Always There || Greta Van Fleet

Chapter 119: This

Jake's P.O.V

The next morning I woke up in the back of the van to the worst headache of my entire life. What happened last night? I couldn't remember anything. Reaching around, I finally found my phone on the floor, my stomach dropping as I looked at the screen.

3 missed calls from Jaime.

I must've passed out before I had the chance to call her. I told her I would always call her. How was I already screwing this up?

I just didn't think it was going to be so hard out here without her.

I pressed call.
It instantly went to voicemail.

That was weird.
She never had her phone off.
I tried again.

Right to voicemail.

Was she ignoring me? Was she.. mad at me? Honestly, I wouldn't blame her. All she asked of me was that I took care of myself and called her before I went to bed and I couldn't even keep that promise. I was out here living my dream, and she was back at home waiting up for me..

The thought of it killed me.

I tried calling one more time.
Right to voicemail.

I guess I could try again later. Maybe she just needed time to calm down. I guess it was better than fighting but.. there was nothing to fight about. I knew I was wrong. I'd have to look into how to send her flowers.

I hated how she only got apology flowers from me.

Looking around, I could see we were already at the venue. It was a little bigger than the previous ones we've played, which only made me more nervous. That would mean that many more people who didn't care about us.

I really didn't think it was going to be so hard. The shows back home were never like this. I guess we got too spoiled playing for our friends and family so much, that we had forgotten what it feels like to start over again. But despite how hard it's been, I knew it would be so much easier if I could just look over and see Jaime in the wings.

She was the only one I cared about cheering for me.

I searched around for my sunglasses, trying my best to shield my eyes from the blinding sun as I quickly made my way into the venue, looking around for the rest of the guys when I could finally hear Josh's singing off in the distance. It was never too hard to find him.

I peeked my head into one of the dressing rooms to see the three of them gathered around, Sam instantly perking his head up a the sound of the door, giving me a sly grin.
"Hey.." I muttered, making my way in, plopping down on the couch.
"Look who finally decided to get up." Sam laughed. "Not like we've been hanging around in here for a few hours." A few hours?

"Y-yeah.. sorry.." I mumbled, all I could really manage with how much my head was still spinning. I don't know what it was that made me drink so much. Maybe it was just the stress of the tour, the fact that despite how much I looked forward to playing every night, I dreaded getting in front of the crowd knowing how badly they wanted us to get off the stage.

Or maybe I just couldn't handle the fact that every night, I was alone. I had gotten so used to falling asleep with Jaime, my arms wrapped around her, as she cuddled close to me. The sweet smell of her perfume wafting from her hair, finding its way onto my clothes, leaving a little memory of her when I finally had to leave.

Once you've spent the night with the one you love, it's impossible to ever sleep the same alone again. I was empty, and then only thing that filled me up was drinking enough to forget how much the loneliness hurt.