Jack claps, attempting to bring the energy up in the room. “Let’s start from the opening song.”
Five hours later, every bone in my body is aching, but we’re finally done with rehearsal.
We’ve got all the choreography nailed to a T. When we leave for the tour, I’m going to miss watching Leonidas trip over his feet and Jack screaming at him to focus.
“Tomorrow is our last dress rehearsal. All the finishing touches need to be finalized.” Fay flips through papers, looking extremely stressed. “Have you guys packed?”
Three people out of four nod. I’m the odd one out.
“Eli!” Amelia whines. “I’ll come over tonight and help you.”
Fay doesn’t let me respond as she continues her rant. “Where do we stand with the teacher? Is she prepared?”
The last time I saw Lily was when Levi hired her. We’ve been texting back and forth about all the details she needs to know about the job. Yet I didn’t think to ask if she had everything she needed.
“Don’t worry about Lily. I’ve got her covered.” I try to sound confident.
“Yeah, sure …” Fay trails off before noting, “Someone please check on the teacher.”
Amelia raises a thumb with a shy smile.Sorry, she mouths.
“We only have five days until we leave. The most important task I’m going to give you all is, get some rest.” Fay shoots us all a motherly look. “Tour is all about having fun and getting to experience music with your fans. If there isn’t any love, there is no passion.” Walking to the door, she turns. “After the last dress rehearsal tomorrow morning, decompress; your mind should be a clean slate. If you need any help packing, let someone from our team know.”
“That’s not something we are used to hearing,” Amelia points out softly when the door shuts behind our manager.
My brother muses, “I could get used to this.”
“Me too.”
SIXTEEN
LILY
Let’s just say, things got hectic quickly.
Four days before we left for the tour, I met Stella. Elijah had brought her over and introduced us, trying to avoid her becoming overwhelmed with the sudden change in her routine. I can’t lie and say the thought of us not being a good match didn’t run through my head like a tornado. All my worries were pushed aside when she ran into my arms the second she saw me. She is the sweetest little girl in the world, and I’m so excited to be her teacher.
After that, he demanded that I finish packing; that made me ask him if he was even done, and he said he hadn’t even started.
He’s the same butsodifferent.
Elijah even shoved a fifty-dollar bill in my hand if I helped him pack. I put it back in his pocket; the stress of packing one suitcase was enough for me.
“Did you triple-check that you have everything you need?” Thea crouches down and starts messing with my stuff.
“Don’t!” I stress, running over to her. “You’re going to make everything wrinkly!”
I fix a couple of dresses I neatly rolled up before her ambush. “Went through my physical and mental list three times.”
Thea helps me refold my clothes. “If you forget anything, you can just go and buy it somewhere.”
Grabbing her shoulders, I force her to look at me. “I love that you care enough to stress about me, but I’ll be fine.”
“But what if you’re not? It would be my fault because I forced this idea on you.”
With my pointer finger, I rub away the stressed wrinkles on her forehead. “You didn’t force me to do anything.”
I pull her to my body, and we hug like there will be no tomorrow.
