Page 2 of Sunrise Arrows

“Don’t forget,” Briar says. “You launchedSummer Hazewhich has beenhuge.Seriously, like, can you even imagine had you led off your career with that album? You’re topping every single chart there is and have officially made “Destined To Fall” this summer’s anthem. And it’s only April!”

After the banger that was my last album, no one was ready for the success ofSummer Haze. Generally in the music world, artists are hit with crazy waves of fluctuation when it comes to a record’s success. Markets and demographics are always changing as is how a fanbase perceives an artist. It’s just how the industry goes.

With a global stadium tour and my last album both shattering so many records, I was counting on that trend. Hoping thatSummer Hazewould slip under the radar. I thought maybe it would produce a marginally successful single or two then fade into an obscurity. Relegated to live in a place where only my most loyal of fans would be able to recall the most personal lyrics I’ve ever written.

Every one of my songs, I’ve written myself. My inspiration comes from love, heartache, friendship, even my struggles and successes. I’ve turned my life into an open diary that I allow to play out on stage and on the radio, filling people’s ears with my secrets, my desires, my fears, my regrets. It makes me incredibly connected to my fans as they each take a piece of me with them when they hear my words. In turn, it leaves a piece of themselves with me in how they interpret and draw comfort or strength from it. It also leaves me exposed for criticism, ridicule, and judgment, with plenty of each to go around.

But nothing I’ve written has been more exposing and more treasured by me than that album. It’s why I’ve kept everything about it under the strictest of confidence. Only five of the almost forty songs that filled the journal from the summer before I moved to L.A. have ever seen the light of day. The rest of the words within have only ever been played for the boy from East Tennessee who inspired them.

Summer Hazehas been a decade in the making. One that, eight weeks ago, I couldn’t have fathomed would be anywhere near as successful as it has been.

Within minutes of its release, it was climbing the sales and streaming charts with “Destined To Fall” becoming an instant standout. Eight weeks post release and it’s already well on its way to the billionaire’s club with industry projections saying I’ll achieve that coveted badge in record breaking time.

It’s by far the best release I’ve ever had. Something that, with each new milestone, has my team and I celebrating.Summer Hazeis probably the most humbling and exhilarating moment of my career.

But it all feels so… hollow.

“Hello… earth to Tinsley!” Briar waves, snapping me out of the spiral of self reflection.

I blink at her several times and go as far as shaking my head to clear everything out as I respond, “I’m sorry, what?”

“I was asking what you’re gonna do about Corey. You know, yourboyfriend.”

I snort at the term, making Briar chuckle. Corey is anythingbutmy boyfriend.

She continues on, rolling her eyes as if I don’t already know how deep her disdain for him runs.

“Not that anyone is believing the boyfriend act considering the douche hasn’t been out to see you in, like, three months.”

Fired up, Briar yanks on her seatbelt to give her some slack as she turns to face me in the back seat and pronounces, “Asshole. Freaking asshole. Like,excuse me! You are fuckingTinsley Jacobsand your boyfriend should be?—”

“You know that’s not true.”

“Doesn’t matter; people think you are and he should be acting like it. I mean,hello!Nobody even knew who the hell Corey limp-dick Withers was until you started showing up to his matches.”

“I think you mean?—”

She’s on a roll and bulldozes right over my football terminology correction to continue her tirade.

“At best, he’s a second rate quarterback who plays for some shitty ass team, neither of which have any hope of ever winning a cup or a ring or whatever it is those players get. He should be falling all over himself that you even considered this shit, let alone agreed.”

“To be fair?—”

“No! No being fair, Tins. As your best friend, I get to hate him and call it as harshly as I see it. You getnothingout of this arrangement, so you need to, like, boot his ass to the curb. Be like Beyoncé and tell him, ‘to the left.’ Then let’s blow this popsicle stand and take arealvacation. Somewhere with pretty drinks brought to us on white, sandy beaches or with fabulous shopping and sightseeing.”

Already pulling out her iPad, the lifeline to my schedule, she says, “I can shuffle some things around and buy you… four weeks free of obligation.Maybeeven six if you’re willing to hit the ground at a dead ass sprint when we return. Like as fast as Corey comes kind-of-sprint.”

The water I’m sipping spews all over the car’s leather as I laugh until I’m wheezing.

I’m gasping for breath, unable to stop the laughter that descends into full hyena-like cackles when the robust guffaws of John and Mikey, my co-heads of security, come from the front seat. Even Briar can’t keep a straight face as she hides behind the iPad before howling and stomping her feet on the floorboard.

“What? We all know I’m probably right. He has that look. So let’s end this charade and maybe finally find you a man you’ll let dick you down until you can’t remember your own name.

“Mikey? You and John-John have any buddies who want to show our girl a good time?”

“BRIAR!”

“What? They’re hot, in that, ‘call me daddy, baby,’ kind of way. And hot guys always have hot friends. Plus, they were like SEALs or whatever, so weknowthey can be discreet.”

---