Miss Fantasy

Chapter 33: A Change in Plans

October 4, 2013, Glasgow, UK

The shrill sound of the phone ringing beside the bed nearly made Lindsey jump out of his skin. With a groan, he reached over, his eyes struggling to open as the bright morning sun streamed in through the windows. Looking at the clock, he groaned again, it was only 8 AM, and he was ready to kill whoever dared to call this early on their day off.

"Hello?" His voice was grumpier than ever as he answered, Stevie stirring beside him now.

"Lindsey?" Mick's voice bolstered through, as if he'd been up for hours.

"What is it?"

"There's been a change in plans."

"What are you talking about?"

"John. They don't want him to wait until December for treatment now, they want him to go in November. So we're going to have to cancel Australia and New Zealand."

Lindsey sighed, sitting up now, "Is he okay?"

With those words, Stevie's eyes shot open — she could tell by the tone that something was wrong. She turned to face Lindsey with worried eyes.

"You know him, he insists he's completely fine."

"Do we need to cancel the rest of Europe too?" Lindsey asked softly.

"No, he says no at this point. And they seem pretty certain that's fine. Once he gets through this, they are positive he will have a very quick recovery. We should still be able to finish the year off with the Vegas shows."

"What's wrong?" Stevie butted in, "What happened?"

Mick's ears perked up, "Is that Stevie?"

"Uh..." Lindsey stammered, "No. Yeah...it's...I've gotta go, Mick."

"What is it?" She repeated in a whisper. He hurriedly instructed for her to be quiet.

"What is Stevie doing there with you at 8 am, huh?" Mick pushed.

"Nothing! It's...forget it, Mick. Are we still set to head to Germany today?"

Mick sighed, "I swear, you two will be the death of ME. Yes, still taking off this afternoon so be ready. Tell Stevie hi for me."

Lindsey rolled his eyes, "Goodbye, Mick."

Stevie sat further up, impatient at the fact that she still had no idea what was going on, "Would you tell me what's happening!" She threw her hands up frustratingly.

"Jesus, Steph," he groaned, "Mick heard that you were here."

"Oh....shit."

"Yeah, oh shit," he sighed, rubbing his temples, "He was calling about John. They changed his treatment dates, we have to cancel Australia and New Zealand."

"Is he okay?" The look of panic in her eyes made him pull her closer to his body for comfort.

"Yes, he is. Just tired. We're going to finish Europe."

Tears started falling from her eyes uncontrollably as she burrowed herself underneath the sheets. Lindsey sighed, pulling her closer and holding her tightly in an embrace. He felt just the same, but somehow it felt slightly less painful when they were close like this.

"I'm scared, Linds," she whispered.

"Me too. But he is going to be okay. They've promised. And Mick says he's in pretty good spirits."

She looked up at him, "What else did he say...about me being here?"

He sighed again, "I think it's safe to say he knows."