"You gotta be kidding me." I muttered to myself as my family got closer and closer. While Cora, Jamie, Lily, and Iris stood protectively by my side, Roland, Jimmy, Tristan, Sam and Jess conversed with staff members.
"Well, well, well. Looks like we found our lost princess. What do you think you're doing here?" my mother asked as they reached us, pointing her gaze at me.
"First of all, I'm on vacation from you two and second of all, I'm working. My question is, what are you doing here? Shouldn't Angie be in school?" I asked my parents, my tone cold as ice.
"Oh? So working, huh? Working on what? Pretending you're helping the band with songs? Oh please, you're useless." my father spoke up and even though I don't usually take them seriously, his words hurt me to my core.
"With all due respect, Aston. Can you just fuck off? Calla is not useless. She has helped me and the band more than you could ever think." Jamie started defending me, standing in front of me protectively.
"She helps them with songwriting and she always encourages and supports them." Lily said, surprising me with her sudden support for me. She's never done something like that.
"Not to mention the fun and positivity she always brings into the building. She brings joy to all of us what keeps us going. None of us would even be here if it wasn't for her." Iris continued and it melted my heart as tears started welling up in my eyes. Iris barely knew me and she still defended me. That's what you call family.
"She's also helped all of us get through our problems and she has always been there for us. No matter what shit she was going through, she was always there. That's the kind of person she is. An amazing human being who puts others above herself no matter what. You should be proud of her, not shame her and make her feel like crap." Cora finished as my eyes filled with tears. Tristan, Sam, Jimmy, Roland and Jess joined us, creating a human barricade around me, the security right behind them. Jamie and Cora put their arms around my shoulders, glaring at my parents as my sister started talking.
"I can't believe you'd act towards Calla like this. I can't believe you'd act like this after everything she achieved and did for you. I brought you here so you could make amends. I thought you missed her as much as I did but I obviously made a mistake. You don't even care, let alone miss her. Calla, I'm sorry...I thought they wanted to make things right. Please, forgive me..." Angie said to our parents before turning to me, an apologetic look on her face. Her eyes filled with tears as she stared at me and it hurt me like hell to see her like that. My heart almost exploded from all the pain I saw in her eyes, all of it radiating off her. I knew that pain all too well. I've felt it before too, I've felt it when August abandoned me. I rushed out of the circle my friends created, wrapping my arms around Angie. I drew her closer to me, walking slowly back to our human barrier, glaring at my parents as I cradled my sister within our small shield of protection.
How could they do that to her? How could they hurt her like that? How could they break what used to be a beautiful ray of sunshine? Why did they have to break her just as they broke me? Didn't they learn anything? What am I saying, of course they didn't. They never will.
Angie cried on my shoulders and the security stepped forward as they stared right at my parents. Our parents left without saying another word, and Angie had no choice but to go with them since she was still a minor and they were her legal guardians. I wished I could've taken her with us, away from those two monsters. I promised her that I'd come back as soon as possible and Angie left with tears still in her eyes.
"Are you okay?" Jamie asked me as soon as my family disappeared from our view. Good question. I felt okay, but was I? I mean, seeing Angie like that made me feel a lot of emotions. It made me want to go back but I also knew I couldn't. It messed with my head a lot and I had no idea what to do.
"Yeah, I'm okay. Thanks to you." I smiled at my friends, all of them enveloping me in a group hug except for Jamie. He waited until they released me and then he basically ran up to me immediately, wrapping his arms around me as if he was afraid to let me go. Somehow, that hug felt completely different from all the other hugs I've ever shared with him. It felt much more...personal. Deeper.
"I love you Cali..." he whispered quietly, almost as if he didn't want me to hear.
"I love you too..." I whispered back and that was the first moment that I started believing Cora's words. That was the first time those words felt like something more. Maybe he really is in love with me...
After we pulled apart, his eyes locked onto mine and his eyes visibly darkened and filled with love. I couldn't identify which love it was though. He looked like he was trying to hide something, a part of himself, perhaps. He studied my face, furrowing his eyebrows in concentration as he tried finding the true meaning of those 3 precious words, in my look.
It was only when we fully pulled apart that we realized we were still at the event with a crowd of people formed around us. Most of them were fans and the press, all of them watching our heart-warming moment. We quickly sat down back in our assigned seats, the fans approaching our table again. They said loads of sweet and kind words after seeing how my family treated me and it all warmed my heart even further. The fans have always loved and supported our group unconditionally, no questions asked. They have always been truly devoted to the bands' cause.
It was always so sweet and admirable, everything they'd do for their idols. They watch us, support us and bring us gifts even though they were never required to. They spend a lot of money just to see us, but they always make an effort to bring us gifts, they're like family. They don't know our personal lives unless we share them, but they still feel like family.
We didn't spend much more time at the event and instead, we moved on to Prague. We spent most of our time there exploring and enjoying everything the Czech Republic had to offer. We explored all the historical sites possible, ate all the food we could stuff into ourselves and made as many memories as we could. We didn't attend any events there. We were tired of the politics that came with it and we just wanted to enjoy ourselves. Just us, exploring a beautiful country and talking to some sweet fans we met.
There were no problems or setbacks and soon, we were on our way to Italy. It was our last destination so we decided not to waste any time with attending events there as well. We explored and did the same things as we did in Prague, just enjoying the last few days we had abroad. It was the night of 6th June that we finally returned to England, all of us agreeing to spend the night at Jamie's house. We were all quite exhausted from our flight and all we wanted was sleep. When I woke up the next morning, only Jamie was awake. It was around 7 am.
"Can't sleep either?" he asked as I joined him in the kitchen. He was drinking a cup of coffee.
"Nah. I guess the thoughts of what will happen now that we're back got to me." I said with a shrug, pouring myself some coffee as well.
"What do you mean?" Jamie asked, tilting his head to the side adorably.
"Well, I suppose that I can't stay here much longer and I need to visit Angie. I also can't go back to the bookshop because I'm pretty sure they've fired me. I've been gone for way too long for them not to. I haven't even given word to them that I am okay." I explained and Jamie got lost in his thoughts for a while.
"You could work with us. You don't need to have your own job to be doing something meaningful because you have already been doing it. Whether you were working in the bookshop or brainstorming with us in the studio. You were always helpful and you were never without some work." he said finally and I threw him a serious look.
"Jamie, you know what I mean. I can't keep riding your wave. I gotta start fighting my own way through life and I suppose that I should talk to my parents about that." I said and Jamie's expression changed instantly, an angry fire igniting inside his eyes.
"After how they treated you? Are you out of your mind? Absolutely not. We will help you figure out your career. Jess even offered, didn't she?" he said and I saw the care in his eyes. I knew he was right but that didn't matter to me. That was a mistake.
"She did but that's not the point. I will gladly accept her offer but I need to talk to my parents nonetheless. At least for Angie's sake." I said and Jamie's expression softened a little.
"Alright. I understand but I still won't let you go alone. I'm coming with you and I'll help you move into Cora's place." he said with a radiant smile on his face. Cora's place? What does he mean by Cora's place?
"Cora's place? But that's across the city." I said, sensing that something wasn't right. I was confused, I wasn't sure if he wanted to get rid of me that badly or if Cora had moved and I didn't know about it. Soon enough, I got my response.
"Actually, it's not across the city anymore. Remember when you were hiding out here? Well, during that time, Cora made a decision to move closer so that you could move in with her when you turned up. That way, neither of you had to be too far away. She knew you hated to be far from us so she made some arrangements and moved into an apartment a few blocks down. She had a plan to rescue you from your parents for quite some time now, she just didn't have the funds for it." Jamie said and a smile spread on my face upon hearing those news.
"Of course she did. I can't believe you guys. How did you manage to keep this from me for so long?" I asked him, surprised by how long they managed to keep that secret. As far as Cora was concerned, she wasn't very good at keeping secrets. And yet, we've been on the road for weeks and she hasn't muttered a word. She didn't even look suspicious. Perhaps, Jamie's taught her to lie and act. Maybe that's why he's been meeting with her so often when I was holed up at his place.
"It wasn't very hard with everything that's been going on." he said and his tone turned serious again. Right. I forgot. I guess it really wasn't that hard to keep from me nowadays.
"Yeah, I suppose so. Sorry about that by the way. I had to deal with some stuff in my head." I apologized to him and Jamie smiled with understanding.
"I understand. We all have our own demons we have to deal with it." he said and just as he finished his sentence, the others started to slowly wake up and shuffle into the kitchen sleepily.
Later, Jamie watched me as I tried to make breakfast; Sam, Tristan and Cora doing everything they could to distract me with their stupidity. Jamie told me he found it cute, the way I laughed at them and threw random things so they'd shut up finally. Meanwhile, Jimmy and Roland were trying to help me as much as they could but they weren't as good at it as Iris was. Turns out that Iris was a professional chef. We've become quite good friends over the weeks she spent with us on the road.
Lily was nowhere to be seen, probably still sleeping, while Jess was trying to keep Sam, Tristan and Cora as far away from me and Iris as possible. Jamie just watched us laugh and goof around, all of it warming his heart. He said that he didn't understand what he did to deserve all of us but that he'll be forever grateful for having us in his life.
He told me that he often gets lost in his thoughts, thinking about how amazing we are. Most importantly, how amazing I am. I know that mostly it's just some attempt at flattery towards me but I can't say it isn't working. I've been there for him through thick and thin, through all the good and bad times. I always knew how to comfort him and he said that he'll be forever grateful to me for that. While others left, I always stayed. I stood by his side no matter what. No matter how much he pushed me away. I know I may sound a little egoistic but all of this came out of his mouth. He was the one that told me all those thoughts that kept wandering his mind, that kept reminding him that he has someone to live for.
I stayed with him through all his darkest days. I stayed and showed him that he has a reason to live even when he thought he didn't. Just like he showed me when I was at my lowest. I've been there through his addiction, getting him through every detox, every rehab. I've helped him to stay clean and sober even though I was struggling with my own health at the time. I stopped drinking as well for a while, just so he wouldn't be alone. Of course, it helped my health too but he was my main priority. I was there. Always. He said that I've been there ever since he can remember. He said that he can't possibly imagine a life without me and that he'd be lost if I left. He claims that I'm his guiding light, his beacon. He says that my smile always shows him the way and that my voice leads him towards the right path. He said that he feels lucky to have me but in reality, I'm the lucky one.
What I do for him, it's just a snippet of what he does for me. He does everything and even more. I can't find words to describe it properly. It's impossible. All I can say is that if it weren't for him, I wouldn't be alive today. He gave me a purpose and a life. He gave me joy and freedom. And I'll forever love him for it.
"Jamie, get in here!" I yelled at him what brought him back out of his head. He said that my voice was sweet and angelic. I pulled him towards us as we finally cooperated while making breakfast.
"Of course." Jamie laughed as he let me drag him into our little circle, taking the knife I handed him and starting to cut up the bacon I've placed in front of him on a cutting board.
"Be a darling and help out now. You've been watching us for way too long not to be doing anything." I said with a smile, nodding towards the bacon he was starting to cut into smaller pieces expertly.
"Of course. How awful of me." he laughed as he continued cutting the bacon with ease. A few minutes later, our breakfast was finished and that was when Lily decided to show.
"Didn't wanna help out, huh?" Sam asked her with a teasing grin but it faltered rather quickly when she looked at him with her sleepy but grumpy look.
"What?" she asked confusingly, trying to rub her eyes open so she'd at least see who she was talking to.
"Here. Have some coffee." Jamie smiled as he handed Lily a mug filled with steaming coffee. Lily smiled gratefully as she took it, giving him a kiss on the cheek. For a moment, he looked a bit disgusted. Like the kiss felt weird to him or something. Like it didn't feel right to him anymore.
He claims that he still loved her at the time. Apparently, he just wasn't sure what kind of love it was anymore. He said that he didn't feel as happy as he used to and that the kisses didn't feel right to him. He said that he remembers himself trying to avoid kissing Lily as much as it was possible but just so it wasn't suspicious, he always kissed her back. He said that he always tried to pretend that it felt just right but in my opinion, he wasn't really good at it. I noticed it more and more and it always made me wonder what might've been going on between them. He said that all his feelings were like they were fake. He says that he doesn't understand what was going on with him during that time to this day even though he has a pretty good idea to what it might've been.
He kissed her on the cheek back and forced a smile before he walked over to the table and sat down with us to eat. We went a little overboard with the food because it looked like it was prepared for the royal family.
"You made a lot of food." Lily spoke up after she'd taken a few sips of her coffee, a little more in her own skin. She sat down next to Jamie, her coffee still in her hands.
"Well, there's a lot of us here and better safe than sorry, am I right?" Tristan said, grinning from ear to ear.
"We all know who's gonna eat the most of it." Jimmy said as all our heads turned to Sam immediately.
"What? I don't eat that much!" Sam said loudly, realizing why everyone was staring at him. We all laughed as we watched him turn red, amused by his embarrassment.
"Don't lie to yourself like that, Sam. It's not good for your mental health." Roland said and we all laughed again, all of us except for Sam. He looked at us with a pissed off look instead, all of us still laughing.
"Sammy, don't be upset. We're just joking. You know we love you, right?" me and Iris said at once, the both of us giving him a hug which finally made him smile. Iris also gave him a little kiss on the cheek before she pulled away, making Sam blush a little.
"Of course I do." he smiled and we all got back to our food, joking and bantering at one another throughout the whole breakfast. I always loved eating with my friends; there was always enough entertainment to keep us occupied and the conversation flowing. There was never an awkward silence when I was around them. That's what I loved about them, they all knew how to keep the conversation going. I am hell of a lucky girl to have them in my life.