It's been close to a year since Lottie made the tough decision to move out to her own place. She hates herself so much for making that heart broken look appear on Riley's face but it's about time they just became separate individuals.

She wanted to move out since this whole thing is her fault, and the house is in Riley's name. It took her a week to pack up her stuff and move to Franklin, Tennessee but those days flew by.

Riley's been struggling with the silence and loneliness. He had no idea how much brightness Lottie had until she left.

She had told him that she was going to see about getting signed to Big Machine with him when her Big Loud contract expired but now that they're not on speaking terms, she renewed it for another few years.

Lottie also had a conversation with Christian to take a pay cut to reimburse Morgan for what he lost when she was signed in the first place so she can stop feeling so fucking guilty.

Speaking of Morgan, he and Lottie are back on again, like a full-fledged relationship on again, not just hooking up. It's definitely a bad idea now that she's basically alone but she's gotta learn from her mistakes some how.

She doubts Riley knows that they're back together.

But he does.

Morgan's been letting him know through social media and Riley's heart aches. He knows that Morgan's doing this to shove the fact that he still gets to fuck around with her down his throat.

Riley misses everything about her.

Her laugh.

Her vibes.

Her cooking.

Her fucking body.

No other woman can fill that void in his life. He's tried. It's hard for him to admit but he's accidentally said Lot's name during sex rather than the woman's he's hooking up with.

+++

Morgan stirs awake in her bed and reaches his hand out, furrowing his brows and leaning up on his elbows when he feels cold, empty sheets. He glances at the alarm clock and groans, getting to his feet. He pulls a hoodie on over his bare chest as he makes his way to the back deck where he sees Lottie sitting on the top step with her head in her hands and a cigarette between her fingers.

He sighs as he steps outside, a cool breeze tossing his bed head around. "You comin' to bed?"

Lottie glances over her shoulder at him then shrugs. "I'm not really that tired." She mumbles as she looks back out in front of her, smoke rolling out of her nose. "What're you doin' up?"

"You haven't come to bed and it's three in the mornin'." He says in a sleep filled voice. "C'mon, Lottie."

She looks down at the cigarette between her fingers, exhales heavily as she flicks it away then stands. She slides her hand into Morgan's outstretched one then he leads her back to her bedroom.

Morgan falls back asleep pretty quickly but she lays awake until the sun comes up, mindlessly playing with his hair. She misses Riley with her entire body but he probably isn't even thinking about her.

+++

Riley Green is heartbroken.

He has never even thought about a "Lottie-less" life but here he is. The only good thing about all of this is that he's been able to write some pretty good songs.

Hell, he's almost written a whole album about her.

The one that he's most proud of, the one that has the most emotion in it, is supposed to hit radio stations this week and he can only hope on hope that Lottie is listening.

He knows this song is obviously about a woman but hey, it's country.

Lottie, on the other hand, has been kind of struggling to get these emotions down on paper because she really doesn't want other people into her mind. Morgan's been kind of helping her busy mostly trying to get her to fuck around.

Ri and Lot both keep saying they've never been in love but fuck, that's a lie.

They're in love with each other but they refuse to accept that.

+++

"Where do you wanna go tonight?" Morgan asks from the bathroom as he tucks his shirt into his unbelted jeans.

"Wherever." Lottie shrugs back, pulling her favorite flares on. "Uh, that one- Kid Rock's Big Ass Honky Tonk."

Morgan smiles. "Sure." Lottie forces one back as she pulls on a simple red tank top, a fringe denim jacket over top with her boots under the flares. "I'll drive." He says as he pokes his head into his bedroom from the hallway. "Let's go."

Lottie picks up her purse then follows him out to his truck.

After an awkwardly quiet ride down to Broadway, Morgan gets his truck parked in a garage. He locks it then pockets his keys before taking his girlfriend's hand.

They walk down the crowded street to Kid Rock's bar just in time to watch a guy start putting his gear together. His backside looks familiar but Lottie brushes it off as she looks over the insanely priced menu.

She wants to get drunk.

Lottie orders a drink at the bar that she downs pretty quickly then another one that she takes back to the table. She sits next to Morgan while he talks to who's probably the manager and sighs softly. Her eyes watch the guy setting up on the platform and something stirs in her belly.

She knows who the fuck that dude is.

Morgan's hand on her back brings her back to the conversation. She smiles at him then looks out the open window, her heart battering around in her ribcage.

That guy taps on the mic before standing at it, his acoustic slung over his shoulder. The crowd is washed out by the bright lights shining down on him. He licks his lips as he starts into his first song of the night, one Lottie loves; It's Alan Jackson's Livin' on Love.

The first couple drinks Lottie downed has hit her rather quickly and she finds herself belting that song out along with the man on stage.

He kicks into his next song some slow one Lottie can't remember the name of. He's got a nice voice, a warm country voice and it's somewhat refreshing.

The next song he plays is Must Be Doin' Somethin' Right by Billy Currington. Lottie stands, grabs Morgan's hand and practically pulls him out to the open area at the front of the room.

Morgan holds her close as they start to sway to the song. They don't even notice how the guy starts stuttering over the words when Morgan starts whispering some sweet nothings into her ear and pressing his lips against her neck. She blushes, the color darkening when his hands slide to her ass. Lottie laughs and shakes her head.

"'Round here, fast is how the grass grows. Lost is what you find on a back road. Proof's in the whiskey, red's in the dirt. And hard work stops at the fence row. We stand for the flag, and if you don't like it, we don't care 'cause we do things a little different 'round here..."

Lottie pulls a face when the chorus kicks in, her brows furrowing and she finally looks up at who's performing.

Riley Green.

Riley fuckin Green.

They lock eyes for a second and she can't help the smile that grows on her face. That sudden brightness hits Riley and he grins back, noticeably blushing as he sings the song he's lost his place in.

"Let's uh- Let's restart that chorus." Riley gives her an all too familiar nod and she's suddenly pulling away from her boyfriend to join her old friend on stage to sing a song she wrote. She grabs an extra mic from the nearby storage case and flicks it on.

Riley hums a note then plays a couple chords into the pick up and then they're singing together for the first time in almost a year.

Lottie keeps her eyes on him and Riley keeps his eyes on her the entire time they're singing, totally blocking out the crowd they've gathered. She can feel herself trying to hide a smile but she lets it show, a genuine smile show for the first time in a long time.

Morgan gets a little angry. Sure, she wrote this song and all but he feels betrayed at the fact that she just ditched him for Riley.

He shakes his head as he heads back to their table, his anger further blazing when he sees them hug. He watches him say something to her and she blushes and laughs.

She presses a friendly kiss to his cheek before she glides down the steps back to her sulking boyfriend.

"It feels so good to be back on a stage again." She sighs, gulping down her drink. "Been like over a year since I performed last."

"Yeah." Lottie rolls her eyes. "Don't get an attitude."

"Oh fuck off." She scoffs, raising her glass to the bartender for a refill. "Stop bein' such a baby."

Morgan laughs sarcastically then shakes his head. "I thought y'all were over."

"Not 'over'. Just... on a break." She shrugs as she downs her fresh drink. "Like- Like Ross and Rachel from Friends."

Morgan scoffs. "Yeah, right."

"Why are you being such an asshole?"

"I told you I don't trust him. I fuckin' told you-" He stops himself before he lowers his voice. "I don't trust the two of you together."

"Why's that!?" She shouts as she's stands.

"Lottie, sit down." He hisses.

"No. I want you to tell me why the you don't trust me!" All eyes are on them.

"Lottie-"

"Hey! Y'all gotta calm down or get the hell outta here." The manager says.

"Sorry sir, my girlfriend is being overly sensitive." Lottie slurs out, glaring at Morgan.

"You bitch-"

"Out! Now!" The manager shouts, motioning to the security guards. "Let's go!"

Lottie angrily picks up her purse and jacket then shoves her way past Morgan. He grips her arm as they walk outside just in time for Riley's break.

"What's goin' on?" Riley asks, stopping them at the steps up to the platform.

"Fuck off, Riley." Morgan seethes, shoving past him.

"No." He grabs the back of his shirt and yanks him back. "I never liked you, Morgan."

"Fuck you." He snaps back, smacking his arm away.

"Ri-" Lottie tries to cut in but she's elbowed away by Morgan. He turns to Riley and pushes him away. Riley stumbles but catches himself before he shoves Morgan back.

Morgan laughs forcefully before he suddenly swings his fist and decks the taller man in the face.

The bar goes silent.

Lottie's frozen in place as she watches Riley drop to the floor, his nose gushing blood. He slowly gets to his knees, wiping his nose off with the back of his hand as he stands. He punches him back and Lottie winces as the crunching sound that comes from the hit.

Either he cracked his knuckles with the force or he broke his nose.

"Out! Now!" The bouncer grabs the two brawling guys and shoves them out the door with Lottie following.

As soon as they're outside, Riley starts swinging on Morgan again. Lottie has never seen this side of him before and she's kinda scared but also kind of turned on.

There's a few shouts that catch her attention. Two cops are there pulling the guys apart. "Let me- fuckin, let me go!" Morgan shouts.

Lottie jumps at his volume, her eyes down as a crowd forms around them.

She looks up and sees one cop struggling to keep Riley back so she takes matters into her own hands. Sure, he's been mad before but never this angry.

"Ri." She says in a soft voice, her hands on his chest. "Riley, look at me." He doesn't. Lottie grabs his jaw and makes him look down at her. His face immediately softens. "You gotta calm down."

She can feel Morgan's eyes on her as she talks Riley down.

"Lot." He whispers, his chest heaving. "I- Just- He-"

"Riley." She says in a sterner voice. "Take a deep breath." Her hands slide to the sides of his face. His eyes soften even more at her touch. "Let's go back inside and finish your set."

"But- But-" She glances at the cop behind him and he lets his arms go. Riley hangs his head as she nudges him back the door.

Lottie turns to Morgan who is also released by the cop holding him back. "You gotta get yourself in check."

"You're one to talk." He mutters back. "You sleep with him?"

"With- with Ri?" Morgan pulls his chin. "No. Not recently."

"!?" She rolls her lips into her mouth. "What the fuck, Lottie!?"

"Morgan-"

"When!?"

"A while ago." She shrugs, clearing her throat.

"Did y'all sleep together when we- when we were together?" He sounds broken now and not as angry.

She shakes her head. "This ain't the place to have this conversation." Lottie glances around and sees the crowd watching them. She knows this is going to make her look so bad on social media and shit like that but right now she doesn't care.

She grabs Morgan's wrist and pulls him to the parking garage next to the restaurant. "I think we should stop seeing each other."

"You've said that before." Morgan scoffs. "And the next day I was fuckin' balls deep in you."

"But this time I mean it." He rolls his eyes as he hops into his truck. He throws it into reverse then leaves Lottie by herself in again.

Lottie takes a deep breath to keep tears back as she makes her way back to the bar. She sneaks her way back inside and up to the stage. She sits herself on the steps and watches Riley continue his set.

The song he's singing now is one Lottie hasn't heard before but the words sound familiar.

"Truth is you're better off alone and the best thing I can do is let you go...

Holding you was heaven but losing you was hell. I shoulda known the devil had no business runnin' with an angel. Runnin' with an angel..."

Tears swell in her eyes as she looks down at her hands. She missed him so much and she's pretty sure he missed her too.

+++

Riley's packing up his things after his two hour set. Lottie had left a little while ago and watching her go again hurt.

He's got his guitar in one hand and a drink in the other as he heads down the steps. He tosses his empty cup into the trash can by the door before he starts to the parking garage where his truck is being safely stored.

"You did good tonight, kid." He hears an all too familiar voice say.

Riley looks up and sees Lottie sitting on his dropped tailgate. Her eyes are red and puffy but her smile is bright.

He grins as he slides his guitar into the bed of his truck then he hops up next to her. "What're you doin' here? I thought y'all left."

"I wanted to see you." She says, ignoring the butterflies erupting in her belly. "I missed you."

Riley looks down at his lap as he smiles, a blush hinting on his face. "It's nice seein' you again."

She nods back. "What was that one song that you played? The 'holdin you was heaven' one?"

"Oh." He keeps his eyes trained on the car parked across from them. "It's called Runnin' with an Angel."

"It was nice." She reaches over and gives his hand a squeeze before she leans against him, her head on his shoulder. "You wanna grab some food? I didn't see you eat anything."

"Sure." He smiles and nudges her playfully as he hops off his tailgate. "C'mon."

+++