Kelly's head right then. She was probably questioning every moment they spent together, wondering how much of their relationship was based on a lie. Carrie collapsed on her couch, her eyes stinging at the thought of Kelly not realizing how much all those moments they spent together had really meant to her.



++++++++



"Do we have to stay here?" Kelly asked as she joined Jason and Ashley in the kitchen, fixing her a bowl of cereal.



"Um, no," Jason replied. "We're done here. We can go back to Nashville whenever you're ready."



Kelly shook her head, "Can we go home?"



Jason looked at her sadly, "Of course. I'll get us a flight tomorrow morning. How's that sound?"



"Good," she nodded, taking a bite of her Frosted Flakes.



+++++++



Carrie rushed up the front steps, the morning sun warming her skin. She took a deep breath before pressing the doorbell. She waited a few minutes before ringing it again when no one responded. She could hear the doorbell resounding throughout the house, so she knew it was working. She took a couple steps back looking up at the house. All of the lights were off and there appeared to be no movement whatsoever.



"Damn it," Carrie cursed under her breath, realizing that no one was there. She couldn't remember Kelly saying anything about her schedule today, so she shouldn't have had work. She could feel it in her heart, the girl wasn't here anymore. She sighed as she slowly walked back to her car, trying to determine where the Texan could be. Carrie seriously doubted Kelly would want to return to Nashville right now, so most likely, she was on her way back home. She quickly fished her phone out of her pocket, a lump rising in her throat at the memory of Christmas morning when she had gotten it.



"Hello?" Carrie asked as she heard someone pick up. "Yea, hey. I need a favor..."



++++++++



"Hey nerd, we're here," Ashley said, shaking Kelly's shoulder gently as they pulled up to the house.



Kelly yawned, wiping the sleep out of her eyes, "Ya know, Jay? When I said I wanted to leave, I didn't mean as soon as the rooster crowed."



"When have you ever seen a rooster in L.A.?" Jason smiled.



Kelly shrugged, stretching as they all climbed out of the car, unloading their luggage. The good thing about having two homes was that you didn't really have to pack much when traveling back and forth. As they walked up to the front door, Kelly collided into Ashley as she came to an abrupt stop.



"What the hell?" Kelly mumbled, rubbing her forehead.



She walked past her best friend to find what the problem was. Right there on the door step lay six beautiful sunflowers tied together with a yellow ribbon that had a note attached. Kelly closed her eyes.



"Do you want me to..." Jason's voice trailed off from behind her.



"No, it's ok," Kelly replied, looking at the flowers once more. "I got it."



Jason gave her shoulder a slight squeeze as he and Ashley walked past her and over the flowers into the house. Kelly bent down slowly, picking up the sunflowers. She brought them up to her room along with her small suitcase and sat down on her bed. She flipped open the card.



"Kelly,

I'm sorry. Please call me so we can talk about this.

Carrie."



Kelly smiled sadly as she traced a finger along the petals of one of the flowers. They were so soft, reminding her of Carrie's skin beneath her fingertips. She sighed, putting the flowers aside as she began to unpack, not willing to deal with that right now.



+++++++



Carrie adjusted her sunglasses and pulled her baseball cap down low as she walked down the street in Nashville. Normally she didn't have a need for a disguise while in the home of country music. It was a much calmer place than L.A., and the people had always been good about letting the artists just live their lives. Every now and then a fan would come up, but they were always sweet and polite.



Yesterday, however, had been an entirely different story. It had already been a rough morning after having woken up to once again no missed calls from Kelly. Then as she walked to the studio, as she had grown accustomed to doing, she had been stopped several times by fans. The problem was they weren't her fans. They were Kelly's.



Apparently they were quite protective of their favorite Texan and had a few choice words for the country singer after having seen the infamous interview all over the television along with several others that reporters had dug up back before she and Kelly had become friends. She had even had a several curses yelled at her from people across the street that she didn't feel comfortable repeating.



Carrie pulled her phone out of her purse once more just for good measure, but once again, no missed calls. She nodded solemnly, slipping it back. She finally let herself admit it: she missed the bare-footed rocker. To anybody else, that would have been obvious, but to her, it was extremely hard to accept. She never let herself miss someone before, but she missed her kisses. She missed her laugh. She missed the way that Kelly stretched when she woke up next to her, unknowingly pushing her body against Carrie's with a lazy smile as she drawled out "Mornin'" in a husky voice. Mostly, she just missed her friend. Kelly had been a light in this business that was so full of darkness it was no wonder Carrie had lost herself.



All the while, those eyes replayed over and over in her mind. Those eyes that were normally so full of life and fire and happiness when they looked at her were so full of pain and betrayal and what looked to be fear the last time Carrie had seen them. That's what hurt most of all. The fact that she had been the one to cause the normally bubbly Texan to have to go through that.



"Carrie?" a voice asked, making her turn around on the sidewalk. "Carrie Underwood?" the young man asked, his eyes narrowing in slight anger.



She knew that expression. She had seen it enough times in the past few days.



"Sorry," she smiled nervously. "You have the wrong person."



Carrie turned on her heels, quickening her pace the remaining distance of her walk, until she was safe inside the office building.



+++++++



"Jay?" Kelly asked on the way to the radio interview.



"Yep?"



"Um, I know, this is kind of an unusual thing for me to ask, I mean, I've never been one to do this before, but do you think you can talk to them for me before I go in there?"



Jason smiled at her gently, "You want me to tell them no Carrie questions?"



"I can't do it anymore Jay," she admitted. "That's all anyone asks about, and I just can't. I mean, they have to realize, that it's not easy to talk about over and over."



"I doubt it. Reporters aren't that in touch with people's emotions, but I think if I'd ask, they'd listen. Like you said, you've never done it before, so they should know that it's serious."



"Thanks," Kelly smiled weakly before turning her gaze back out the window.



Jason nodded, turning up the volume on the radio a couple of notches.