“Stella made a good point.” Trinity talks behind her cup, looking up at the stars that dart across the sky. “I hated the thought of living on a bus for months, but a part of me is going to miss it.”
“Me too. It became our home away from home,” Amelia says with a faraway look on her face.
“It won’t hurt if we spend one more night in them.” Elijah shrugs. He lies down and looks at the sky, arms propped on his stomach.
“I’m sleeping in a proper bed,” Rowan and Axel call out.
Like superglue, the six of us all send each other questionable glances. We jump up, collecting our stuff in a mad rush. Things fly in the air, and chuckles ring through the breeze. Elijah’s fingers interlace with mine, and we almost go tumbling more than once. Running in the sand is a humbling experience.
“Shit, hide! Quick!” Leonidas whisper-hisses behind the wheel of our van, angling his head as much as he can near the dash without crashing.
“What’s going on?” Amelia’s muffled response comes from the very back of the car.
Crouching over but also trying to see her, I laugh when I spot her face shoved into her knees.
“Fans are camping outside the barricade of the arena,” Leonidas states. “How did we forget they do that?”
You have to be very dedicated to wait all night and morning outside to ensure the best possible place in the pit. Kudos to them, but I enjoy my sleep too much to make a makeshift bed on concrete. Camped out in tents, foldable chairs, and blankets—they all look so content, sleeping. It makes me want to force the team to give them backstage passes.
Driving slowly and discreetly so unneeded attention doesn’t shine on us in the middle of the night, Leonidas stops at the gate and rolls down the window just as the tired-looking security guard walks up to the car.
His eyes light up when he recognizes Leonidas. He doesn’t need to see any ID in order to pass us through the gates. Jogging, he enters a code on the door. Glancing over his shoulder, trying to see if any fans around the building have spotted us, he quickly ushers us through.
“Thank you,” Leonidas calls out quietly, jutting out a thumbs-up from the window as he drives toward where we know the buses are parked.
“You are turning into such a dad.” Levi breaks the silence.
Amelia chokes on a giggle. I hold a hand to my mouth to muffle my laughter, and I find Elijah plugging his nose, inflating his cheeks with lots of air for some reason.
Does he know he can plug his nose without looking like a monkey?
“You’d better not be implying I’m old. Take it back,” Leonidas barks and brakes suddenly, almost sending me flying into the front passenger seat Trinity’s sitting in.
She is not holding back any laughter. She is bent over, full-on wheezing.
Glaring at his girlfriend, Leonidas climbs out the door and slams it. Still giving us all the death stare through the glass.
Not being able to stop laughing, we all follow him to the tour bus. All us girls link arms and walk like we’re drunk, high on life—on love.
“Since this was our bus”—Leonidas gestures to Trinity, Elijah, and me—“Trinity and I will take our bed, and Levi and Amelia will take Elijah’s bunk that’s now vacant.”
Sounds good to me. Less space just means more cuddling.
“Honey, we’re home,” Elijah sings the moment the stale air hits our noses.
My fingers graze over the couches we spent countless nights chatting on, to the handrail I gripped so tightly, fearing I might fall on the narrow steps, to the bunks that forced me and Elijah closer, until we realized what wasstillthere.
Longing.
The usual hum of the engine is off, but the familiar walls close in on us. Elijah lies sprawled on our bed, eyes closed and one arm thrown behind his head.
Trinity raids the small kitchenette. “There’s nothing here,” she mumbles, disappointed.
Elijah says, grinning without opening his eyes, “We ate it all.”
The sleepless cookie nights hurt in the mornings, but now I ache to have one more night like that. Not knowing where you’re traveling to and going with the flow.
Once we all settle into our bunks and Trinity into the couch, we jump when the bus door slams shut.
