A Newfound Home - Adopted by Josh Dun

Twenty-nine

J Ø S H U A
Tori and I were getting ready to fly out to Ohio for Christmas.

She was sitting on the counter while I was washing dishes and cleaning off everything. "Josh," I stopped and looked over at her.

"I'm nervous to meet everyone." I smiled and set my towel down. "You'll be okay, kid. Trust me." She shook her head.

"No, what if they don't like me? What if they hate my hair," I tried to stop her but she continued on. "What if they hate my style or they hate how I look." I finally stopped her.

"They already love you. I've been sending them pictures and they're all so excited to meet you." She was surprised to hear that. "Now, up to bed. We have an early flight and you need sleep."

She hopped off the counter to do what I requested, then the doorbell rang.

She beat me to it.

She opened the door to reveal Max standing there with a present. "Max? What are you doing here?" He smiled at Tori.

"I know you said you were leaving early tomorrow so I thought I'd drop off your Christmas present now." She smiled and took it from him.

"But I didn't get you anything." Oh shoot, I could've helped her pick out a present for him.

Max shook his head, "No, it's okay. I wanted to do this." She gave him a hug and then he left.

I shooed her upstairs and followed her, going to the bathroom to shower.

V I C T Ø R I A
I sat on my bed and unwrapped the gift carefully. I was always taught to be careful because you never know how fragile the gift underneath is.

It was a frame with several photos of Max and me from homecoming, including our photo booth photos.

I smiled and set it on my desk next to the photo of my parents and the photo of Jenna and me from their first visit.

I heard Josh walk out of the bathroom and tell me to go to bed, so I climbed into my bed and grabbed my phone.

I texted Max before I fell asleep.

I love it. Thank you.

♡

Josh woke me up at four in the morning for our flight.

"Noo, I want to sleep." I pulled the blanket back over my head and he pulled me to the floor.

"You can sleep on the plane. Besides this is preparation for the tour." I rolled my eyes and he left the room so I could get dressed.

I chose sweats and a Good Charlotte tee with my docs.

We got an Uber to take us so Josh didn't have to leave his vehicle at the airport.

After waiting for a while, we were able to board the flight.

I had the window seat, and Josh was in the aisle seat. He was holding a hoodie in the middle to look like a person was sitting there.

"We want the row to ourselves. Tyler taught me this trick." He winked and I smiled tiredly. Once the stewardess started explaining the seatbelts, Josh brought the hoodie down.

I pulled on my hoodie sleeves while my leg bounced and Josh moved over, setting his hand on my knee to calm it.

"Have you never flown before?" My nerves weren't from flying, they were all the negative thoughts floating around my head about this trip.

"No, it's the nerves I mentioned last night." He nodded and held out his hand. I put my hand in his and he squeezed it.

"You're gonna be okay. I'm gonna be there with you if you have any issues." He smiled down at me and the plane took off.

I haven't flown in so long.

"This is so different than how I remember it." I finally spoke after a while. Josh unbuckled once the sign light changed and I copied him.

"You said you've flown before?" I nodded. "How long ago was it?" Gosh, I really had to think about that answer.

"I think I was ten. The second foster home I was in was in Kansas. They couldn't find any in San Diego, but there was a family in Topeka willing to take me, so I flew out with my social worker."

Josh nodded. "Wait, wasn't that the family that wouldn't feed you?" My face fell and I slowly nodded.

"They were nice while my social worker was there. As soon as she left, it was like hell on earth. I'm just thankful I got out of there."

I yawned and Josh squeezed my hand. "You can try to get some more sleep before we land. We have a long ways to go."

I nodded and looked out the window before shutting my eyes.