Page 109 of To Bring You Back
John continued to drum his fingers against the chair’s armrests. “Bringing Addie back on.”
Gannon looked to Tim. He’d never told him about Adeline’s role with the band, and those days were so far behind them, it’d been ages since anyone had asked for details about who’d come and gone prior to their first record deal.
“I did my homework as soon as I heard you mention Fitz.” Tim picked up a tablet and passed it across the desk. “And I’m not the only one who’s been asking where this thing with Adeline Green came from.”
An article covered the screen. The bold title read,It’s Complicated.
He skimmed the predictable chatter about how often he and Adeline had been seen together. But then the story took a turn that made him read with care.
Exactly how does world-famous rocker Gannon Vaughn end up with small-town hotdog vendor Adeline Green? It’s all about history.
Awestruck was originally a four-member band hailing from Fox Valley, Wisconsin. As high school seniors, front man Gannon Vaughn and drummer John Kennedy started the group with classmate Gregory Fitzwilliam on second guitar and none other than Adeline Green on bass.
“She was really good. Completely one of the band,” says Heather Wolski, a high school friend of Green’s.
But more than music was in the air.
“I always thought Adeline and Gannon would end up together,” Wolski admits. “But she dated Fitz.”
When the band relocated to LA to pursue a record contract, Green stayed behind and was replaced by current bassist Matt Visser. Green’s relationship with Fitzwilliam turned serious, and they were engaged.
However, shortly before Awestruck signed its first contract with Wakefield Records, Fitzwilliam fell on hard times. He left the band and broke off his engagement to Green.
Wolski explains the reaction of their hometown. “None of us ever knew for sure, but we all suspected there was something going on between Adeline and Gannon.”
Whether or not a love triangle played a role in his decline, Fitzwilliam appears to have struggled with depression. He died of a self-inflicted gunshot to the head weeks after the release of Awestruck’s debut album,Burn.
“It was a tragedy for everyone, especially Fitz’s family, of course, but also Gannon and Adeline. He stopped visiting home much, and she moved away. I haven’t seen either in years, but I hope it’s true that they’re finally together. Whatever happened in the past, they deserve to be happy. I think even Fitz would want that.”
Unfortunately for Vaughn and Green, their days of love triangles don’t seem to be over.
“Before he showed up, we were all kind of rooting for Adeline and Pastor Drew,” says a Lakeshore local who asked to remain anonymous.
Despite Vaughn’s presence in the small community of Lakeshore, Wisconsin, where Green now resides, Green has been spotted multiple times with Drew Hastings, who pastors a local church.
Vaughn’s attentions are likewise divided. His ex, Harper English, traveled to northern Wisconsin. Both Green and English were photographed entering and leaving Vaughn’s property over the weekend.
Perhaps this explains why Green’s online relationship status remains “single” and Vaughn’s only post regarding his relationship with Green refers to her as “an old friend.”
It seems the most anyone can hope for is an update from “single” to “it’s complicated.”
This had to be why Adeline had been clutching her laptop and crying the night before.A gunshot to the head.And all the photos—a picture of the original band performing in an outdoor amphitheater back home, one from Adeline and Fitz’s engagement announcement, a shot of Adeline and Drew, a picture of Harper.
John took the tablet and started reading. “Who’s Heather Wolski?”
“Nobody.” Probably a classmate, but if she’d been close enough to Adeline to deserve to be quoted, the name would be familiar. He focused on Tim, who tapped a corner of his phone against the desk. “You can relax,” Gannon said. “She’s not interested in rejoining.”
Stilling the phone, Tim leaned back into his chair. “So Plan A, then.”
Plan A: leave Adeline behind. Again.
John laid the tablet on the desk. “It’s time.”
Gannon would argue if the article were wrong, but finding their tragic past spelled out so clearly last night must’ve only confirmed her decision that they could never be more than friends. “If we’re going to catch Miller, it’s got to be today or tomorrow.”
Tim typed something on his phone. “Let’s say tomorrow. Take today to pack up and say goodbye.”
Goodbye. Right. As if he could bear that.
